Behaviourism

• Assumptions

  • The mind is a blank state at birth and all behaviour is learned from experience

  
  

  • The study of the mind should focus on external behaviour, not internal thought processes, as behaviour is the only thing that can be objectively measured and observed.

  
  

  • The same processes governing human behaviour also govern animal behaviour so animal experiments can yield valid conclusions about human behaviour
• Pavlov (1927)-dogs classical conditioning


  - before UCS==>UCR, during NS + UCS==>UCR, after CS==>CR. Behaviours are learned through subconscious association
• Skinner operant conditioning

  Skinner put rats individually in cages.

  
  

  In one variation, the rats could press a response lever that caused food to come out the food dispenser.

  
  

  In another variation, the floor was an electrified grid and pressing the response lever turned it off.
• positive reinforcement


  doing something that gets a positive consequence. This increases the likelihood the behaviour will be repeated
• Negative reinforcement


  doing something that avoids a negative consequence. This increases the likelihood the behaviour will be repeated
• Punishment


  Negative consequences for behaviour. This decreases the likelihood that the behaviour will be repeated
• AO3-Scientific

  behaviourism focuses on what is observable, measurable and repeatable which lends credibility to the study of psychology as a science
• AO3-Practical applications

  behaviourism has several useful psychological applications e.g the behaviourist treatment of phobias such as systematic desensitisation and flooding is highly effective
• AO3-ignores internal factors

  By focusing only on environmental inputs (stimulus) and behavioural outputs (responses), behaviourism neglects the mental events in the middle such as thoughts, reflections, and emotions. This makes it difficult for behaviourism to explain behaviour such as memory, which happen internally and so cannot be observed.
• AO3-animal studies

  Humans are very different, both physically and cognitively to animals such as dogs and rats. As such, the conclusions drawn from studies on animals (Pavlov and Skinner) may not be valid when applied to human psychology.