2. Behaviourist

• Assumptions

  • Studies behaviour that can be observed and measured
  • Not concerned with mental processes
  • Reject introspection as it is too vague
  • Reliance on lab studies to maintain control
  • Believe all behaviour is learned
  • Classical and operant conditioning
• Classical conditioning - Pavlov

  • Learning through association
  • Showed how dogs could be conditioned to salivate to the sound of a bell if repeatedly presented at the same time of being given food
  • Gradually the dogs learned to associate the sound of the bell (stimulus) with food
  • Pavlov was able to show how a neutral stimulus, in this case a bell, can elicit a new learned response through association
  • This is known as classical conditioning
• Diagram of classical conditioning

  • Before - UCS of food -> UCR of salivation
  • NS of bell -> No conditioned response
  • During - NS of bell + UCS of food -> UCR of salivation
  • After - CS of bell -> CR of salivation
• Operant conditioning - Skinner

  • Suggested learning is an active process where humans and animals operate on their environment
  • Behaviour is shaped by consequences
  • Positive reinforcement - receiving a reward when a certain behaviour is performed
  • Negative reinforcement - occurs when an individual avoids something unpleasant and the outcome is positive
  • Punishment - unpleasant consequence of behaviour
  • Positive and negative reinforcement increases the likelihood that behaviour will be repeated. Punishment decreases this
• AO3 - Strength of well controlled research

  • Focus on the measurement of observable behaviour in highly controlled lab settings
  • Breaking down behaviour into basic stimulus-response units extraneous variables can be removed allowing cause and effect relationships to be established
  • Skinners research on rats being an example of this (operant conditioning)
  • Scientific credibility
• AO3 Counterpoint - Limitation of being oversimplified

  • Learning process is reductionist
  • Reducing behaviour to simple components means behaviourists may have ignored an important influence on learning - human thought
  • Other approaches such as social learning and cognitive have drawn attention to mental processes involved in learning
  • Suggests learning is more complex that initially suggested, mental processes are essential
  • More holistic approach needed
• AO3 - Strength of real world application

  • Principles applied to real world behaviour and problems
  • Operant conditioning is the basis of token economy systems that are used in prisons and psychiatric wards
  • Rewarding appropriate behaviour with tokens that can be exchanged for privileges (positive reinforcement)
  • Punishment acts as a consequence eg. solitary confinement
  • Real world value
• AO3 - Limitation of environmental determinism

  • Sees all behaviour as conditioned by past conditioning experiences
  • Skinner suggested that everything we do is the sum total of our reinforcement history. When something happens we believe we made the choice to do it but according to Skinner, our past conditioning history determined the outcome
  • Ignores the influence of free will on behaviour
  • Does not consider a holistic stance and ignores the influence of conscious decision making processes on behaviour