Behaviourism

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Behaviourism starts...

With this old guy!Ivan Pavlov.

What did Pavlov get up to in his lab?

There are lots of Pavlov’s dog cartoons...

Classical Conditioning

• First Pavlov established that meat caused the dog to salivate.

Classical Conditioning

• Then Pavlov established that a tone did not cause the dog to salivate

Classical Conditioning

• He then presented the tone with the food • Note that the dog is salivating in response to the

food at this time.

Classical Conditioning

• After several pairings of the tone and food, Pavlov found that the dog would salivate to the tone when it was presented alone.

A modern day version of Pavlov’s dog...

Classical Conditioning

• To condition means to mould someone or something to a certain way of behaving or thinking.

• Within classical conditioning there are certain stimuli and responses which make up the results seen in Pavlov’s dog.

• These are; unconditioned stimulus, conditioned stimulus, unconditioned response and conditioned response.

Match the term to its meaningUnconditioned

stimulus

Conditioned stimulus

Unconditioned response

Conditioned response

The innate (reflexive) response to a stimulus that has not been conditioned.

The stimulus which, after repeated pairings with the unconditioned stimulus,

produces the response.

The stimulus that causes the reflex response before conditioning. It is the stimulus that

naturally produces the response.

The reflexive response that occurs after exposure to the conditioned stimulus.

Behaviourism continues with....

Thorndike!

What did Thorndike get up to in the lab?

Operant Conditioning

• This is the other side of behaviourism...• It works on the assumption of learning

through reward and punishment.• The main influences are; positive

reinforcement (reward), negative reinforcement and punishment.

Operant conditioning

• The “Skinner box” was used in order to investigate the impact of reward and punishment on behaviour.

• Their reward was food and they were required to learn (in a variety of ways) how to get it.

Examples of Positive Reinforcement

• The worker gets paid for working. • The dog gets a treat for returning when called. • The cat gets comfort for sleeping on the bed. • The wolf gets a meal for hunting the deer. • The child gets dessert for eating her vegetables• The toddler gets picked up and comforted for

screaming. (note: rewarding for toddler not parent )

Examples of Negative Reinforcement

• The choke collar is loosened when the dog moves closer to the trainer.

• The reins are loosened when the horse slows down.

• The car buzzer turns off when you put on your seatbelt.

• The torture is stopped when the victim confesses.

• The baby stops crying when his mother feeds him. (negative reinforcement for mother)

Examples of Punishment

• The peeing on the rug (by a puppy) is punished with a swat of the newspaper.

• The driver's speeding results in a ticket and a fine.

• The baby's hand is burned when she touches the hot stove.

Key assumptions of behaviourism

Key assumptions of behaviourism

• When born our mind is 'tabula rasa' (a blank slate).

Key assumptions of behaviourism

• People have no free will – a person’s environment determines their behaviour. We are puppets on strings!

Key assumptions of behaviourism

• Psychology should be seen as a science. Theories need to be supported by empirical data obtained through careful and controlled observation and measurement of behaviour.

Key assumptions of behaviourism

• Behaviourism is primarily concerned with observable behaviour, as opposed to internal events like thinking and emotion. Observable (i.e. external) behaviour can be objectively and scientifically measured.

Key assumptions of behaviourism

• There is little difference between the learning that takes place in humans and that in other animals. Therefore research can be carried out on animals as well as humans.

Key assumptions of behaviourism

• All behaviour is learnt from the environment. We learn new behaviour through classical or operant conditioning.

Operant conditioning:

• Abnormal behaviour can result from reinforcement. For example, the early stages of drug abuse can be encouraged by positive reinforcement because of the pleasure or comfort associated with drug use.

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Behaviourism to explain abnormality

• From a behavioural perspective, depression results from a lack of positive reinforcements (rewards) or an excess of unpleasant experiences, (punishment). For example, unemployment and retirement can contribute can lead to a loss of positive social reinforcements, reduced income and status. Life changes can also lead to unpleasant experiences such as the shame and stigma of unemployment.

• Lewinsohn showed that depressed people received fewer positive reinforcements and are likely to have had more unpleasant experiences than non depressed people.

“It’s all very well for dogs and cats...”

• But what about people?

The Behaviourist Model of Abnormality

• Using the theory of classical conditioning, explain

how a young child may become phobic of spiders • Using the theory of operant conditioning, explain

how a person may become a drug addict.•