Behaviourist Approach

• The blank slate- we are born with no pre-existing behaviour, personality or emotions, we learn everything from the environment. Our behaviour is the product of nurture. Example- boys and girls are born with no major differences in behaviour, but they learn to be different.
• Classical conditioning- started by Ivan Pavlov in 1902. It begins with any stimulus which naturally produces a response (food) and then associates that response with a second stimulus (bell). Pavlov used the natural response to food of salivation to condition dogs to salivate when they heard the bell.
• Operant conditioning- started by Skinner in the 1930s who believed that consequences were crucial in shaping and maintaining behaviour. It is how animals actively operate on the environment to bring about consequences. Skinner put rats in a box and found that they would learn to press a lever to get food.
• Humans and animals learn in similar ways- if we study animal learning in a controlled, artificial laboratory experiment we can generalise these findings to understand human learning. The award system rewards good behaviour and encourages constant behaviour.
• Relationships- behaviour through conditioning can be linked to the formation of relationships as rational exchange could create a strong relationship. It helps the people in the relationship see if its the right person for them.
• Systematic Desensitisation- there is functional analysis which is when they draw a hierarchy of fear. Then relaxation training when the client is trained relaxation tips. Graduated exposure where the client is exposed to the feared stimulus in small increments. The therapy tends to last 6-8 sessions but severe phobias need longer.
• Conditioning and the therapy- our actions are acquired through the process of conditioning, the aim is to replace the fear response with a relaxation response. It links to SD as it leverages the principles of classical conditioning to modify fear responses.
• Advantages- its very effective(75% of people improved after SD), its been proven to be successful when the phobia is learnt (capafons et al 1998 found clients showed less physiological sings of fear).
• Disadvantages- some phobias are more general in nature making it less effective, some fears are genetically programmed into our species which makes it harder to treat. SD might not work as fear is only a symptom rather than the underlying cause.
• Ethical issues(advantages)- it is non-invasive and doesnt involve medication, it respects autonomy, tailored to the specific needs of patients and can lead to long-term relief from phobias.
• Ethical issues(disadvantages)- can evoke emotional distress, might not be appropriate for certain menta health conditions and the effectiveness relies on the ethical conduct of the therapist.
• Method- the study used a controlled observation, it takes place in an artificial environment. Such techniques allow the researcher to observe behavioural responses and also contains key features in the environment (temperature and noise).
• Sample- a nine month old boy, Little Albert was used, his response was recorded with a motion camera. He went through emotional tests to test his emotional responses to certain objects.
• What they did- established a conditioned emotional response, tested the conditioned emotional response, generalisation, changing the environment and the effect of time.
• Findings- Albert fell when the bar was struck, he didn't reach for the rat, when the rat was showed he cried and crawled away, in a different environment his reactions were less extreme and his reaction to furry objects weren't as extreme but he avoided them.
• Conclusions- phobias are learnt through experiences, the persistence of conditioned responses are only found in people who aren't as strong-willed. Watson & Rayner concluded that thumb sucking was a techniques that limited fear.
• Method- a controlled environment and extraneous variables were used. Watson & Rayner measured Alberts behaviour before conditioning. During the experiment there was a controlled stimulus which showed Alberts fearful behaviour was exclusively to furry objects.
• Reliability- a camera was used to record the experiment so that the findings could be confirmed. Other researchers can review the findings and could potentially follow the procedures to replicate the experiment.
• Sample- the sample size is low which lowers the external validity. The results may not generalise beyond the sample and its difficult to make any generalisations to the wider population.
• Validity- internal is the extent to which the IV can be said to have had a casual effect on the DV. External is the extent the results generalise to different situations. Ecological relates to the setting and environment of the study.
• Ethical issues- a strength is Watson & Rayner believed What Albert had experienced was normal and didn't cause Albert harm. A weakness is Albert was exposed to even more potential psychological harm, reducing his fear response.
• Social implications- a strength is that vulnerable children may benefit from operant conditioning, by rewarding "socially acceptable" behaviours. A weakness is that conditioning techniques in education can have a negative effect on children.
• Strengths- it is a scientific approach, using controlled artificial conditions. The approach has led to many positive applications, showing both classical and operant conditioning.
• Weaknesses- it ignored the role of nature in behaviour, it assumes all behaviour is influenced by the environment/experiences. It is also deterministic, behaviour is determined by previous learning and ignores free will.