Behaviourist Approach- Operant Conditioning

Behaviourist Approach- Operant Conditioning

1. Operant Conditioning

   • Likelihood of repeating behaviour depends on consequences
   • Positive and negative reinforcement increases the likelihood of a behaviour occurring
   • Pleasant consequences= positive reinforcement
   • Removal of unpleasant stimulus= negative reinforcement
   • Continuous reinforcement effective for establishing a behaviour, partial reinforcement for maintaining it
   • Adding unpleasant consequence, or removing pleasant stimulus= punishment

2. Strengths

   • E.g. reliance on the experimental method

3. Weaknesses

   • E.g. much of Skinner's work was on non-human animals which excludes the possibility of human free will

4. Further evaluation

   • Behaviourist explanations ignore the role played by cognitive and emotional factors