Behaviourist approach

• Assumptions

  -Interested in studying behaviour that can be observed and measured

  -not concerned with mental processes of the mind

  -maintain control and objectivity within research- lab studies

  -all behaviour is learned, describe a baby’s mind as a ‘blank slate’ and is written by experience

  -classical and operant conditioning
• Classical conditioning- Pavlov

  • Pavlov= showed how dogs could be conditioned to salivate to the sound a bell if the sound was repeatedly presented at the same time as the food. Gradually dogs learned to associate the sound of a bell with the food and would produce the salivation response when they heard the bell.
• Classical conditioning

  = learning by association

  • occurs when two stimuli are repeatedly paired together- an unconditioned stimulus and a new neutral stimulus.
  • the neutral stimulus eventually produces the same response that was first produced by the unconditioned stimulus alone
• Operant conditioning

  = form of learning in which behaviour is shaped and maintained by its consequences

  • includes reinforcement and punishment
• Operant conditioning- Skinner 


  Positive reinforcement= receiving a reward when a certain behaviour is performed

  negative reinforcement= avoid something unpleasant, the outcome is a positive experience

  punishment= unpleasant consequence of behaviour

  • positive and negative reinforcement increase the likelihood that behaviour will be repeated and punishment decreases the likelihood the behaviour will be repeated
• Classical conditioning

  Pavlov

  
• Evaluation- well controlled research

  = behaviourists focused on the measurement of observable behaviour within highly controlled lab settings.

  • by breaking down behaviour into basic stimulus response units all other extraneous variables were removed, allowing cause and effect relationships to be established
  • behaviourist experiments have scientific credibility
• Evaluation- counterpoint

  = oversimplified the learning process.

  • by reducing behaviour to such simple components behaviourists may have ignored an important influence on learning
  • other approaches like social learning theory and cognitive approach have draw attention to mental processes involved in learning
  • suggests learning is more complex than observable behaviour alone
• Evaluation- real world application

  -eg operant conditioning is the basis of token economy systems that have been used successfully in institutions (prisons, psychiatric wards)

  • work by rewarding appropriate behaviour with tokens that can be exchanged for privileges.
  • increases the value of the behaviourist approach because it has widespread application
• Evaluation- environmental determinism

  Limitation= sees all behaviour as conditioned by past conditioning experience

  • skinner= our past conditioning history determined the outcome
  • ignores any possible influence that free will may have on behaviour
• Ethical issues

  Although Skinner box allowed them to maintain a high degree of control

  • animals were housed in harsh and cramped conditions and deliberately kept below their natural weight so they were always hungry