AO3 Behaviourist approach

• Strengths: Empirical scientific methods


  Scientific methods used on both human and non-human animals led to raised status for psychology. Both CC and OC focus on observable behaviours which allows researchers to support/refute claims. This helped to develop a nomothetic approach which enabled prediction and control of behaviour. This made psychology more scientific (Wundt was subjective, behaviourists objective).
• Strengths: Real-life application

  Therapeutic techniques in SD and flooding and aversion therapy have been successful in eliminating maladaptive behaviours (overcoming phobias too) in real life. The behaviourist theory has been used in prisons, psychiatric facilities and schools.
• Issues: Reductionist approach

  Behaviourism takes a reductionist approach, focusing on lower level explanation- stimulus response learning for example. These concepts therefore lack meaning when it comes to complex human behaviours because they neglect the person. Especially in treatment strategies as there is no effort made to understand the meaning behind the issue.
• Reductionist: Wolpe

  Used SD to treat a woman's fear of insects. He found no improvement from his behavioural therapy. Turned out her husband, with whom she had been having marital problems, had an insect nickname. Her fear did not come from conditioning but her marriage. Evidence that things can be missed.
• Issues: Research is mainly on non-human animals


  This may not be applicable to humans as we are different from animals- we have conscious insight for example- so we may not entirely learn through stimulus response relationships.

  It could also be seen as unethical: Pavlov did surgery on his dogs which was irreversible solely for his research then had them put down after, Skinner electrocuted rats.

  However, it is supposedly more ethical to test on animals than humans, and this testing has led to important discoveries.