Approaches in psychology

• What is classical conditioning?

  Learning through associations. The association is between a stimulus and response.
• What are the key assumptions in the behaviourist approach?


  Basic processes causing learning are the same in all species, so animal behaviour is directly relevant to human behaviour.

  Only studying observable, quantifiable behaviour (reject vagueness)

  Maintaining control and objectivity in their research (empiricism)
• What is the difference between positive reinforcement and negative reinforcement?

  Positive reinforcement is when a behaviour produces a consequence which is pleasant, therefore making the behaviour likely to be repeated. Whereas negative reinforcement is when a behaviour removes something unpleasant, making th behaviour likely to be repeated.
• What is punishment (operant conditioning)?

  Application of an unpleasant consequence following a behaviour, meaning behaviour is less likely to be repeated.
• What are the positives to the behaviourlist approach?

  Scientific credibility

  Real life applications

  Encouraged animal studies- lead to more controlled experiments with no demand characteristics
• What are the negatives of the behaviourist approach?

  Environmental determinism. This is where all behaviour is seen as controlled by past experiences that have been conditioned.

  Mechanistic view of behaviour. This means humans/animals are seen as passive machine like responders with no freewill and conscious insight to their behaviour.
• Why is the behaviourists mechanistic view of behaviour negative?

  Means humans are seen as passive machines with little to no free will. It ignores humans cognitive processes.

  Rotters locus of control study disproves this idea, as individuals with an internal locus of control are more like to have free will of their behaviour, resisting social influence
• Why is environmental determinism a disadvantage?

  It assumes humans cannot change later in life.

  It ignores other reasonings for behaviours. For example biological reasonings for ADHD rather than just cognitive reasoning