The Behaviourist approach

The Behaviourist approach

1. Classical conditioning

   • P- Development of treatments for reduction of anxiety associated with phobias E- Systematic desensitisation is therapy based on CC. (Eliminating learned anxious response and replacing with another) E- Effective for range of phobias means it's generalisable. 
   • P- Species face different challenges to survive. E- Seligman (1970) proposed 'preparedness' to learn. Animals more prepared to learn associations in line with survival needs. E- Not generalisable to humans. Lacks ecological validity. 
   • Pavlov's Dog research
     • Procedure: 1. Food makes dog salivate(UCS=UCR) 2. Food and bell make dog salivate.(UCS+NS=UCR) 3. Bell makes dog salivate (CS=CR)
       • Findings: When Pavlov presented Dog with bell before conditioning. Salivation did not occur. After conditioning, when presented with the bell the dog salivated
         • Timing- If NS cannot be used to predict UCS, conditioning will not take place
         • Extinction- Pavlov discovered CR does not become permanent unlike UCR. After a few presentations of CS without UCS, ability is lost to produce CR
         • Spontaneous recovery- After extinction, if UCS + NS are paired together again then link is made quicker
         • Stimulus Generalisation- Once an animal has been conditioned, they will respond to other stimuli that are similar to CS
         • Conclusion- Behaviour is learnt through association

2. Behaviourist- People who believe behaviour can be explained in terms of conditioning, disregarding thoughts or feelings

3. Operant Conditioning

   • P- Reliance on experimental method uses controlled conditions. E- Skinner's box showed casual relationship between variables. Able to establish cause and effect relationship.  E- Highly replicable, can be repeated so adds to credibility. 
   • P- Highly unethical E- Tested on animals. Can tell us very little about human behaviour because humans have free will. E- Too deterministic. Ignores other factors e.g. cognitive & emotional states.
   • B.F Skinner's research
     • Procedure: Skinner developed skinner box. Rat moves around cage and presses a lever which releases a pellet of food. The rat repeats this behaviour to receive more food. Then pressing the leaver triggers an electrical shock instead of releasing food
       • Findings: Positive reinforcement encourages the rat to repeat behaviour. Negative reinforcement works because it restores the rat to pre aversive state. Punishment leads to the rat avoiding repetition of behaviour that lead to it being punished.
         • Positive reinforcement- Occurs when behaviour produces a consequence that is satisfying. Negative reinforcement- Works because they remove something unpleasant and so return organism to pre- aversive state.  Punishment- Behaviour followed by consequence that is undesirable. 
         • Reinforcement does not work when animal becomes satiated(full). Conditioning becomes extinct if pleasure stops.
         • Conclusion: Behaviour is learned through reinforcement