approaches : the learning approach : behaviourism Flashcards
(26 cards)
who did John B Watson pioneer in ?
Behaviourism
when did the Behaviourist approach emerge ?
at the beginning of the 20th century
what did the Behaviourist approach become ?
the dominant approach in psychology for half of that century
define behaviourist approach
- a way of explaining behaviour in terms of what is observable and in terms of learning
what was the behaviourist approach credited for ?
-developing psychology as a scientific discipline
what did the Behaviourist approach reject and why ?
- introspection
–> as the concepts were too vague and difficult to measure
what was the 4 main key assumptions of the behaviourist approach ?
- psychologist should only study observable and quantifiable behaviour
- all behaviour is learned
- humans are no different from animals
- research on animal behaviour is directly relevant to humans
what did behaviourists identify and they are… ?
2 important forms of learning :
classical conditioning and operant conditioning
define classical conditioning (3)
- learning by association occurs when 2 stimuli are repeatedly paired together
–> an unconditioned (unlearned) stimulus and a new ‘neutral’ stimulus - the NS eventually produces the same response that was 1st produced by the unlearned stimulus alone
what is classical conditioning ?
- learning through association
who 1st demonstrated classical conditioning and when ?
Ivan Pavlov -1980
what did Pavlov believe about what dogs could do ?
- be conditioned to salivate to the sound of a bell if that sound was repeatedly presented at the same time as they were given food
what did the dog’s end of doing in Pavlov’s experiment ?
what is the neutral stimulus in this experiment ?
what happens to the neutral response ?
define operant conditioning (3)
- a form of learning in which a behaviour is shaped and maintained
–> by its consequences - possible consequences of behaviour include
–> positive reinforcement, negative reinforcement or punishment
what did Skinner suggest about learning ?
- it is an active process whereby humans and animals operate on their environment
how many types of consequences of behaviour in operant conditioning and what are they ?
what is positive reinforcement and an example ?
what is a negative reinforcement and an example ?
what is punishment and an example ?
what does positive and negative reinforcement increase the likelihood of ?
what does punishment decrease the likelihood of ?
outline skinner’s box experiment
