Behaviourist Approach

• what does objective mean?

  w/out bias.
• what does tabula rasa mean?

  blank slate.
• what are the two learning approaches?

  behaviourist and SLT.
• what is reliability?

  results are scientific, w/out bias. test produces consistent results.
• what are basic assumptions of the behaviourist approach?

  1. most behaviour is learnt from experience (except reflexes, e.g. blinking).
  2. we are born as a blank slate 'tabula rasa'. = theory that individuals are born w/out built in mental content and therefore all knowledge comes from experience or perception.
  3. internal mental processes can't be studied scientifically, so the 'mind' is irrelevant, e.g. wouldn't rate introspection as a scientific approach.
  4. (experimented on) animals and humans learn in the same way. through associations and reinforcement.
• what are research methods used by the behaviourist approach?

  lab exps:

  • highly controlled, easy to replicate, more reliable.
  • easy to manipulate variables.
  • objective/scientific method.
  • cause & effect relationships can be established.

  animal studies:

  • fewer ethical issues.
  • belief that animals and humans learn in the same way.
• what is classical conditioning?

  learning process focused on involuntary behaviours, using associations w/neutral stimuli to evoke a specific response.
• what is an unconditioned response?

  an unlearned response that occurs naturally in reaction to the conditioned stimulus.
• what is a conditioned stimulus?

  a stimulus that can eventually trigger a conditioned response.
• what is a conditioned response?

  a behaviour/response that doesn't come naturally, but must be learned by the individual by pairing a neutral stimulus w/a potent one.
• what is a generalisation?

  tendency to respond in the same way to diff but similar stimuli.
• what is extinction?

  behavioural phenomenon, occurs when a conditioned response gradually fades over time, due to lack of reinforcement.

  • key concept in both classical & operant conditioning, and is used to understand how behaviours can diminish over time.
• stimulus generalisations in classical conditioning:

  • it's when someone responds to a stimulus that is similar to the original conditioned stimulus (little albert). this can happen when someone learns to associate a natural stimulus w/a stimulus that automatically provides a reaction.
  • if you break an association and then form it again in classical conditioning, the conditioned response will reappear in a process called spontaneous recovery.
• what was the aim of pavolv's dog study?

  to investigate how salvitation could be triggered by stimuli other than food (leading to the discovery of classical conditioning).

  • aimed to understand how associations between a neutral stimulus and an unconditioned stimulus could create a conditioned response.
• what was the method of pavlov's dog study?

  • p's = dogs.
  • procedure:

  1. surgically implanted devices to measure dog's salivation.
  2. initially, presented food (UCS) to dogs, which naturally caused them to salivate (UCR).
  3. then paired neutral stimulus (bell) w/the presentation of food repeatedly.
  4. after several pairings, dogs began to salivate upon hearing the bell alone, even when no food was presented.
  5. the bell then became a conditioned stimulus (CS) and the salivation became a conditioned response (CR).
• what were the results of pavolv's dog study?

  • dogs learned to associate the sound of the bell w/food and would salivate even when food was not present.
  • demonstrated that a neutral stimulus could become a conditioned stimulus through repeated pairing w/an unconditioned stimulus.
• what were the conclusions of pavlov's dog study?

  concluded that animals (including humans) could be conditioned to respond in a specific way to a previously neutral stimulus.

  • this process is known as classical conditioning.
  • work showed how behaviour could be learned through association.
• strengths of pavlov's dog study?

  • exp was well controlled- replicable, allows for a clear cause-and-effect relationship between stimuli and responses to be established.
  • laid the foundation for behaviourism and had sig. influence in understanding learning and behaviour modification.
• weaknesses of pavlov's dog study?

  • conducted on animals, concerns about the generalisation of findings to humans.
  • ethical concerns arise from the invasive procedures on the dogs, although this was not heavily scrutinised at the time.
• what was the aim of skinner's rat study (1938)- operant conditioning?

  to investigate how behaviour is influenced by reinforcement and punishment, focusing on how consequences shape voluntary actions in animals (and by extension, humans).

  • skinner wanted to demonstrate the principles of operant conditioning.
• what was the method of skinner's rat study?

  • p's = rats
  • procedure:

  1. placed rats in specially designed box (skinner box).
  2. box had a lever that, when pressed, would dispense food (positive reinforcement). in some variations, pressing the lever stopped an unpleasant electric shock (negative reinforcement).
  3. rats learned to press level more frequently when their actions led to rewards (food) or removal of something unplesant (shock).
  4. also experimented w/punishment (e.g. administering a shock when the lever was pressed) to see how it affected behaviour.
• what were the results of skinner's rat study?

  • rats quickly learned to press the lever when their actions were reinforced w/food or relief from shocks.
  • positive reinforcement increased the likelihood of the behaviour being repeated.
  • punishment generally decreased the likelihood of the behaviour occuring but also led to negative emotional reactions, e.g. fear.
• what were the conclusions of skinner's rat study?

  • concluded that behaviour is shaped and maintained by its consequences. this process is called operant conditioning, involves learning through reinforcement (both positive & negative) and punishment.
  • proposed that most voluntary behaviours in animals and humans are learned through this process.
• strengths of skinner's rat study?

  • study showed a clear cause-and-effect relationship between reinforcement/punishment and behaviour, contributing significantly to the understanding of learning.
  • operant conditioning has practical applications in education, parenting and behaviour modification.
• weaknesses of skinner's rat study?

  • work w/animals raises concerns about generalising findings to humans. human behaviour is more complex and influenced by cognition, emotion & social factors, which skinner downplayed.
  • ethical concerns about treatment of animals- esp use of electric shocks as punishment.
• what is the classical conditioning equation?

  before conditioning: UCS -> UCR

  during conditioning: UCS + NS -> UCR

  after conditioning: CS -> CR

  
  

  UCS = unconditioned stimulus

  UCR = unconditioned response

  NS = neutral stimulus

  CS = conditioned stimulus

  CR = conditioned response
• what was the classical conditioning equation is pavlov's dog study?

  draw it NOW:

  
• what are some examples of token economies?

  stickers, reward time, pocket money, golden points, certificates.
• what did edward thorndike put forward?

  • a "law of effect", which states that:

  'any behaviour that is followed by pleasant consequences is likely to be repeated, any behaviour followed by unpleasant consequences is likely to be stopped'.
• positive reinforcement (operant conditioning):

  a desirable outcome is presented after a behaviour.
• negative reinforcement (operant conditioning):

  also known as avoidance learning.

  • a behaviour is performed to avoid a negative behaviour.
• what does reinforcement do?

  STRENGTHEN a behaviour, and make it MORE likely to be repeated.
• what is punishment (generally)?

  performing a behaviour leads to a negative consequence.
• what is positive punishment (operant conditioning)?

  the presentation of a negative outcome in order to weaken the behaviour.
• what is negative punishment (operant conditioning)?

  a positive event/outcome is removed after a behaviour occurs.
• what does punishment do?

  WEAKEN a behaviour, make it LESS likely to be repeated.
• what is systematic desensitisation?

  main behaviourist therapy to treat phobias, and is designed to slowly reduce the anxiety caused by the phobia using classical conditioning.

  • exposure therapy that gradually exposes someone to the source of their discomfort to slowly reduce phobia.
• what is a token economy?

  one in which positive behaviours are rewarded and negative behaviours are discouraged.

  • uses a system for reinforcing target behaviours, tokens are given for positive behaviour (reward). can be exchanged for something of desire.
• what is aversion therapy?

  psychotherapy designed to cause a paitent to reduce or avoid an undesirable behaviour pattern by conditioning person to associate the behaviour w/an undesirable stimulus.

  • paitent exposed to a stimulus while at the same time being subjected to a source of discomfort.
• what is flooding?

  an intensive type of exposure therapy in which you must face your fear at a maximum level of intensity for an extended amount of time.

  • continuous exposure to a phobia a person might have at a maximum level of intensity.