Behaviourists Approach
- Created by: 0045253
- Created on: 30-05-22 11:42
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- behaviourist approach
- Assumptions
- Only interested in studying behaviours that can be observed and measured.
- In behaviourists' research, animals could replace humans as experimental subjects.
- Classical Conditioning (Pavlov)
- Learning through association.
- UCS - An event that produces an innate, unlearned reflex response.
- UCR - An innate, unlearned reflex behaviour produced when exposed to an UCS.
- NS - An event that doesn't produce a response.
- CS - An event that produces a learned response.
- CR - A learned reflex behaviour produced when exposed to an CS.
- Pavlov revealed that dogs could be conditioned to salivate to the sound of a bell, if the sound was repeatedly presented at the same time as they were given food.
- Gradually, the dogs learned to associate the sound of the bell (NS) with the food (UCS) and would produce the salivation response every time they heard the sound.
- Pavlov showed how a NS, in this case the bell, can bring a new learned response (CR) through association.
- Gradually, the dogs learned to associate the sound of the bell (NS) with the food (UCS) and would produce the salivation response every time they heard the sound.
- Operant Conditioning (Skinner)
- New voluntary behaviour is associated with a consequence - reinforcement makes the behaviour more likely to occur, punishment makes it less likely to occur.
- Skinner created an experimetntal tool called the Skinner box.
- Investigated how the type of reinforcement or punishment given and the rate of reinforcement or punishment affected the rate of learning.
- Positive Reinforcement - Receiving a reward when a certain behaviour is performed.
- Every time a rat activated a lever it was rewarded with a food pellet.
- Increases the likelihood that a certain behaviour will be repeated.
- Every time a rat activated a lever it was rewarded with a food pellet.
- Negative reinforcement - Occurs when a individual completes an action to avoid something unpleasant.
- A rat may learn through negative reinforcement that pressing the lever leads to avoidance of an electric shock
- Increases the likelihood that a certain behaviour will be repeated.
- A rat may learn through negative reinforcement that pressing the lever leads to avoidance of an electric shock
- Punishment - Unpleasant consequence of behaviour.
- Every time a rat activated a lever it caused an unpleasant stimulus, e.g., electric shock.
- Decreases the likelihood the behaviour will be repeated
- Every time a rat activated a lever it caused an unpleasant stimulus, e.g., electric shock.
- Contributions
- Provided therapies for the treatments of disorders such as phobias and addictions (aversion therapies and flooding)
- Useful in education and childcare for improving behaviour
- Provided theories of learning and laws of learning.
- Focuses on environmental causes and experiences
- Use of experiments showed learning could be investigated experimentally and using non-human participants
- Insistence on objectivity and study of overt behaviour raising psychology's scientific status.
- Provided therapies for the treatments of disorders such as phobias and addictions (aversion therapies and flooding)
- STRENGTH
- P - It gave psychology scientific credibility
- E -The approach focused on the careful measurement of observable behaviour within controlled lab setting.
- E - Furthermore, behaviourists emphasised the importance of scientific processes such as objectivity and replication.
- L - This brought the language and methods of the natural sciences into psychology, giving the subject greater credibility and status.
- E - Furthermore, behaviourists emphasised the importance of scientific processes such as objectivity and replication.
- E -The approach focused on the careful measurement of observable behaviour within controlled lab setting.
- P - Its application is useful for treatments
- E - Behavioural principles have contributed to the development of a range of effective therapies especially for phobia including flooding.
- E - For example, if a patient is prevented from practising their avoidance behaviour then phobic behaviour declines.
- L - This means that the the behavioural approach has been applied practically in a range of setting increasing its value.
- E - For example, if a patient is prevented from practising their avoidance behaviour then phobic behaviour declines.
- E - Behavioural principles have contributed to the development of a range of effective therapies especially for phobia including flooding.
- P - It gave psychology scientific credibility
- WEAKNESS
- P - It advocates a form of environmental determinism
- E - The approach sees all behaviour as determined by pat experiences that have been learned through conditioning.
- E - This means that we have no free will and that any choices we make are illusions.
- L - This is an extreme position and means the behaviourists approach ignores the influences of any conscious decision making processes on behaviour which has implications for the Individual.
- E - This means that we have no free will and that any choices we make are illusions.
- E - The approach sees all behaviour as determined by pat experiences that have been learned through conditioning.
- P - An issue is the use of animals in studies.
- E - Extrapolating findings from animal to humans may not be appropriate as humans learn in a different way to animal species for example with language.
- E - Furthermore, humans have emotions and thought processes that have been shown to influence behaviour.
- L - This means that the behaviourists assumptions regarding learning must be generalised with caution from animal studies when explanting human behaviour.
- E - Furthermore, humans have emotions and thought processes that have been shown to influence behaviour.
- E - Extrapolating findings from animal to humans may not be appropriate as humans learn in a different way to animal species for example with language.
- P - It advocates a form of environmental determinism
- Assumptions
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