This document covers all elements of the Behaviourist Approach in psychology including assumptions, studies, strengths and weaknesses. It provides both information and inspiration to those who struggle with writing and organising notes.
Assumptions:
All behaviours are learned through interaction with the environment through a
process called conditioning.
Behaviour is the result of stimulus-response
There is little difference between the learning that takes place in humans and that in
other animals
Behaviourism is primarily concerned with observable behaviour, as opposed to
internal events like thinking and emotion
Psychology should be seen as a science
The behaviourist approach is only concerned with studying behaviour that can be observed
and measured. It is not concerned with mental processes of the mind. Introspection was
rejected by behaviourists as its concepts were vague and difficult to measure. Behaviourists
tried to maintain more control and objectivity within their research and relied on lab studies to
achieve this. They believe that the basic processes that govern learning are the same in all
species and therefore used a lot of animals to replace humans in their research.
Classical Conditioning:
Classical conditioning refers to learning through association. This was shown by Ivan Pavlov
- he conditioned dogs to salivate at the sound of a bell. He showed how a neutral stimulus
can through association produce a conditioned response.
Pavlov’s research:
Before Conditioning:
o Unconditioned Stimulus (UCS) = Food
o Unconditioned Response (UCR) = Salivation
o Neutral Stimulus (NS) = Bell
During Conditioning
o Bell and food occur at the same time
After Conditioning:
o Conditioned Stimulus (CS) = Bell
o Conditioned Response (CR) = Salivation
Operant Conditioning:
Operant conditioning refers to learning through reinforcement and as an active process
whereby humans and animals operate on their environment. Behaviour is shaped and
maintained by its consequences.
There are three types of consequence:
Positive Reinforcement
o Receiving a reward when behaviour is performed
Negative Reinforcement
o Avoiding something unpleasant when a behaviour is performed (threat of
punishment)
Punishment
o An unpleasant consequence of behaviour
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