Behaviourist

• What does the behaviorist approach assume about behavior?

  All behavior is due to environmental influences
• What does the behaviorist approach focus on?

  Observable and measurable behavior
• What does the behaviorist approach reject?

  Introspection
• What methods does the behaviorist approach use?

  Controlled and objective observation methods
• What does the behaviorist approach believe about learning across species?

  Learning is the same in all species
• Who is classical conditioning associated with?

  Ivan Pavlov
• What is classical conditioning?

  Learning through association
• How does classical conditioning work?

  UCS paired with NS produces UCR
• What happens after repeated pairings in classical conditioning?

  NS becomes CS that elicits CR
• What is operant conditioning?

  Learning through consequences
• Who developed operant conditioning?

  B.F. Skinner
• What shapes behavior in operant conditioning?

  Reinforcement or punishment
• What is behavior shaping in operant conditioning?

  Reinforcing behaviors resembling target behavior
• How does reinforcement become more selective in behavior shaping?

  Only the target behavior is reinforced
• What is positive reinforcement?

  Receiving a reward for desired behavior
• What is negative reinforcement?

  Performing behavior to avoid negative consequences
• What is punishment in operant conditioning?

  Unpleasant consequence follows undesired behavior
• What is a strength of the behaviorist approach?

  Its real-life application
• How is operant conditioning applied in real life?

  Used in token economy programs
• How is classical conditioning applied in real life?

  Used in treatment of phobias
• Why are behaviorist therapies considered beneficial?

  They improve quality of life with less effort
• What does this suggest about therapies from behaviorism?

  They are often more effective and accessible
• What is a strength of the behaviorist approach?

  It is supported by nomothetic methods.
• Why are controlled lab settings important in behaviorist research?

  They emphasize scientific processes with standardized procedures.
• How do standardized procedures benefit behaviorist research?

  They increase the reliability of experiments.
• What does the behaviorist approach suggest about human behavior?

  It suggests higher validity in explaining behavior.
• What is a limitation of the behaviorist approach related to free will?

  It suffers from environmental determinism.
• What does environmental determinism mean in behaviorism?

  Behavior is shaped entirely by external factors.
• What is an alternative explanation for human behavior that challenges behaviorism?

  People may act for internal rewards.
• What does the limitation of environmental determinism suggest about behaviorism?

  It cannot fully explain human behavior.
• What is another limitation of the behaviorist approach related to research methods?

  It relies heavily on animal studies.
• Why are animal studies in behaviorism considered unethical?

  Animals were subjected to stress and harm.
• Why might findings from animal studies not apply to humans?

  Humans are more complex than animals.
• What does the limitation of animal studies suggest about generalizing behaviorist findings?

  Behaviorist findings may not apply to humans.
• A strength is that it has real life application. Operant conditioning is used within token economy programmes to reward good behaviour. Classical conditioning can be applied to treating phobias and counter conditioning. This improves the quality of human life. They also require less effort from the patient compared to other treatments and they are also useful for patients who lack insight. This suggests that therapies developed from behaviorism are better than other approaches.
• A strength is that research to support it uses nomothetic methods. Pavlov's dogs and Skinner's box were done in a highly controlled lab settings. This emphasizes the importance of scientific processes with standardized procedures such as only feeding the dogs when the bell rings which means it can be replicated easier. This suggests it has higher validity and shows that it can explain how human behavior occurs.
• A limitation is that the behaviorist approach suffers from environmental determinism. It does not take into account that we have free will. There could be other explanations of behavior which are better. For example, we may behave a certain way because we want the internal reward to do it, not because of external consequences. This suggests that behaviourism cannot explain why human behaviour occurs by itself and there must be some element of free will.
• A limitation is that the behaviorist approach uses animal studies. Pavlov's dogs and Skinner's rats. These are unethical as they were shocked and exposed to stressful conditions. So we cannot assume humans would act the same as animals, as humans are more complex and will not receive such harsh consequences. This suggests that behaviourism cannot explain human behaviour as it may not be generalisable to humans.