The Behaviourist approach

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The Behaviourist approach
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Behaviourist Approach (AO1)

• Name and outline
• Classical Conditioning
• Operant Conditioning
• 3. Social Learning Theory

MUST
CLASSICAL CONDITIONING is about the association
between a stimulus and a response (Pavlov, 1927)
OPERANT CONDITIONING is when we learn to behave
in certain ways due to positive and negative
reinforcement (Skinner, 1974)
SOCIAL LEARNING THEORY behaviour is shaped by
observing and imitating the behaviour of others
(Bandura, 1973)
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Classical Conditioning

• An event in the environment stimulus
• The physiological reaction response

An example of Classical Conditioning can be seen
in the experiment by Watson and Raynor (1920)
into the conditioning of Little Albert
SHOULD
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Classical Conditioning
BEFORE CONDITIONING
LOUD NOISE unconditioned stimulus (UCS)
Fear/Crying (UCR)
WHITE RAT neutral stimulus (NS)
No fear response
SHOULD
DURING CONDITIONING
LOUD NOISE (UCS) WHITE RAT (NS)
Fear / Crying (UCR)
AFTER CONDITIONING
Fear / Crying (CR)
WHITE RAT (CS)
LEADS TO PHOBIA
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Main Assumptions
The behavioural approach is investigated using
EXPERIMENTS and ANIMAL STUDIES

• 1. Emphasis on behaviour
• Behaviourists believe that our actions are
  determined largely by the experiences we have in
  life, rather than by underlying pathology of
  unconscious forces.
• Abnormality is therefore seen as the development
  of behaviour patterns that are considered
  maladaptive for the individual.
• 2. All behaviour is learned through
• - Classical conditioning
• Operant conditioning
• Social learning
• 3. Learning environments
• Learning environments can reinforce problematic
  behaviours
• Our society can also provide deviant maladaptive
  models that children identify with and imitate.

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KEY FEATURES OF THE BEHAVIOURAL APPROACH
TOPSYCHOPATHOLOGY (Abnormality)

• Assumption 1 All behaviour is learned through
  experience. All behaviour, including abnormal
  behaviour, is learned through the processes of
  classical and/or operant conditioning. Classical
  Conditioning involves learning through
  association. Operant conditioning involves
  learning through rewards (positive and negative
  reinforcement) and punishment. Or through
  modelling and Social Learning Theory. (as in
  Banduras BoBo doll study)
• Assumption 2 What has been learned/acquired can
  be unlearned through the processes of
  conditioning, classical or operant. Undesirable
  or maladaptive behaviour can be replaced by
  desirable or adaptive behaviour e.g. we can use
  behavioural therapies such as Desensitization and
  token economies.

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CLASSICAL CONDITIONING

• Classical Conditioning was one of the first types
  of learning to be discovered. It was studied by
  Ivan Pavlov using his dogs.

Ivan Pavlov
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Classical Conditioning

• Learning occurs through association
• A neutral stimulus is paired with an
  unconditioned stimulus, resulting in a new
  stimulus-response link
• The neutral stimulus is now a conditioned
  stimulus producing a conditioned response.
• - E.g. Pavlov (1901) taught dogs to salivate when
  they heard a bell

UCS (presentation of food) --------- UCR
(salivation) UCS NS (bell) ---------------------
-- UCR (salivation) CS (bell) --------------------
------------- CR (salivation)
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How this can cause a phobia..

• Classical Conditioning
• We learn to associate one thing with another e.g.
• Child on mums knee
• Child sees spider (NS) unafraid doesnt know
  what spider is!
• Mum sees spider
• Mum screams and drops baby!
• Baby associates spider with fear and lump on head
  (UCS)!
• Baby sees spider
• Baby cries! (CR)

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Classical conditioning and abnormality

• Classical conditioning has been said to account
  for the development of phobias.
• The feared object (e.g. spider or rat) is
  associated with a fear or anxiety sometime in the
  past.
• The conditioned stimulus subsequently evokes a
  powerful fear response characterised by avoidance
  of the feared object and the emotion of fear
  whenever the object is encountered.

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Little Albert (Watson and Rayner (1920)
- Wanted to prove that fear responses can be
learned - Worked with 11 month old named
Little Albert - First tested his response to
white fluffy objects he showed no fear - Next
created a conditioned response to these
previously neutral objects. They made a loud
noise behind Alberts head every time he went
near a white rat in order to startle him. -
Repeated this until whenever the rat was shown to
Albert he would cry because he associated the rat
with a loud and frightening noise they had
conditioned a fear response in him. The responses
then generalised to all fluffy animals. -
Activity in pairs consider the methodological
issues of this study.
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Operant Conditioning

• Learning occurs through reinforcement
• We respond to our environment through
  reinforcement and punishment
• Responses that are reinforced are more likely to
  be repeated. Those that are punished are more
  likely to be avoided.

• Skinner (1974) demonstrated that rats could be
  taught voluntary responses by reward and
  punishment of behaviour.
• - Different patterns of behaviour are taught
  through use of different schedules of
  reinforcement.

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• Operant conditioning
• A behaviour that has a positive effect is more
  likely to be repeated
• Positive and negative reinforcement (escape from
  aversive stimulus) are agreeable
• Punishment is disagreeable
• Therefore treatment is by positive negative
  reinforcement and punishment (used in schools to
  treat disruptive children and in treatment of
  disorders such as anorexia)

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OPERANT CONDITIONING
B. F. Skinner (1904-1990) Operant Conditioning
The PIGEON The Skinner Box
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Operant Conditioning
positive reinforcement
SHOULD
negative reinforcement
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How can this cause abnormal behaviour?

• We can learn to associate and action with a
  reward or sanction e.g.
• Boy sees sweets at checkout
• Boy wants sweets but mum says No!
• Boy screams and shouts and has a tantrum
• Mum gives boy sweets reinforcing the bad
  behaviour
• Boy learns that tantrums getting what he
  wants!
• So next time boy wants sweets..

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Operant conditioning and abnormality
- Psychological disorders are produced when a
maladaptive behaviour is rewarded or goes
unpunished.

• E.g. an individual may be rewarded for having
  panic attacks by receiving attention from family
  and friends this would lead to the behaviour
  being reinforced and increasing in later life.

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Social Learning

• This is an extension of skinners work and
  suggests that we learn through observing
  anothers behaviour and its consequences. We
  imitate behaviour that we see being rewarded
  vicarious reinforcement.
• - People observe and imitate the behaviour of
  other people (models).

• Social learning and abnormality
• Abnormal behaviours can therefore be learned and
  imitated.
• E.g. If an individual grows up in an environment
  where their mother has a phobia of mice. If the
  behaviour is unpunished, they may imitate the
  behaviour which may lead to developing the phobia
  themselves.
• However, it is difficult to separate the effects
  of genetics from the effects of social learning
  (Kendall and Hammen, 1995)

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Social Learning Theory Imitation of role models
Reinforcement can also lead to abnormal
behaviour-

• Girl watches mother (role model) who has OCD
  washing ritualistically every item in house
  daily.
• Girl cleans own things in same way copying mum!
• Evidence
• Banduras
• BoBo Doll exp. gt

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Behaviourist Approach (AO1)
APPLY classical conditioning, operant
conditioning and social learning theory to the
explanation of abnormal behaviour
How can we apply Classical Conditioning to the
explanation of Phobias?
COULD
Fear of heights If a person climbs to the top of
a high building (stimulus), looks down and feels
nausea and dizziness (response), the association
between the two, and the response will cause the
phobia.
Operant Conditioning can explain some
psychological disorders such as antisocial
personality disorder how?
If childhood aggression is reinforced then the
behaviour is likely to be repeated. Also, anxiety
or depression might receive reward in the form of
attention and concern, also making the behaviour
be repeated.
How can Social Learning Theory best explain some
other phobias and disorders?
Antisocial behaviour can also be explained by SLT
if a child observes a model who is rewarded. This
can lead to imitation. Also some phobias develop
due to observing how a model responds to a
stimulus