Learning approach: behaviourism

• What is the behaviourist approach?

  Way of explaining behaviour in terms of what is observable and in terms of learning
• What is classical conditioning?

  Learning by association. Two stimuli repeatedly paired together. Neutral stimulus eventually produces same response that was first produced by unlearned stimulus alone
• What is operant conditioning?

  Form of learning in which behaviour is shaped and maintained by its consequences
• What is reinforcement?

  Consequences of behaviour that increases likelihood of behaviour being repeated
• Behaviourist approach

  • Interested in studying observable and measurable behaviour
  • Not interested in mental processes
• Lab experiments

  • Behaviourists relied on this
  • Maintain control and objectivity
• Darwin

  • Behaviourists suggested basic learning is same in all species
  • Animals replace humans in studies
• Pavlov's dogs

  • Learned to associate bell with food
  • Produced salivation response every time sound heard
• Pavlov's findings

  • Neutral stimulus produces a conditioned response
  • Through association
• Conditioning

  • Unconditioned stimulus -> unconditioned response
  • Neutral stimulus -> no conditioned response
  • Unconditioned + neutral stimulus -> unconditioned response
  • Conditioned stimulus -> conditioned response
• Skinner's operant conditioning

  • Learning is an active process
  • Humans and animals operate on environment
• Positive reinforcement

  • Reward given for behaviour
  • Increases repetition
• Negative reinforcement

  • Avoiding something unpleasant
  • Increases repetition
• Punishment

  • Unpleasant consequence of behaviour
  • Decreases repetition
• Scientific credibility (evaluation)

  Behaviorism influenced the development of psychology as a science. Focused on measurement of observable behaviour within controlled lab settings. Emphasised the importance of scientific processes like objectivity and replication. Behaviourism was able to bring methods of natural science into psychology, making it more scientifically credible
• Real world application (evaluation)

  Conditioning principles are applied to a wide range of real-world behaviours. Operant conditioning is the basis of token economy systems used in psychiatric hospitals. These reward appropriate behaviour with tokens which can be exchanged for privileges. This is an example of positive reinforcement which can be advantageous for clients who don’t want to do talking therapies
• Mechanistic view of behaviour (evaluation)

  Behaviourists have a mechanistic view of behaviour, seeing animals as passive and machine-like. Other approaches such as social learning theory emphasise the importance of mental events during learning. Processes suggest that people play an active role in their learning. Learning theory might apply less to human than animal behaviour.
• Environmental determinism (evaluation)

  Behaviourist approach sees behaviour as determined by past experiences that have been conditioned. Skinner suggested everything we do is the sum of our reinforcement history. Something happens, we impose a sense of having made the decision but our past conditioning determines the outcomes. Ignores any possible influence of free will on our behaviour.