behaviourist

Question 1

AO1 spec points: Behaviourist

Answer 1

Classical conditioning
Operant conditioning

Question 2

What is classical conditioning
+ basic description

Answer 2

Learning through association

NS is consistently paired w an unconditioned stimulus so that it eventually takes on the properities of this stimulus to produce a conditioned response

Question 3

AO1: Classical conditioning research

+ other features he noted

Answer 3

Pavlov

Food UCS = Salivation UCR
Bell NS + Food UCS= = Salivation UCR
Bell CS = Salivation CR

Other features:
Timing- if the NS cant be used to predict the UCS conditioning doesnt occur
Extinction- CR doesnt become permanently established

Question 4

What is operant conditioning
and the two parts of it

Answer 4

Learning through reinforcement or punishment

If a behaviour is followed by a desirable consequence then it is more likely to continue

Pos reinforcement: add something that produces a satisfying consequence= behaviour continues

Neg reinforcement: remove something unpleasant and restore organism to pre-aversive state

Question 5

AO1: Operant conditioning research

Answer 5

Skinner’s box

Rats were positively reinforced with food when they pressed a lever= the rats repeated the desired behaviour.

Skinner also found that if the rat was not enforced regularly, they forgot the operant conditioning, this is known as extinction

Question 6

AO3 behaviourist points

Answer 6

str: RWA
lim: animals
str: experimental method
lim: limited

Question 7

AO3: Therapy

Answer 7

RWA

CC has been used in therapy

Systematic desensitisation based on CC

Eliminating anxious response by pairing stimulus w relaxation

Effective: range of phobias- arachnophobia and aerophobia

Question 8

AO3: animals

Answer 8

Over-reliance on animal studies

Not generalisable to humans

Humans have free will

Caution must be used to apply to humans

Question 9

AO3: experimental method

Answer 9

Focuses on measurement of observable characteristics

Method of data collection is systematic, reliable and objective

Adds reliability to the behaviourist approach and also plays a role in establishing psychology as a credible scientific discipline

Question 10

AO3: limited

Answer 10

only appropriate for some learning

Different species face different challenges to survive
= conditioned and unconditioned stimulus relationships difficult to establish

Seligman: proposed ‘preparedness’
- animals are prepared to learn assoc signif for survival needs eg meat smell=food yet unprepared to learn insignif assoc eg bell=food

= evolutionary history is important and cc may be more suited to survival assocs