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Behaviourist Perspective - Coggle Diagram
Behaviourist Perspective
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Classical conditioning
Learning by association. This type of learning occurs when two stimuli are repeatedly paired together to the point whereby both stimuli present the same response, this response can be positive or negative. This type of learning is passive, the individual who is learning is not actively behaving in a specific way or seeking anything
Pavlov's dogs
Classical conditioning process:
- Unconditioned Stimulus (UCS)
- Unconditioned Response (UCR) - a natural response that hasn't been learned
- Conditioned Stimulus (CS)
- Conditioned Response (CR) - a response to a stimulus (CS) that has been learned through repetition (classical conditioning)
Before conditioning: Food (UCS) -> Salivation (UCR)
During conditioning: Bell (CS) + Food (UCS) -> Salivation (UCR)
After conditioning: Bell (CS) -> Salivation (CR)
Operant conditioning
Learning by reinforcement/punishment. This is a type of learning in which behaviour is shaped and maintained by its consequences. Positive reinforcement encourages the behaviour to be repeated whereas punishment decreases the chances of the behaviour occurring again
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Skinner's rats
Skinner introduced a hungry rat into a box and inside the box was a lever that when pressed, would deliver a food pellet. The rat soon learned that pressing the lever would result in a food pellet (the reward) -> positively reinforced
Punishment: Skinner changed the mechanism so that when the rat pressed the lever, instead of receiving a food pellet, it was given an electric shock. Rat quickly stopped pressing the lever. Electric shock acted as punishment
Negative reinforcement: Box set up so that light came on and floor was electrified and lever switched off the current. Once Skinner electrified the floor, the rat started to bounce about and accidentally hit the lever. The electrical current was turned off. Then the light came on again and the rat hit the lever before the current came on. Example of negative reinforcement because undesirable stimulus was removed
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Strengths
There is evidence to support the behaviourist approach. For example, Watson and Rayner classically conditioned an 11 month old boy (Little Albert) to fear rats by presenting them with a loud noise
The behaviourist perspective has had many useful practical applications. For example, this approach has allowed psychologists to develop successful therapies for treating abnormalities (e.g. flooding and systematic desensitisation) which require individuals to unlearn their disorder using the principals of classical and operant conditioning
The behaviourist perspective uses scientific methods of research. For example, in the case of Pavlov and Skinner's research, specific conditions and variables could be manipulated in order to assess the main assumptions of classical conditioning and operant conditioning
Weaknesses
The behaviourist perspective is deterministic claiming that all thought and behaviour is caused by factors outside of our control. For example, the approach states that we develop behaviours through stimuli-response associations and through the learning that takes place as we interact with our environment. The behavioural approach fails to consider the role of free will, it states that we do not have control over our actions and that the behaviours we develop are governed by external experiences when surely our actions in some part must be as a result of our own free choice?
The behaviourist perspective is reductionist, as it attempts to reduce all aspects of human behaviour down to just one level of explanation. For example, it reduces complex behaviours down to learning through our environment through association and rewards and punishment. Surely our behaviour must be a product of nurture (experiences in our environment) and nature (our own biology, e.g. genes)
The behaviourist perspective uses animals within its research. For example, studies looking at classical conditioning have focused on rat behaviour (e.g. Skinner). because animals (such as rats and dogs) are physiologically different to humans, findings generated from animal studies can be criticised for extrapolation and the findings cannot be generalised to humans