Essay
Outline and evaluate the behaviourist approach FULL MARKS
- Institution
- OCR
FULL MARK AS LEVEL BEHAVIOURIST APPROACH ESSAY 12/12
[Show more]
Seller
Follow
Content preview
Behaviorism 12 mark essayOutline and evaluate the behaviorist approach
Behaviorism is a psychological approach that focuses on the behavior of individuals rather than
the mind. Behaviorism believes all behavior is a response to a stimulus, additionally it teaches
behavior is learnt through ‘conditioning’ behavior.
This conditioning is split up into two forms, Firstly, ‘classical conditioning; that was studied by
Pavlov suggests behavior is learnt through association. He theorized through studying dogs
salivation. Pavlov wanted to understand why dogs salivated to the assistants who gave them
food, so began to ring a bell whenever they were fed, after a while, the dogs began to salivate to
the sound of the bell. Pavlov theorized that the dogs had associated the sound of the bell with
getting food, so therefore salivated to the bell.
Additionally, there is another form of conditioning known as operant conditioning. This theorizes
that all behavior is due to reward or reinforcement. This was studied by Skinner who designed
Skinner cages for rats. When a rat would activate a lever, it would be rewarded by food. This
would strengthen the stimulus to response connections, meaning the rats would press the lever
more. Furthermore, he also taught negative reinforcement through giving an electric shock every
time the rats didn’t press the lever. They learnt to press to the lever to avoid the shock.
The behaviorist approach is very dominant in the psychological field due to its real world
applications. This is seen through aversion therapy, where people are taught to associate a bad
habit (eg biting nails) with something negative (bad tasting nail varnish) so they will stop the
behavior. It is also seen through token economy in prisons where prisoners are rewarded for
good behavior with tokens that they can trade for a reward.
One strength of the behaviorist approach is that it is very scientific, this is because behavior is
observable and measurable. This is a strength as evidence can be clearly presented.
A limitation of the approach is that is uses animals in its research, such as Skinners rats and
Pavlov’s dogs. This is a limitations as it assumes the learning laws are universal between
animals and humans.
Another limitation is that it treats symptoms, not causes, such as aversion therapy to stop biting
nails. This is a limitations as it doesn’t treat the underlying reason for the behavior, meaning it
may come back.
Furthermore, another limitation of the approach would be that it ignores biology, such as family
history and genetics. This is a limitation as it presumes that all behavior is learnt and genetics
play not part.
The benefits of buying summaries with Stuvia:
Guaranteed quality through customer reviews
Stuvia customers have reviewed more than 700,000 summaries. This how you know that you are buying the best documents.
Quick and easy check-out
You can quickly pay through credit card for the summaries. There is no membership needed.
Focus on what matters
Your fellow students write the study notes themselves, which is why the documents are always reliable and up-to-date. This ensures you quickly get to the core!
Frequently asked questions
What do I get when I buy this document?
You get a PDF, available immediately after your purchase. The purchased document is accessible anytime, anywhere and indefinitely through your profile.
Satisfaction guarantee: how does it work?
Our satisfaction guarantee ensures that you always find a study document that suits you well. You fill out a form, and our customer service team takes care of the rest.
Who am I buying these notes from?
Stuvia is a marketplace, so you are not buying this document from us, but from seller forbhlaith. Stuvia facilitates payment to the seller.
Will I be stuck with a subscription?
No, you only buy these notes for £6.46. You're not tied to anything after your purchase.
Can Stuvia be trusted?
4.6 stars on Google & Trustpilot (+1000 reviews)
50990 documents were sold in the last 30 days
Founded in 2010, the go-to place to buy revision notes and other study material for 15 years now