Behaviourist assumptions

Behaviourist assumptions

1. Humans are born like a blank slate

   • our mind is 'tabula rasa' when we are born
   • all behaviour is learnt from interactions with the environment
   • nature over nurture
   • social and environmental factors have the greatest influence on behaviour
   • associations we make in early life and early rewards/punishments provided by our environment predetermine our later reactions
   • a 'skinner' box with rats;

2. Behaviour is learnt through conditioning

   • Classical conditioning
     • Pavlov 1902; salivation in dogs
     • unconditioned stimulus (food) and unconditioned response (salivation)
     • neutral stimulus (sound of bell) is repeated several times leading to association
     • bell is now conditioned stimulus which produces a new conditioned response; salivation
     • behaviours learnt through association
   • Operant conditioning
     • learnt through reinforcement
     • reinforcement can be positive or negative
     • Skinner (1938); 'skinner' box
     • rewards; positive reinforcement, increasing chances of behaviour being repeated.
     • avoiding; negative reinforcement, strengthens behaviour as you avoid something unpleasant
     • punishment; weakens behaviour and should decrease the likelihood of behaviour reoccurring
     • punishment is the opposite of reinforcement

3. Humans and animals learn in similar ways

   • studying animals in a laboratory allows us to make generalisations about human behaviour
   • Pavlov applied the same principles of dogs conditioning to humans
   • same principles applied in therapies e.g systematic desensitisation
   • Skinners research applied to shaping human behaviour such as token economy systems in prisons
   • token economies; tokens exchanged for rewards such as sweets and cigarettes