Behaviourist assumptions

• Tabula rasa


  Blank slate - the belief that humans are born with a mind that is a blank slate
• Behaviourists believe that when we are born our mind is a 'tabula rasa', which is the Latin term for blank slate
• Traditional behaviourist approach


  • Internal events such as thinking and emotion do not drive our behaviour
  • All of our behaviour is learned from interactions with the environment
  • We do not think about our behaviour, we respond passively to environmental stimuli
• Nature vs nurture


  The view that social and environmental factors have the greatest influence on behaviour, over and above innate and biological factors
• Traditional behaviourist theory lies at the extreme end of the nature-nurture debate, ignoring factors such as genetics, physiology and evolution in explaining behaviour
• Environmental determinism


  The view that our behaviour is determined by the environment that we grew up in
• The associations we make early on in life and the early rewards/punishments provided by our environment pre-determine (heavily influence) our later reactions to other people and situations
• Classical conditioning


  New behaviours are learned through association
• Classical conditioning


  1. Before conditioning: Unconditioned stimulus (UCS) and unconditioned response (UCR)

  2. During conditioning: Neutral stimulus (NS) presented alongside UCS, association occurs

  3. After conditioning: Conditioned stimulus (CS) produces conditioned response (CR)
• Operant conditioning


  New behaviours are learned through reinforcement
• Operant conditioning


  1. Reinforcer (positive or negative) increases the chance the behaviour will occur again

  2. Punishment weakens behaviour and decreases the likelihood it will reoccur
• The laws of learning are the same for both humans and non-human animals
• Studying animal learning in a laboratory

  Allows making generalisations about human behaviour
• Application of classical conditioning principles

  • Systematic desensitisation to help overcome phobias
• Application of operant conditioning principles


  • Token economy systems in education and prisons to shape behaviour
• The behaviourists believe that the environment is responsible for shaping our behaviour.
• Behaviourism assumes that we are born as blank slates, with no innate behaviours or tendencies.
• It also suggests that all learning occurs through conditioning processes such as classical and operant conditioning.
• Learning occurs through experience and reinforcement from the environment.
• Classical conditioning involves pairing two stimuli together until one becomes associated with the other.
• However, some critics argue that this approach ignores other factors like genetics and cognition, limiting its effectiveness.
• Operant conditioning involves reinforcing desired behaviours and punishing undesired ones.
• There are two types of conditioning - classical (Pavlovian) and operant (Skinner).
• Classical conditioning involves pairing an unconditioned stimulus (UCS) with a neutral stimulus (NS), resulting in a conditioned response (CR).
• Pavlov's dogs were classically conditioned to associate food with a bell ringing.