Behaviourist

• The behaviourist perspective assumes that all humans are born a clean slate and that all behaviour is shaped by the the environment and our experiences within it. Behavioural psychologists focus on theories of learning through responses to stimuli:

  • Associations - classical conditioning,
  • Observation and imitation - social learning theory,
  • Rewards and consequences - operant conditioning.
• Social learning theory is the belief that we learn through observations and imitation of a role model. The role model is the stimulus and out imitation of the role model is the response.
• Operant conditioning is the belief that we learn through the use of rewards and punishment. Positive rewards and reinforcement teach children the desired behaviour should be repeated, as they associate this with the positive feelings of the reward. The reward is the stimulus and the positive behaviour is the response.
• Bandura links to the behaviourist perspective as he illustrates how children learn and absorb information from their environment in order to build up their "blank slate" and behave in the same way as their role models.
• Chaney links to the behaviourist perspective as he illustrates how children learn through the use of rewards and punishment from the environment in order to build up their "blank slate" of behaviour.