Behaviourist Approach

• What is the behaviourist approach?

  A learning theory where we learn behaviour through classical and operant conditioning.
• What is an Unconditioned Stimulus (UCS)

  a stimulus that has the ability to produce a response before conditioning begins.
• Unconditioned Response (UCR)


  the response produced by the UCS.
• conditioned stimulus (CS)


  an initially neutral stimulus (NS) that comes to produce a new response because it is associated with the US.
• Conditioned Response (CR):


  the response produced by the CS.
• What was Pavlovs original reaserch?

  Pavlov studied salivation in dogs in a lab, by

  inserting a tube that collected saliva into their

  jaw. Pavlov presented the dog with the NS of a

  bell- no response. Food (UCS) produced salivation (UCR)
• What were Pavlov's findings?

  Pavlov paired the presentation of the NS (bell)

  and UCS (food) over and over until the presentation of the bell alone (now the CS) produced the CR of salivation in the dog The dog had learned via classical conditioning/association that the bell means food is coming.
• What did skinner research

  Rats in a skinner box (highly controlled lab setting)
• What did skinner do with positive reinforcement

  a starved rat was introduced into the box. When the lever was pressed by the rat a small pellet of food was dropped onto a tray. The rat soon learned that when he pressed the lever he would receive some food. In this experiment the lever pressing

  behaviour is reinforced by food.
• What did skinner do with negative reinforcment

  Rat was given an electric shock through the

  floor of skinner box. As the rat moved about the box it would accidentally knock the lever. Immediately the electric current would be switched off. The rats quickly learned to go straight to the

  lever after being put in the box. The consequence of escaping the electric current ensured that they would repeat the action again and again.
• Whiat did skinner do with puncishment

  The rat in Skinner's box that had its heat turned off when it pressed the lever would be receiving a punishment, and would learn to avoid the lever.
• What impact does positive reinforcement have?

  Improves behaviour as the person recieves a reward when a certain behaviour is performed.
• What impact does negative reinforcement have?

  Increases good behaviour as they are avoiding something unpleasant.
• What impact does punishment have on behaviour


  Decreases bad behaviour as you are being punished for bad behaviour.
• Explain the scientific approach of behaviourism?

  Pavlov, Skinner and Watson used objective, replicable, empirical methods based in a lab

  which moved Psychology forward from

  Wundt's (failed) attempts at establishing Psychology as a science.
• What is the real life application of behaviourism?

  Behavioural treatments have been used incredibly successfully in a number of different ways.

  Systematic Desensitisation has the highest

  international success rate in the treatment of

  phobias and uses the principles of classical

  conditioning.
• What is enviromental reductionism?

  The behaviourist view of human behaviour is

  oversimplified- assuming a simple stimulus-response mechanism (in the form of conditioning) is causing all behaviour.
• What is enviromental determinism

  this approach also assumes that you have no free will. Behaviourists assume you are completely at

  the mercy of your environment- your behaviour is entirely determined by these mechanisms (classical and operant conditioning) which is disputed by many psychologists
• Why does the behaviourist approach not explain all behaviours?

  The diathesis stress model is the idea that I may be born with a biological predisposition that makes me more or less vulnerable to a certain behaviour (a

  gene, perhaps) However my ENVIRONMENT dictates whether or not this behaviour is brought out.