A03

• Point: A strength of the behaviourist approach is that the research is well-controlled

  Evidence: For example, behaviourism focuses mainly on observable behaviour, which is usually carried out in a highly controlled laboratory environment

  Explain: This means extraneous variables can be minimised and cause-effect relationships between stimulus and response can be established

  Link: Therefore, this gives the behaviourist approach a lot of scientific credibility
• Point: However, a limitation of this approach is behaviourism may have oversimplified the learning process

  Evidence: For example, all behaviour is broken down into basic stimulus-response units, but ignores other important influences

  Explain: This means factors such as cognitions (human thought) are not taken into consideration

  Link: Therefore, the behaviourist approach only provides a partial explanation of behaviour as it completely ignores mental processes, which are also essential to learning.
• Point: Another strength of this approach is that it has real-world applications

  Evidence: For example, the principles of operant conditioning have been used in prisons and psychiatric wards in the form of token economy systems

  Explain: This means that prisoners/patients are rewarded with a token for appropriate behaviour, which can be exchanged for privileges.

  Link: Therefore, this shows the usefulness of the behaviourist approach as it is widely used in different situations and contexts to help/treat people.
• Point: A further imitation of the behaviourist approach is that it is very deterministic.

  Evidence: For example, this approach suggests that everything we do is determined by our past conditioning history

  Explain: This means it completely rejects the idea of free will and Skinner even admits it is an illusion.

  Link: Therefore, this hard deterministic approach might be extreme as it ignores the influence of conscious decision-making, which other approaches try to include.