Approaches: The behaviourist approach Flashcards
What is the behaviourist approach?
Belief that human behaviour can be explained in terms of conditioning without the need to consider thoughts or feelings.
What’s classical conditioning?
learning through association
What’s operant conditioning?
learning through reinforcement
What are the key assumptions of the behaviourist approach?
Believe that we are born as a ‘blank slate’.
They believe that much of our behaviour is learned through experiences such as association and reinforcement.
They focus on observable events and reject things like introspection.
What’s an example of classical conditioning?
Pavlov’s dogs
Little Albert
Who conducted Pavlov’s dogs?
Pavlov (1927)
What is the process of Classical conditioning in Pavlov’s dogs?
unconditioned stimulus it eventually takes on the properties if this stimulus and produces a conditioned response.
Before conditioning
UCS (food) produces the UCR (salivation)
NS (bell) doesn’t result in the UCR (salivation)
During conditioning
UCS (food) is paired the NS (bell) and results in the UCR (salivation)
After conditioning
The NS has become the CS (bell) and results in the CR (salivation)
What are the 2 AO3 points for classical conditioning?
+Little Albert
+Applied to therapy
(+AO3) How does Little Albert act as supporting evidence?
Aim: To investigate the conditioning of a phobia
Procedure: At the beginning of the study Little Albert showed no response to white furry objects: a white rat, a white rabbit and white cotton wool —> they were the neutral stimulus. To create an unconditioned response, they struck a steel bar behind Albert’s head to startle him, which resulted in the UCR (crying). When Albert reached for the white rat the researchers hit the steel bar. They repeated this 3 times and then did the same a week later. After this, they showed Albert the rat and other furry white objects and began to cry.
Findings: The NS has become the CS (rat) and results in the CR (fear)
Conclusion: Research from Pavlov’s Dogs is also seen in humans.
(+AO3) How has classical conditioning been applied to therapy?
Systematic desensitisation is based off classical conditioning it works by removing the learned anxious response (CR) that’s associated with the feared object/ situation (CS).
It’s then replaced with another CR e.g relaxation so the patient is no longer anxious in the presence of the feared object/ situation. Therefore, classical conditioning has practical application thus, improving the validity and reliability of the behaviourist approach.
What’s operant conditioning?
Learning through reinforcement and punishment.
What are the 2 types of operant conditioning?
Positive reinforcement – when behaviour produces a consequence that’s pleasant or satisfying
Negative reinforcement – behaviours are repeated in order to escape an unpleasant consequence
What’s the research evidence for Operant conditioning?
Skinner’s rats
Outline the procedure for Skinner’s rats
Skinner places rats into skinner’s box to investigate operant conditioning in rats. The rat moves around the cage and accidentally pressed the lever, a food pellet (the reinforcer) falls into the cage. The rat beings pressing the lever in order to obtain food. If the food pellets stop, the rat presses the lever a few more times and abandons it (extinction)
What are the 2 AO3 points for Operant conditioning?
+Relies on experimental work
-Based on non-human research
