A01 CC

• State the three assumptions of the behaviourist approach

  1. Only observable and measurable data should be studied

  2. We are born as blank slates ('Tabula Rasa') - there is no genetic influence on behaviour

  3. The basic processes that govern learning are the same in all species - animals could replace humans as experimental subjects
• What is classical conditioning?

  Learning through association to create a conditioned response
• Name the psychologist who investigated classical conditioning

  Ivan Pavlov
• How do you create a conditioned response?

  By repeatedly pairing a neutral stimulus with an unconditioned stimulus
• What is an experiment that investigated classical conditioning?

  Pavlov's dogs
• Identify the unconditioned stimulus, the unconditioned response and the neutral stimulus in Pavlov's dogs

  UCS: food, UCR: salivating, NS: bell
• What does the neutral stimulus turn into after conditioning?

  Conditioned stimulus
• Outline the stages of Pavlov's dogs

  1. food (UCS) -> salivating (UCR)

  2. bell (NS) -> no conditioned response

  3. food (UCS) + bell (NS) -> salivating (UCR)

  3. bell (CS) -> salivating (CR)
• Name the psychologist who carried out the Little Albert study

  Watson and Rayner (1920)
• Describe the study of Little Albert

  - Conditioned a 9 month old to have a phobia of white rats

  - Repeatedly paired the rat with a steel bar being struck

  - Little Albert learnt to associate the loud noise (UCS) with the white rat (NS), resulting in a learnt response (CR) of fear to the white rat which is now the conditioned stimulus