approaches in psychology - behaviourism: the learning approach.

Question 1

What is meant by “behaviourist approach”?

Answer 1

The idea that all behaviours are learned through interaction with the environment.

Question 2

What is meant by “classical conditioning”?

Answer 2

The process by which learning occurs through association which was first demonstrated by Ivan Pavlov.

Question 3

What is meant by “operant conditioning”?

Answer 3

Form of learning in which behaviour is shaped and maintained by its consequences such as positive or negative reinforcement or punishment.

Question 4

What is meant by “reinforcement”?

Answer 4

The action of strengthening or encouraging something.

Question 5

What are the assumptions of the behaviourist approach?

Answer 5

• born as a tabula rasa.
• all behaviour is learned from the environment.
• primarily concerned with observable behavior as opposed to internal events like thinking and emotion.
• John Watson (1913) rejected introspection as it involved concepts which were vague and difficult to measure.
• rely on lab experiments in order to maintain control and objectivity.
• little difference between the learning of animals and humans.
• behaviour is a result of stimulus therefore a response.
• identified two forms of learning.

Question 6

What are the two forms of learning?

Answer 6

• classical conditioning.
• operant conditioning.

Question 7

What is meant by “unconditioned stimulus (UCS)”?

Answer 7

A stimulus which automatically triggers a response.

Question 8

What is meant by “unconditioned response (UCR)”?

Answer 8

An unlearned response that occurs naturally in reaction to the unconditioned stimulus.

Question 9

What is meant by “neutral stimulus (NS)”?

Answer 9

Something that does not produce a specific reaction.

Question 10

What is meant by “conditioned stimulus (CS)”?

Answer 10

A previously neutral stimulus that after becoming associated with the unconditioned stimulus.

Question 11

What is meant by “conditioned response (CR)”?

Answer 11

Learned response to the conditioned stimulus.

Question 12

What is meant by “extinction”?

Answer 12

After a few presentations of the CS without the UCS it loses its ability to produce the CR as it does not become permanently established as a response.

Question 13

What is meant by “spontaneous recovery”?

Answer 13

If the CS and UCS are paired together again the link between them can be made more quickly.
[follows extinction]

Question 14

What is meant by “stimulus generalisation”?

Answer 14

Once an animal has been conditioned they will also respond to other stimuli that are similar to the CS.

Question 15

Who suggested operant conditioning?

Answer 15

Skinner (1953).

Question 16

What did Skinner propose about operant conditioning?

Answer 16

That learning is an active process whereby humans and animals operate on their environment.

Question 17

What is meant by “positive reinforcement”?

Answer 17

Receiving a reward when a behaviour is performed.
[e.g. if Jerome cleans his room he will get a toy]

Question 18

What is meant by “negative reinforcement”?

Answer 18

When something unpleasant is avoided which increases the desired behaviour.
[e.g. fastening your seatbelt to avoid hearing the beep sound]

Question 19

What is meant by “positive punishment”?

Answer 19

Add an undesirable stimulus to decrease a behaviour.
[e.g. giving a student a detention for texting in class]

Question 20

What is meant by “negative punishment”?

Answer 20

Removal of a desired stimulus to decrease a behaviour.
[e.g. Jerome misbehaved so his parents took away his favourite toy]

Question 21

What are the strengths of the behaviourist approach?

Answer 21

• scientific credibility.
• real life application.

Question 22

What are the weaknesses of the behaviourist approach?

Answer 22

• research executed on animals.
• reductionist.

Question 23

What is the evaluation of the behaviourist approach - scientific credibility?

Answer 23

POINT - one strength is the reliance it places upon experimental methods.
EVIDENCE - Skinner’s and Pavlov’s experiments were conducted in laboratory setting using controlled conditions to establish a cause-and-effect relationship between variables.
EXPLANATION - lab conducted experiments ensures data is gathered from observable behaviours with controlled measures and following standardised procedure increasing reliability of findings.
LINK - behaviourism was influential in the development of psychology as a science giving it credibility and status.

Question 24

What is the evaluation point of the behaviourist approach - scientific credibility?

Answer 24

One strength is the reliance it places upon experimental methods.

Question 25

What is the evaluation evidence of the behaviourist approach - scientific credibility?

Answer 25

Skinner’s and Pavlov’s experiments were conducted in laboratory setting using controlled conditions to establish a cause-and-effect relationship between variables.

Question 26

What is the evaluation explanation of the behaviourist approach - scientific credibility?

Answer 26

Lab conducted experiments ensures data is gathered from observable behaviours with controlled measures and following standardised procedure increasing reliability of findings.

Question 27

What is the evaluation link of the behaviourist approach - scientific credibility?

Answer 27

Behaviourism was influential in the development of psychology as a science giving it credibility and status.

Question 28

What is the evaluation of the behaviourist approach - real life applicability?

Answer 28

POINT - one strength is the findings demonstrate real life applicability.
EVIDENCE - principles of operant conditioning, in this case positive reinforcement has helped develop behaviour modification programmes such as token economy which have been successfully used in institutions such as prisons and psychiatric wards.
EXPLANATION - providing prisoners with positive reinforcement can help encourage the development of good behaviours long-term. Classical conditioning has made important contribution to our understanding of mental disorders such as phobias which are thought to be the result of earlier unpleasant learning experience.
LINK - suggests that the principles by behaviorists have significant value in society.

Question 29

What is the evaluation point of the behaviourist approach - real life application?

Answer 29

One strength is the findings demonstrate real life applicability.

Question 30

What is the evaluation evidence of the behaviourist approach - real life application?

Answer 30

Principles of operant conditioning, in this case positive reinforcement has helped develop behaviour modification programmes such as token economy which have been successfully used in institutions such as prisons and psychiatric wards.

Question 31

What is the evaluation explanation of the behaviourist approach - real life application?

Answer 31

Providing prisoners with positive reinforcement can help encourage the development of good behaviours long-term. Classical conditioning has made important contribution to our understanding of mental disorders such as phobias which are thought to be the result of earlier unpleasant learning experience.

Question 32

What is the evaluation link of the behaviourist approach - real life application?

Answer 32

Suggests that the principles by behaviorists have significant value in society.

Question 33

What is the evaluation of the behaviourist approach - research executed on animals?

Answer 33

POINT - one weakness is the research has involved the study of animals rather than humans.
EVIDENCE - Pavlov investigated classical conditioning on dogs and Skinner investigated operant conditioning on rats and pigeons.
EXPLANATION - problematic as critics argue humans are more physically and cognitively complex than animals making it difficult to generalise findings to humans. Tells us little about human behaviour. Animals involved were subject to stressful conditions so ethics are questioned.
LINK - cannot be confident the theories apply to humans.

Question 34

What is the evaluation point of the behaviourist approach - research executed on animals?

Answer 34

One weakness is the research has involved the study of animals rather than humans.

Question 35

What is the evaluation evidence of the behaviourist approach - research executed on animals?

Answer 35

Pavlov investigated classical conditioning on dogs and Skinner investigated operant conditioning on rats and pigeons.

Question 36

What is the evaluation explanation of the behaviourist approach - research executed on animals?

Answer 36

Problematic as critics argue humans are more physically and cognitively complex than animals making it difficult to generalise findings to humans. Tells us little about human behaviour. Animals involved were subject to stressful conditions so ethics are questioned.

Question 37

What is the evaluation link of the behaviourist approach - research executed on animals?

Answer 37

Cannot be confident the theories apply to humans.

Question 38

What is the evaluation of the behaviourist approach - reductionist?

Answer 38

POINT - one weakness is that it is considered to be a reductionist.
EVIDENCE - oversimplifies a complex behaviour such as learning to a simplistic explanation such as being solely due to a ‘stimulus and response’ connection.
EXPLANATION - problematic as it disregards a multitude of factors which can also influence behaviour such as human thought. Other approaches such as SLT and cognitive approach have drawn attention to the role of mental processes involved in learning and their importance.
LINK - suggests that learning is more complex than observable behaviour alone can account for and that private mental processes are also essential.

Question 39

What is the evaluation point of the behaviourist approach - reductionist?

Answer 39

One weakness is that it is considered to be a reductionist.

Question 40

What is the evaluation evidence of the behaviourist approach - reductionist?

Answer 40

Oversimplifies a complex behaviour such as learning to a simplistic explanation such as being solely due to a ‘stimulus and response’ connection.

Question 41

What is the evaluation explanation of the behaviourist approach - reductionist?

Answer 41

Problematic as it disregards a multitude of factors which can also influence behaviour such as human thought. Other approaches such as SLT and cognitive approach have drawn attention to the role of mental processes involved in learning and their importance.

Question 42

What is the evaluation link of the behaviourist approach - reductionist?

Answer 42

Suggests that learning is more complex than observable behaviour alone can account for and that private mental processes are also essential.

Question 43

What is meant by “stimulus”?

Answer 43

Any feature of the environment that affects behaviour.

Question 44

What is an example of a stimulus?

Answer 44

In pavlov’s experiments where food was a stimulus.

Question 45

What is meant by “response”?

Answer 45

The behaviour obtained by the stimulus.

Question 46

What is an example of a response?

Answer 46

In pavlov’s experiments where salvation was a response.

Question 47

What is meant by “punishment”?

Answer 47

Imposing an aversive or painful stimulus.

Question 48

What is an example of punishment?

Answer 48

When skinner’s rats were given electric shocks.

Question 49

“all behaviour is learned from the environment”

Answer 49

• exclude innate or inherited factors.
• behaviour is learnt through classical or operant conditioning.
• born with a blank state of mind.

Question 50

“primarily concerned with observable behavior as opposed to internal events like thinking and emotion”

Answer 50

• rejection of introspection
  ↳ attempts to get inside people’s heads.
• only observable behaviour can be scientifically measured therefore do not study cognitions and emotions.
• not possible to objectively observe people’s thoughts, motives and meanings, let alone their unconscious yearnings and desires.

Question 51

“little difference between the learning of animals and humans”

Answer 51

• no qualitative distinction between human and animal behaviour.
• research can be carried out on animals as well as humans.

Question 52

“behaviour is a result of stimulus therefore a response”

Answer 52

• all behaviour, no matter how complex, can be reduced to a simple stimulus-response association.

Question 53

What experiments support the behaviourist approach?

Answer 53

• the little albert experiment.
• the bobo doll experiment.
• the skinner box.
• the pavlov’s dogs study.

Question 54

Who were the researchers in the little albert experiment?

Answer 54

Watson and rayner in 1920.

Question 55

Who were the researchers in the bobo doll experiment?

Answer 55

Albert bandura in the 1960s.

Question 56

Who were the researchers in the skinner box experiment?

Answer 56

Skinner in 1948.

Question 57

Who were the researchers in the pavlov’s dogs study?

Answer 57

Ivan pavlov in 1897.

Question 58

What happened in the little albert experiment?

Answer 58

1. watson and rayner presented little albert with a white rat and he showed no fear.
   
   2. watson then presented the rat with a loud bang that startled little albert and made him cry.
      
      3. after the continuous association of the white rat and loud noise, little albert was classically conditioned to experience fear at the sight of the rat.
         
         4. albert’s fear generalised to other stimuli that were similar to the rat, including a fur coat, cotton wool and santa masks.

Question 59

What happened in the bobo doll experiment?

Answer 59

1. stage 1 - children were brought to the experimental room and it was set up to play.
   
   2. stage 2 - after 10 mins, children were take one by one to a new room which the child was told was another games room subjecting them to mild aggression arousal.
      
      3. stage 3 - child taken to next room where the child was told it could play with any toys in there both aggressive and nonaggressive toys.

Question 60

What happens in stage 1 of the bobo doll experiment?

Answer 60

• 12 boys and 12 girls watched a male or female model behaving aggressively towards the bobo doll attacking it in a distinctive manner.
• 12 boys and 12 girls were exposed to a non aggressive model who played in a quiet and subdued manner.
• 12 boys and 12 girls were used as a control group and not exposed to any model at all.

> non aggressive condition ignored bobo and assembled tinker toys in a quite, gentle manner.
aggressive condition began by assembling tinker toys but after a minute turned to bobo and was aggressive in a very stylised and distinctive way.

Question 61

What happens in stage 2 of the bobo doll experiment?

Answer 61

1. the child was taken to a room with relatively attractive toys and started to play with them.
   
   2. they were then told that these were the experimenter’s best toys and she had decided to keep them for the other children.

Question 62

What happens in stage 3 of the bobo doll experiment?

Answer 62

• child was kept in the room for 20 mins during which their behaviour was observed by judges through a one way mirror at 5 sec intervals
  ↳ 240 response units for each child.

Question 63

What was the point of stage 1 in the bobo doll experiment?

Answer 63

Tested modelling.

Question 64

What was the point of stage 2 in the bobo doll experiment?

Answer 64

Aggression arousal.

Question 65

What was the point of stage 3 in the bobo doll experiment?

Answer 65

Test for delayed imitation.

Question 66

What were the conditions for the bobo doll experiment?

Answer 66

• 36 boys and 36 girls from stanford university nursery school from ages 3 to 5.
• 3 main conditions
  ↳ aggressive, non aggressive and the control group.
• children in the aggressive and non aggressive condition were further subdivided by sex and the sex of the role model they were exposed to.

Question 67

What happened in the skinner box experiment?

Answer 67

1. there was a box with a lever where it was accidentally pressed by the rats as they moved around resulting in food being dispensed into a container beside the lever.
   
   2. rats learnt that by pressing the lever they would receive food through positive reinforcement.
      
      3. behaviour was strengthened through negative reinforcement as it involves the removal of an unfavourable stimulus considered as a reward to the animal
         ↳ exposed the rat to a distressing electric current causing it to discontinue its behaviour due to the fear of reexperiencing the simulus.
         ➝ ensured the rats would continue to carry out this action.

Question 68

What happened in the pavlov’s dogs study?

Answer 68

1. he inserted a small test tube into the cheek of each dog to measure saliva when the dogs were fed with powder made from meat.
   
   2. he predicted the dogs would salivate in response to the food placed in front of them but notices that they would begin salivating whenever they heard the footsteps of his assistant who brought them food.
      
      3. discovered that any object or event which the dogs learned to associate with food would trigger the same response.

Question 69

What was the aim of the little albert experiment?

Answer 69

To see if emotional responses such as fear could be conditioned as well as phobias.

Question 70

What was the aim of the bobo doll experiment?

Answer 70

• to see whether children will imitate an aggressive role model.
• to see of the children would be more likely to imitate a same sex model.
• to see if boys are more aggressive than girls.

Question 71

What was the aim of the skinner box experiment?

Answer 71

To demonstrate the effectiveness of reinforcement and operant conditioning.

Question 72

What was the aim of the pavlov’s dogs study?

Answer 72

Use the salivary conditioning method to investigate the function of the brain of higher animals in their adaptation to the external environment.

Question 73

Describe the model on conditioning for the little albert experiment.

Answer 73

BEFORE CONDITIONING
neutral stimulus (white rat) ⟶ no fear.
↳ UCS - unconditioned stimulus (steel bar hit with a hammer) ⟶ UCR - unconditioned response (fear).

DURING CONDITIONING
neutral stimulus (white rat) + UCS ⤙ natural reflex ⟶ UCR (fear).

AFTER CONDITIONING
neutral stimulus (white rat) ⤙ conditioned reflex ⟶ UCR (fear).

Question 74

Describe the model on conditioning for the pavlov’s dogs study.

Answer 74

BEFORE CONDITIONING
UCS - unconditioned stimulus (food) ⟶ UCR - unconditioned response (salvation)
↳ bell ⟶ no response.

DURING CONDITIONING
UCS (bell + food) ⟶ UCR (salvation).

AFTER CONDITIONING
CS - conditioned stimulus (bell) ⟶ CR - conditioned response (salvation).

Question 75

What are the strengths of the little albert experiment?

Answer 75

• high reliability
  ↳ possible to replicate the study and check that the results are consistent through the use of standardised procedures allowing high control over all extraneous variables.
• demonstrates the phobias can be learnt through the process of classical conditioning
  ↳ can incorporate this understanding into treatment of this form of behaviour.

Question 76

What are the strengths of the bobo doll experiment?

Answer 76

• replicable
  ↳ use of standardised procedures and instructions were used.
• allows for precise control of variables
  ↳ variables were controlled.
• useful in showing the effects of role models on aggressive behaviour
  ↳ supports the role of watershed and rating certificates on films and video games.

Question 77

What are the strengths of the skinner box experiment?

Answer 77

• explains a wide range of phenomena such as learning language and phobias.
• when a person is rewarded for a behaviour, it is more likely for it to occur again.
• people are more aware of how to control behaviour which has become very important in parenting techniques.
• the environmental determinants of behavior.

Question 78

What are the strengths of the pavlov’s dogs study?

Answer 78

• reliable and replicable
  ↳ use of standardised procedures and carefully documented as well as repeated the study himself with different dogs.
• diverse application
  ↳ led to programmes for changing human behaviour such as aversion therapy which has had some success at curing people with addictions.
• scientifically credible due to controlled settings.

Question 79

What are the weaknesses of the little albert experiment?

Answer 79

• findings cannot be generalised to others lacking population validity
  ↳ study done on one young child where he was reared in a hospital environment from birth and was unusual as he never showed fear or anger towards or by staff.
• lacks ecological validity
  ↳ findings cannot be generalised to other settings outside the lab as method used created an unnatural situation which may not reflect learning in everyday life.
• unethical as it may be considered to break the guidelines protection from harm
  ↳ conditioned to fear numerous white furry stimuli.

Question 80

What are the weaknesses of the bobo doll experiment?

Answer 80

• cannot be generalised
  ↳ study done in nursery settings and only on children therefore different results may come from children who don’t attend nursery or different age groups.
  ➝ took place in USA, culturally biased an other cultures may be different.
• low ecological validity
  ↳ unnatural situation and may be that children were doing what they thought the adults expected of them.
  ➝ don’t know if effects are long lasting.
• unethical as there was an encouragement to behave in undesirable ways
  ↳ witnessed verbal and physically aggressive acts and copied them.
• children who haven’t played with the doll before are five times more likely to imitate the aggressive behaviour than those familiar with it
  ↳ cumberbatch in 1990.

Question 81

What are the weaknesses of the skinner box experiment?

Answer 81

• does not work on everyone.
• person could pretend to stop the behaviour to rewarded.
• ignores cognitive factors.
• once rewarded, could go back to the bad behaviour.
• too much emphasis on environmental determinants.

Question 82

What are the weaknesses of the pavlov’s dogs study?

Answer 82

• not applicable to humans
  ↳ different brains from dogs which is more complicated in thoughts and motives.
• low ecological validity
  ↳ dogs were kept in unusual conditions and were presented with odd stimuli.
• unethical
  ↳ research animals should be treated humanely, not sealed in small rooms, tied in harnesses and subjected to surgery.

Question 83

What were the findings of the bobo doll experiment?

Answer 83

• more aggressive responses from the children in aggressive model condition compared to the other.
• boys more aggressive than girls.
• boys were more aggressive if the model was male than if they were female.
• girls showed more physical aggression if the model was male and more verbal aggression if model was female.

Question 84

What areas can behaviourism be applied to?

Answer 84

• addiction.
• aggression.
• behaviour modification.
• behavioural therapy.
• depression.
• education.
• gender role development.
• moral development.
• phobias.
• psychopathology.
• relationships.

Question 85

Describe the behaviorist model.

Answer 85

[only study observable/external behaviour]

stimulus in the environment ⟶ black box cannot be studied ⟶ response behaviour.