the behavioursit approach

What are the three assumptions

• Humans are born like a blank slate

• Behaviour learned through conditioning

• Humans and animals learn in similar ways

Explain asssumption 1

Humans are born like a blank slate

• it is believed that when we are born out mind is a ‘tabula rosa’ which is the Latin term for blank slate and our behaviour is determined by the environment we grew up in (environmental determinism)

• It support the idea of nurture over nature and that social and environmental factors have the greatest influence over our behaviour

Assumption 1 comp 3 example

Humans are born like a blank slate - criminal behaviour

• As the mind is a blank slate and individuals learn criminal behaviour though observation and imitation of friends, peers and the community which is an example of environmental determinism

Describe assumption 2 and link to comp 3 behaviour

behaviour learned through conditioning

• Classical conditioning is learned through association

• Pavlov- conditioning dogs to make a bell a conditioned stimulus to food which produces the conditioned response of salivation

• Operant conditioning is learned through reinforcement, to increase the chance of the behaviour occurring again and and punishment, to decrease the likelihood of the behaviour occurring again

• ASD - it can be used with children to improve communication skills where they use picture cards instead of spoken words and can then exchange these for desired times (positive reinforcement)

Explain assumption 3

Humans and animals learn in similar ways

• the laws of learning are the same for both human and non-human animals so therefore we are able to study animal learning to make generalisations about human behaviour

• For example, Pavlov found that dogs could be conditioned to salivate at the sound of a bell and this could be applied to humans for example in therapies to overcome phobias

Assumption 3 comp 3 example

Bullying

• a certain brain circuit makes male mice want to bully others and this can also be applied to understand bullying in human behaviour

What is the therapy

Systematic desensitisation

3 main components of systematic desensitisation (SD)

• counter conditioning

• desensitisation hierarchy

• Different forms of SD

Describe the main components of SD intro

• Helps people to ‘unlearn’ learned behaviour and is based on the idea that most forms of mental illness occurs through faulty learning

• Links to the 2nd assumption ‘behaviour learned through conditioning’ - in particular classical conditioning as it uses the idea of a stimulus-response association

Describe the main components of SD first component

counterconditioning

• This involves learning relaxation techniques for example breathing and distraction techniques

• The aim is to acquire a new stimulus-response link to respond to the stimulus with relaxation instead of fear

• This works as a result of reciprocal inhibition which is the idea that we cannot experience two contrasting emotions at the same time (fear and relaxation)

Describe the second component of SD

desensitisation hierarchy

• this is a series of gradual steps where the client and therapist work out a hierarchy of feared stimuli from least to most fearful and the client then experiences these gradually at their own pace

One example of this could be having a fear of trains and making a desensitisation hierarchy like this:

1. Saying the word ‘train’ out loud

2. Looking at a picture of a train

3. Listening to the sound of a train

4. Standing outside a train station

5. Standing on a train platform

6. Sitting inside a stationary train for 2 minutes

7. Riding on a train for 10 minutes

• the final aim at the end of the experience would be to complete number 7

Describe the third component of SD

different forms of SD

• one type is in vivo desensitisation where clients confront their feared situations directly by learning to relax in the presence of the object

• One example of this would be the client learning to relax when on a train journey if they had a fear of trains

• another form of SD is in vitro desensitisation where the clients imagines the presence of the object

• for example the same client imagining themselves on a train journey

• Menzies and Clarke found that in vivo desensitisation is more successful

Evaluate the effectiveness of SD 10 marker

+research support

• Capafons et al found that clients with a fear of flying showed less psychological signs of fear after a 12-25 week SD programme

• Shows that fear can be reduced by gradually exposing individuals to the feared situation or object

• Boosts the validity as there is evidence of it improving psychological symptoms in the real world

• Therapy is more likely to be credible and adopted in clinical practice

-treats the symptoms not the underlying cause

• it treats the fear of flying yet not the foot cause of why that individual is scared of flying

• The fear is likely to return if the root cause is not dealt with

• Reduces the overall effectiveness as it’s likely to only provide a short-term benefit

• Doesn’t provide a long-term solution and can’t boost well-being in the future

-time consuming

• Can take several weeks or months as you have to learn relaxation techniques, create a desensitisation heirarchy and experience these gradually

• Some clients may lose motivation and drop out

• Decrease reliability as it will provide inconsistent results as it won’t be fully effective on those that drop out

-not effective for all phobias

• successfully treat simple phobias but less effective for complex phobias such as social anxiety

evaluate the effectiveness of SD main points

+research support

-treats the symptoms not the underlying cause

-time consuming

-not effective for all phobias

evaluate the ethics of SD 10 marker

+clients are usually able to provide valid consent

• SD is mainly used for phobias and not problems such as depression and schizophrenia

• clients are in a ‘healthy’ enough state of mind to understand what the therapy entails and be aware of the potential side effects

• meet the ethical requirement of obtaining valid consent as clients can make an informed decision if they wish to take part in the therapy

-power relationship may affect consent

• although they agreed to take part in the therapy they may feel pressured into continuing because they view the therapist as an authority figure

• continue despite not wanting to, more psychological harm

• reduces the validity of the consent

• ethical guidelines require participants to have the right to withdraw without pressure

+anxiety controlled

• unlike flooding it works gradually through a hierarchy at the clients pace

• client is relaxed before progressing, minimises distress

• enhances ethical acceptability as clients experience less psychological harm

• therapies that minimise harm uphold ethical standards and increase patients compliance and trust

-some stress is unavoidable

• even though clients are introduced gradually they are still exposed to object or situations that they fear

• cannot completely eliminate stress

evaluate the ethics of SD main points

+clients are usually able to provide valid consent

-power relationship may affect consent

+anxiety controlled

-some stress is unavoidable

what is the classical evidence

Watson and Rayner

Describe the methodology of Watson and Rayner

• It involved one participant - a male infant aged 9 months (Little Albert)

• It was not a case study because it only focused on his response to conditioning

• A case study would be a more in-depth detail on the individuals life

• It was not an experiment as there was only one condition so no IV or DV

• It was a controlled observation as it was conducted in controlled conditions (a well-lit dark room)

• Albert was placed on a mattress that was on top of a table

  
  

Describe the procedures of Watson and Rayner

emotional tests:

• 9 months old

• Presented with a white rat, dog, monkey, masks with and without hair, cotton wool, burning newspaper etc

• Loud noise created with a hammer upon a suspended steel bar

Establishing a conditioned emotional response:

• 11 months and 3 days old

• Presented with a white rat and the bar struck at the same time

Testing a conditioned emotional response:

• 11 months and 10 days old

• Presented with white rat and no sound

• then 5 lots of joint stimulation (white rat and bar)

Generalisation:

• 11 months and 15 days old

• Presented with the blocks, rat, rabbit, dog, seal fur coat, cotton wool and John Watsons hair

• Also presented with wooden blocks

Changing the environment:

• 11 months and 20 days old

• joint stimulation in the new environment

The effect of time:

• 12 months and 21 days old

• Presented with fur objects and blocks in the lab

Describe the findings of Watson and Rayner

Emotional tests:

• no fear to objects before conditioning

• Bar was struck and on the third time he broke into a crying fit

Establishing a conditioned emotional response:

• when the bar was struck he jumped and fell forward but didn’t cry

• The second time he fell forward whimpering a little

testing the conditioned emotional response:

• He didn’t reach for the rat

• His cautious behaviour was tested by giving him some blocks which he played with happily

• He was shown the rat again and he began to cry and crawl away

Generalisation:

• played happily with the blocks

• immediately responded with fear to the rat

• Reaction to the rabbit was as extreme to the rat as he burst into tears and crawled away

• His reaction to the dog and fur coat wasn’t as violent

• Played with John Watsons hair and the cotton wool and it’s paper package

Changing the environment:

• responses to the rat, rabbit and dog were less extreme

• After further ‘freshening up’ conditioned fear response was stronger

The effect of time:

• responded to test objects differently to control objects

• Avoided and whimpered at fur objects

Describe the conclusions of Watson and Rayner

• Shows the ease that a fear response can be created

• two ‘joint stimulation’ can create the conditioned emotional response

• Seven was enough to bring about the complete reaction

• Demonstrated learned responses generalise to similar stimuli

• Suspected persistance of early conditioned responses would only be found in people ‘constitutionally inferior’

Evaluate the methodology and procedures of Watson and Rayner

+baseline test was done

• Albert’s responses to stimuli were tested before the study

• They could be sure that his later fearful responses were because of what was done during the study

• Increases internal validity as a cause and effect relationship can be established

+the study was filmed

• future psychologists would be able to view the original footage to see the detailed procedure

• The study could be replicated

• Increases reliability as the results can be checked

-the sample

• only involved one participant - a 9 month old boy who was a calm and even-tempered baby

• he is not representative of all 1 year olds

• Findings can’t be generalised, creates a non-generalisable study

+high level of control

• controlled environment meant that extraneous variables could be controlled for

Evaluate the methodology and procedures of Watson and Rayner main points

+baseline test was done

+study was filmed

-the sample

+high level of control

evaluate 2 ethical issues of Watson and Rayner

-deliberately created fear in a young child

• conditioned to fear furry objects that had previously been neutral, leaving the session with a phobia he didn’t have beforehand

• unnecessary psychological harm

• reduces ethical validity as it directly breached principles of protection from harm

• damages credibility and prevents findings being seen as fully legitimate

-lasting effects

• did intend to remove Albert’s learned conditioned response but Albert was suddenly removed from the hospital so couldn’t be done

• experience unnecessary anxiety affecting his day to day life and future

• study would be difficult to replicate as it’s unlikely receive ethical approval today

• reduces external validity

evaluate 2 ethical issues of Watson and Rayner main points

-deliberately created fear in a young child

-lasting effects

Evaluate the social implications on Watson and Rayner (10 marks)

+education

• conditioning techniques can be used to shape a child’s behaviour McAllister et al found that an increase use of ‘teacher disapproval’ led to a decrease in ‘inappropriate talking’

• maximise educational achievement and teach them skills required to succeed in society

• practical application, benefit society

• children are prepared for the workforce

-education

• Conditioning techniques such as rewards/ punishments is harmful for a child’s intrinsic motivation to learn

• risk of creating generations with no intrinsic motivation who are reliant on receiving rewards to complete a task

• limits the usefulness of the research as some applications may have long-term negative effects

• society requires children who are self-motivated

• +development of therapies

• found that fears can be learnt through classical conditioning e.g Little Albert developed a fear of a white rat due to the noise paired with it so knowing how they developed helped us to discover how they can be unlearned

• development of systematic desensitisation which remains an effective treatment for phobias

• strengthens the social value, showing that ethically questionable research can still contribute to practical treatments

+shaping children’s behaviour

• Parents can use conditioning techniques positively to shape a child’s behaviour e.g toilet training

Evaluate the social implications of Watson and Rayner main points

+education

-education

+development of therapies

+shaping children behaviour

Evaluate the behaviourist approach 10 marker

+practical applications

• classical conditioning principles have been applied in SD to help people suffering with phobias

• Improve long-term well-being, quality of life

• Increases the external validity as the theories have been applied to treat real-life problems

• Theories that improve people’s life are considered stronger than ones that just explain human behaviour

+scientific approach

• studies behaviour using controlled experiments such as Pavlov’s dogs and Skinners operant conditioning chamber

• less extraneous and confounding variables in a controlled environment

• Increases internal validity as it shows the exact factors than can affect our behaviour without potential other factors

• High validity means findings are taken seriously

-emphasises on nature

• focuses on environmental factors and ignores biological factors such as how genetics may shape our behaviour

• Oversimplifies human behaviour

• Reduces the validity as it cannot fully explain human behaviour if it doesn’t account for behaviours determined by biological mechanisms

+focus on the here and now

• focuses on the current symptoms and trying to remove them rather than dowelling on the past, less psychological harm, less invasive

Evaluate the behaviourist approach main points

+practical applications

+scientific approach

-emphasis on nature

+focuses on the here and now

what is the debate

• using conditioning techniques to control the behaviour of children

describe the intro of the debate

it’s believed our behaviour is learned through our environment and learning occurs through conditioning

different types of conditioning:

• classical conditioning - association

• operant - punishment and reinforcement

still a debate in 2026:

• adults have always tried to control the behaviour of children

• rewards and punishments are common in both home and school yet is it in the children’s best interest for their future ?

what are the 4 sections of the debate ?

• home

• school

• peers

• vulnerable groups

+home research names

• Gill

• Jo frost

+home paragraph

develop good morals at a young age

• Gill - used positive reinforcement to rewards children with pocket money after completing chores

• become money driven, increase the chance of them becoming successful and aiming for highly paid jobs, boost the economy

• Jo frost - used the ‘naughty step’ to correct inappropriate behaviour of children

• teaches children good behaviour and morals from an early age, learn to behave in a responsible way, contribute to a good society

-home research names

• Morris

• Mumsnet

-home paragraph

parents are inexperienced

• Morris - criticises the ‘naughty step’ as very young children struggle to reflect during time-outs

• as they have a very low emotional understanding, don’t understand what they did wrong, feel isolated, psychological harm ?

• Mumsnet - parents may be too stressed or too tired to apply reward systems consistently

• inconsistent reinforcement would confuse children as to which behaviour are rewarded, less likely to repeat correct behaviour

+school research names

• McAllister

• LeFrancious

+school paragraph

gives students a better environment to work in

• McAllister - an increase in teacher disapproval led to a decrease in in appropriate talking

• less distracted, able to concentrate on their work, increased attention span as they are older, don’t develop poor behaviour from other children

• LeFrancois - classical conditioning can improve student performance e.g attractive wall displays - positive feelings about the work

• Associate work with positive feelings, more motivated, better qualifications, give them more opportunities in the future, higher chance of being successful

-school research names

• Montessori education

• Basar et al

-school paragraph

long-term problems at school

• Montessori education - rewards and punishments can interfere with a child’s internal drive to learn

• If they are suddenly stopped being rewarded, unfocused, no motivation, poor education, limits life choices, creates unrealistic expectation of always getting rewards

• Basar et al- rewards and punishments can cause long-term stress and anxiety

• Affect mental health and confidence, isolate themselves and don’t take part in class, lack of friendships

+peers research names

• Curry

• Albert Bandura

+peers paragraph

copy the behaviour of peers that is being positively reinforced

• Curry - we admire and imitate our role models (peers) in the classroom which increases motivation and excitement

• Put in hard work to get a better education, higher paying job, boosts economy

• Albert Bandura - vicarious reinforcement (watching others being rewarded) will encourage peers to copy the behaviour

• Creates a ripple effect of good behaviour throughout peers, overtime’s shapes a society where positive behaviour is the norm

-peers research names

• Bricker et al

• Sutherland

-peers paragraph

influence their peers negatively

• Bricker et al - children as young as 10 were influenced to start smoking due to positive reinforcement of peer pressure

• Start an addiction in young children, long term health problems, stress on the NHS

• Sutherland - if role models (peers) are successful in criminal activities it provides vicarious reinforcement

• Peers start taking part, become desensitised to crime, criminals record affecting the job they can get and their future

+vulnerable groups research

• Lovaas

• Chaney et al

+vulnerable groups paragraph

prepares them for later in life

• Lovaas - used operant conditioning techniques for up to 40 hours a week with autistic children to help them to achieve ‘normal’ intellectual functioning

• Prepare them for life, as they gain transferable skills, tolerate other children and communicate with them which will help them to build friendships

• Chaney et al - the use of a ‘funhaler’ with children with asthma created fewer problems when medicating

• Positive experience means less likely to be scared of medical situations e.g doctors, less likely to develop phobias e.g needles

conclusion research name

• Anderson

conclusion paragraph

Conditioning techniques shouldn’t be used to control the behaviour of children

Anderson et al - revisited Lovaas’ approach and said that it could be done in 10 hours rather than 40 and was therefore a costly programme

• taking advantage of vulnerable groups families, abusing his power making them pay more, unethical, psychological harm of feeling deceived, also unethical as autistic children don’t have the brain complexity for 40 hours of training a week

• However, if they follow ethical guidelines and are carefully though out they can be used

-vulnerable groups research name

• Chaney et al

-vulnerable groups paragraph

• Chaney et al - developed the ‘funhaler’

• Teaching the association between medication and fun, mistake it for positive reinforcement + overdose, could lead to the ID having the unconscious desire of medication, rebellious behaviour of children sneaking it