Learning Approach: Behaviourist Approach

Question 2

● What does the behaviourist approach state about how behaviour is learnt?

Answer 2

It is learnt from the environment

Question 3

● What does classical conditioning involve?

Answer 3

Stimulus-response association

Question 4

● Who developed classical conditioning?

Answer 4

Pavlov

Question 5

● What was the unconditioned stimulus in Pavlov’s experiment?

Answer 5

Food

Question 6

● What was the conditioned stimulus in Pavlov’s experiment?

Answer 6

Bell

Question 7

● What was the conditioned response in Pavlov’s experiment?

Answer 7

Salivation

Question 8

● What was the neutral stimulus in Pavlov’s experiment?

Answer 8

Bell

Question 9

● What was the unconditioned response in Pavlov’s experiment?

Answer 9

Salivation

Question 10

● Define operant conditioning

Answer 10

Learning through consequences (reinforcements and punishments)

Question 11

● What type of reinforcement increases behaviour with a pleasant outcome?

Answer 11

Positive reinforcement

Question 12

● What type of reinforcement increases behaviour by removing unpleasant stimuli?

Answer 12

Negative reinforcement

Question 13

● What decreases the likelihood of a behaviour being repeated?

Answer 13

Punishment

Question 14

● What is the aim of punishment?

Answer 14

To stop behaviour

Question 15

● What does positive reinforcement involve?

Answer 15

Receiving a reward

Question 16

● What does negative reinforcement involve?

Answer 16

Avoiding or removing unpleasant consequences

Question 17

● What was the reward in Skinner’s positive reinforcement experiment?

Answer 17

Food

Question 18

● What was the unpleasant stimulus in Skinner’s negative reinforcement experiment?

Answer 18

Electric current

Question 19

● What happened when the rat pressed the lever during the negative reinforcement experiment?

Answer 19

The electric current stopped

Question 20

● What behaviour did Skinner condition in rats?

Answer 20

Pressing a lever

Question 21

▲ What did Skinner’s rats learn to do through positive reinforcement?

Answer 21

Press a lever to get food

Question 22

▲ What consequence led Skinner’s rats to repeat the lever-pressing behaviour?

Answer 22

Receiving food

Question 23

▲ How did Skinner demonstrate negative reinforcement?

Answer 23

Rats pressed a lever to stop an electric shock

Question 24

▲ Why do positive and negative reinforcement increase the likelihood of behaviour?

Answer 24

Because they lead to a desirable outcome

Question 25

▲ What does punishment do in terms of behavioural likelihood?

Answer 25

Decreases the likelihood of repeating the behaviour

Question 26

▲ Why did the rat continue pressing the lever in Skinner’s negative reinforcement experiment?

Answer 26

To avoid the electric shock

Question 27

▲ What happens when reinforcement is used consistently?

Answer 27

Behaviour is repeated

Question 28

▲ How did Skinner demonstrate the effect of consequence on learning?

Answer 28

By using reinforcement and punishment

Question 29

▲ What does behaviourism suggest about unlearning behaviour?

Answer 29

Behaviour can be unlearnt

Question 30

▲ How does the environment influence behaviour, according to behaviourism?

Answer 30

Through reinforcement and punishment

Question 31

▲ How does classical conditioning differ from operant conditioning?

Answer 31

It involves associations, not consequences

Question 32

▲ What does operant conditioning suggest about behaviour change?

Answer 32

It is shaped by rewards and punishments

Question 33

▲ In classical conditioning, what happens after repeated pairings?

Answer 33

The neutral stimulus becomes a conditioned stimulus

Question 34

▲ Why was the bell considered a conditioned stimulus in Pavlov’s experiment?

Answer 34

It produced salivation after being paired with food

Question 35

▲ What type of learning occurs when a neutral stimulus becomes associated with a response?

Answer 35

Classical conditioning

Question 36

✪ Why is the behaviourist approach considered environmentally deterministic?

Answer 36

It states that behaviour is controlled by external factors like reinforcement and associations.

Question 37

✪ How can environmental determinism limit the appropriateness of the behaviourist explanation?

Answer 37

It ignores free will and choice, making individuals feel they have no control over their actions.

Question 38

✪ Why is the behaviourist approach considered reductionist?

Answer 38

It reduces complex behaviour to simple stimulus-response units.

Question 39

✪ How does environmental reductionism affect the validity of the behaviourist approach?

Answer 39

It fails to consider cultural and social context, limiting understanding of behaviour in real-world settings.

Question 40

✪ How does the use of scientific methods benefit the behaviourist explanation?

Answer 40

It uses objective and empirical techniques like lab experiments, increasing internal validity.

Question 41

✪ How did Pavlov use scientific methods in his research?

Answer 41

By measuring salivation in a controlled environment using objective techniques.

Question 42

✪ What real-world treatment has emerged from behaviourist principles?

Answer 42

Systematic desensitisation

Question 43

✪ How does systematic desensitisation apply classical conditioning to therapy?

Answer 43

It helps individuals unlearn phobias by pairing relaxation with the phobic stimulus.

Question 44

✪ Why is the behaviourist approach important to applied psychology?

Answer 44

It provides effective treatments that help people in real-world situations.

Question 45

✪ How does reinforcement theory provide a framework for modifying behaviour?

Answer 45

By understanding the effects of rewards and punishments on actions.