Behaviorism

• what does behaviour have to be to be studies?

  observable
• what does tabula rasa mean?

  a blank slate. Our experience within our environment becomes the behaviours in our mind.
• what do behaviorists believe behaviour is a result of?

  all behaviour no matter how complex is a result of a response to stimulus.
• why do behaviourists believe people have no free will?

  because what a person learns from their environment determines all their behaviours.
• who can behaviourist research be carried out on?

  humans and animals as they believe there is very little difference between the learning that takes place in humans and that in other animals.
• why do behaviourists see psychology as a science?

  they seek to provide support for theories with empirical data obtained through careful and controlled observation and measurement of behaviour.
• what are the two behavioural processes?

  classical conditioning ( association) and operant conditioning. (reinforcement)
• who researched into classical conditioning?

  Pavlov
• what is classical conditioning?


  learning through association. Moulding someone or something to a certain way of behaving or thinking.
• what is an unconditioned stimulus?

  stimulus that leads to an automatic response.
• what is an unconditioned response?


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

  a stimulus that elicits no response before conditioning.
• what is a neutral response?

  no response
• what is a conditioned stimulus?

  neutral cue or event that produces an involuntary response after repeatedly being paired with an unconditioned stimulus.
• what is a conditioned response?

  a learned response to a conditioned stimulus which was previously neutral.
• what is temporal contiguity?


  that the two stimuli need to be paired closely in time for conditioning to occur.
• what did Pavlov use to study classical conitioning?

  saliva from dogs
• what is operant conditioning?


  a type of learning in which behavior is strengthened if followed by a reinforcer or diminished if followed by a punisher
• what is positive reinforcement?

  behaviour is rewarded so it is more likely to happen again.
• what is negative reinforcement?


  behaviour is rewarded by removing a negative consequence, making it more likely to happen again.
• what is punishment?


  punishes a certain behaviour, making it less likely it will happen again.
• what are strengths of the behaviourist approach?

  - scientific based on carefully controlled and replicable research increasing validity and credibility.

  - operant conditioning can be used in 'token economies' and

  -classical conditioning can be used to treat phobias as they can learn association of relaxation rather than fear. Both of these show real life application to improve wellbeing
• what are weaknesses of the behaviourist approach?

  - it is a mechanistic view and so people are seen as passively responding to the environment with no emotion, which reduces it application and understanding.

  - It believes we have no free will, that all are behaviours are due to environmental stimuli, ignoring conscious decision making processes in behavour.

  - Most of the research was on animals so not generalisable to humans.

  - Animals may have been highly stressed in lab condition so behaviour observed is not 'normal' reducing validity.
• what is the learning theory explanation?

  infants have no innate tendency to form attachments. they learn attachments because of food.
• who proposed the learning theory as an explanation for attachment?

  Dollard and Miller (1950)
• what two types of conditioning were used to explain attachment?

  classical conditioning and operant conditioning.
• how can classical conditioning explain infant attachment?

  - the infant will find pleasure (UR) to being fed (US)

  - the mother providing the food (NS) will become associated with the pleasure, triggering a conditioned response whether the food is present or not. This forms an attachment.
• How can operant conditioning explain infant attachment?

  explained as a two way process.

  - baby shows distress when needing comfort, and gets a reward of being fed (positive reinforcement) to the crying, so this behaviour is likely to be repeated.

  - the mother will comfort their child to remove the unpleasant crying (negative reinforcement) so the mother is more likely to continue responding by feeding the baby.
• what does Dollard and Miller's saying of 'cupboard love' mean?

  children learn to love whoever feeds them.
• what research shows cupboard love is invalid?

  Harlow's monkeys- preferred cloth mother regardless of being fed by it.

  Schaffer and Emerson - found fewer than half of infants primarily bonded with the individual who typically fed them.
• why could Dollard and Miller's classical conditioning be invalid?

  they have got the unconditioned stimulus wrong- it is not the feeding, but the physical contact and comfort which is important.
• How does sensitive responsiveness show Dollard and Miller are invalid?

  quality of attachment is related to quality of interaction, such as Isabella's research into interactional synchrony.