behavioural approach

behavioural approach

1. overall assumptions

   • focus on observable and measurable behaviour
   • born as blank slates and all behaviour is learnt through experience
   • study animal behaviour and apply the same principles to humans

2. conditioning

   • the way you make something happen
   • classical conditioning
     • learning through association
     • learn to associate a reflex response to a neutral stimulus
     • before conditioning:
       • unconditioned stimulus = unconditioned response
       • neutral stimulus = no response
     • during conditioning:
       • neutral stimulus + unconditioned stimulus = unconditioned response
         • repeated several times
     • after conditioning:
       • neutral stimulus becomes conditioned stimulus
         • conditioned stimulus = conditioned response
     • research: pavlov
       • aim:
         • to see if dogs could be conditioned to salivate to the sound of a bell ringing
       • method:
         • rang a bell while presenting the dog with food
           • repeated several times
       • results:
         • dog learnt to associate the bell with food
           • salivated to the sound of the bell, even with no food being presented
       • made more scientific by measuring how much saliva the dog produced
         • quantifiable, numerical data
       • before:
         • NS (bell) = no response
         • UCS (food) = UCR (salivating)
       • during:
         • NS (bell) + UCS (food) = UCR (salivating)
           • repeated
       • after:
         • CS (bell) = CR (salivating)
   • operant conditioning
     • learning through reinforcement
     • more likely to repeat the behaviour if we are reinforced for doing it
     • positive reinforcement
       • being rewarded for behaviour to increase behaviour
     • negative reinforcement
       • taking something bad away to increase behaviour
     • punishment
       • not a form of reinforcement
       • receiving a negative consequence to decrease behaviour
     • research: skinner's box
       • method:
         • a rat put inside a box with multiple features:
           • a lever that released a food pellet
           • lights and speakers for signals
           • electric grid for the floor
         • positive reinforcement:
           • the rat was rewarded with food pellet when it pushed the lever
         • negative reinforcement:
           • the electric current would be stopped when the rat pushed the lever
       • results:
         • in both cases, the rat learnt to push the lever and repeat that behaviour

3. evaluation

   • :) scientific
     • focus on observable behaviour
     • conducted in lab environment
       • tight control
     • objective
   • :) practical application
     • schools: rewarding students for good behaviour (stickers / commendations)
     • prisons / psychiatric wards: token economy system
       • exchanging tokens for something they want (visiting time)
   • :( ethical issues
     • :) unethical to use humans
       • eg. give them electric shocks or make them pull a lever to eat, just to study their behaviour
     • :( still unethical for animals
       • could have harmed them
         • questions credibility
   • :( problems generalising
     • uses animals in research
       • humans are different to animals
         • not all findings will be applicable
   • :( deterministic
     • :) allows us to predict future behaviour
       • eg. phobia develops after associating a frightening experience to a stimulus
       • eg. behaviour is repeated after reinforcement
         • not in our control
     • :( ignores individual differences
       • everyone responds differently to reinforcement or a frightening experience
         • not everyone develops a phobia after a frightening experience or starts repeating that behaviour after reinforcement