Behaviourist Approach

Humans are born like a blank slate - We are all born tabula rasa = a blank slate, meaning that all our behaviour is learnt. It has been suggested that all behaviour can be understood in terms of our environment and experiences: this argues nurture over nature. This assumption suggests that we do not actively think about our behaviour but we simply respond to stimuli within our environment: this argues for environmental determinist which believes that external facors influence our behaviour over evolution or genetics. 

Example in psychology - Criminal behaviour can be explained through external facctors. For example, if a child is surrounded by criminal behaviour, they are more likely to observe this behaviour and then repeat it in the future. Criminal behaviour can also be learnt through reinforcements that the child receives from their environment. For example, if a gang member commits robbery, their peers may reward them with praise and encouragement - posiitve reinforcement. This apparoach also explains why people do not commit crime - it is because they want to avoid the punishment of prison - negative reinforcement. 

Conditioning - We are conditioned by our environment to behave in a certain way. There are two types of conditioning: 

Classical conditioning suggests that behaviour is learnt through association; we learn to assoicate a stimulus with a response and these are known as stimulus response associations.
For example, Pavlov's dog learnt to associate the sound of a bell with response of producing saliva. Note that before the research trials, the bell was a neutral stimulus which had no response.The stimulus-bell produced the salivating-response and so the many times the food was paired with the bell, over time, the bell became the conditioned stimulus and salivating the condition response.

Operant conditioning suggests that behaviour is a product of reinforcements. Rewards and punishments increase behaviour. For example, if a child is given a toy for good behaviour, they are more likely to repeat this behaviour in the future; if completing homework means avoiding detention, then the child is more likely to complete it. Also, behaviour can be learnt through punishment and this can weaken a behaviour. For example, a child may stop fighting with their siblngs once their punishments has taken its effect. 

Humans and animals learn in similar ways - This assumption assumes that humans and animals learn in similar ways and that by studying animals' behaviour in a controlled lab setting, generalisations can be made about human behaviour. Pavlov's research on the classical conditioning of dogs has been applied to phobias for humans. Also, Skinner's research on operant conditioning on rats demonstrated the effects of positive and negative reinforcement. 

Example in psychology - Classical conditioning has been applied to an effective therapy known as Systematic Desensitisation. This technique works by replacing anxiety with a relaxed state by doing deep muscle relaxation. For example, operant conditioning has been applied to human behaviour and especially helpful in modifying undesirable behaviour. Plus, token economy is a behaviour modification programme based upon operant conditioning and is used in both schools and prisons. Prisoners who show good behaviour gain a token and once they have collected a number of tokens, they can exchanged for a reward such as extra phone time. 

Classical conditioning - We like people who are associated with pleasant events. If we meet someone when we are in happy (positive mood), we are more inclined to like them than if we meet them when we are feeling unhappy (negative mood). In this, a previously neutral stimulus (someone we had not previously met) can become positvely valued because of their association with a pleasant event. Liking someone through the process of classical conditioning leads to having a relationship. 

Operant conditioning - Reinforcements and punishments drive our behaviour. A new relationship may be positively reinforcing in many ways; for example, the attention someone gives us (their compliments or being in the company of someone who we like) is rewarding. As a result, we are likely to repeat the behaviour (spend more time with them). Also, a being in a relationship with somebody else may be negatively reinforcing. As a result of negative reinforcements, we can successfully avoid feelngs of loneliness and rejection. Furthermore, we may experience punishment if we are not in a relationship; for example, we may be on the receiving end of nasty comments from others or become excluded from couple-only events. This type of punishmemt will decrease the likelihood of wanting to be alone and thus, increase the likelihood of wanting to form a relationship.
Operant conditioning can also be used in pet training wich forms a good pet-owner relationship. For example, training dogs usually involves rewarding good behaviour with a treat. When the dog sits and are given a treat; this increases contentment and likelihood of repeating behaviour

We are born a blank slate - 

Classical conditioning - 

Operant conditioning 

Social learning theory - 

Humans are born a blank slate - Behaviourists assume that we are born a blank slate and that all behaviour is learnt. The underlying principles of behaviourist therapies are based on the notion that most forms of mental illness occurs through maladaptive learning.
Classical and operant conditioning - Behaviourists argue that we are conditioned by our environment to behave in a certain way. Classical conditioning involves stimulus response associations whereas operant conditioning involves learning through the consequences of our actions. Behaviourist therapies are based upon the principles of classical and operant conditioning. 
Phobias are learnt through cassical conditioning - A phobia is a maladaptive behaviour; it is an irrational fear of an object, situation or activity. Pavlov's theory of classical conditioning explains how a previously neutral stimuli (a dog) can provoke anxiety in someone, if they associate this stimuli with an event that we naturally find fearful. For example, being bitten (unconditioned stimuli) can cause a natural fear response (unconditioned response). If the dog (neutral stimuli) becomes associated with the unconditioned stimuli, the dog will become a conditioned stimuli which ultimately produces a conditioned response. 

Link to therapy - Systematic Densensitisation is a therapy based on the principles of classical conditioning ; its used to counter condition phobias and anxieties by replacing a fearful reaction with a relaxed state. The aim is to extinguish maladaptive behaviours and replace them with new adaptive behaviours. 

Counter conditioning - During the first stage of SD, the therapist helps to train the client to relax using deep muscle relaxation. The aim of SD is to decondition the client by extinguishing maladaptive behaviours (phobias) and replacing them with new adaptive behaviours. This is also known as counter conditioning because the client is taught a new association that runs counter to the original association.

Desensitisation hierachy - During the second stage of SD, the therapist and the client construct a list of the clients most frightening scenerios from the least frightening to the most. For example, someone with a fear of spiders may create a list of fearful situations, ranging from the least feared (looking at an image of a spider) to the strongest feared (holding a spider). In this, the therapist would ask the client to imagine being in the situation at the bottom of the fear hierachy, while in a relaxed state. The aim is to pair the thought of the feared situation with relaxation . Also, since the item at the bottom of the hierachy is first, the relaxation should overwhelm the fear. Once that item is conquered, the therapist and client will work through the fear hierachy systematically. However, if the client becomes distressed at any stage of the hierachy, they must returm to the previous fear. The aim of this it for the client to stay relaxed when confronted with the top of the hierachy (e.g. the feared stimulus itself). 

High success rates in SD - Wolpe claimed that 80-90% of patients are either 'cured' or much improved after an average of 12-30 sessions. Behavioural therapies based on classical conditioning, such as SD are more appropriate for certain disorders. For example, they are more effective in treating anxiety disorders like phobias/post-traumatic stress rather than psychotic disorders like schizophrenia. 
Equally effective - Evidence suggests that not all behavioural therapies are equally effective. For example. in vivo techniques are found to be more effective for a specific phobia rather than in vitro. 
Combing therapies - Behavioural therapies can be used alongside other therapies. Burke et al's study show that by combining SD with other treatments, such as medication or cognitive therapies, it can be equally as effective as if SD is used for phobias alone. 
Relatively quick - Behavioural therapies are short term treatments that are widely adopted by clinical psychologists in the NHS. This is because they are relatively quick therapies, lasting 12-30 sessions in contrast to psychodynamic therapies that usually last several years. 
Symptom substitution - On weakness of SD is that it only treats the symptoms of the disorder and not the underlying cause. Critics of behavioural methods say that often, people with phobias do not have any recollection of traumatic experience in solving their feared objects; psychoanalytic theorists believe phobias are symptoms of the unconscious mind. By removing the symptom, new phobias can emerge in place of the old one, once removed. 

A potential issue of SD is that some may argue that there is still an element of stress involved; this is because the client is still exposed to an object or situation, that they may have spent years feeling anxious about, one way or another. Therefore, avoiding mild levels of anxiety is impossible. 

However, ethical issues aren't a big issue in SD as they are more ethical than other forms of behavioural therapies, such as flooding techniques. For example, anxiety is not an issues because the therapist's role is to help the client to relax and only when they are relaxed, will the therapist move on to the next stage. Valid consent is not an issue because clients are able to give valid consent - SD is only used on client's with phobias, not problems like depression. This means that they are 'in touch' with reality and in the right frame of mind. 

Strength 1 - "It conducts scientific research" - For example, Bandura's research into the observational learning of aggression or Watson & Rayner's study on Little Albert. 
This is a strength because lab experiemtns are useful in lookign at cause and effect relationships and whether the I.V really causes the D.V. Research in a lab is highly controlled, thus, allowing the experiment to be replicated = high reliability. 

Strength 2 - "It has very successful therapeutic applications" - For example, phobias are learnt through classical and operant conditioning and social learning. Systematic desensitisation is based on the principles of classical conditioning. The aim of this therapy is to remove maladaptive behaviours (phobias), through counter-conditioning, where the client is de-conditioned.~
This is a strength as maladaptive behaviours are replaced with new learnt adaptive behaviours. It is a short term therapy involving about 25-30 sessions. 

Weakness 1 - "Laboratory experiments are artifical" - For example, Bandura's bobo doll study on observational learning, was done in a lab experiment, lacking ecological validity. 
This is a weakness as findings in a lab cannot be generalised to aggression in the real world as imitating an aggressive model in a lab is different to actually witnessing aggression in real-life situations = lacks mundane realism. It is possible that the children in Bandura's research responded aggressively because the believed that theyw ere being invited to hit the doll. 

Weakness 2 - "It is a reductionist approach" - For example, this approach suggests that depression is a result of maladaptive learning of helplessness. In addition, it is suggests that phobias are learnt through conditioning. 
This is a weakness because the behaviourist approach does not address the cause of depression. It seems that someone's medical history should be taken into consideration, sucha s biological explanations. Although behaviourists may change the client's behaviour, they do not address the underlying cause of abnormality. Irrational behaviour may come back due to a reductionist explanation preventing us from reaching a true explanation.