ASSUMPTIONS

• WHAT ARE THE TWO TYPES OF CONDITIONING?

  CLASSICAL AND OPERANT
• WHAT DOES CLASSICAL CONDITIONING SUGGEST?

  BEHAVIOUR IS LEARNT THROUGH ASSOCIATION (ASSOCIATING A STIMULUS WITH A RESPONSE)
• WHAT DOES OPERANT CONDITIONING SUGGEST?

  BEHAVIOUR IS A RESULT OF REINFORCEMENTS AND CONSEQUENCES FROM THE ENVIRONMENT
• POSITIVE AND NEGATIVE REINFORCEMENT

  INCREASES THE LIKELIHOOD OF BEHAVIOUR BEING REPEATED BY EITHER ADDING A POSITIVE STIMULUS (POS REINFORCEMENT) OR REMOVING A NEGATIVE STIMULUS (NEG REINFORCEMEN)
• PUNISHMENT

  DECREASES THE LIKELIHOOD OF BEHAVIOUR BEING REPEATED.
• WHAT IS THE EXAMPLE OF CONDITIONING IN PSYCHOLOGY?

  WATSON AND RAYNER- LITTLE ALBERT (1920)
• WHAT DOES THE EXAMPLE SHOW?

  HOW FEAR CAN BE CONDITIONED
• HOW WAS LITTLE ALBERT CONDITIONED TO FEAR WHITE RATS?

  BY THE LOUD NOISE OF A METAL BAR (UNCONDITIONED STIMULUS) BEING ADDED WITH THE PRESENCE OF A WHITE RAT (NEUTRAL STIMULUS) CREATING A FEARFUL UNCONDITIONED RESPONSE OF CRYING. ALBERT BECAME CONDITIONED WHEN THE NETRAL STIMULUS BECAME THE CONDITIONED STIMULUS AND THE FEARFUL RESPONSE BECOMING THE CONDITIONED RESPONSE AS HE BEGAN TO ASSOCIATE THE RAT WITH THE FEAR.
• WHAT HAD ALBERT LEARNT

  STIMULUS RESPONSE ASSOCIATION
• HOW DOES AVERSION THERAPY USE CLASSICAL CONDITIONING?

  ABLE TO CAUSE A PATIENT TO REDUCE OR AVOID UNDESIRABLE BEHAVIOUR AS IT WORKS ON THE IDEA THAT THE PATIENT WILL NO LONGER LEARN TO ASSOCIATE THE UNDESIRABLE BEHAVIOUR (EG SMOKING AND DRINKING) WITH A PLEASANT FEELING AS AVERSION THERAPY AIMS TO REPLACE THE ASSOCIATION WITH AN UNPLEASANT FEELING/ STIMULUS. THIS IS THE AVERSIVE STIMULUS. THIS SHOULD LEAD TO THE SUPPRESSION IF THE UNDESIRABLE BEHAVIOUR.
• WHAT DO BEHAVIOURISTS BELIEVE?

  OUR MIND IS A BLANK SLATE (TABULA RASA)- THIS MEANS WE ARE NOT BORN WITH IN-BUILT MENTAL CONTENT AND THAT INTERNAL EVENTS SUCH AS THINKING AND EMOTIONS DO NOT DRIVE OUT BEHAVIOUR.
• WHAT DOES TABULA RASA MEAN?

  OUR BEHAVIOUR IS LEARNED FROM INTERACTIONS FROM THE ENVIRONMENT AND WE DO NOT THINK ABOUT OUR BEHAVIOUR BUT WE REACT PASSIVELY.
• WHY IS THE TABULA RASA ASSUMPTION DESCRIBED ENVIRONMENTAL DETERMINIST?

  AS IT HOLDS THE NURTURE SIDE OF THE NATURE NURTURE DEBATE AND THAT THE ENVIRONMENT HAS THE GREATEST INFLUENCE ON OUR BEHAVIOUR RATHER THAT INNATE AND BIOLOGY.
• WHAT IS THE EXAMPLE OF TABULA RASA IN PSYCHOLOGY?

  CRIMINAL BEHAVIOUR.
• HOW DO CHILDREN LEARN BEHAVIOUR?

  OBSERVATION AND IMITATION (BANDURA)
• HOW CAN THIS BE APPLIED TO CRIMINAL BEHAVIOUR?

  IF A CHILD GROWS UP IN A CRIMINAL ENVIRONMENT, THEY ARE MORE LIKELY TO IMITATE IT IN THE FUTURE (OBSERVATIONAL LEARNING)
• WHAT CAN CRIMINAL BEHAVIOUR ALSO BE LEARNED BY?

  VICARIOUS REINFORCEMENT- IF A CHILD SEES A PEER COMMIT A CRIME AND THEY GET REWARDED, THEY ARE LIKELY TO IMITATE THAT BEHAVIOUR TO RECEIVE THE SAME REWARD.
• WHAT DOES OPERANT CONDITIONING ALSO HVE TO DO WITH CRIMINALITY?

  AVOIDMENT OF PRISON
• HOW DOES THE TABULA RASA ASSUMPTION LINK TO AVERSION THERAPY?

  THROUGH ATTEMPTING TO HELP PEOPLE UNLEARN PREVIOUSLY LEARNT BEHAVIOUR.
• WHY SO? (TR- AT)

  BEHAVIOURAL THERAPIES ARE BASED ON THE NOTION THAT MOST FORMS OF MENTAL ILLNESS OCCUR THROUGH MALADAPTIVE OR FAULTY LEARNING. THEREFORE, A PERSON CAN RELEARN HOW TO BEHAVE IN A MORE FUNCTIONAL, HEALTHY WAY (BEHAVIOURAL MODIFICATION)
• WHAT DO BEHAVIOURISTS ALSO BELIEVE?

  THE LAWS OF LEARNING ARE THE SAME FOR HUMANS AND NON- ANIMALS.
• HOW CAN WE MAKE GENERALISATIONS FROM ANIMALS TO HUMAN BEHAVIOUR?

  BY ANALYSING THEM IN LABORATORY ENVIRONMENTS
• WHERE IS THIS EVIDENCED AND WHAT HAS IT BEEN APPLIED TO?

  PAVLOV’S RESEARCH ON THE CONDITIONING OF DOGS TO SALIVATE TO A BELL RINGING HAS APPLIED TO UNDERSTANDING HUMAN PHOBIAS.
• WHAT’S ANOTHER EXAMPLE AND WHAT WAS ITS EFFECT?

  SKINNER’S RESEARCH ON RATS DEMONSTRATED THE EFFECTS OF POSITIVE AND NEGATIVE REINFORCEMENT WHICH HAVE BEEN APPLIED TO EDUCATION.
• WHAT IS THE EXAMPLE OF HUMANS AND ANIMALS LEARN THE SAME WAY?

  AVERSION THERAPY
• WHY IS THIS THE EXAMPLE OF HUMANS AND ANIMALS LEARN THE SAME WAY?

  RESEARCH FINDINGS CONDUCTED ON ANIMALS LIKE PAVLOV (CLASSICAL CONDITIONING) AND SKINNER (OPERANT CONDITIONING) HAVE BEEN APPLIED TO CREATE EFFECTIVE TREATMENTS FOR UNDESIRABLE BEHAVIOURS SUCH AS ADDICTIONS.
• What is the main goal of aversion therapy?

  To create a negative association with undesirable behavior
• What happens to clients during aversion therapy?

  They are presented with an unpleasant stimulus while engaging in undesirable behavior
• How does classical conditioning play a role in aversion therapy?

  It creates a stimulus-response association between the behavior and the unpleasant stimulus
• What is maintained through operant conditioning in aversion therapy?

  The association between the unpleasant stimulus and the undesirable behavior
• What type of conditioning is primarily used to maintain the learned association in aversion therapy?

  Operant conditioning
• What is the consequence that clients aim to avoid in aversion therapy?

  Feeling ill from the unpleasant stimulus
• How do the principles of conditioning relate to pursuing abstinence?

  They help clients avoid undesirable behaviors through learned associations