Behaviourist Flashcards
What are the main assumptions of the behaviourist approach?
- Nearly all behaviour is learnt.
- Animals and humans learn in the same way.
- The ‘mind’ is irrelevant.
Why does the behaviourist approach assume nearly all behaviour is learnt?
- The only exceptions are inborn reflexes and instincts.
- Believes learning is the cause of the majority of behaviours.
Why does the behaviourist approach assume humans and animals learn in the same way?
- Although humans are capable of more complex things, the principle by which we learn are the same.
- Based on the idea that we can form stimulus-response associations between stimuli and our actions.
Why does the behaviourist approach assume the ‘mind’ is irrelevant?
- We cannot directly observe the ‘mind’, so we can only obtain measurable data by studying behaviour.
What are the two types of conditioning proposed by behaviourists?
- Classical conditioning.
- Operant conditioning.
What research did Pavlov do into classical conditioning?
- When Pavlov fed his dogs he would also ring a bell.
- After repeating the procedure several times he rang the bell without feeding his dogs.
- Pavlov found the bell by itself caused salivation.
What is the psychology behind Pavlov’s research?
- When dogs see food they salivate, this is a reflex.
- The food is an unconditional stimulus.
- Salivation is an unconditional response.
- The bell became a conditional stimulus and the salivation became a conditional response.
What are the principles of classical conditioning?
- Generalisation.
- Discrimination.
- Extinction.
- Spontaneous recovery.
- Higher order conditioning.
What is generalisation?
When stimuli similar to the original conditional stimulus produce the conditional response.
What is discrimination?
When stimuli similar to the original conditional stimulus do not produce the conditional response.
How is discrimination achieved?
Can be achieved by the unconditional stimulus when the similar stimulus is used.
What is extinction?
When the conditional response is not produced as a result of the conditional stimulus.
When does extinction happen?
When the conditional stimulus is repeatedly presented without the unconditional stimulus following it.
What is spontaneous recovery?
When a previously extinct conditional response is produced in response to the conditional stimulus.
When does spontaneous recovery happen?
When the conditional stimulus is presented again after a period of time during which it has not been used.
What is higher order conditioning?
When a new conditional stimulus produces the conditional response because the animal associates it with the original conditional stimulus.
How can higher order conditioning be achieved?
By consistently presenting the new conditional stimulus before the original conditional stimulus.
What is positive reinforcement?
When something ‘desirable’ is obtained in response to doing something.
What is negative reinforcement?
When something ‘undesirable’ is removed when something happens.
What method was used in Skinner (1938)?
- Placed one rat at a time in a ‘Skinner box’ which contained a speaker, lights, a floor which gave an electric shock and a food dispenser which released food when a lever was pressed.
- A hungry rat was placed in the ‘Skinner box’ and the time taken for the rat to learn that pressing the lever would release food was recorded.
What were the results found in Skinner (1938)?
- The rat would run around the box until it accidentally pressed the lever and was rewarded with food.
- The more the rat was put back into the box, the quicker they learnt where the lever was.
What was concluded in Skinner (1938)?
- Rats can learn behaviour through operant conditioning.
- Behaviour, such as pressing a lever, can be positively reinforced by receiving food.
What are the strengths of conditioning?
- Lots of evidence to show that animals and humans can learn by conditioning.
What are the weaknesses of conditioning?
- Conditioning cannot explain all human behaviour as we also learn by observation.
- Most research into conditioning involves animals meaning that generalising to humans is difficult.
- Different species have different capacities for learning by conditioning, some may also learn by observation with no reinforcement involved.
- Genetics influence and limit what different species can learn by conditioning.
- Experiments into learning in animals may be seen as unethical.
