behaviourism

Question 1

classical conditioning

Answer 1

• learning by association
• Occurs when 2 stimuli are repeatedly paired together- an unconditioned stimulus and a neutral stimulus. The neutral stimulus eventually produces the same response that was first produced by the unconditioned stimulus alone.

Question 2

operant conditioning

Answer 2

• a form of learning in which behaviour is shaped and maintained by its consequences
• e.g. reinforcement, punishment

Question 3

neutral stimulus

Answer 3

a stimulus which is not necessarily associated with a specific type of response

Question 4

unconditioned stimulus

Answer 4

an unlearned stimulus

Question 5

unconditioned response

Answer 5

an unlearned response

Question 6

conditioned stimulus

Answer 6

a learned stimulus

Question 7

conditioned response

Answer 7

a learned response

Question 8

association

Answer 8

learning to link a stimulus with a response

Question 9

positive reinforcement

Answer 9

receiving an award when certain behaviour is performed, making the behaviour more likely to be repeated in the future

Question 10

negative reinforcement

Answer 10

when you avoid something unpleasant and the outcome is a positive experience, making the behaviour more likely to be repeated in the future

Question 11

punishment

Answer 11

an unpleasant consequence of behaviour, making the behaviour less likely to be repeated in the future

Question 12

when did the behaviourist approach emerge

Answer 12

• founded by JB Watson in 1915
• emerged at beginning of 20th century

Question 13

stimulus definition

Answer 13

anything internal or external that brings about a response

Question 14

response definition

Answer 14

any reaction in the presence of a stimulus

Question 15

what do behaviourists argue that behaviour is caused by

Answer 15

learnt from the environment through classical and operant conditioning

Question 16

what did Pavlov explain?

Answer 16

the idea of classical conditioning through testing on animals

Question 17

Pavlov’s study

Answer 17

• presented dog with a stimulus e.g. bell
• noted that dogs did not respond
• presented dogs with food
• dogs naturally salivated in response
• presented dogs with bell just before feeding them, repeated many times
• dogs formed association between bell and food
• dogs salivated when they heard the bell alone

Question 18

Watson and Rayner’s study

Answer 18

• presented little Albert with objects that he wasn’t afraid of e.g. fire, monkey, dog, rabbit, rat
• little Albert liked rat best so it would be strongest evidence of learning by association if that changed during study
• when presented with white rat, a loud bar was struck which made Albert scared
• Albert eventually formed an association between the white rat and the loud noise, leading to him developing a phobia

Question 19

who developed the idea of operant conditioning

Answer 19

• B.F. Skinner
• claimed that all behaviour is learnt as a result of consequences in our environment

Question 20

what is a Skinner box

Answer 20

an animal chamber used in behavioural psychology to test hypotheses about behaviour and learning

Question 21

how are Skinner boxes controlled

Answer 21

• sound proof
• automatically dispensed food
• small but still allow animals to move freely

Question 22

what happened in Skinner’s study of operant conditioning

Answer 22

positive reinforcement:
- every time the rat activated a lever, it was rewarded with a food pellet
- the rat continued to press the lever
negative reinforcement:
- every time the rat was in the cage, it was subjected to electric shocks
- when the rat pressed the lever, the shocks stopped
- the rat continued to press the lever, avoiding the shocks

Question 23

assumptions of behaviourism

Answer 23

• mind is a blank slate at birth
• concerned with observable behaviour as opposed to internal events (e.g. thinking, emotion) because it can be objectively/scientifically measured
• Psychology is a science so behaviour must be measured in controlled environments (lab)
• research can be carried out on animals because there is little difference in learning between animals and humans
• behaviour is a result of a stimulus