Behaviourism. L6

Behaviourism. L6

1. Logical Behaviourism

   • Mental states are nothing more than behavioural tendencies that are motivated by the environment

2. Methodological/Psychological behaviourism

   • Seeks to explain human and animal behaviour in terms of environmental stimuli

3. J.B. Watson (1878 - 1958)

   • Stimulus response psychology
   • Blank slate/ Tabula rasa
     • All knowledge is learnt, nothing is innate
   • 'Science of behaviour'
   • No distinction between animal/human behaviour
   • Classical conditioning

4. Watson and Rayner: Little Albert (1920)

   • Baby associated animal with loud bang
   • Developed fear of animal and anything similar to it

5. Ivan Pavlov (1849 - 1936)

   • Stimuli associated with food could excite the digestive system and cause salivation
     • Proof of classical conditioning
     • Extinction occurs when there is no reinforcement
     • Spontaneous recovery occurs when there is a reappaerane of an extinguished CR after a prolonged absence of the CS
       • ultimately SR extinguished too
     • Generalisation occurs when similar stimuli create the CR
       • important for survival to indicate danger
     • Discrimination occurs when you can tell the difference between the CS and the similar one
       • Important so resources are not lost
     • Trace conditioning: when a delay is introduced between CS and UCS
     • Context conditioning: when we condition to our environment rather than a particular stimuli

6. Operant conditioning

   • Edward L. Thorndike
     • Wanted to figure out how animals learnt to solve puzzles
     • Repeated trails
       • animals get quicker at retrieving food
     • Instrumental learning
       • Instrumental in bringing out the desired outcome
     • Law of effect
       • Positive outcomes increase behaviour
         • Negative outomes decrease behaviour
   • B.F Skinner
     • coined it
     • developed the skinner box
     • 3 components of OC
       • Antecedent condition - signal for a response
         • Antecedents can be varied widely to assess what animals can discriminate
           • Used in developmental psychology
       • Behaviour
       • Consequence

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