Behaviourism Flashcards
(14 cards)
assumption of behaviourism
all behaviour is learned, and children are born as a ‘blank slate’ which is written on by experience.
only study what can be observed (not cognition)
two aspects of learning identitfied by behaviourists
operant and classical conditioning
what is classical conditioning
learning through association
who first demonstrated classical conditioning
Pavlov
What was Pavlovs experiment
showed how dogs can be classically conditioning to salivate at the sound of a bell
the sound of the bell was repeatedly presented to the dogs at the same time as giving them food
therefore they learned to associate the sound of the bell with food
classical conditioning diagram
NS -> no response
NS + UCS -> UCR
CS -> CR
what is operant conditioning
how behaviour is shaped by consequences
3 aspects of operant conditioning
positive reinforcement
negative reinforcement
punishment
what is positive reinforcement
recieiving a reward when performing a certain behaviour
what is negative reinforcement
subtracting the unpleasant stimulus to streghten behaviour
what is punishment
unpleasant consequence of behaviour
how does the behaviourist approach have real world applications
principles of the approach have been applied to real world situations
e.g. operant conditioing is the base of token economies - such as in schools - certain behaviours are rewarded with tokens that can be exchanged for privileges
increases value of approach
behaviourist approach ignoring cognition (A03 weakness)
behavioursts dont study what they cant see - explain behaviour with simple explanation of stimulus - response
this produces a mechanistic view of humans as it oversimplifies behaviour, as humans are much more complicated - ignores choice and desicion making
lab based methods (A03 strength)
based on well controlled research
makes approach more scientific
methods allow for high control of variables which increases validity as we can be sure we are tested wat we meant to test
also allows for test-retest reliability
