Topic 1 Flashcards
Introduction to Behaviour Modification (61 cards)
What is behavior modification?
Field of psychology concerned with analyzing and modifying behaviour
AKA Behaviour Analysis
Focuses on increasing or decreasing a particular behavior.
How do behaviorists define behavior?
Overt (external) easily observable action
Defined as ‘anything a person or other animal does that can be measured’ (Skinner, 1938).
How do congitive psychologist define behavior?
Includes both overt and covert (internal, hidden) actions
Examples include thoughts and emotions.
How do we define Behaviour
- Behaviour involves action
- Has measurable dimensions
- Can be observed, described and recorded
- impacts the environment
- Is lawful
What are the measurable dimensions of behavior?
- Frequency
- Duration
- Intensity
- Latency
Each dimension provides insight into the behavior’s occurrence.
What is the definition of frequency in behavior measurement?
How many times a behavior occurs
Example: Dog barks nine times after the doorbell rings.
What does duration refer to in behavior measurement?
How long a behavior continues to occur
Example: Child cries for 5 minutes after a parent leaves.
What is intensity in the context of behavior?
How strongly a behavior occurs
Example: Teenager applies grip strength of 35kg.
What does latency refer to in behavior measurement?
How long until a behavior occurs
Example: Bird waits for 30 seconds after a predator call to move.
What impacts does behavior have on the environment?
Behavior impacts the physical or social environment
It occurs in both time and space.
What does it mean that behavior is lawful?
It follows predictable rules
Environmental factors affect behavior in consistent ways.
What are the two types of behaviour?
can be overt or covert
Can be obvious (put your hand up and teacher calls on you) or can be internal/hidden (only affects the person who did the behaviour)
What are the characteristic of behaviour modification?
- Focus on behavior, rather than a personal characteristic or trait
- Procedures based on principles of behaviourism
- Emphasis on current environmental events
- Clear and detailed description of procedures
- Treatment implemented by non- professionals
- Measure behaviour change
- No real focus on the past
- Reject hypothetical underlying causes of behaviour (i.e., behaviorism)
What is a target behavior?
Behavior you want to change
This is a focus of behavior modification.
What is behavioral excess?
Undesirable behavior you want to decrease
It is one of the focuses in behavior modification.
What is a behavioral deficit?
Desirable behavior you want to increase
Who originally developed behaviour analysis?
B.F. Skinner
His research emphasized the consequences of behavior.
What is applied behavior analysis?
The scientific study of behaviour to help change that behavior
Specifically targeted at human behaviour
Who is Edward Thorndike
- Comparative psychologist
- Puzzle box experiments
- Law of effect
Puzzle Box: Animals fed after leaving box, food strengthened association between situation (S) and latch-opening response (R)
What does the Law of Effect constitute?
- If a response is followed by a satisfying event, the S-R connection is strengthened
- If a response is followed by an unsatisfying event, the S-R connection is weakened
Who is John B. Watson
- Established the behaviourism movement
- Psychology should be all about observable behavior
- Stimulus-response psychology
Environmental events (stimuli) elicit responses
Who is Ivan B. Pavlov
- Conducted experiments which uncovered the basic processes of classical (respondent) conditioning
- Demonstrated that a reflex (e.g., salivation in response to food) could be conditioned to a neutral stimulus (e.g., the sound of a metronome)
Behavior transfers to a new stimulus through association.
Who is B.F. Skinner?
- Expanded the field of behaviorism
- Stressed that while classical (respondent) conditioning described stimuli that elicited responses, operant was about the consequences of a behaviour determines the future occurrence of that behaviour
- Elaborated the basic principles of operant behaviour
The foundation of behaviour modification
What is applied Behaviour analysis?
Introduced by Baer, Wold, and Risley (1968), focal features of applied behaviour analysis:
- Socially important behaviour
- Functional relationships between environmental events and behaviour
- Clear description of procedures
- Connection to basic behaviour principles
- Production of meaningful, generalizable, and long-lasting changes in behavior