Learning approach: behaviourism

• What does the behaviourist approach focus on?

  Observable behaviour only
• Why was introspection rejected by behaviourists?

  Its concepts were vague and difficult to measure
• What type of studies do behaviourists prefer?

  Controlled lab studies
• What do behaviourists suggest about learning processes?

  They are similar across all species
• What is classical conditioning?

  Learning through association
• What was the unconditioned stimulus (UCS) in Pavlov's research?

  Food
• What does NS stand for in classical conditioning?

  Neutral stimulus
• What is the conditioned response (CR) in Pavlov's experiment?

  Salivation to the bell
• How did Pavlov demonstrate classical conditioning?

  By conditioning dogs to salivate at a bell
• What is operant conditioning?

  Learning through consequences of behaviour
• Who conducted research on operant conditioning?

  B.F. Skinner
• What happens when a rat presses a lever in Skinner's experiment?

  It receives a food pellet
• What is positive reinforcement?

  Receiving a reward for behaviour
• What is negative reinforcement?

  Avoiding something unpleasant through behaviour
• What is punishment in the context of behaviourism?

  An unpleasant consequence of behaviour
• What are the types of consequences of behaviour in operant conditioning?

  1. Positive reinforcement
  2. Negative reinforcement
  3. Punishment
• What are the strengths of the behaviourist approach?

  • Real-life applications (e.g., token economies)
  • Effective treatments for patients lacking insight
• What are the limitations of the behaviourist approach?

  • Ignores free will and internal influences
  • Ethical concerns with animal research
  • Validity of findings may be questioned
• What is a token economy system?

  A system rewarding behaviour with tokens
• Why might behaviourism be considered deterministic?

  It sees behaviour as determined by past experiences
• What did Skinner suggest about free will?

  It is an illusion
• What ethical concerns arise from animal research in behaviourism?

  Animals may be exposed to harmful conditions
• What is a potential issue with the validity of findings in behaviourism?

  Findings may not generalize to humans
• one imitation of animal research and practical issues

  • skinner box, helped maintain control over their reseach in the studies
  • animals were exposed to stressful situations, may have effected their behaviour
  • validity may be questioned as behaviour wasnt 'normal'
• limitation of behaviourism

  • approach sees all behaviou as detemined by past experiences
  • ignores any free will influences- skinner said it was an illusion
  • ignores influence of concious decision making on behaviour
• strength of behaviourism regarding scientific credibility

  • observable behaviour in controlled lab
  • said scientific process are important for replication
  • natural sciences were brought into psychology = more credibility and status