Learning Approaches- behaviourism da goat

what type of behaviour does the behaviourist approach study

behaviour that can be observed and measured

not interested in investigating mental processes of the mind

assumptions of the behaviourist approach

1. We are all born as a blank slate (tabula rasa).

2. All behaviour is learnt.

3. We are a product of our environment (nurture).

4. All behaviour can be explained through classical and operant conditioning.

5. Behaviour should be investigated using scientific experiments.

6. We can learn about human behaviour by investigating animal behaviours

what is classical conditioning?

Learning through association

who proposed the idea of classical conditioning?

Ivan Pavlov, 1927

what is generalisation?

when a conditioned response (CR) is elicited by a stimulus that is similar to the conditioned stimulus (CS).

what is discrimination?

when the person or animal learns to differentiate between similar conditioned stimuli (CS) and a conditioned response no longer occurs to a similar stimulus.

what is extinction?

when the conditioned stimulus (CS) is no longer paired with the unconditioned stimulus (UCS), eventually the conditioned response (CR) will cease

what is spontaneous recovery?

after extinction, it only takes a few pairings of the unconditioned (UCS) and conditioned stimulus (CS) for the conditioned response (CR) to reappear.

what is higher order conditioning?

- also known as second order conditioning

- occurs when a previously neutral stimulus elicits a conditioned response

E.g. in Pavlov's experiment, a tone (CS) was paired with food (UCS) to elicit salivation (UCR). If the tone was then paired with a light, and salivation occurred, that would be an example of higher order conditioning.

what is an unconditioned response (UCR)?

a natural (unlearned) reaction to a given stimulus

what is an unconditioned stimulus (UCS)?

a stimulus that causes a reflexive response (a UCR) in an organism

what is a neutral stimulus (NS)?

a stimulus that elicits no response before conditioning

what is a conditioned stimulus (CS)?

A previously neutral stimulus that, after being paired with an unconditioned stimulus, elicits a conditioned response.

what is a conditioned response (CR)?

Learned response to a conditioned stimulus.

Pavlov's research into classical conditioning

dogs were conditioned to associate the sound of a bell (initially NS) with food (UCS), producing a salivation response (UCR) when the bell (CS) was rang even when no food present

what is operant conditioning

learning through the consequences of our actions

who proposed operant conditioning?

B.F Skinner, 1953

Skinner's research into operant conditioning

• placed rats in a "skinner box"

• positive reinforcement: when rat moves and knock lever a food pellet is immediately dispensed

• negative reinforcement: unpleasant noise is played, noise stops immediately when rat knocks lever

• results:

-> rat continued pressing lever when positively reinforced, stopped pressing it when food pellet stopped being released

-> rats learned to quickly go to the lever when the noise was played

What is positive reinforcement?

when a behaviour is followed by a desirable consequence (reward) and is more likely to be repeated

What is negative reinforcement?

taking away something bad to increase behaviour

what is punishment

Unpleasant consequence for undesirable behaviour making it less likely to be repeated

strength of the behaviourist approach- well-controlled research

- focuses on measurement og observable behaviour within highly controlled lab settings

- removes extraneous variables

- establishing clear cause-and-effect relationships- scientific credibility

- e.g. dogs kept in a soundproof room, allowing for stringent measurement of dogs observable behaviour, Skinner Box allowed for systematic study of the effects of reinforcement

Counterpoint the behaviourist approach (well-controlled research)

- reducing behaviour to simple components ignores human thought, an important influence

- other approaches, e.g. SLT/CA take into account mental processes

- suggests learning is more complex than observable behaviour alone

strength- real world application

- principles of conditioning been applied to real-world behaviours and problems

- e.g. operant conditioning is the basis of token economy systems which have been successfully implemented in institutions such as prisons

- classical conditioning has been used in therapies such as systematic desensatisation to treat phobias

- increases value of behaviourist approach- widespread application

weakness- use of animals

- humans have more complex cognitive processes

- e.g. reasoning, processing

- not present to same extent in animals

- overly simplistic to apply findings from animals to humans

- reliance on non-human subjects limits extent to which findings can be applied to understanding complex human behaviours

weakness- environmental determinism

- sees all behaviour as conditioned by past experiences

- ignores possible influence of free will- an illusion according to Skinner who suggests everything we do is the sum total of our reinforcement history

- so can be seen as an overly restrictive explanation of behaviour