Behaviourist Approach

• Three Assumptions

  Humans born like a blank slate

  Humans and animals learn in similar ways

  Behaviour learnt through conditioning
• Humans are born like a blank slate

  Behaviour is learnt through interactions with the environment

  The associations we make early on in life and the early rewards/punishments provided by our environment pre-determine our later reactions to other people and situations
• What is behaviour determined by (blank slate)

  The environment we grew up in
• Blank slate human example

  Criminal
• Humans and animals learn in similar ways

  Laws of learning are the same

  Can study animal learning in a lab and make generalisations about human behaviour
• Humans and animals learn in similar ways human example

  Chimpanzees can be taught sign language - positively reinforcing
• What is operant conditioning

  A method of learning that uses rewards and punishment to modify behaviour

  Rewards = repeated

  Punished = rarely occur again
• What are the types of reinforcement

  Positive reinforcement

  Negative reinforcement
• Behaviour learnt through conditioning human example

  Speeding ticket - negative reinforcement
• What is counterconditioning in systematic desensitisation?

  Learning relaxation techniques

  acquiring a new stimulus response link

  Moving from responding to a stimulus with fear to relaxation

  Client is taught a new association that runs counter to the original
• How many sessions is systematic desensitisation?

  6 to 8 sessions
• What is systematic desensitisation?

  Based mainly on classical condition and principles and the idea of a stimulus response association
• What is vitro desensitisation?

  Therapist ask the patient to imagine the presence of the feared stimulus

  It has been used in recent years
• What is vivo desensitisation?

  Learning to relax in the presence of the object or image that would normally arouse anxiety

  Used in the early days of systematic desensitisation
• What type of desensitisation is more effective?

  Vivo (contact with feared stimulus)
• What is a desensitisation hierarchy?

  Learning proceeding through a series of gradual steps

  Determined at the beginning of therapy

  Therapist and client create hierarchy together

  Hiearchy of feared stimuli from least fearful to most fearful
• Example of desensitisation hierarchy

  Client is taught how to relax muscles

  Therapist and client construct hierarchy

  Gradually working through the hierarchy using positive reinforcement

  When mastered one step move onto next

  Patient eventually masters the feared stimuli
• Research in support of systematic desensitisation

  capafons et al

  clients with a fear of flying showed less physiological signs of fear and reported lower fear levels whilst in a flight simulator following a 12 to 25 week treatment period

  Vitro and vivo both used
• What does NICE claim about systematic desensitisation?

  cost-effective

  Available through NHS

  Accessible for more people

  Increase quality of life
• Side effects of systematic desensitisation

  Risk of phobia getting worse

  Unlikely because the therapist takes their time and can notice when the client is hyperventilating

  Client and therapist work together to face the fear

  Client consent to move on

  Low risk of side-effect
• Compare systematically sensitisation to drug therapy

  Drug therapy can be used in emergencies and is quick reacting

  Systematic desensitisation is time consuming, especially when the behaviour needs to be treated quickly
• How many participants were in Watson and Raynors study?

  One participant

  a normal male infant age 9 months
• What was the methodology of Watson and Raynors study?

  Controlled observation
• Location of Watson and Raynors study

  A well lit dark room

  Little Albert was placed on a mattress that was on top of a table
• How was little Albert’s emotional response to certain objects tested?

  Classical conditioning

  He was confronted suddenly with a white rat rabbit a dog a monkey masks with and without hair

  It was his first time seeing these objects
• How was the conditioned emotional response created?

  With a loud sound made by striking a hammer upon a suspended steel bar

  1 m in length and 2 cm diameter
• What was session one?

  Establishing a conditioned emotional response

  Age 11 months and three days

  White rat was presented to him and the bar was struck behind his head
• Session 2

  Testing the condition emotional response

  Aged 11 months and 10 days

  Showing the rat with no sound, then exposed five times to the joint stimuli
• Session 3

  Generalisation

  Age 11 months and 15 days

  Presented with the rat, wooden blocks, a rabbit, dog, fur coat, cotton wool and Watson’s hair
• Session 4

  Changing the environment

  Are used to 11 months and 20 days

  Taken to well lit lecture room with people present
• Session 5

  The effect of time

  Age 12 months and 21 days

  Final tests involved as Santa Claus mask, fur coat, rat, rabbit, dog, and wooden blocks
• Session one findings

  Jumped and fell forward that loud noise

  Did not cry

  Second time he fell forward again and whimpered
• Session 2 findings

  Reached out carefully for rat

  Withdrew when rat started to nuzzle his hand

  Play happily with blocks

  Joint stimulus - more distressed

  Shown rat again and began to cry and crawl rapidly
• Session 3 findings

  Played happily with blocks

  Immediately reacted with fear when showing the rat

  Response to rabbit with more fear - burst into tears
• Session four findings

  Response to rat, rabbit and dog were less extreme than before

  Condition fear response was stronger

  Distinct learnt response persisted towards furry objects
• Session 5 findings

  Respond to test objects was very different to control objects

  Clearly avoided furry objects and occasionally cried
• Conclusions of Watson and Raynor - the Freudian position

  Started sucking his thumb when scared

  Suggested that Freud may have been wrong in presuming that’s such stimulation is pleasure seeking

  It may be a form of compensation to block fear
• How many joint stimulations were sufficient to create the conditioned emotional response?

  2 in the first week
• How many joints stimulations were given to bring about the complete reaction?

  Seven
• What is the main conclusion of Watson and Raynor

  Demonstrated the ease with which a fear response can be created