Behaviorist approach

Behaviorist assumptions

• Humans are born as a blank slate

• Human behavior is learnt through experience (classical & operant comditioning)

• Only observable behavior can be studied scientifically

• Valid to study on animals as they share the same principles of learning & therefore conclusions can be extrapolated to humans

Humans are born as a blank slate

• John Watson proposed the principle of classical conditioning explained all aspects of human psychology e.g. acquisition of phobias where they successfully conditioned little Albert to have a fear of rats.

Human behavior is learnt through experience

• Through classical & operant conditioning

• Classical conditioning is known as stimulus-response psychology & is learnt through association when 2 stimuli are repeatedly paired together - UCS and NS paired together. NS eventually produces same response as UCS which is now a CR, and NS becomes a CS

• Operant conditioning - learning through consequence & reinforcement. Positive reinforcement - receiving reward for performing certain behavior. Negative reinforcement - behavior to avoid something unpleasent. Punishment - unpleasent consequence of behavior.

Valid to study animals as they share the same principles of learning & therefore results can be extrapolated to humans

• CC - Pavlov - he classically conditioned dogs to salivate at the sound of bells, pairing food with ringing bell (UCS + NS = UCR). Bell becomes CS which produces CR (salivating)

• OC - Skinner - PR - every time the rat would knock the lever, food came out. NR - a shock would be sent through skinner’s box & in order to stop the shock, the rat would knock the lever

AO3 No.1 - Research

• Scientific empirical research

• Pavlov & Skinner’s research were lab experiments, controlled environments meaning pPavlov could accurately measure how much saliva was produced from ringing the bell

• Skinner could establish causal relationships between the behavior and its consequences

• High internal validity of research & therefore to the approach

AO3 No 2 - Issues & debates

• Hard determinist - environmentally determinist as it suggests all behavior is influenced by external factors

• Skinner suggests free will is an illusion - view is not favoured by many people as they do not have control over own behavior

• E.g. research has found not everyone who has a traumatic incident with dogs has a phobia, suggesting existence of free will & control over own actions

• Reduced ability to explain behavior

AO3 No 3 - application

• Lead to development of treatments

• CC - systematic desensitization & flooding - forming new association between individual and phobic stimulus by replacing feeling of fear with relaxation

• OC - token economy in prisons. Good behavior rewarded with tokens (2ndary reinforcers) in exchange for rewards (primary reinforcers) , useful in reducing undesirable behavior & encourage positive behavior

• Demonstrate useful applications of conditioning theories & therefore the approach itself