Interferenec theory evaluations

Evaluation cues

Notes

P- A strength of the behaviourist approach is that it is scientific

P- One limitation of behaviourism is an issue with its underlying assumptions

P- One limitation of behaviourism is its use of animals unethically.

P- One limitation of behaviourism is that one of its core explanations is limited

E – Skinner’s operant conditioning theory and his research on rats followed key scientific methods.

E – His research was empirical, as he collected data by directly observing the rats’ behaviour in controlled experiments. It was also objective as it produced clear, measurable data (e.g., counting how often rats pressed a lever after reinforcement) that needed no interpretation. Additionally, operant conditioning is falsifiable, meaning it can be tested and disproven. For example, If rats pressed the lever less after reinforcement, the theory would be proven wrong so can be falsified. Finally, Skinner’s research was replicable, as he used controlled conditions and clearly operationalised variables, allowing others to repeat and confirm his findings.

L – Therefore, behaviourist research follows key features of science, making its theories more reliable and trustworthy.

E – Chomsky (1959) found that by age four or five, children can create and understand completely new sentences they’ve never heard before.

E – This challenges the behaviourist claim that we are a blank slate and that all behaviour is learned from experience. If children can form sentences they’ve never been taught, language learning cannot be entirely based on conditioning. Instead, Chomsky argued that humans are born with an innate ability to produce language. This also contradicts the behaviourist idea that biology plays little role in behaviour. Furthermore, Chomsky’s arguments ended behaviourism’s dominance in psychology.

L – Therefore, behaviourism is weakened by doubts about its core assumption, so it could suggest that its approach is also limited.

E – Ethics in psychology require informed consent and protection from harm, but behaviourist research often failed to meet these standards.

E – Many behaviourist studies harmed animals. For example, Skinner electrocuted rats, and Pavlov performed surgery on dogs to measure saliva. Since animals cannot consent, and even if they could, they wouldn’t fully understand, so it wouldn’t be informed. However, just because research is unethical doesn’t mean its findings are invalid. Behaviourist theories have provided useful insights, even if their methods were questionable. Furthermore, behaviourist ideas have ethical implications—Skinner himself discussed using conditioning to control people’s behaviour, which could be misused by companies or governments to limit free will.

L – Therefore, while behaviourism contributes valuable knowledge, its research methods and potential for behavioural control raise ethical concerns.

E – In Bandura’s Bobo doll experiment, children imitated an adult’s aggressive behaviour without receiving direct reinforcement.

E – This contradicts the behaviourist belief that behaviour only occurs due to direct rewards or punishments. The children in Bandura’s study copied behaviour simply by observing, without being rewarded for it. Bandura explained this using mediational (mental) processes,like motivation, which showed that learning involves cognitive factors, not just reinforcement. This directly challenges behaviourism’s assumption that behaviour can be fully explained without referring to mental processes.

L – Therefore, Bandura’s findings weaken behaviourism by showing that operant conditioning alone cannot explain all behaviour, and that cognitive factors play an important role.