Behavioursit approach

Pavlov showed that dogs could be conditioned to salivate at the sound of a bell if that sound was repeatedly presented at the same time that they were given food.

First the dogs were presented with the food, they salivated. The food was the unconditioned stimulus and salivation was an unconditioned (innate) response.

Then Pavlov sounded the bell (neutral stimulus) before giving the food. After a few pairings the dogs salivated when they heard the bell even when no food was given. The bell had become the conditioned stimulus and salivation had become the conditioned response.

The dogs had learnt to associate the sound of the bell with the food and salivation was triggered by the sound of the bell.

A hungry rat was placed in a cage, every time he activated the lever a food pellet fell in the food dispenser (positive reinforcement). The rats quickly learnt to go straight to the lever after a few times of being put in the box.

This suggests that positive reinforcement increases the likelihood of the behavior being repeated.

In another experiment, a rat was placed in a cage in which they were subjected to an uncomfortable electrical current as he moved around the cage the rat hit the lever, this immediately switched off the electrical current (negative reinforcement). The rats quickly learnt to go straight to the lever after a few times of being put in the box.

This suggests that negative reinforcement increases the likelihood of the behavior being repeated.

Scientific methods: approach uses objective & empirical techniques such as lab experiments, behaviourists broke down behaviour into basic stimulus-response units, other extraneous variables were removed, allowing cause & effect relationships to be established. Eg Skinner was able to clearly demonstrate how reinforcement influenced an animal's behaviour. Therefore, increasing the internal validity of the behaviourist approach as an explanation for human behaviour as objectivity & replication helped to create psychology as a science by focusing on the measurement of observable behaviour within highly controlled lab settings.

Practical application: principles of the theory state that operant conditioning causes positive reinforcement has led to the development of token economy systems that have been successfully used in institutions (prisons & psychiatric wards) These work by rewarding appropriate behaviour with tokens that can be exchanged for privileges. Therefore, the behaviourist approach is an important part of psychology because it can help to treat people in the real world. 

Environmental determinism: explanation states an individual is controlled by external factors such as our reinforcement history & that our past conditioning history determines the outcome of behaviour.  Ignores the role of free will & choice an individual has & can leave an individual feeling like they cannot control their behaviour. Limiting the use of the behaviourist approach as an explanation of behaviour. 

Reductionist: reduced the complex human behaviour of learning down to simple basic units of classical & operant conditioning. Neglects holistic approach which would consider an individual's social & cultural context when explaining human behaviour. For example, behaviourists have ignored an important influence on learning such as human thoughts, other approaches such as SLT & the cognitive approach draw attention to the mental processes involved in learning. This suggests that learning is more complex than observable behaviour alone & that private mental processes can be essential. Therefore, the behaviourist approach as an explanation of human behaviour may lack validity because it doesn't allow psychologists to understand behaviour in context.