AO1

• Operant conditioning was discovered by skinner and is the process of learning through reinforcement and punishment
• Classical conditioning was discovered by pavlov and is the process of learning through association
• Important features to classical conditioning:

  • Timing
  • Extinction
  • Spontaneous recovery
  • Stimulus generalisation
• Classical conditioning pavlov's research:

  • Dog food (UCS) led to salivation (UCR)
  • The bell (NS) first led to no salivation
  • During conditioning the UCS is paired with the NS which producesthe UCR
  • After conditioning the bell becomes the CS which leds to salivation (CR)
• Assumptions:

  • All behaviors are learnt from our environment.
  • Focus on observable behavior (behavior that can be seen).
  • Animals and humans learn in the same ways so behaviorists carry out experiments on animals and extrapolate the results to humans.
  • Psychology should be scientific and the only things that could be objectively measured were the stimulus (input) and response (output), therefore behaviorists use mainly laboratory experiments to achieve this.
  • To behaviourists directly measuring the mind was untestable due to being subject to bias
• Classical conditioning is learning through association and was first demonstrated by Ivan Pavlov
• Pavlov (1927) showed that dogs could be conditioned to salivate at the sound of a bell if that sound was repeatedly presented at the same time that they were given food.
• Pavlov (1927) First the dogs were presented with the food, they salivated. The food was the UCS and salivation was an UCR Then Pavlov sounded the bell (NS) before giving the food. The bell and the food had a temporal association because the two stimuli were experienced close together in time, so an association was formed. After a few pairings the dogs salivated when they heard the bell even when no food was given. The bell had become the CS and salivation had become the CR The dogs had learnt to associate the bell with the food and and salivation was triggered by the sound of the bell.
• Operant conditioning: learning by consequences- Skinner argued that learning is an active process. When humans and animals act on and in their environment consequences follow these behaviors. If the consequences are pleasant they repeat the behavior but if the consequences are unpleasant they do not repeat the behavior
• Positive reinforcement: is receiving a reward.
• Negative reinforcement: occurs when performing an action stops something unpleasant happening. For example in one of Skinner’s experiment a rat had to press a lever to stop receiving an electric shock.
• Punishment: this is an unpleasant consequence. Positive punishment is adding something unpleasant, and negative consequence is removing something pleasant.
• Extinction occurs when a behaviour that was previously reinforced stops being reinforced and so gradually stops happening.
• Primary reinforcers such as food, water and sleep don’t need pairing with another stimulus to be reinforcing

  • Secondary reinforcement is when an idea or action is reinforced by a primary reinforcer (i.e: money can buy food)
• The Skinner Box (1953)- A hungry rat was placed in a cage. Every time he activated the lever a food pellet fell in the food dispenser (positive reinforcement). The rats quickly learnt to go straight to the lever after a few times of being put in the box This suggests that positive reinforcement increases the likelihood of the behavior being repeated.
• The Skinner Box (1953)- A hungry rat was placed in a cage. Every time he activated the lever a food pellet fell in the food dispenser (positive reinforcement). The rats quickly learnt to go straight to the lever after a few times of being put in the box This suggests that positive reinforcement increases the likelihood of the behavior being repeated.