Behavioural Approach

Question 1

What are the assumptions of the behaviourist approach?

Answer 1

> only study behaviour that can be observed /measured
possible to do in lab experiment
principle of learning same in all species
-we can use animals to study behaviour

Question 2

What is Pavlov’s dog study ?

Answer 2

Before Conditioning
Bell(NS) -> No response
Food(UCS)-> Salivation (UCR)

During Conditioning
Bell(NS)+ Food(UCS) -> Salivation (UCR)

After Conditioning
Bell(CS) ->Salivation (CR)
^Called Salivation Reflex

Question 3

What is the Little Albert study?

Answer 3

Loud band (UCS) -> Fear (UCR)
White rat (NS) -> No response
Loud bang (UCS) + White Rat (NS) -> Fear (UCR)
White rat (CR) -> Fear (CR)
All white fluffy things (CS) -> Fear (CR)

Question 4

What is extinction ?

Answer 4

If CS is presented often without the UCS the CR will begin to fade away.

Question 5

What is spontaneous recovery?

Answer 5

If the UCS and CS are paired again the CR returns immediately.

Question 6

What is generalisation?

Answer 6

Once conditioned we respond to stimuli similar to the CS in the same way.

Question 7

What are the strengths of the behavioural approach?

Answer 7

Real life applications
>therapies have been developed from CC
>systematic desensitisation
>flooding
Scientific
> studies are lab experiments+well controlled +can be replicated >scientific credibility/validates psychology as a science.

Question 8

What are the weaknesses of the behavioural approach?

Answer 8

> suggests we have no free will to choose to respond on a different way>nomothetic theory
nurture theory> disregards biological causes of behaviour >oversimplified

Question 9

What is classical conditioning?

Answer 9

Learning by association
< according to JB Watson conditioning is important in humans and can be responsible for extreme reaction

Question 10

What is operant conditioning?

Answer 10

Learning through trail and error+ pos and neg reinforcement
e.g token economy

Question 11

What is reinforcement?

Answer 11

Consequence of behaviour, increases likelihood that it will occur again.

Question 12

What is reward?

Answer 12

Something pleasant - increases chances of it happening against

Question 13

What is punishment?

Answer 13

Something pleasant

Question 14

What is positive reinforcement ?

Answer 14

Pos consequence of behaviour increases likelihood it will occur again in future.

Question 15

What is negative reinforcement?

Answer 15

Neg consequence of behaviour increase likelihood it will not occur again in future to avoid punishment.

Question 16

What is skinners box study?

Answer 16

Animals in a box, rewarded with food when accidentally presses a lever
Overtime would learn to press lever intentionally to get the food
Showed he could stop this learned behaviour by giving a punishment- electrical shock
Instead of food +rat would stop pressing the lever.

Question 17

What is Thorndike study?

Answer 17

Placed a cat in the puzzle box.
Encouraged to escape to reach scrap of fish placed outside.
He would put a cat into the box+ time how long it took to escape.
Cats experimented with diff ways to escape puzzle box+reach fish.
Eventually they would stumble upon the lever -open the cage.
When it had escaped it was put in again,once more the time it took to escape was noted. In successive trials cat would learn that pressing the lever
-would have favourable consequences +would behaviour- become quick at pressing lever.

Question 18

What is the strength of operant conditioning?

Answer 18

Real life application
OC regularly used to shape behaviour in institutions- Token Economy
Scientific- lab studies+ well controlled-can be replicated to therefore has scientific credibility

Question 19

What are the weakness of operant conditioning?

Answer 19

Doesn’t take into account free will-cannot choose how we respond
Nurture- disregards biological causes of behaviour -assumed tabula rasa other evidence would suggest bio-genes +brain processes