Approaches

• All behaviors are learned from our environment
• Focus on observable behavior (behavior that can be seen)
• Animals and humans learn in the same ways, so behaviorists carry out experiments on animals and extrapolate the results to humans
• Psychology should be scientific and objective therefore behaviorists use mainly laboratory experiments to achieve this
• Classical conditioning


  Learning through association
• Classical conditioning


  1. Unconditioned stimulus (food)

  2. Unconditioned response (salivation)

  3. Neutral stimulus (bell)

  4. Conditioned stimulus (bell)

  5. Conditioned response (salivation)
• Operant conditioning


  Learning by consequences
• Consequences of behavior


  • Positive reinforcement (receiving a reward)
  • Negative reinforcement (stopping something unpleasant)
  • Punishment (unpleasant consequence)
• Skinner Box experiment


  1. Hungry rat

  2. Lever pressed

  3. Food pellet received (positive reinforcement)

  4. Rat learns to press lever
• Skinner Box experiment (negative reinforcement)

  1. Rat in cage with electrical current

  2. Lever pressed

  3. Electrical current switched off

  4. Rat learns to press lever
• Behaviorism


  • Increased understanding of phobias and attachment
  • Gave rise to therapies like systematic desensitization and token economy
• Behaviorism has experimental support from Pavlov and Watson & Rayner
• Behaviorism introduced scientific methods to psychology
• Behaviorism experiments were done on animals, not humans
• Behaviorism has practical applications like systematic desensitization
• Behaviorism does not explain internal mental events like memory and problem-solving
• Behaviorism does not account for biological factors like neurotransmitters
• Behaviorism sees people as passive in their learning, with little conscious thought
• Behaviorism neglects the influence of free will
• Social Learning Theory


  Learning through observation and imitation of others' behavior
• Mediational processes in Social Learning Theory

  • Attention
  • Retention
  • Motor reproduction
  • Motivation
• Bobo doll study


  1. Children shown aggressive model

  2. Children shown non-aggressive model

  3. Children not shown model

  4. Children exposed to bobo doll and toys
• Bobo doll study showed children imitated aggressive model
• Bandura and Walters (1963) study

  1. Children shown aggressive model with different consequences

  2. Group 1: model praised

  3. Group 2: model punished

  4. Group 3: no consequences
• Bandura and Walters study showed imitation more likely when model positively reinforced
• Social Learning Theory


  • Used to explain media influence on behavior
  • Supported by Bandura's research
• Social Learning Theory does not account for free will and moral values
• Behaviorism is on the nurture side of the nature vs nurture debate
• Social Learning Theory is also on the nurture side of the nature vs nurture debate
• Behaviorism and Social Learning Theory are reductionist approaches
• Behaviorism and Social Learning Theory are nomothetic approaches
• Behaviorism uses highly controlled lab experiments which are scientific
• Cognitive approach focuses on how mental processes affect behavior
• Cognitive psychology uses computer analogies to understand information processing
• Cognitive approach assumes information from senses is processed by the brain to direct behavior
• Schemas


  Mental frameworks of beliefs and expectations developed from experience
• Schemas can lead to distortion of information due to selective interpretation
• Cognitive neuroscience


  Scientific study of the influence of brain structures on mental processes
• Cognitive neuroscience uses brain imaging techniques like fMRI and PET scans
• Schemas help us to interpret incoming information quickly and effectively; this prevents us from being overwhelmed by the vast amount of information we perceive in our environment