Behaviourist approach

• What are key assumptions of the behaviourist approach?

  • only studies behaviour that can be directly observed - disregards mental processes
  • behaviour is learned from the environment
  • people are born as 'blank slates'
• What is meant by classical conditioning?

  learning through association
• What is positive reinforcement?

  rewarding a behaviour so it increases the likelihood of the desired behaviour being repeated
• What is negative reinforcement?

  Negative reinforcement is the removal of an unpleasant stimulus to increase the likelihood of a desired behaviour.
• What is meant by punishment?

  an unpleasant consequence of behaviour, decreasing the likelihood of a behaviour being repeated