Assumptions

• 3 assumptions

  1. Humans are born like a blank slate
  2. Behaviour learnt through conditioning
  3. Humans and animals learn in similar ways
• Humans are born like a blank slate

  • Behaviourists believe that all our behaviour is learnt from interactions with our environments; our behaviour responds passively to environmental stimuli
  • In support of nurture over nature as it believes that social + environmental factors have most significance on our behaviour
  • Behaviour is determined by the environment we grew up in = ENVIRONMENTAL DETERMINISM
• Humans are born like a blank slate - bullying

  • Environmental factors heavily influence behaviour = environmental determinism
  • Bandura's theory suggesting that individuals learn to engage in bullying behaviours by gradually detaching from their moral standards through cognitive strategies
  • Therefore, the nurturing environment + early experiences play a significant role in shaping individuals' behaviours, including those related to bullying
• Humans are born like a blank slate 2

  • Early rewards/punishments provided by our environment pre-determine our reactions:
  • e.g = your late to school + get a 1 hour detention (R/P), your new job starts at 9am (scenario), be on time (Later reaction)
• Behaviour is learnt through conditioning

  Two types:

  1. Classical
  2. Operant
• BLTC - Classical

  • new behaviours are learned through association
  • Ivan Pavlov described the process from his salivation in dogs

  
• BLTC - Operant

  • New behaviours are learnt through reinforcement
  • This increases the chance that the behaviour will occur again - positive + negative
  • Skinner demonstrated that an animal can learn to behave in ways due to being rewarded with food (positively reinforced)
• Behaviour learnt through conditioning - ASD

  • These principles are seen in PECS to change behaviors in individuals with ASD
  • PECS focuses on improving communication skills by using pictures instead of spoken words. It involves finding preferred items as rewards for communication attempts & teaching individuals to exchange picture cards for desired items/activities
  • This reinforcement-based approach helps individuals with ASD start communication independently by reinforcing desired behaviours through positive reinforcement.
• Humans and animals learn in similar ways

  • The laws of learning are the same for both humans + non-humans
  • Enables to study animal learning in a laboratory + make generalisations about human behaviour
• Humans and animals learn in similar ways 2

  • Pavlov developed idea of classical conditioning
  • He showed how dogs could be conditioned to salivate at the sound of the bell, applying the principles to humans
• Humans and animals learn in similar ways 3

  • Skinner developed the idea of operant conditioning and how it was developed in laboratory with animals
  • They are often applied to help shape human behaviour
  • He showed that an animal can learn to behave due to being rewarded with food
• Humans and animals learn in similar ways 4


  Token economy system:

  • Desirable behaviours are reinforced with tokens that can be exchanged for rewards such as sweets
• H+ALISW - Bullying behaviours

  • Golden, Heshmati et al. (2016) discovered a brain circuit that makes male mice want to bully others. It seems to make bullying feel rewarding for them
  • This study shows like in Pavlov's experiments, animals can learn behaviors like bullying
  • This suggests that learning principles also apply to understanding human behavior, including bullying