behaviourist approach

Question 1

what do behaviourists believe?

Answer 1

only direct and observable behaviour should be studied through objective methods
- explain behaviour in terms of what is observable

Question 2

who came up with classical conditioning?

Answer 2

pavlov

Question 3

what is classical conditioning?

Answer 3

learning through association

Question 4

what was pavlovs procedure and findings?

Answer 4

• conditioned a dog
  food(UCS) -> salivation(UCR)
  bell(NS) + food(UCS) -> salivation(UCR)
  bell(CS) -> salivation(CR)

Question 5

who came up with operant conditioning?

Answer 5

skinner

Question 6

what is operant conditioning?

Answer 6

learning through consequences

Question 7

what was skinners procedure and findings?

Answer 7

• used rats
• rats given electric shocks and had to press a lever to stop the shocks
• learnt to go straight to it to stop shocks
• negative reinforcement
• then pulled lever to get food
• positive reinforcement

Question 8

what 3 principles did skinner come up with and what do they mean?

Answer 8

1. positive reinforcement = receive reward when behaviour is performed - increase likelihood of behaviour
2. negative reinforcement = avoid something unpleasant for positive outcome - increase likelihood of behaviour
3. punishment = unpleasant consequence for behaviour - decrease likelihood of behaviour

Question 9

strength of behaviourist approach (controlled)

Answer 9

lab settings - extraneous variables removed - scientific

Question 10

limitation of behaviourist approach (cognitive)

Answer 10

disregards human thought - behaviour is more complex’s than just observable behaviour

Question 11

strength of behaviourist approach (applications)

Answer 11

classical conditioning is the basis of token economy - successful in institutions
flooding and systematic desensitisation to treat phobias

Question 13

limitation of behaviourist approach (past experiences)

Answer 13

skinner says our past conditioning history determines the outcome - ignores free will

Question 14

limitation of behaviourist approach (operant)

Answer 14

classical has been carried out on humans but operant conditioning is primarily on animals