evaluating the approach

• 1. strength is that it is successfully applied in the real world
• 1. for example, classical and operant conditioning have both been applied to systematic desensitisation to help people suffering from phobias
• 1. operant conditioning is widely used in education to shape behaviour in schools and prisons. includes rewarding or positive reinforcement for good behaviour and punishments for bad behaviour
• 1. a strength because it means the approach has been beneficial to people in different areas of life
• 2. A strength of the behaviourist approach is that it is scientific
• 2. approach is scientific because Watson aimed to create objective and therefore scientific psychology by studying behavior that could be observed and measured
• 2. For example in Watson & Raynor (1920) feelings and thoughts are operationalized in terms of stimulus and response behaviours
• 2. a strength because it enables us to distinguish beliefs from real facts and enables evidence which shows treatment success
• 3. A limitation of the behaviourist approach is that it only focuses on nurture
• 3. This is because it only looks at environmental influences (conditioning) and doesn’t take into account the influence of nature. e.g. genetics
• 3. it suggests that phobias are created through processes of classical and operant conditioning while Seligman argues some phobias are genetically programmed for survival.
• 3. a weakness because this approach doesn’t take into account that internal factors also influence our behaviour or the interaction between the two
• 4. A limitation of the behaviourist approach is that it is reductionist
• 4. This is because it explains all behaviour as being caused by processes of conditioning
• 4. This means that it ignores lots of other influences on behaviour e.g. genetics, cognitions, unconscious mind etc.
• 4. limitation as the approach may be considered too simplistic and therefore not offer a complete explanation of human behaviour