learning approaches: the behaviourist approach

classical conditioning

learning by association. Occurs when two stimuli are repeatedly paired together an UCS and a NS. The NS eventually produces the same response that was first produced by the UCS alone.

operant conditioning

a form of learning in which behaviour is shaped and maintained by its consequences. Possible consequences of behaviour include reinforcement (positive or negative) and punishment (positivist or negative).

reinforcement

A consequence of behaviour that increases the likelihood of that behaviour being repeated. Can be positive or negative.

assumptions of the behaviourist approach

The behaviourist approach is only interested in studying behaviour that can be observed and measured. It isn’t concerned with investigating mental processes of the mind cuz these were seen as irrelevant. Early behaviourists such as Watson (1913) rejected introspection as it involved too many concepts that were vague and difficult to measure. As a result, behaviourists tried to maintain more control and objectivity within their research and relied on lab studies as the best way to achieve this.

all behaviour is learned. They describe a baby's mind as a ‘blank slate’ and this is written on by experience. Following Darwin, behaviourists suggested that the basic processes that govern learning are the same in all species. This meant that in behaviourist research, animals replace humans as experimental subjects. Behaviourists identified 2 important forms of learning: classical conditioning and operant conditioning.

classical conditioning - Pavlov’s research

Classical conditioning is learning through association and was first demonstrated by Ivan Pavlov (1927). Pavlov showed how dogs could be conditioned to salivate to the sound of a bell if that sound was repeatedly presented at the same time as they were given food. Gradually, Pavlov's dogs learned to associate the sound of the bell (a stimulus) with the food (another stimulus) and would produce the salivation response every time they heard the sound.

Thus, Pavlov was able to show how a neutral stimulus, in this case a bell, can come to elicit

a new learned response (conditioned response) through association

operant conditioning - Skinner’s research

Skinner (1953) suggested that learning is an active process whereby humans and animals operate on their environment. In operant conditioning behaviour is shaped by its consequences:

• Positive reinforcement is receiving a reward when a certain behaviour is performed, for example, praise from a teacher for answering a question correctly in class.

• Negative reinforcement occurs when an animal (or human) avoids something unpleasant.
  The outcome is a positive experience. For example, when a student hands in an essay so as not to be told off, the avoidance of something unpleasant is the negative reinforcement.
  Similarly, a rat may learn through negative reinforcement that pressing a lever leads to avoidance of an electric shock (below).

• Punishment is an unpleasant consequence of behaviour, for example being shouted at by the teacher for talking during a lesson. (Finding a way to avoid that would be negative reinforcement.)

Positive and negative reinforcement increase the likelihood that behaviour will be repeated. Punishment decreases the likelihood that behaviour will be repeated.

AO3 - strength of the behaviourist approach: well-controlled research

One strength of the behaviourist approach is that it is based on well-controlled research.

Behaviourists focused on the measurement of observable behaviour within highly controlled lab settings. By breaking down behaviour into basic stimulus-response units, all other possible extraneous variables were removed, allowing cause-and-effect relationships to be established. For instance, Skinner was able to clearly demonstrate how reinforcement influenced an animal's behaviour.

This suggests that behaviourist experiments have scientific

credibility.

Counterpoint However, the problem with this is that behaviourists may have oversimplified the learning process. By reducing behaviour to such simple components, behaviourists may have ignored an important influence on learning - that of human thought. Other approaches, such as social learning theory (next spread) and the cognitive approach (page 112) have drawn attention to the mental processes involved in learning.

This suggests that learning is more complex than observable behaviour alone, and that private mental processes are also essential.

AO3 - strength of the behaviourist approach: real-world application

Another strength of the behaviourist approach is that the principles of conditioning have been applied to real-world behaviours and

For example, operant conditioning is the basis of token economy systems that have been used successfully in institutions, such as prisons and psychiatric wards. These work by rewarding appropriate behaviour with tokens that can be exchanged for privileges. For an example of how classical conditioning has been applied to the treatment of phobias, see page 148.

This increases the value of the behaviourist approach because it

has widespread application.

AO3 - limitation of the behaviourist approach: environmental determinism

it sees all behaviour as conditioned by past conditioning experiences.

Skinner suggested that everything we do is the sum total of our reinforcement history. When something happens we may think 1 made the decision to do that' but, according to Skinner, our past conditioning history determined the outcome. This ignores any possible influence that free will may have on behaviour (Skinner himself said that free will is an illusion).

This is an extreme position and ignores the influence of conscious decision-making processes on behaviour (as suggested by the cognitive approach).