Behaviourism

• What are the key assumptions of the behaviourist approach?

  - They believe that we are born as a "Blank slate", or a "tubula rosa"

  - They believe that much of our behaviour is learned through experiences such as association and reinforcement

  - They focus on observable events and reject things like introspection.
• Classical conditioning

  - All animals are born with natural reflexes, where a response is produced automatically when exposed to a stimulus.

  - When this stimulus is predictably and continuously associated with another stimulus, the same response is produced by the new stimulus; the response is then labelled as a conditioned response (learnt response.)
• When was the first test into classical conditioning and who was it by?

  This process was first tested in 1927, in a lab by a Russian psychologist called Ivan Pavlov
• What was the key thing that Pavlov noticed, which began the experiment? (CC)

  He noted that dogs would not just salivate when food was presented but also in response to other events that coincided with the presentation of food, such as seeing the person who fed them
• How did Pavlov test his theory? (CC)

  He introduced a new stimulus, a bell sound- whenever the dogs were fed, to see if eventually they would salivate to the noise of it
• Neutral stimulus (CC)


  A stimulus that doesn't create an automatic response
• Unconditioned stimulus (CC)


  A stimulus which automatically causes a response, e.g. food being presented to a dog causes salivation
• Unconditioned response (CC)


  A natural response to an unconditioned stimulus, one that is an automatic reflex.
• Conditioned stimulus (CC)


  what the neutral stimulus becomes when it is associated with an unconditioned stimulus. A stimulus to which a response is learnt, e.g. the dog salivating at the sound of a [bell] because it is learnt to be associated with food.
• conditioned response (CC)

  A response which is learnt, e.g. the dogs learnt that the bell meant food so they had the same response to it as they would the food.
• Generalisation (CC)

  the tendency for a stimulus that is SIMILAR to the CS eliciting the same response
• Discrimination (CC)

  Having a response to some stimuli but not to others (especially if they are dissimilar to the DS) e.g. the dogs being able to tell a difference between the high pitched bell and a low pitched one, and only having a response to one.
• Extinction (CC)


  When the CS no longer elicits the CR (due to numerous presentations of the conditioned stimulus without the unconditioned stimulus- e.g. the bell without food.)
• Spontaneous recovery (CC)


  The sudden reappearance of the conditioned response after a period of apparent extinction.
• Operant Conditioning


  - Animals produce behaviours spontaneously by trial and error

  - The CONSEQUENCES of that behaviour determines whether the animal REPEATS it or not.

  - If a behaviour has a pleasant consequence, the likelihood of behaviour being repeated is increased.

  - If the consequence is unpleasant then it reduces the likelihood of the behaviour being repeated
• REINFORCEMENT (OC)


  A pleasant consequence (generally strengthens behaviour)
• Positive reinforcement (OC)


  Providing something pleasant e.g. praise being given to a child
• Negative reinforcement (OC)


  Taking away something unpleasant e.g. removing a loud alarm
• PUNISHMENT (OC)


  An unpleasant consequence (generally weakens behaviour)
• Negative punishment (OC)


  Providing something unpleasant e.g. hitting a child
• Positive punishment (OC)


  Taking away something pleasant e.g. taking a child's games console away from them
• Who developed the theory of operant conditioning?

  B.F. Skinner
• What did B.F. Skinner design? (OC)

  He designed a age called a "Skinner Box" to investigate the process of operant conditioning in RATS.
• How does the "Skinner Box" work? (OC)

  The rat moves around the cage and when it accidentally presses a lever, food is delivered into the cage- which results in the rat repeating the behaviour.

  In another experiment, the rat is subjected to an unpleasant stimulus in the form of 'an electric shock. If the rat presses a lever, this would stop the electric shock and so reduces the rat repeating the behaviour.
• An example of positive reinforcement in the skinner box (OC)


  The food being delivered into the cage when the lever was pressed
• An example of negative reinforcement in the skinner box (OC)


  The electric shock being removed when the rat pressed the lever
• The Behaviourist approach has practical applications

  This is a strength of the approach because it means that it can be used to improve the lives of people in the real world as classical conditioning has led to the treatments of things like ANXIETY based disorders such as phobias. Assumed that the fear response to something a=has been LEARNED and therefore can be unlearned. SYSTEMATIC DESENSITISATION involves extinguishing a conditioned response to a fear by training the sufferer to relax while he phobic object/ thing is presented. Relaxation gradually replaces the fear response as they both cannot be produced at the same time.
• The behaviourist approach is scientific


  STRENGTH

  
  

  The approach relies heavily on the use of lab experiments.

  Skinner's work has high levels of CONTROL. The skinner box has allowed manipulation of consequences (IV) and accurate measurement of the rats behaviour following these consequences (DV). This allowed a clear establishment of 'cause and effect' to be made between consequences and future behaviour. It has high levels of FALSIFIABLILITY, and the hypothesis that "reinforcement increases the likelihood of repetition" can be easily operationalised and tested using empirical methods (data can be collected.)

  
  

  This means that the BEHAVIOURAL APPROACH is capable of making valid CAUSE AND EFFECT statements about the relationship between consequences and behavioural response.
• There are limitations of animal research studies

  WEAKNESS

  
  

  Critics argue that animal based studies (rats and dogs, in this case), tell us little about human behaviour as we are more physiologically advanced and unlike animals we have FREEWILL, so our behaviour is not based entirely on reinforcement or associations.

  
  

  This is known as EXTRAPOLATION.

  
  

  The behavioural approach may not provide a valid explanation of how behaviours are learnt in human beings.
• It is REDUCTIONIST


  WEAKNESS

  
  

  Behaviourists reduce complex human behaviour down to a fundamental level of explanation by saying that all behaviours are caused by simple reflex responses to stimuli that have been shaped by conditioning. Critics argue that we cannot fully understand a complex behaviour without taking into account biology or cognitions.

  Seligman argues that behaviourists ignore evolution e.g. not all animals will be conditioned to respond to the same stimuli because different species have different survival needs.- biological preparedness are inate reactions we are born with e.g. humans are conditioned to fear snakes (by giving shocks while looking at snakes, but the same response it not produced by looking at a house or at flowers.

  
  

  This means that the behavioural approach simplifies behaviours by assuming it is all learnt and therefore is accused of environmental reductionism.
• A limitation is behaviourism is a form of environmental determinism


  The approach sees all behaviour as determined by past experiences that have been conditioned and ignores any influence that free will may have on behaviour. Skinner suggested free will was an illusion. When something happens we impose a sense of having made a decision but our past conditioning determined the outcome. This is an extreme position and ignores the influence of conscious decision-making processes on behaviour (as suggested by the cognitive approach)