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.

extinction is the decrease in the conditioned response when the UCS is no longer presented with the CS. when presented with the CS alone, the individual would show a weaker and weaker response, and finally no response. there is a gradual weakening and disappearance of the CR.

assumptions of the behaviourist approach

1. the majority of behaviour is learnt from the environment after birth. so, behaviour should be investigating the laws and products of learning. behaviour is determined by the environment, since people are merely the total of their past learning experiences, free will is an illusion. 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.

2. only observable behaviour, not our minds, should be studied if psychology is to be an objective science, since researchers can’t see into other people’s minds, and if they ask people about their thoughts they could lie, not know, or just be mistaken. 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.

classical conditioning - Pavlov’s (1927) research

Pavlov showed how dogs could be conditioned to salivate to the sound of a bell if that sound was repeatedly presented with 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 identified 3 types of responses that can follow behaviour:
1 - reinforcers: responses from the environment that increase the probability of a behaviour being repeated. can be either positive or negative.
2 - punishers: responses from the environment that decrease the likelihood of a behaviour being repeated. punishment weakens behaviour.
3 - neutral operants: responses from the environment that neither increase nor decrease the probability of a behaviour being repeated.

The Skinner Box

Skinner showed how positive reinforcement worked by placing a hungry rat in his Skinner box. the box contained a lever on the side, and as the rat moved about the box, it would accidentally knock the lever. immediately it did so a food pellet would drop into a container next to the lever.

the rats quickly learned to go straight to the lever after a few times of being put in the box. the consequence of receiving food if they pressed the lever ensured that they would repeat the action again and again.

Skinner showed how negative reinforcement worked by placing a rat in his Skinner box and then subjecting it to an unpleasant electric current which caused some discomfort. as the rat move about the box it would accidentally knock the lever. immediately it did so the electric current would be switched off. the rats quickly learned to go straight to the lever after a few time of being put in the box. the consequence of escaping the electrical current ensured that they would repeat the action again and again.

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

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

This suggests that behaviourist experiments have scientific credibility.

COUNTER: behaviourists may have oversimplified the learning process. By reducing behaviour to such simple components, behaviourists may have ignored an important influence on learning - human thought. Other approaches, such as SLT and the cognitive approach 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

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.

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).