Behaviourist Approach

• what is the behaviourists approach?(AO1)

  a learning approach suggesting that all children are born as 'tabulae rasae' (blank slates) and learning through their interactions with the environment
• what does the behaviourist approach suggest about how behaviour is learnt ; through what?(AO1)

  classical and operant conditioning
• what doe behaviourists such as Watson and Skinner believe about learning?(AO1)

  only interested in studying behaviour that can be observed and measured and was not concerned about investigating mental processes of the mind
• why did early behaviourist reject introspection?(A01)

  believed that the concept was too vague and difficult to formulate general laws which reduced the scientific credibility behind psychology as a science
• how did behaviourists follow Darwin? (AO1)

  believed that basic processes that govern behaviour in all species were the same hence why animals replaced humans in behviourist experimental research
• what is classical conditioning?

  a type of learning that occurs through associations
• what was Ivan Pavlov able to show from his research?

  how a neutral stimulus can come to elicit a new learned response making it a conditioned stimulus through association
• 1. Before conditioning, the unconditioned stimulus (food) = an unconditioned response (salivation)
  2. During conditioning, the unconditioned stimulus was repeatedly paired with a neutral stimulus (a bell) = same unconditioned response of salivation
  3. An association was made between the unconditioned stimulus and the neutral stimulus
  4. After conditioning, the neutral stimulus became the conditioned stimulus = conditioned response of salivation
• What is extinction?

  occurs when the conditioned stimulus is no longer paired with the unconditioned stimulus, so the conditioned response becomes extinct/disappears
• what is spontaneous recovery?

  occurs when the individual carries out the conditioned response some time after extinction has occurred
• what is operant conditioning?

  A type of learning where behaviour is acquired and maintained based on its consequences
• what does reinforcement increase?

  likelihood of the observed behaviour being repeated
• what does punishment decrease?

  decreases the likelihood of undesirable behaviour being repeated
• what is positive reinforcement?

  occurs when we carry out a certain behaviour to receive a reward

  • e.g reward for answering question correctly
• what is negative reinforcement?

  occurs when we carry out a behaviour to avoid negative consequences

  • e.g completing hw to avoid detention
• Skinner box : AO2

  • Positive reinforcement = rats pressed down on a lever to receive food as a reward, subsequently learnt to repeat this action to increase their rewards
  • Negative reinforcement = rat learnt to press down on the lever to avoid the unpleasant consequence of an electric shock (punishment)
• Little Albert : AO2
• Strength :

  P - based on well-controlled research

  E - Skinner able to ddemonstrate how reinforcement influenced animal's behaviour as the rat pressed lever to either received reward (positive) or avoid punishment (negative)

  E - Cause and effect relationships were able to be established as strictly-controlled conditions reduce the effects extraneous variables = increasing the reliability of the findings (easily replicable)

  L - the behaviourist approach increases the scientific credibility of psychology
• Strength:

  P - principles of conditioning has been applied to real-world situations

  E - token economies have been used as a way of dealing with offending behaviour: inmates who carry out socially-desirable behaviour (cleaning room) receive tokens (secondary reinforcers) which can be traded for privileges (primary reinforcers)

  E - evidence support for idea of operant conditioning which increased the likelihood of preferable behaviour in society which lacked it

  L - behaviourist principles has an increase in value as it has widespread application
• Limitation:

  P - sees all behaviour as the product of past reinforcement / conditioning contingencies

  E - Skinner suggests that our behaviour is determined by the sum total of out reinforcement history which determines the outcome of our behaviour

  E - ignores possible influence that free will (Skinner suggested himself free will is an illusion)may have on our behaviour

  L - may be a limited explanation for human behaviour as it ignores conscious decision making processes on behaviour
• Limitation:

  P - questioned ethics due to use of animals in experimental research

  E - Skinner's box caused considerable physical harm to the rats as they were deliberately kept hungry and below their natural weight in harsh cramped conditions

  E - breaches BPS ethical guidelines of protection from harm

  L - much behaviourist research, at least by modern standards, would be viewed as unethical