Behaviourist Approach

• Classical learning=learning by association
• By repeatedly pairing two stimuli together, we can produce a new learned response in a person or animal. (Classical conditioning)
• Limitation of the behaviourist approach

  • Much of their research was carried out on animals
  • Skinner used evidence from rats to demonstrate operant conditioning
  • Animals and humans have different genetic makeup, we are arguably more complex
  • Difficult to apply behaviourist conclusions to more complicated animals such as humans. This approach has poor generalisability
• What's an advantage of the behaviourist approach?

  Has real-life applications

  • Operant conditioning can be used in schools to encourage desirable behaviours e.g doing hwk, parents getting a child to act in a desirable way
  • Principles of conditioning have been applied to a wide range of real-world behaviours & problems, research is valid
• What's another advantage of the behaviourist approach?

  Has scientific credibility

  • Behaviourist perspective has emphasised on objective and scientific ways of studying behaviour e.g using lab experiments
  • Advantage as experimenter has higher control over extraneous variables so cause and effect can be established.
• Mediational Processes

  Attention

  Retention

  Reproduction

  Motivation
• Operant Conditioning

  • Proposed by Skinner
  • Learning through the consequences of behaviour

  Positive Reinforcement

  • Strengthens a behaviour (i.e reward, praise)

  Negative Reinforcement

  • Strengthening a behaviour that avoids/ removes a negative outcome

  Punishment

  • Presenting/removing a stimulus to weaken a behaviour
• Learning Approach to SLT

  • We learn through observing and imitating role models - process called modelling
• Vicarious Reinforcement

  Learner sees a model rewarded for their actions so imitates the model in hopes of receiving the same reward
• Direct Reinforcement

  Individual is rewarded for a behaviour, they're more likely to repeat it
• Identification with a role model

  Observer wishes to be like them/sees themselves as similar to the model. This can be due to;

  • Age
  • Gender
  • likeability
  • Power
  • Status
  • Friendliness