Behaviourist Area - Psychological

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  • Created by: KesiaKate
  • Created on: 14-05-17 17:28
What is the Definition of Behaviourism?
Behaviourism assumes that all behaviour is learned and that we are all born a blank slate. Argues that experience and interactions with the environment shape our behaviour
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What are the two main theories proposed by the Behaviourist perspective?
Classical condition (Pavlov) and Operant Condition (Skinner)
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What are the common methods used?
Lab experiments with high controls
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What are the assumptions of the Behaviourist perspective?
Much of our behaviour is governed/shaped by the situation we are in All behaviour is learnt from the environment and biological factors are insignificant in influencing how people behave Only observable behaviour is worthy of investigation
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What is Classical Conditioning?
Classical conditioning proposes that we lean through association
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Who was Pavlov?
Pavlov first established that meat caused dogs to salivate but a neutral stimulus such as the tone of a bell, did not cause the dog to salivate However, when Pavlov presented several pairings of the tone and food , the dog began to salivate to the
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What happened when Pavlov presented several pairings of the tone and food ?
, the dog began to salivate to one when the bell was presented alone. The dogs learnt to associate the tone with food, and responded accordingly
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What is the summarised definition of Classical Conditioning?
Classical condition theory involves learning a new behaviour via the process of association. In simple terms two stimuli are linked together to produce a new learned response in person or a animal
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What is Operant Conditioning?
Operant conditioning proposed that we learn through consequences It works on the assumption of learning through reward and punishment Behaviour which is positively reinforced tends to be repeated, behaviour which is negatively reinforce is avoided
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What is the learning theory of Skinner?
This learning theory was first investigated by Skinner, who developed the ‘Skinner Box’ in which rats were placed in a box and required to press a lever for food to be dispensed
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What happened to Skinner Box?
The consequence of receiving food if they presented the lever caused the rats to repeat this behaviour again and again
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What is the summarised definition of Operant Conditioning?
Behaviour is reinforced tends to be repeated, behaviour which is not reinforced tends to die out or be extinguished
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What is the Social Learning Theory?
The idea argues that we learn through observations and imitation Much behaviour (such as aggression) is learnt through the environment by observing role models and imitating their behaviour at a later date if it leads to desirable outcome
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Is it Nature or Nurture?
Behaviourism argues that people are a product of their environment and all behaviour is learned, and therefore it supports the nurture side of the debate.
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Does it support individual or situational?
Behaviourism supports the situational side of the debate.
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Reductionism or Holism?
The behaviourist perspective is reductionistic because it assumes that behaviour and experiences can be explained by looking at how individuals learn through classical or operant conditioning and observational learning, ignore the role of individual
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Determinism or Free Will?
Behaviourism is deterministic because it assumes that behaviour is pre-determined by the environment - this is environmental determinism.
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How useful is the research?
Behaviourism is very useful as it adds to our knowledge and has many practical applications
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Does it support psychology as a science?
Behaviourism supports psychology as a science as research tends to be conducted in lab conditions with high controls and so is high in reliability
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Are there any ethical considerations with Behaviourism?
ehaviourism is unethical as often children participants are used who are not old enough to give consent for participants and therefore may not understand their right to withdraw and may become distressed through experimentation
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What are the strengths of Behaviourism? (methodology)
Tends to use scientific, rigorous methodology to study human behaviour that is observable, such as Bandura’s highly controlled lab conditions, so research is reliable.
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What are the strengths of Behaviourism? (quantitative)
Tends to collect quantitative data which allows for comparisons to be made between participants
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What are the strengths of Behaviourism? (useful applications)
Is very useful and has provided many practical applications, such as the 9pm Watershed and the age restrictions on aggressive films to prevent aggression or the use of Classical conditioning therapies to understand and treat mental disorders
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What the weaknesses of Behaviourism? (ethical)
May breach ethical guidelines concerning consent and harm by using child participants within research
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What the weaknesses of Behaviourism? (reductionistic)
Takes reductionistic approach by only looking at stimulus and response and ignores other factors that can shape behaviour such as genetics and cognitive processes
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What the weaknesses of Behaviourism? (highly controlled)
Tends to use highly-controlled laboratory experiments conducted within artificial settings to observe human behaviour which may lack ecological validity
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Card 2

Front

What are the two main theories proposed by the Behaviourist perspective?

Back

Classical condition (Pavlov) and Operant Condition (Skinner)

Card 3

Front

What are the common methods used?

Back

Preview of the front of card 3

Card 4

Front

What are the assumptions of the Behaviourist perspective?

Back

Preview of the front of card 4

Card 5

Front

What is Classical Conditioning?

Back

Preview of the front of card 5
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