The behaviourist Approach: Classical and Operant conditioning

What are three assumptions of the behaviourist approach?

1. Only observable and measurable behaviour should be studied

2. We are born as blank slates (‘Tabula Rasa’) - there is no genetic influence on behaviour

3. The basic processes that govern learning are the same in all species - animals could replace humans as experimental subjects

Define classical conditioning:

Learning through association

Name the psychologist who investigated classical conditioning:

Ivan Pavlov

Identifying the unconditioned stimulus (UCS) and the unconditioned response (UCR) in Pavlov’s dogs:

UCS = food

UCR = salivating

Identify the neutral stimulus (NS), conditioned stimulus (CS) and the conditioned response (CR) in Pavlov’s:

NS = bell

CS = bell

CR = salivating

Outline the stages of Pavlov’s dogs:

Stage 1 - food (UCS) → salivating (UCR)

Stage 2 - bell (NS) → no conditioned response

Stage 3 - food (UCS) + bell (NS) → salivating (UCR)

Stage 4 - bell (CS) → salivating (CR)

Name the psychologists who carried out the Little Albert study:

Watson and Raynor (1920)

Describe the study of Little Albert:

• Conditioned a 9-month to have a phobia of white rats

• Repeatedly paired the rat with a steel bar being struck

• Little Albert learnt to associate the loud noise (UCS) with the white rat (NS), resulting in a learnt response of fear (CR) to white rat which is now the conditioned stimulus

What is operant conditioning?

Learning through consequences

What are the three types of consequences of behaviour?

1. Negative reinforcement

2. Positive reinforcement

3. Punishment

What is positive reinforcement?

Receiving a reward when a certain behaviour is performed

What is negative reinforcement?

Carrying out a behaviour in order to avoid an unpleasant consequence

What is punishment?

Receiving an unpleasant consequence after performing a behaviour

Which two consequences increases the likelihood of behaviour?

Positive and negative reinforcement

Which consequence decreases the likelihood of behaviour?

punishment

Who was the main psychologist who investigated operant conditioning?

B.F Skinner (1953)

What did Skinner find?

• Positive reinforcement - the rat learnt to press lever if repeatedly given food pellet when they press it

• Negative reinforcement - the rat learns to press lever if repeatedly the electric shocks stops when they press it

• Punishment - the rate learns to stop pressing the lever if repeatedly given an electric shock when they press it

What are the strengths of the behaviourist approach?

• It has scientific credibility - focuses on objectivity and replicability

• Real life application- operant conditioning forms token economy systems and classical conditioning has been used to treat phobias

\What are the limitations of the behaviourist approach?

• Mechanistic view of behaviour

• Ethical issues in using animals in experiments

• Practical issues in using animals in research