The Behavioural / Social Learning Approach: Chapter 13

behaviourism

focuses on observable behaviours and their relationship to environmental stimuli, emphasizing how learning occurs through conditioning and reinforcement

• all behaviours are learned through interactions with the environment

overt behaviour

is behaviour that can be observed, predicted, and controlled by researchers

classical conditioning

a learning process where a neutral stimulus, when repeatedly paired with a stimulus that naturally elicits a response, eventually comes to evoke that same response

• Pavlov

operant conditioning

a learning process where voluntary behaviours are influenced by their consequences

• involves associating behaviors with rewards or aversive stimuli to either increase (reinforcement) or decrease (punishment) the likelihood of those behaviors occurring again

• BF Skinner

unconditioned stimulus

a stimulus that naturally and automatically triggers a response

• e.g., food for a dog

unconditioned response

the natural, automatic response to the unconditioned stimulus

• e.g., salivation when a dog sees food

neutral stimulus

a stimulus that initially does not elicit a particular response

• e.g., a bell

conditioned stimulus

the neutral stimulus that, after repeated pairings with the unconditioned stimulus, comes to elicit a response

• e.g., the bell after being paired with food

conditioned response

the learned response to the conditioned stimulus

• e.g., salivation when a dog hears the bell

second-order conditioning

a learning process where a conditioned stimulus is associated with a new neutral stimulus after the conditioned stimulus 1 has already been associated with an unconditioned stimulus

extinction

the gradual weakening and eventual disappearance of a conditioned response when a conditioned stimulus is repeatedly presented without being paired with an unconditioned stimulus

the law of effect

behaviours are more likely to be repeated if they lead to satisfying consequences and are less likely to be repeated if they lead to an unsatisfying or unpleasant consequence

reinforcement

consequences that increase the likelihood of an individuals future behaviour

punishment

consequences that decrease the likelihood of an organism's future behaviour

• removal of a positive stimulus or application of a negative stimulus

positive reinforcement

the behaviour increases as it is followed by a reward

negative reinforcement

the removal of an unpleasant stimulus when behaviours occur

shaping

a process in which successive approximations of a desired behaviour are reinforced until the target behaviour is achieved

stimulus generalization

helps explain why personality characteristics generalize across situations

• a learned response, initially triggered by a specific stimulus, also occurs in response to similar but distinct stimuli

social learning approach

a theory that posits that learning occurs through observation, imitation, and modeling, emphasizing the role of social context in behaviour

behaviour-environment-behaviour interactions

refers to the reciprocal influences between an individual's behaviour, their environment, and how this interaction shapes learning and personality

• our behaviour also determines what environments we are in and in turn, those environments can influence our behaviour

behaviour potential

the likelihood of a specific behavior occurring in a given situation

expectancies

what we believe will happen if we act in a certain way

generalized expectancies

broad, overarching beliefs about the likelihood of certain outcomes following specific behaviours or situations

• beliefs we hold about often our actions typically leads to reinforcements and punishments

locus of control

the degree to which individuals believe they have control over events affecting them

• internal (personal control)

• external (environmental control)

reinforcement values

the degree to which an individual desires or avoids a particular outcome, based on their past experiences and the perceived value of that outcome

social cognitive theory

proposes that learning and behaviour are influenced by the dynamic interplay of personal factors, behaviour, and the environment

• emphasizes observational learning

reciprocal determinism

highlights the mutual influence between personal factors (cognition, beliefs), behaviour, and the environment

observational learning

a process where individuals learn by watching others and imitating their actions