this is a fully written essay on the behaviourist approach broken down into a01 and a03 required to achieve the highest mark on your 16 marker
(added explanation and example on how to hit your a02 marks if your essay question has an item added)
The behaviourist approach to psychology 16 marker answer in full , can also be broken
down into 8 marks and 4 marks:
A01-outline and explain
The behaviourist approach states that all human behaviours are learnt and therefore to
explore and understand learnt behaviours behaviourist psychologists conduct lab
experiments to observe these behaviours in a controlled environment. Two key beliefs of
the behaviourist approach is that all behaviours are learnt and maintained through classical
and operant conditioning.
-classical condition refers to learning through association for example Pavlov’s dog
experiment whereby through continual pairing of the neutral stimulus of a bell ringing and
unconditioned stimulus of food the dog begins to produce a conditioned response of
salivating as it learns through association of the bell ringing that the pleasure of food is also
present, thus the bell becomes a conditioned stimulus that elicits a conditioned response.
Demonstrating that behaviour is learnt through associations made through repeated
pairing.
-behaviourist psychologist Skinner built upon this idea, stating that once a behaviour is
learnt it is maintained through operant conditioning. Operant conditioning is the concept
that through both positive and negative reinforcements we learn to repeat certain
behaviours. For example, in his rat experiment the rat learned through positive
reinforcement that if it flicked the switch it was rewarded with food thus the rat repeats the
behaviour due to the positive reward it resulted in. Negative reinforcement can also
influence behaviour for example eating negatively reinforces people as it takes away a
person’s hunger therefore the persons learns to repeat the behaviour as it eradicates the
unpleasant feeling.
A03 – evaluation
A strength of the behaviourist approach is that it holds good scientific credibility ,
behaviourist psychologists use lab experiments with rigorous methodology and follow a
standardised procedure to ensure high internal validity
And high reliability as such results are less so affected by extraneous variables. Adversely by
using lab experiments the behaviourist approach is also limited as the results and findings
lack external validity and may not be generalisable to Everyday behaviours as they are only
observed in artificial environments.
The behaviourist approach is also valuable as it had good application within psychology, in
areas such as attachment formation and phobias, the approach has been useful to develop
explanations and treatments such as systematic desensitisation and flooding which has had
significant impacts within treating the illness within today’s society, with success cases such
as little albert that provide supporting evidence that behaviours are learnt and as such can
be unlearnt.
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