The Behaviourist Approach

This approach does not refer to the process between stimuli and response. 

CLASSICAL CONDITIONING

Basic assumption: Mental illness is learnt through association

This part of the approach suggests that people are born as a 'blank slate' and that they learn abnormalities through classical conditioning.

Pavlov had conducted a study using dogs looking into classical conditioning which supports the theory that behaviour can be learned through association. 

STAGES

Before Conditioning

The unconditioned stimulus produces an unconditioned response. In this stage no new behaviour has been learned.

An example here would be a stomach virus (UCS) producing a response of nausea (UCR).

During Conditioning

A stimulus that produces no response is the neutral stimulus. The neutral stimulus becomes associated with the unconditioned stimulus.

An example would be a stomach virus (UCS) becoming associated with a certain food (NS).

After Conditioning

The neutral stimulus becomes a conditioned stimulus and produces a conditioned responce which is the same as the unconditioned responce to the unconditioned stimulus.

An example would be a certain food (CS) producing a response of nausea (CR).

OPERANT CONDITIONING

Basic assumption: Mental illness is learnt through reinforcement

Skinner had conducted a study using rats and pidgens looking into opeant conditioning which supports the theory that behaviour is learned through reinforcement.

An example of behaviour being learned through association would be a teenager smoking in school. A reinforcement in this case would be getting to hang out with the people they want to; which is positive reinforcement. This would cause the teenager to carry on smoking. Another reinforcement would be getting caught and punished for the action; which would be punishment (obvs....). This would make the teenager much less likely to smoke.

TYPES OF REINFORCEMENT

Positive - Recieving a reward/pleasant stimuli for a certain behaviour

Negative - The…