The learning approach: behaviourism evaluation

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  • Created by: gemshort
  • Created on: 10-11-17 14:09

Behaviorism: evaluation

Strength: scientific credibility
Behaviourism was able to bring the language and methods of the natural sciences into psychology by focusing on the measurement of observable behaviour within highly controlled lab settings. By emphasising the importance of scientific processes such as objectivity and replication, behaviourism was influential in the development of psychology as a scientific discipline, giving it higher credibility and status.

Strength: practical application
The principles of conditioning have been applied to a broad range of real-world behaviours and problems, for example, operant conditioning is the basis of token economy systems which have been used successfully in prisons and psychiatric hospitals. Treatments such as these have the advantage of requiring less effort from patients because they do not have to think about their problems, so such therapies are also suitable for patients who lack insight.

Weakness: mechanistic view

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