Component 1 - Behaviourist Approach

GCE A-Level Psychology - Component 1 - Behaviourist Approach

What is the first assumption of the Behaviourist Approach?

Humans are born as a blank slate.

Why do Behaviourists describe behaviour as 'environmentally deterministic'?

They believe that behaviour is learned from the environment, and is caused by forces EXTERNAL to the individual.

KEY EXAMPLE: Bandura's Bobo Doll Experiment

Bandura (1961) conducted a controlled experiment study to investigate if social behaviours (i.e., aggression) can be acquired by observation and imitation.

The sample consisted of 36 boys and 36 girls from a single school.

The researchers pre-tested the children for how aggressive they were by observing the children in the nursery and judged their aggressive behaviour on four 5-point rating scales.

24 children (12 boys and 12 girls) watched a male or female model behaving aggressively towards a toy called a 'Bobo doll'. The adults attacked the Bobo doll in a distinctive manner - they used a hammer in some cases, and in others threw the doll in the air and shouted "Pow, Boom."

Another 24 children (12 boys and 12 girls) were exposed to a non-aggressive model who played in a quiet and subdued manner for 10 minutes (playing with a tinker toy set and ignoring the bobo-doll).

The final 24 children (12 boys and 12 girls) were used as a control group and not exposed to any model at all.

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Children who observed the aggressive model made far more imitative aggressive responses than those who were in the non-aggressive or control groups.

• There was more partial and non-imitative aggression among those children who had observed aggressive behaviour, although the difference for non-imitative aggression was small.

• The girls in the aggressive model condition also showed more physical aggressive responses if the model was male, but more verbal aggressive responses if the model was female. However, the exception to this general pattern was the observation of how often they punched Bobo, and in this case the effects of gender were reversed.

• Boys were more likely to imitate same-sex models than girls. The evidence for girls imitating same-sex models is not strong.

• Boys imitated more physically aggressive acts than girls. There was little difference in the verbal aggression between boys and girls.

What is the second assumption of the Behaviourist Approach?

Behaviour is learned through conditioning.

What are the two types of CONDITIONING?

Classical and Operant.

What is CLASSICAL CONDITIONING?

The process of learning via ASSOCIATION.

What is OPERANT CONDITIONING?

The process of learning via CONSEQUENCE.

What are the stages of classical conditioning?

STAGE 1 - Before conditioning:

UNCONDITIONED STIMULUS -----> UNCONDITIONED RESPONSE

NEUTRAL STIMULUS -----> NO RESPONSE

STAGE 2 - During Conditioning:

The UNCONDITIONED STIMULUS is paired with the NEUTRAL STIMULUS to produce an UNCONDITIONED RESPONSE. It is repeated.

STAGE 3 - After Conditioning:

CONDITIONED STIMULUS ----> CONDITIONED RESPONSE

KEY EXAMPLE - Pavlov's Dogs

Pavlov suggested that the salivation was a learned response. Pavlov's dog subjects were responding to the sight of the research assistants' white lab coats, which the animals had come to associate with the presentation of food.

UNCONDITIONED STIMULUS = Food
NEUTRAL STIMULUS = Bell
UNCONDITIONED RESPONSE = Salivation
CONDITIONED STIMULUS = Bell
CONDITIONED RESPONSE = Salivation

What are the main components of operant conditioning?

- POSITIVE REINFORCEMENT

- NEGATIVE REINFORCEMENT

- PUNISHMENT

What is positive reinforcement?

Providing rewards to increase the likelihood of a behaviour being repeated.

What is negative reinforcement?

Removing an unpleasant experience to increase positive behaviours.

What is punishment?

Imposes consequences to reduce unwanted behaviours.

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