Behaviorism

Behaviorism

  • Behaviorism is a psychological school established by John B. Watson.

    • Focuses solely on observable behaviors and dismisses internal mental processes as irrelevant.

    • Views psychology as strictly a study of behavior shaped by the environment (nurture).

Attendance Riddle

  • Riddle: "When I'm alive you sing, when I die you clap. What am I?"

The Conditioning of "Little Albert"

  • Before Conditioning:

    • Child shows no fear of a white rat.

  • During Conditioning:

    • White rat (Conditioned Stimulus, CS) is paired with a loud sound (Unconditioned Stimulus, US) that naturally evokes a fear response.

  • After Conditioning:

    • Child shows a conditioned fear response (Conditioned Response, CR) to the white rat alone.

    • Stimulus Generalization:
      - Child exhibits fear reactions to stimuli similar to the CS.

Fear Conditioning

  • Definitions:

    • Neutral Stimulus (NS) = rat

    • Unconditioned Stimulus (US) = Noise

    • Unconditioned Response (UR) = fear

    • Conditioning = NS + US repeatedly paired.

    • Conditioned Stimulus (CS): = rat (producing fear without noise).

    • Conditioned Response (CR): = fear.

Classical Conditioning Phenomena

  • Generalization:

    • Associating stimuli similar to the CS with the same response.

  • Discrimination:

    • Ability to distinguish between a CS and unrelated stimuli; not associating dissimilar stimuli with the CS.

Classical vs. Operant Conditioning

Classical Conditioning:

  • Learning results from forming an association between stimuli which are not controlled by the organism.

  • Involves respondent behavior (automatic responses to stimuli).

Operant Conditioning:

  • Learning results from forming an association between behaviors and their consequences (rewards or punishments).

  • Involves voluntary behaviors that are influenced by their outcomes.

Behavior versus Mind

  • Behavior:

    • Observable responses to internal and external stimuli; actions we can directly observe.

  • Mind:

    • Responsible for cognitive functions such as perception, attention, memory, emotions, language, decision making, thinking, and reasoning.

    • Inferrable but not directly observable, making it complex to evaluate.

Key Figures in Behaviorism

John B. Watson (1878 – 1958):

  • Established behaviorism and advocated for the study of observable behavior exclusively.

  • Presented the view that the mind is a “black box” and should not be the focus of scientific inquiry.

Edward Thorndike (1874 – 1949):

  • Studied learning behavior in cats, particularly using a “Puzzle Box.”

  • Developed the Law of Effect: behavior followed by desirable outcomes tends to be repeated, while behavior followed by less desirable outcomes is less likely to recur.

B.F. Skinner (1904 – 1990):

  • Focused on how rewards and punishments affect behavior, leading to the development of operant conditioning.

  • Believed behavior is determined entirely by the environment, with free will being an illusion.

Operant Conditioning

  • Definition: Responses are considered “operant” as they act upon the environment to produce consequences.

    • Reinforcement: Increases the likelihood of a behavior.

    • Punishment: Decreases the likelihood of a behavior.

Reinforcers

  • Positive Reinforcement: Adding a pleasant stimulus to encourage behavior (e.g., giving a treat when doing a trick).

  • Negative Reinforcement: Removing an unpleasant stimulus to encourage behavior (e.g., stopping a loud noise when a child wears a seatbelt).

Types of Reinforcement

  • Primary Reinforcer:

    • Innately satisfying (no learning required); similar to a US.

  • Secondary Reinforcer:

    • Stimulus that has acquired value through association; similar to a CS.

Schedules of Reinforcement

  • General: Determines frequency of reinforcement.

    • Continuous Reinforcement: Every response is reinforced.

    • Partial Reinforcement: Only some responses are reinforced.

  • Two Main Types of Partial Reinforcement:

    • Ratio Schedules (Fixed/Variable): Based on the number of responses.

    • Interval Schedules (Fixed/Variable): Based on the time elapsed.

Partial Reinforcement Schedules: Variations

Fixed-Ratio Schedule:

  • Reinforcement follows a set number of responses.

  • Consequence: Pause in behavior occurs after reward.

Variable-Ratio Schedule:

  • Reinforcement follows an average number of responses.

  • Consequence: Steady rate of responding.

Fixed-Interval Schedule:

  • Reinforcement occurs after a fixed period following the initial response.

  • Consequence: Response rate increases as reinforcement approaches.

Variable-Interval Schedule:

  • Reinforcement occurs after an average period following the initial response.

  • Consequence: Regular rate of response.

Punishment

  • Definition: A consequence designed to weaken or suppress a behavior.

    • Positive Punishment: Introduction of an aversive (negative) stimulus (e.g., spanking).

    • Negative Punishment: Removal of a desired stimulus (e.g., grounding).

Summary of Reinforcement and Punishment

  • Reinforcement: Strengthens behavior.

    • Positive Reinforcement: Gain something good.

    • Negative Reinforcement: Lose something bad.

  • Punishment: Weakens behavior.

    • Positive Punishment: Gain something bad.

    • Negative Punishment: Lose something good.

Drawbacks of Punishment

  • Suppression of undesirable behavior but does not eliminate it.

  • Does not teach new behaviors.

  • Can lead to unexpected negative consequences, including abuse or inappropriate modeling.

Cognitive Learning

  • Involves the acquisition of mental abilities and skills through information processing and reasoning.

  • Engages cognitive processes (problem solving, memory retention, thinking, and perception) that cannot be directly observed.

Tolman’s Rats

  • Experiment: Divided rats into three groups exploring a maze.

    • Group 1: Reinforced with food every time they completed the maze.

      • Result: Learned to navigate the maze with few errors.

    • Group 2: Never reinforced for completing the maze.

      • Result: Made more errors than Group 1.

    • Group 3: No rewards for 10 days; received food rewards on the 11th day.

      • Result: Demonstrated a significant increase in learning and performance, becoming more proficient than Group 1 in fewer trials.

  • Findings: Evidence of Latent Learning, where learning is not immediately evident until an incentive is given (Tolman and Honzik, 1930).