Behaviourism

Question 1

what are the two parts of the learning approach?

Answer 1

behaviourism and social learning theory

Question 2

what are the assumptions of behaviourism?

Answer 2

• behaviour is learned from experience
• we’re born as a ‘blank slate’ - there’s no genetic influence on behaviour
• uses lab experiments on humans and animals - animals share the same principles of learning
• only observable behaviour is measurable scientifically
• classical and operant conditioning

Question 3

what’s classical conditioning?

Answer 3

• learning through association
• discovered by Pavlov
• both humans and animals can be classically conditioned

Question 4

what’s the process of classical conditioning?

Answer 4

before conditioning
NS > NR
UCS > UCR

during conditioning
NS + UCS > UCR

after conditioning
CS > CR

Question 5

what was Pavlov’s experiment?

Answer 5

• pavlov noticed that dogs started to anticipate the arrival of food on hearing his footsteps and began to salivate
• food was the UCS and salivation was the UCR
• after conditioning it was possible to cause salivation by ringing a bell
• an association between food and a bell had been made

Question 6

what’s the neutral stimulus (NS)?

Answer 6

something in the environment that doesn’t initially cause a response e.g. bell

Question 7

what’s the unconditioned stimulus (UCS)?

Answer 7

something that naturally causes a response e.g. food

Question 8

what’s the unconditioned response (UCR)?

Answer 8

a natural response to a UCS e.g. salivation

Question 9

what’s the conditioned stimulus (CS)?

Answer 9

the neutral stimulus becomes the conditioned stimulus after conditioning e.g. bell

Question 10

what’s the conditioned response?

Answer 10

a learnt response to the conditioned stimulus e.g. salivation to sound of the bell

Question 11

what’s stimulus generalisation?

Answer 11

when stimuli similar to the CS produce the CR e.g. phobias - being afraid of all dogs

Question 12

what’s stimulus discrimination?

Answer 12

the CR is only produced in response to the CS, not to similar stimuli

Question 13

what’s extinction?

Answer 13

when the CR declines and disappears because the CS is repeatedly presented in the absence of the UCS

Question 14

what’s operant conditioning?

Answer 14

• learning through consequences
• rewards and punishment
• positive reinforcement, negative reinforcement, punishment

Question 15

what’s positive reinforcement?

Answer 15

• when a behaviour is more likely to be repeated because of positive consequences
• behaviour is strengthened

Question 16

what’s negative reinforcement?

Answer 16

• when a behaviour is more likely to be repeated to avoid negative consequences
• behaviour is strengthened

Question 17

what’s punishment?

Answer 17

• when a behaviour is less likely to be repeated because of negative consequences
• behaviour is weakened

Question 18

who was skinner?

Answer 18

• his work focused on lab experiments with animals
• investigated how rewards and punishment can shape behaviour
• skinner box was designed to observe animal responses
• rat experiment
• investigated how five different types of reinforcement affected how the rats learned

Question 19

skinner box experiment

Answer 19

• the lever released food (positive reinforcement)
• the floor was electrified (punishment)
• the avoidance of the electrified floor is negative reinforcement
• avoidance of the electric shock was achieved when the rat pushed the lever when the light came on

Question 20

what’s continuous reinforcement?

Answer 20

• every single response is reinforced e.g. receiving a tip every time you serve a customer
• resistance to extinction is very low

Question 21

what’s fixed interval reinforcement?

Answer 21

• reinforcement is given every fixed time period if the response has occured at least once e.g. being paid every month
• resistance to extinction is fairly low

Question 22

what’s variable interval reinforcement?

Answer 22

• reinforcement is given e.g. on average every minute but it varies so the interval is unpredictable e.g. a self employed person may receive payment irregularly
• resistance to extinction is very high

Question 23

what’s fixed ratio reinforcement?

Answer 23

• reinforcement is given for a fixed number of responses e.g. the more work done, the more money earned
• resistance to extinction is fairly low

Question 24

what’s variable ratio reinforcement?

Answer 24

• reinforcement is given on average e.g. every 10 responses but the number varies e.g. gambling
• resistance to extinction is very high

Question 25

strength of behaviourism - scientific credibility

Answer 25

- measurement of observable behaviour - highly controlled lab experiments - emphasises importance of objectivity and replicability - unlike the psychodynamic approach

Question 26

strength of behaviourism - real life application

Answer 26

- operant conditioning is the basis of token economy (successfully used in prisons, schools, and psych wards) where tokens are given for displaying desirable behaviour - classical conditioning has been used to treat phobias through systematic desensitisation, improving quality of life

Question 27

strength of behaviourism - mechanistic view of behaviour

Answer 27

- assumes animals and humans are passive and machine-like - doesn't consider cognitive processes - deterministic - can't easily explain spontaneous behaviour