Behaviourists

• Believes we are born a blank slate

  Learn our behaviour as a result of our experiences in our environment

  NURTURE explanation
• Assumptions

  • People are products of their environment
  • All complex behaviours have been learned
  • Only observable behaviour should be studied, speculation about entail processes should be eliminated.
  • Learning - and consequently behaviour - under the control of the environment
• Application Pavlov

  Classical conditioning to explain why someone might be scared of spiders

  NS = spider - no initial response

  UCS = being punched in face in front of spider

  UCR = fear

  CS = association with spider and being punched in face

  CR = fear
• Operant Conditioning

  Skinner studied how animals can learn from the consequences of their actions.

  Positive Reinforcement

  Negative Reinforcement

  Punishment
• Trained rats to press a lever using both types of reinforcement.

  Pr to train rat, gives rat pellet of food each time the lever was pressed
• Strengths 


  scientific credibility - influential in psychology becoming a scientific discipline through scientific processes such as replication and objectivity.
• strengths


  concepts of theory used in day to day situations, useful amplifications really emphasise the value of the behaviourist approach in psychology
• STRENGTH


  behaviourists procedures such as systematic desensitisation has proven to be successful in treating phobias
• strength


  neo-behaviourists work undertaken more recently can explain aggression = CBT most used therapy in Britain, after drugs, to help people related to this approach - phobias
• Weaknesses


  too deterministic, indicates that an individual in a particular environment must behave in a specific way.
• weaknesses

  lack of ecological authenticity, lab experiments, where all variables are controlled, experiments are unlike everyday life
• weaknesses 


  reductionist, only focuses on nurture approach, goes against research that shows our behaviour is greatly affected by our behaviour, our behaviour is linked with genes and techniques such as PET/MRI show that the brain works even though no behaviour is conditioned.
• scientific approach -

  behaviourist approach mostly focuses on the experimental design - Skinner's research relied on experimental design using controlled conditions to discover a relationship between variables.

  important because discipline of psychology can be held in higher regard by the wider scientific community and its finding are more likely to be turned into real world applications.
• classical conditioning is only appropriate for some learning

  Seligman ( 1970 ) proposed the concept of preparedness to explain this, animals LEARN THROUGH ASSOCIATION that are significant in terms of their survival yet are unprepared to learn association that are not significant to learn.

  CC may be more appropriate in the learning of specific types of association of which they are in importance to their evolutionary history.
• Application to therapy

  shown in development of flooding and SD as CC is used for treatment of phobias and found that it reduces anxiety using relaxation techniques as a conditioned response ( counter-conditioning )

  important because it shows that by adopting the behaviourist approach to studying psychology we can achieve it's fundamental goals of the amelioration of the human condition.
• criticised for being reductionist

  • by focusing on conditioning as an explanation for all behaviours, it ignores any cognitive influences or biological innate behaviours - phobias are explained by Mowrer as being acquired through conditioning ( a bad experience ) and maintained through operant conditioning ( avoidance ). research shown that certain phobias are easier to acquire than others, showing a potential biological preparedness.
  • important because cognitive influences could impact how the individual acts in the outside environment.
• Assumptions

  1. Believes we are born a blank slate
  2. Our behaviour is learnt as result of our experiences in our environment
  3. People are products of their environment
  4. Only observable behaviour should be studied - speculation about entail processes should be eliminated
  5. Learning and behaviour is under the control of the environment
• Nurture Approach
• Classical Conditioning - Pavlov’s Dogs

  Classical Conditioning is that all behaviour is learned through association. A neutral stimulus must be involved which then turns to a conditioned stimulus through the introduction of association, which then produces a conditioned response, this may be being in fear or shaking etc, the case study of Little Albert suggests that his association with a white rat was loud sounds, he then associated white animals to be a product of fear and expected their to be a loud noise when he was in the presence of them.
• Operant Conditioning - Skinner’s Rats

  • studied how animals can learn from the consequences of their actions

  Positive/Negative Reinforcement

  Punishment

  Trained rats to press a lever using both types of reinforcement

  Positive reinforcement to train rat and gave rat pellet of food each time lever was pressed

  Started to shock rat when lever pressed, negative reinforcement to stop pulling lever to avoid the uncomfortable feelings of being shocked.
• Scientific approach to researching psychology 

  Focuses mostly on experimental design

  Skinner’s research relied on experimental design suing controlled conditions to discover a relationship between variables

  Important because it means the discipline of psychology can be held in higher esteem by the wider scientific community and its findings are more likely to be turned into real world applications 

  Operant conditioning is functioning in prisons through token economies and studies show that it is effective and prisoners are well behaved from this system
• Classical conditioning only appropriate for some learning

  Seligman ( 1970 ) proposed the concept of preparedness to explain this

  For example, animals learn through association that is significant in terms of their survival yet are unprepared to learn association that are not significant to learn

  Classical conditioning may be more appropriate in the learning of specific types of association which are linked to thier evolutionary history
• Similar to phobias, humans are least likely to be afraid of modern objects like a toaster becuase it wasn’t around during the time of our ancestors, it would explain why we are afraid of fire, fears are innate rather than learned.
• Application to therapy

  Shown in development of flooding and systematic desensitisation

  Classical conditioning is used for treatment of phobias

  Found that it reduces anxiety using relaxation techniques as a conditonied response to a phobia etc.

  Important becuase it shows to by adopting the behaviourist’s approach to therapies and overall psychology, it achieves a further understanding of us as human beings and how we react to certain stimuli
• Reductionism

  Focuses solely on conditioning, so ignores cognitive influences or biological innate behaviours 

  Phobias are explained by Mowrer as being acquired through classical conditioning - a bad experience and maintained through operant conditioning - the avoidance

  Research has shown that certain phobias are actually easier to acquire than others, showing a potential biological preparedness.
• Cognitive influences cold impact how the individual acts in an environment, acquiring a phobia as a result of a cognitive mindset or could acquire a phobia because of biological preparedness like fire. - reductionism