Part 1: Drawing on Chapter 4 of Investigating Psychology, evaluate the relevance of behaviourist principles to human behaviour.
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Course
DE100 Investigating Psychology 1 (DE100)
Institution
The Open University (OU)
Part 1: Drawing on Chapter 4 of Investigating Psychology, evaluate the relevance of behaviourist principles to human behaviour.
Part 2: DE100 project report- Method
TMA 03
Part 1: Drawing on Chapter 4 of Investigating Psychology, evaluate the relevance of
behaviourist principles to human behaviour.
Behaviourism is an important theory within psychology that explores the possibilities of how
certain behaviours emerge, continue and change. These behaviours are thought to derive
from certain consequences of particular actions and are studied only through observable
behaviour (Toates, 2020). However, it is disputed whether behaviourist principles are
relevant to human behaviour. According to Toates (2020), before the time of Watson
(1913), psychology was mainly the study of the mind and was based upon subjective events.
Watson (1913) argued that psychology should be measured by observable data that focused
on behaviour, and thus behaviourism was born. This essay will evaluate the arguments for
and against the claim that behaviourist principles are relevant to human behaviour with a
focus on the work of John Watson (1913), Ivan Pavlov (1927) and B.F. Skinner (1979).
The following two studies were very important in showing through research how
behaviourist principles can be applied to animal and human behaviour. Ivan Pavlov (1927)
was a scientist who researched reflex, which is an automatic reaction to a stimulus, he did
this through learning by association known as classical conditioning. He studied the
production of saliva and stomach juices by dogs when fed meat juices which was the
stimulus to the reflex (production of saliva). Pavlov (1927) went on to study the pairing of a
tone with the presentation of food to the dogs. Eventually, the tone alone would initiate
saliva and stomach juices. This showed that there was a change in the behaviour and
learning had occurred where the dogs realised that the tone meant that food could be
provided soon (Toates, 2020). Watson, an American psychologist extended Pavlov’s
research and conducted his own study on a child called Little Albert. Albert was at first
paired with a tame rat, and Albert showed no fear of the rat initially. Next, Watson observed
the reaction of Albert to a loud bang near his head, Albert moved away from the source of
the bang. Watson then paired the bang with the presentation of the rat to Albert. After
several observations, Albert began to move away from the rat when it was presented
without the loud bang. This showed that Albert began to fear the rat due to the negative
experiences that accompanied it. Therefore, it was possible that Albert learned to become
defensive to the stimulus of the rat, (Toates, 2020). Both studies show the effects that
1
, Zoe Fletcher DE100-TMA03 H7683706
classical conditioning has on behaviour, and how it can be used on both animals and
humans. Although the Little Albert experiment would be unethical today, it was an
important study to show how behaviour can be changed because of experience.
B.F.Skinner was a psychologist who’s research on behaviourism became very well known.
Toates (2020) discusses how B.F.Skinner (1979) observed animals in his studies and focused
on the type of learning called instrumental conditioning, which is the type of conditioning
where the action of an animal will decide the outcome. An example is the acquiring of food
from the process of turning a latch or by searching a maze. Skinner (1979) experimented
firstly by using rats in mazes to search for food placed in a goal box. The finding of food was
said to be the consequence of the rat’s behaviour and obtaining the food is instrumental in
the outcome. The rat is thought to learn the route of the maze to obtain the food, this can
be measured by the time taken to reach the food and by the decline in errors, such as wrong
turns. Skinner (1979) later created what became known as the skinner box which he used on
rats and pigeons for his experiments, this was what is called operant conditioning as the
animals are operating on the environment. Food pellets were released by the pressing of a
lever by rats or the pecking of a key by pigeons. Again, the animals were thought to learn to
obtain the food pellets by consequence of their behaviour (Toates, 2020). Skinner (1979)
used reinforcement and punishment in his studies on behaviourism to show that behaviour
changes because of consequences. Positive reinforcement is said to increase the likelihood
of a behaviour by giving something as a consequence. Negative reinforcement is thought to
also increase the likelihood of behaviour instead by removing something as a consequence.
Punishment on the other hand is an event following a response that will decrease the
likelihood of that response (Toates, 2020). As discussed by Toates (2020), Skinner (1953)
argued that the principles of reinforcement and punishment can be applied to human
behaviour. This is shown today in schools, mental hospitals, and prisons. Skinner (1971)
expressed that punishment can be an inadequate solution for the decrease in bad behaviour
as it only shows people what not to do, instead, it is better to use reinforcement to show
people what is expected of them and reward them for such behaviour. The evidence shows
that behaviourist principles can be applied to humans by using reinforcement in everyday
life to build, change and maintain certain human behaviours.
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