behaviourist approach

Question 1

when did the behaviourist approach emerge?

Answer 1

1913 - early 20th century

Question 2

who are the key behaviourist psychologists

Answer 2

watson, pavlov + skinner

Question 3

what are the assumptions of behaviourism

Answer 3

all behaviour is learned through the process of classical conditioning and operant conditioning

Question 4

what is classical conditioning - pavlov

Answer 4

learning through association
creating an association between a naturally existing stimulus and a previously neutral one

Question 5

what is operant conditioning - skinner

Answer 5

learning through reinforcement and punishment
learning through consequences

Question 6

what concepts did pavlov use to explain classical conditioning

Answer 6

unconditioned stimulus
unconditioned response
neutral stimulus
conditioned stimulus
conditioned response

Question 7

what was pavlovs research

Answer 7

food to dog = salivate
rang bell + food everytime to do
dog learned bell = food
dog associated bell with food
bell rings = dog salivates

Question 8

what are the 3 different types of consequences of behaviour

Answer 8

positive reinforcement
negative reinforcement
punishment

Question 9

what is positive reinforcement

Answer 9

a reward when a certain behaviours is performed
increases likelihood of a behaviour being repeated

Question 10

what is negative reinforcement

Answer 10

animal or human avoids something unpleasant
increases the likelihood of a behaviour being repeated

Question 11

what is punishment

Answer 11

an unpleasant consequence of the behaviour
decreases likelihood of a behaviour being repeated

Question 12

what did skinner research about operant conditioning

Answer 12

everytime the rat pulled the lever he was rewarded with food
rat then continued to pull the lever
positive reinforcement

Question 13

what is 1st strength of behaviourism

Answer 13

scientific credibility
focuses on the measurement of observable behaviours in highly controlled settings
behaviourism has been beneficial in the development of psychology as a science

Question 14

what is the 2nd strength of behaviourism

Answer 14

real life applications
token economy - giving patients tokens in exchange for privileges
has been used successfully in prison
can impact individuals + has validity

Question 15

what is the 1st weakness of behaviourism

Answer 15

veiws behavior in a mechanic way
ignored the role of thinking before behaving
assumes humans and animals do things without thought
through processes affect how we respond
people may take a more active approach to learn

Question 16

what is the 2nd weakness of behaviorism

Answer 16

ethical and practical issues
placed animals in stressful situations - may affect behaviour
shouldn’t do it if we wouldn’t do the same to humans
would be difficult to replicate