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Describe and evaluate operant conditioning as a way of explaining people’sbehaviour.
paragraph one
-Operant conditioning is another learning principle of the behaviourist approach. It works on
the principle of learning by consequence. There are three key ways this can occur: positive
reinforcement, negative reinforcement and punishment
-Positive reinforcement: a behaviour is more likely to reoccur because of positive
consequences
-Negative reinforcement: a behaviour is more likely to reoccur because of avoidance of
negative consequences
-punishment: a behaviour is less likely to reoccur because of negative consequences
paragraph two
-Skinner (1948) who studied rats, devised a highly controlled, lab study in which a rat was
put in a box with a lever; every time the rat accidentally pushed the lever a food pellet would
be dispensed a reward.
-The rat would then continue to push the lever to get the reward, therefore the behaviour
was positively reinforced and repeated. This suggests that an action can be reinforced as a
result of being rewarded and that people will do the same.
paragraph three:
-Whilst conditioning can be observed in rats and most species, human behaviour is driven
by complex emotions and complex thought processes, and so it is impossible for all these
processes to be observed
-Generalising and applying the findings of rats to humans is problematic; generalisations
between humans and animals must be made with caution. His theory may not be very
useful in explaining learning in humans, given that cognitions are ignored.
-Ethical issues area further concern with Skinner's Research. The animals involved were
exposed to stressful and harmful conditions. Many would argue that many of his
procedures were unnecessary. The adverse conditions that they were exposed to may have
affected how they reacted to the experimental situation affecting the validity of the results.
paragraph four
, Discuss the contribution of behaviourist psychologists such as Pavlov and
Skinner to our understanding of human behaviour.
paragraph one
The basic assumptions of the behaviourist approach are as follows:
• Behaviour is learned from experience.
• Only observable behaviour is measurable scientifically and it is only these behaviours that
should be studied. Thought processes are subjective and difficult to test.
• It is valid to study the behaviour of animals as they share the same principles of learning
(i.e. classical and operant conditioning).
• According to the behaviourist approach we are born a blank slate, so there is no genetic
influence on behaviour.
-Its central claim is that almost all human behaviour results from learning.
-Behaviourists favoured the laboratory experiment over other methods to explore the
learning process because this kind of research was objective. ie. it focused on observable
events and could be rigorously controlled.
paragraph two
-Classical conditioning is learning by association when two stimuli are repeatedly paired
together- an Unconditioned Stimulus (UCS) (A stimuli that naturally creates a response) and
a Neutral Stimulus (NS).
-The Neural Stimulus eventually becomes a Conditioned Stimulus as it produces the same
response as the UCS now a Conditioned Response. Learning has now taken place.
-One of the first behaviourists to explore the relationship between learning and behaviour
was Ivan Pavlov. Pavlov developed the theory of classical conditioning and famously tested
it using his dogs, who were conditioned to associate the sound of a bell with food. This
resulted in the dogs producing a salivation response at the sound of a bell even when no
food was present.
-Pavlov demonstrated that repeated exposure to classical conditioning is an event that
leads to learned and uncontrollable behaviour.
paragraph three
-cc has led to treatments for the reduction of anxiety associated with various phobias.
-for example, it has led to the development of systematic desensitisation.
-This form of therapy works by eliminating the learned anxious response (the CR) that is
associated with a feared object or situation (the CS). The therapist tries to replace the
learned response of anxiety with relaxation. This approach has been found to be effective for
a range of phobias such as fear of spiders (arachnophobia).
-Therefore, CC is a strong explanation of behaviour as it has been proven to have useful
real-world applications.
paragraph four
-can be learnt by operant conditioning.
-operant conditioning is learning through consequences. This can be from; positive
reinforcement, negative reinforcement and punishment.
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