Behaviourist approach

What is classical conditioning?

This is learning through association - two stimuli are paired to produce the same response

What are the steps of classical conditioning? (A01)

• Classical conditioning is learning through association - two stimuli are paired to produce the same response

• Before learning: an unconditioned stimulus produces a reflex response called an unconditioned response. A stimulus that produces no response is called a neutral stimulus

• During learning: a neutral stimulus is paired with an unconditioned stimulus, they both occur together. This leads to a formation of an association between the neutral stimulus and the unconditioned stimulus. This pairing occurs repeatedly

• After learning: overtime, through associating the unconditioned stimulus with the neutral stimulus, the neutral stimulus now elicits the same response as the unconditioned stimulus. This response is now called the conditioned response and the neutral stimulus is now called the conditioned stimulus

• As a result of the association, we have now learnt a new response for a stimulus we previously had no reaction to.

What is meant by operate condtioning?

This is learning through consequence. Rewards and punishmnet are used in many different institutions

such as schools and prisons

What is the A01 for operate condtioning?

Operate condtioning which is ‘learning through consequnce’ can happen in three ways:

• Postive reinforcement - recieving a pleasant consequence in response to preforming a desired behaviour. This increses the frequency of the given behvaiour.

• Negative reinforcemnet - the removal of an unpleasant experience in response to preforming a desired behvaiour. This also increses the frequency of the behaviour.

• Punishment - recieving an unpleasant consequence in response to preforming an undesired behaviour. This reduces the frequency of the given behaviour.

What is meant by extinction?

• When condtioned stimulus is no longer presented alongside the unconditioned stimulus, overtime we stop showing a conditioned response in response to the conditioned stimulus

What is meany by spontaneous recovery?

• The immediate return of a conditioned response when the contioned stimulus is presented alongside a unconditioned stimulus after a period of extinction

What is meant by genrelisation?

• When a conditioned response is demonstrated in response to stimuli which are similar to conditioned stimulus

Strength of BA: Scientific methodology

• One strength of the behaviourist approach is that it uses scientific methodology

• Firstly research from the behaviourist approach from the behaviourist approach is based off of objective measurements of behaviour. Therefore, this means that it is free from researcher bias and will be objective. This improves the validity of the findings.

• Another way the methodology is scientific is research like skinner’s box studies that investigated operate conditioning were conducted using standardised procedure and high levels of control. Thus, the experiments are reliable this is because the experiments can be repeated in order to check for the consistency in findings which leads to reliable findings which support the approach.

• This is a strength because psychology aims to understand human behaviour using scientific principles. This increases the validity of the approach.

Strength of BA: There are many real life practice applications

• A strength of the BA is that there are many real life practical applications to the BA

• The principles of operate conditioning such as positive reinforcement has helped to develop behaviour modification programmes that have been used to modify behaviour in the real world.

• For example token economy is used in institutions like prisons to encourage positive behaviour. E.g. token is given when the desirable behaviour is shown e.g. keeping your cell clean, this acts as a positive reinforcement.

• The tokens are collected and and exchanged at the prison commissary for goods.

• The desired behaviour increases in freq

• This helps encourage the development of desired behaviour in the long term

• Therefore this increases the utility of the BA as it can be used to improve lives

Strength of BA: supporting research

• One strength is that there is supporting evidence from Pavlov and skinner

• Pavlov found that following repeated ‘pairings’ of a bell and food (NS + UCS) led to dogs being conditioned to salivate when he rang the bell without any food being present. This shows that through the building of an ‘association’ between the two stimuli (NS + UCS) a ‘conditioned response ‘ can be produced and learning occurs.

• Skinner found that rats could be conditioned to learn through rewards and punishments. He found that when rats were positively reinforced ( by providing food) for pressing a lever they were likely to repeat the behaviour, but when punished (electric shock) they were less likely to repeat the behaviour.

• Thus is shows that learning through consequence occurs

• As there is supporting evidence for classical conditioning and operate conditioning this increases the validity of the behaviourist approach

Limitation: approach extrapolates from animal research

• One weakness of the BA is that the approach often extrapolates from animals research

• For example the principles of classical conditioning is based on Pavlov’s research done on dogs and operate conditioning is based on skinners research which is done on rats

• This is a weakness because psychologists argue humans are more physically and cognitively complex than animals and thus results can not be extrapolated to humans.

• This questions the validity of concepts like classical and operate conditioning as supporting evidence cannot be applied to humans and lacks external validity since the approach is based on studies which many not apply to humans, we cannot be confident the theory can be applied

• This decreases the validity of the approach

Limitation of BA: Reductionist

• One weakness - reductionist

• This is because the BA oversimplifies very complex behaviour to simple ‘stimulus - response’ association. Therefore, it disregards other factors which may influence behaviour such as your biological makeup (genes and hormones) especially when there is credible research from Mcguffin which suggests that genes do play a role in human behaviour.

• Human behaviour is best understood in a holistic way, taking in account the interactions in multiple factors

• Therefore, since the BA is reductionist, it leads to over simplistic and incomplete explanations for very complex behaviours. This reduces the validity of the approach

Assumptions

• All behaviour is learned from experience and therefore can be changed

• it is useful to study animals to understand behaviour as the same processes produce learning for both humans and other animals

• genetics do not have any influnece on behaviour as you are born with a ‘tabula rasa’ (blank slate) on which your experineces are written (by our environment) and shape who you are

Research: Pavlov dog

• Ivan Pavlov was researching digestion in dogs and had designed apparatus to measure salvation.

• He noticed that when he entered the room, the dog's salivation increased, whereas initially the dog would only salivate at the presence of food.

• Pavlov aimed to investigate why this had happened by ringing a bell at the same time as presenting food to the dog.

• The dog would salivate in response to the food. Pavlov found that following repeated pairings of the bell and food, when he rang the bell without any food being present, the dog still salivated.

• Pavlov was able to show that through the learning of an association between two stimuli, the neutral stimulus and the unconditioned stimulus, a conditioned response can be produced. Pavlov's findings led to the theory of classical conditioning.

Research: Skinners Box

• A Skinner's box is a piece of equipment used to investigate operant conditioning. Food pellets act as positive reinforcement for pressing the lever. The electric grid can produce electric shocks which can be used as punishment or as a source of negative reinforcement.

• In the positive reinforcement variation of Skinner's box study, there was a light which indicated that the food pellet was available. If the rats pulled the lever while this light was on, they would receive the pellet as a reward.

• As a result of this, they were more likely to pull the lever in the future every time the light went on.

• In the negative reinforcement variation, rats were given a mild electric shock and this carried on till the rats accidentally pulled the lever, which would lead to them discover that pulling the lever would temporarily disable the shocks. Since the pulling of the lever removed the unpleasant experience of being shocked, this increased the likelihood of the rats pulling the lever in the future.