behaviourist approach Flashcards
assumption 1
we are born a blank slate
behaviourism emphasises the role of what two things
experience and environmental factors in influencing behaviour
what does the behaviourist approach exclude as an explanation for behaviour
innate or inherited features
assumption 2
all behaviour is result of classical and operant conditioning
what is classical conditioning
learning by association
involves the conditioning of innate bodily reflexes with external stimuli
experiment of classical conditioning
pavlov’s dogs
what did pavlov’s experiment show
that dogs could be classically conditioned to salivate at the sound of a bell if that sound was repeatedly presented while they were given food.
This shows how a neutral stimulus (a bell) can elicit a learned response (conditioned response) through association
what is operant conditioning
behaviours are learnt from and reinforced in response to consequences
when humans and animals act on their environmental consequences
if the consequences are pleasant, they repeat the behaviour, but if the consequences are unpleasant, they do not
what is positive reinforcement
behaving in a way that gets rewarded/ receiving a desirable consequence
receiving a desirable consequence means the behaviour is more likely to be repeated
example positive reinforcement
skinner’s box - the rat received a food pellet when it pressed a lever
what is negative reinforcement
behaving in a way to avoid negative consequences
when a behaviour is followed by the removal of an unwanted consequence and is therefore more likely to be repeated
example of negative reinforcement
skinner’s box - the rat pressing pressing the lever to avoid receiving an electric shock
punishment
receiving an unpleasant consequence when a certain behaviour has been performed, which means the behaviour is less likely to be repeated
example of punishment
skinner’s box - the rat receiving an electric shock when it pressed the lever in the skinner box
assumption 3
behaviour should be studies scientifically using experiments
what type of behaviour should psychologists study
observable, quantifiable behaviour
how do psychologists study observable quantifiable behaviour
maintain control and objectivity within their research and relied on laboratory experiments
assumption 4
humans are no different from animals and should not be regarded as more complex.
what does this mean about animal behaviour in relation to humans
animal behaviour (eg pavlov’s research with dogs) is directly relevant to humans
skinners experiment variation one and what type of reinforcement is this
food comes out of the dispenser when lever is pressed - example of positive reinforcement
skinners experiment variation two and what type of reinforcement this is
pressing the lever turned off electric grid - example of negative reinforcement
strength of behaviourist approach (practical application)
behaviourist treatment of phobias including flooding and systematic desensitisation - used in effective treatment
operant conditioning explains a range of human learning like gambling addiction
strength of classical conditioning - research evidence
study of little albert - presented with something he was afraid of (loud noise) and something he was not afraid of (rats) after association was made he learned to fear rats
2 weaknesses of behaviourist approach (pavlov and skinners research)
research on animals cant be extrapolated to humans because they are biologically different and may not respond in the same way
ethical issues - animal experiments caused distress for involved animals
