Behaviourism Flashcards
(12 cards)
What does BF Skinner argue?
Children’s language can be conditioned similar to other behaviours in the animal world
How does being ‘conditioned’ work?
They child will respond to the language stimuli around them which they will imitate and will either be negatively or positively reinforced - this is known as operant conditioning
What is operant conditioning?
Selectively reinforcing more accurate speech from children through correction
What is positive reinforcement?
A form of praise or attention that comes from the parent when a child’s language is correct
What is negative reinforcement?
A form of punishment or correct that comes from the parent when a child’s language is wrong
What did Skinner’s study show?
The behaviour of creatures could be controlled or altered through reward and punishment with food
What is a critism of Skinner’s work?
He conducted his experiment on rats and pigeons which means it cannot be applied effectively to humans
How can parents show negative reinforcement?
Use of negatives or rewards
What theorist questioned if adults actually correct a child’s language errors?
Bohannon and Stanowicz
What did Bohannon and Stanowicz find?
Adults interacting with young children were more likely to repeat word-for-word a well-formed sentence than an ill-formed sentence
What were the overall findings of B+S study?
Overall, adults tend to respond differently to children’s language mistakes, with parents showing greater sensitivity than adults
