The behaviourist approach

• Behaviourists believe all behaviour is learned. They describe a baby's mind as a 'blank slate' that is written on by experience. Behaviourists are only interested in studying behaviour that can be observed.
• Pavlov's research:


  First demonstrated classical conditioning by conditioning dogs to salivate at the sound of a bell. Gradually Pavlov's dogs learnt to associate the sound of the bell with the food. Pavlov was able to show how a neutral stimulus (the bell) can come to elicit a new learned response (conditioned response) through association.
• Skinner's research:


  Skinner conducted experiments with rats in specially designed cages called Skinner boxes. Every time the rat activated a lever within the box it was rewarded with a food pellet. Skinner also showed how rats could be conditioned to perform the same behaviour to avoid an unpleasant stimulus (an electric shock).
• Operant Conditioning:

  • Positive reinforcement= receiving a reward when a certain behaviour is performed
  • Negative reinforcement= when something unpleasant is avoided, the outcome is a positive experience.
  • Punishment= an unpleasant consequence of behaviour
• Positive and negative reinforcement encourage a behaviour to be repeated and increase the likelihood of it being repeated. Punishment decreases the likelihood of a behaviour being repeated.
• A strength of the behaviourist approach is that it is based on well-controlled research. Behaviourists focused on the measurements of observable behaviour within highly-controlled lab settings. By breaking down behaviour into basic stimulus-response units, all other possible extraneous variables were removed, allowing cause-and-effect relationships to be established. Skinner was able to clearly demonstrate how reinforcement influenced an animal's behaviour. The behaviourist approach has scientific credibility.
• However, a problem with this is that behaviourists may have oversimplified the learning process. They may have ignored the important influence of other factors like human thought. This suggests learning is more complex than observable behaviours alone, internal mental processes are also essential.
• The principles of conditioning have been applied to real-world behaviours and problems. For example, token economy systems in institutions and prisons are based on operant conditioning. These work by rewarding appropriate behaviour with tokens that can be exchanged for privileges. This increases the value of the behaviourist approach.
• One limitation of this approach is that it sees all behaviour as conditioned by past conditioning experiences. This ignores any possible influence that free will may have on behaviour as Skinner said that free will is an illusion and our past conditioning history determines the outcome of every decision. This is an extreme position and ignores the influence of conscious decision-making processes on behaviour.
• Behavioural approach = a way of explaining behaviour in terms of what is observable and in terms of learning
• Classical conditioning = learning by association. Occurs when two stimuli are repeatedly paired together.
• The behaviourist approach is only interested in studying behaviour that can be observed and measured. It is not interested in investigating mental processes of the mind because these were seen as irrelevant.
• Behaviourists identified two important forms of learning: classical conditioning and operant conditioning.
• Following Darwin, behaviourists suggested that the basic processes that govern learning are the same in all species. This meant that in behaviourist research, animals replace humans as experimental subjects.
• Classical conditioning is learning through association and was first demonstrated by Pavlov.
• Pavlov showed how dogs could be conditioned to salivate to the sound of a bell if that sound was repeatedly presented at the same time as they were given food. Gradually, Pavlov's dogs learned to associate the sound of the bell with the food and would produce salivation in response every time they heard the sound.
• Thus, Pavlov was able to show how a neutral stimulus (the bell) can come to elicit a new learned response (conditioned response) through association with the unconditioned stimulus (the food).
• Skinner suggested that learning is an active process whereby humans and animals operate on their environment.
• In operant conditioning behaviour is shaped by consequences.
• Positive reinforcement = receiving a reward when a certain behaviour is performed
• Negative reinforcement = occurs when we avoid something unpleasant, the outcome is a positive experience
• Punishment = an unpleasant consequence of behaviour
• Positive and negative reinforcement increase the likelihood that behaviour will be repeated.
• Punishment decreases the likelihood that behaviour will be repeated.
• Operant conditioning = a form of learning in which behaviour is shaped and maintained by its consequences. Possible consequences of behaviour include reinforcement and punishment.