APPROACHES - BEHAVIOURIST APPROACH

• assumptions 

  -everyone is born a blank slate  -all behaviours are learnt through our experiences and environment  -all species think/process in the same way  -all behaviours should be studied scientifically 
• nature or nurture side of debate? 

  nurture. 
• classical conditioning 

  learning through association. 

  classical conditioning equation 

  before C: unconditioned stimulus -> unconditioned response  neutral stimulus -> no response  during C: unconditioned + neutral stimuli -> unconditioned response  after C: conditioned stimulus -> conditioned response  (the neutral stimulus becomes the conditioned stimulus) 
• Pavlov - study 

  How do we learn through association? He started by giving dogs food, when he did this they salivated. He then added the neutral stimulus of a bell. Overtime the dogs salivated when they heard the bell - this is because they thought food was coming. They started to associate the bell with food. 
• operant conditioning 

  learning through consequences. 

  types of consequences 

  reinforcement and punishment. 

  reinforcement 

  increases the likelihood of a behaviour being repeated.  -positive reinforcement = giving something to increase behaviour.  -negative reinforcement = taking something away to increase behaviour. 

  punishment 

  decreases the likelihood of a behaviour being repeated.  -positive punishment = giving something to decrease behaviour.  -negative punishment = taking something away to decrease behaviour. 
• Skinner - study 

  How does behaviour change because of consequences (learning through consequences)? He put animals in a box, if they pressed the lever (carried out the desired behaviour) they would be given food, if they did not press the lever they would be shocked. The animals changed their behaviour so they would get the food; they learnt the desired behaviour. Consequences change our behaviour. 
• Strength(s):  -real world application: the behaviourist approach can be applied to dog training. This approach explains how behaviours are learnt and how they can change.  
• Weakness(es): -reductionist: this approach does not include factors like our biology. It only looks at how our behaviours are affected by our experiences, not our genes.  -low generalisability: the research which supports this approach took place on animals. The findings of Pavlov's and Skinner's research can be applied to animal behaviour but not human behaviour. Humans are more complex than animals.