behaviourists

• behaviourists approach


  + involves precise and objective measurements of behaviour in controlled conditions

  -ignores the subjective experiences people have
• tabula rasa 


  clean slate
• palov and skinner 


  behaviourists
• What happens during extinction in classical conditioning?

  The conditioned response ceases when the conditioned stimulus is presented alone without the unconditioned stimulus
• What is spontaneous recovery in classical conditioning?

  It is the reappearance of a conditioned response that was thought to be extinct
• What is stimulus discrimination in classical conditioning?

  It is the ability to differentiate between a conditioned stimulus and other stimuli not paired with an unconditioned stimulus
• Who was Pavlov and what was his contribution to psychology?

  Pavlov was a scientist known for his work in classical conditioning
• What was John B. Watson's stance on introspection by the early 20th century?

  He questioned the scientific status and value of introspection
• In what year did John B. Watson publish his views on behaviorism?

  1913
• positive reinforcement 


  when a behaviour is followed by a desirable consequence (reward) and is more likely to be repeated
• negative reinforcement 


  when a behaviour is followed by the removal when a behaviour is followed by the removal of an adverse consequence and is more likely to be repeated
• positive punishment 


  when a behaviour is followed by an unpleasant consequence and is less likely to be repeated
• negative punishment 


  when a behaviour is followed by the removal of a desirable consequence and is less likely to be repeated
• classical conditioning 


  learning through association
• operant conditioning 


  learning through rewards and reinforcements
• pavlov’s dogs

  • he presented a bell (neutral stimulus) with food (unconditioned stimulus) which already produced an unconditioned response of salvation

  • after many pairing of the food and bell, the bell becomes a conditioned stimulus and the salvation becomes a conditioned response
• things that can effect classical conditioning 


  • timing

  • extinction

  • spontaneous recovery

  • stimulus generalisation
• reinforcement 


  strengthening a response or behaviour and ensuring that it occurs again in the future
• skinners rats

  • discovered operant conditioning (learning through reinforcement)
  • rewarded a rat with food every time it pressed a lever (positive reinforcement)
• strength - scientific credibility

  • behaviourists focused on measurements of observable behaviour within highly controlled lab settings
  • by breaking down behaviour into basic stimulus response units all possible extraneous variables are removed allowing a cause and effect relationship to be established
• strength - real world application

  • behaviourism has made important contributions to our understanding of mental illness
  • e.g. many phobias are thought to be result of earlier learning which has helped psychologists develop therapies
• weakness - oversimplified the learning process

  • by reducing behaviour to simple components, behaviourists may ignore an important influence on learning (human thought)
  • other approaches e.g. SLT have drawn attention to mental processes involved in learning
  • this suggests that learning is more complex than observable behaviour alone
• weakness - use of animal studies

  • many consider using animals in studies to be unethical as there is less concern about protection from harm in non-human studies
  • some argue that findings from animal studies aren't generalisable to human behaviour