The Behaviourist Approach

Assumes human behaviour can be explained through learning - conditioning, and learning through experience.

Conditioning involves forming learned association between a stimuli + a response, + assumes humans are born as a blank sale w/o genetic influences on behaviour.

2 types of conditioning; classical + operant

Pavlov (1927) - learning through association. Behavioural repsonse learned when becomes association w/ neutral stimulus + reflex response. Natural stimulus (UCS), natural response (UCR). 

Dog salivating - food (UCS) given to talk, produced salivating (UCR). Bell (NS) introduced, rang shortly before food given, and after many pairings of the two, the bell is able to produce the response of salivation w/o the food. The bell is now the (CS) and the reponse of salivating is now the (CR). 

Important factors that affected conditioned learning this way - eg time. If NS not introduced immediately before UCS, time too long between two, conditioning won't occur. Also found CS not permanent over time if no UCS given, CR of salivation will cease to occur. When CS + UCS paired once again, link between two + CR re-established, + faster than initally made

Learning through consequences - 3 main ways behaviour can be learned: positive reinforcement, negative reinforcement, and punishment. PR - encouraging a pleasurable response, NR - removing something unpleasant from happening. 

Skinner (1938) - rats. Rat placed in cage, accidentally pressed lever, rewarded for behaviour w/ food - would press lever over + over again as PR'd to gain food. When food pellet stopped being released, rat would stop pressing lever as extinction of behaviour occurred. 

Behaviourists argue human behaviour learned this way. 

Skinner experimented w/ NR  by providing unpleasant loud noises which the rat could switch off when pressed lever - rats would repeatedly press lever to avoid noise. Also found, when lever led to punishments eg electric shocks, less inclined to press it, showing punishment can prevent behaviour from occuring altogether

Aversive behaviours in humans negatively reinforced as we try to avoid unpleasant outcomes by behaving in particular behaviours, while punishments cause some of our behaviours to cease completely 

Bandura + the Bobo Doll. 

Suggests learning occurs through direct experience + observation (vicarious learning). Models perform action, seen as example, which is imitated. Imitation of behaviour + attitidues learnt more quickly through models than conditioning. 3 factors that determine whether behaviour will be imitated: 1) characteristics of model, 2) condifence of observer in ability to copy models' behaviour, 3) observed consequences of behaviour.

Imitation more likely if observer able to idenity w/ model, eg through Gender (Shutts et al, 2010)

B found behaviour obsereced + seen as rewarding by children more likely to be repeated than punished bhevaiour - vicarious reinforcement.

Mediational processes: attention (grab attention), retention (remember behaviour), reproducton (believing they have the ability to reproduce behaviour) + motivation (to use behvaiour in a given situation, see rewards as outweighing costs)

Assumes behaviour learnt + can't be unlearnt -> real world applications through training of sleep behaviour in babies to dogs + obedience training. 

Understanding of CC -> development of therapies which eliminate or reduce phobias - systematic desensitisation - shows validity

CC as explanation for behaviour + learning criticised as being dehumanising + mechanistic, therefore too reductionist as portrays humans as too simple, and theory doesn't account for free will - also deterministic in assuming behaviour will always remain the same + can't be unlearnt. Ellis's ABC model undermine behaviourist explanationf as they cannot account for this

Can't dully explain/treat disorders eg schiz - linked to bio causes eg high dopamine, meaning bhevaiourist treatments may only treat symptoms rather than underlying causes - temporary. Ignores bio

Mainly only tested on animal studies, may not be generalisable to humans as lab experiments involving humans usually contrivied in nature - may not explain everyday learning for us. Animals far simpler thought patterns, whilst humans think beyond scenarios they may be present with - not accounted for

+ Skinner's research relied on experimental method - allowed use of controlled conditions (Skinner's box). Alloed casual relationships between 2 variables to be estabished - could see how manipulation of consequences of behaviour affected behaviour itself - allowed accurate predictions
 - Relied heavily on anumals - different from humans - findings may lack external validity to real world situations fo rhumans. Humans - free will, behaviour not as easily determined by pos + neg reinforcement.
 - Focuses only on observable behaviour, does not factor influence of thoughts/cognitive processes. Cannot account for impulsive/spontaneous behaviours people engage in that may have no perceived benefit - too simplified, not holistic enough. 
 - Suggests we have no control over own behaviour - deterministic. Raises ethical + legal issues if someone argues not responsible for own actions when committing crime.
 - Difficult to generalise to humans - no mundane realism.

Bandura + Walters - children divided into 3 groups, each seeing different ending to film - adult model behaving aggressively to Bobo Doll. 1) rewarded for showing aggressive behaviour. 2) punished for showing aggressive behaviour. 3) no consequences for aggressive behaviour. 

Found children's behaviour after affected depending on which ending they watched - if rewarded, showed aggressive behaviour, if punished did not, if no consequences - somewhere inbetween. 

Supports SLT + idea of vicarious learning + reinforcement influencing elarning + imitation of behaviour

Indentification important for imitiation.

Exposed participants to computer generated humans - looked similar or different + engaged in exercise/loitering behaviour. Participants who observed models similar to themselves + engaged in exercise, in 24 hours that followed, researchers found them more likely to engage in exercise behaviour compared to participants who observed virtual models loitering who were different to them.

Support for identification w/ models being important for retention + imitatation of behaviour

+ holistic approach than behaviourism - focuses only on observable behaviours. Includes mediational processes - more face validity as smth people can relate to.
 - Can't explain all behaviour, particularly when appears to be no apparent role model to learn from. More evident when imitation revolves around psychopathic behaviours limited to one individual w/in family w/ no opp to learn from model. Not appropriate + bio explanation may be beter suited in some cases involving mental disorders.
 - Determining causality between someone being exposed to behaviour + imitation. Increases association w/ deviant peers increases probability of individual adopting same values, but establishing cause + effect difficult. Confounding variables eg individual differences factor affecting results.
 - Ethical issues