Behavourist

What are the assumptions/Features of behavourist approach?

psychology should adopt scientific approach. Obeservable behaviour only should be studied, not minds. most behaviour is learned from environment. Learning can be understood in terms of conditioning. Laws of learning are universal; animals + humans.

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What are the two types of reinforcment?

Positive - Response is followed by something pleasent. Negative - Response is followed by the removal of something unpleasent.

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What is classical conditioning?

learning through assosiation

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What is involved in classical conditioning?

a neutral stimulus becomes assosiated with a natural stimulus-response (reflex) connection and a new behaviour link may be formed. pavlov - salvation in dogs.

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what are the stages involved in pavlovian conditioning?

Stage 1 - Food (UCS) elicits salvation (UCR) Stage 2 - Food (UCS) + bell (CS) elicits salvation. Stage 3 - Bell (CS) elicits salvation (CR)

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How has classical conditioning been applied to explaining behaviour?

phobias - pearson learns to fear perviously neutral stimulus e.g spider, if connected to frightening event. A scream produces fear so if someone screams when theres spider an assoisation made between 2 stimuli because of their occurance at same time

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how has classical conditioning been used treat behaviour?

behaviour therapy has been used to treat phobias. in treating phobias the aim is to extinguish the link between between CS and CR. This can be done in 3 ways; Systematic,Desensitisation and flooding.

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What is operant conditioning?

learning through assosiation between response and consequence.

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how is operant conditioning applied to behaviour?

if a certain response has pleasent consequences it is more likely than other responses to occur again in the same circumstances.

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Give an example of operant conditioning?

if a child says thank you in the presence of an adult and is praised, then this behaviour is likely to occur again. If the child is caught swearing and punished then this behaviour is less likely to occur again.

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how has operant behaviour been applied to treatment of behaviour?

behaviour modification - undesired behaviour i seen simply as the consequence of faulty learning so can be treated through behaviour shaping. e.g. social skills training - using rewards to teach appropriate behaviour.

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What are applications of behaviourist approach?

**** and mood disorders - behavioural treatment for schiz involving tokens as secondary reinforcers. Anxiety disorders - phobias learned through classical conditioning maintained through negative reinforcment.

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Strengths of behaviourist approach?

Very scientific. Theories are testable. can be applied to real world to explain everyday behaviour. strong counter argument for nature side of debate.

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Limitations of behaviourist approach?

Ignores important mental processes and innate predisposition to produce certain responses. Deterministic, Reductioist, Data obtained from animals.

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Behavourist

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