Behaviourism

Behaviourism

1. Stimulus + Response

   • ALL behaviour is as a result of stimulus and response. WATSON (1930) : 'predict given the stimulus what reaction will take place' + vice versa
     • Emotional responses are patterns

2. Classical Conditioning (Watson)

   • WATSON: process of Classical Conditioning explain all aspects of Human Psychology
     • STAGE 1: Unconditioned Stimulus (UCS) -> Unconditioned Response (UCR)
     • STAGE 2: DURING CONDITIONING.. NS is associated with the UCS and so becomes a Conditioned Stimulus (CS) Eg. Stomach Virus (UCS) associated with eating chocolate (CS)
     • Also involves Neutral Stimulus NS- does not produce a response.
     • STAGE 3: AFTER CONDITIONING.. CS is associated with UCS and creates a new Conditioned Response (CR). Eg. Chocolate (CS) eaten before a stomach bug (UCS) now produced a response of nausea (CR)
     • PAVLOV'S DOGS (1890).. US (food) -> UR (Salivate- a reflex). Pavlov realised that objects or events (Lab assistant) associated with food also produced the same response
       • Bell= Neutral Stimulus. Rang Bell when feeding dogs. Eventually Bell -> Conditioned Stimulus produced salivation on its own
       • TEMPORAL CONTIGUITY: important for the two stimuli to be presented close together in time. If too great time.. learning unlikely to occur
   • Learning through ASSOCIATION
   • EXTRA: Used as an explanation of Attachment, Phobias etc
     • Little difference between animal and human behaviour?

3. Objective Measurement

   • Scientific method and so all sources of bia and subjective ideas must be eliminated
   • Fact based data not Opinion based

4. BANDURA (1977) Social Learning Theory

   • Learning through OBSERVATION
   • Children observe MODELS and ENCODE their behaviour and may IMITATE behaviour. Number of factors effect this..
     • 1) Child perceives model to be similar to themselves e.g.. same sex
       • 2) Vicarious Reinforcement: observes consequence of model's behaviour
         • 3) Response from people around will effect the probability of behaviour reoccurring
   • Bobo doll (1961)
     • Sample: 36 boys and 36 girls aged 3-6yrs
       • Pre-tested to determine how aggressive
         • Matched Pairs Design: matched children into groups + the 51 children were indecently observed by two observers
     • Aggressive Model film shown to 24 Children, Non- aggressive Model to 24 + Control group- 24 saw no Model
       • 12 boys + 12 girls watched male or female attack Bobo Doll in distinct manner- shout 'pow' and 'boom'
         • COVERTLY observed for 20mins in a room of aggressive toys (mallet, dart guns) and non-agressive (tea set, crayons and teddy bears). Recorded 5 sec intervals
     • FINDINGS
       • - Children who observed aggressive film (group A), made more aggressive responses that in non-agressive and control group.
         • Girls in A group showed physical aggression when male model and verbal when female model.
           • Boys more likely to imitate same sex Models and imitated more physically aggressive acts- little difference in terms of verbal

5. Nomothetic

   • Study of what we share with others and is concerned with establishing rules and patterns. Eg. a specific gene is responsible for a psychological disorder

6. Reductionism

   • Belief that human behaviour can be explained breaking it down to smaller components
   • Behaviours and mental processes should be explained using frame work of basic sciences
   • Opposite being Holistic Pyschology

7. Operant Conditioning (SKINNER)

   • To understand behaviour, must look at causes and consequences of actions
     • Operants: intentional actions that effect environment. What makes more or less likely to occur?
   • Learning through REINFORCEMENT
     • Repeated if reinforced and if not it is weakened or abandoned
     • 1) NEUTRAL OPERANT: response from environment that neither increases or decreases probability of repeated behaviour
     • 2) REINFORCERS: Responses from environment that increase probability of behaviour- either negative and positive
     • 3) PUNISHERS: Responses from environment that decrease probability of repeated behaviour. Argued that behaviour is just as likely to continue when punishment is removed
     • Q. Best type of Reinforcement Schedules? Variable Ration Reinforcement- behaviour is reinforced after an unpredictable number of times. EG, Gambling and Fishing. Response Rate: FAST + Extinction Rate: SLOW
   • SKINNER REINFORCEMENT + PUNISHMENT PUZZLE BOX
     • POSITIVE: Rat in box would accidentally knock a lever and a pellet would be dropped In. Quickly learned to go straight to the lever- behaviour was REINFORCED and so REPEATED
     • NEGATIVE: Removal of a negative experience. Skinner subjected rat to electrical current which caused discomfort. When rat accidentally knocked lever, current switched off. Action repeated.

8. Evaluation

   • + Scientific and emphasises objective measurement
   • + Highly applicable (therapies)
   • + Experimental evidence supports theories
   • + Identifies comparisons between animals (Pavlov) and humans (Little Albert)
   • - Ignores mediational processes
   • - Ignores Biology eg. hormones and their effects
   • - Too deterministic, implies little free will
   • - Lab Experiments have low ecological validity
   • - Humanism argued humans are more complex than animals
   • - Reductionist and so does not account for individual differences and other factors which may influence behaviour