the behaviourist approach

How does this approach say we learn

Through association

Pavlovs dogs procedure

• before conditioning - food + dogs = unconditioned response

• Before conditioning - bell + dogs = no response

• During conditioning- bell + food + dogs = unconditioned response

• After conditioning x bell + dogs = conditioned response

What did Watson and Rayners study

The idea of learning a phobia

What was the name of Watson and Rayners study

The little Albert study

Before conditioning little Albert

Neutral stimulus = white rats

No response

During conditioning - little Albert

Neutral stimulus = white rats

Unconditioned stimulus = loud noise

Unconditioned response = fear

After conditioning - little Albert

• white rats = conditioned stimulus

• fear = unconditioned response

Watson and Rayner procedure

• 9 month old Albert was presented with animals including a white rats again and showed no response

• Then he was presented with the rat again and a loud noise made by a steel bar and hammer

• This was repeated

• Eventually he showed fear just from seeing the white rats again without the noise

Little Albert results

He remained scared of the rat even when the loud sound wasn’t present

Who studied operant conditioning

Skinner

Skinner procedure

• a hungry rat was placed in a box that contained a lever

• When the rat moved it would accidentally hit the lever and therefore get food

• After it did this multiple times the rat learned to press the lever every time it wanted food

What were the three things skinner said can influence behaviour

• positive reinforcement

• Nega reinforcement

• Punishment

Positive reinforcement

Adding something pleasant

Negative reinforcement

Removing something unpleasant

Positive punishment

Adding something unpleasant

Negative punishment

Removing something pleasant

What are the strengths of the behavioural approach

• evidence

• Real life application

• Methods used

Evidence

Little Albert

Real life application

The idea of operant conditioning can be used in society through our token economy for example when people go to rehab they reciebve tokens for things like 3 months clean which therefore rewards good behaviour

Methods used

Both Pavlov and skinner completed their experiments in a lab which is a highly controlled environment

What were the limitations of the behavioural approach

• Deterministic

• Reductionist

Deterministic

It doesn’t allow for the argument of free will and suggests that we only follow behaviour that will get rewarded, not what we actually want to do

Reductionist

It reduces all complex behaviour down to the idea of just doing whatever we have been conditioned to do and leaves out other reasons e.g. cognitive