Behaviourism

G544: Perspectives

Today....

• We will look at the key assumptions of behaviourism.

• Its origins.• Its strengths• And its weaknesses.

Behaviourism starts...

With this old guy!Ivan Pavlov.

Great facial hair....

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. Well done.

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!(Whose facial hair is not as good as Pavlov’s)

What did Thorndike get up to in the lab?

(There aren’t any cartoons of Thorndike’s cats.)

Operant Conditioning

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

through reward and punishment.• There are four types to consider; positive

reinforcement, negative reinforcement, positive punishment and negative punishment.

Match the term to its meaningPositive

reinforcement

Negative reinforcement

Positive punishment

Negative punishment

Occurs when behaviour is followed by the removal of a favourable stimulus, such as taking away a child's toy following an undesired behaviour,

resulting in a decrease in that behaviour.

Occurs when a behaviour is followed by an aversive stimulus, such as introducing a shock or loud noise,

resulting in a decrease in that behaviour

Occurs when a behaviour is followed by a favourable stimulus that increases the

frequency of that behaviour.

Occurs when a behaviour is followed by the removal of an aversive stimulus thereby increasing that behaviour

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 a paycheck 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.

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.

• Dad continues driving towards Disneyland when the kids are quiet.

• The torture is stopped when the victim confesses. • The baby stops crying when his mother feeds him.

Examples of Positive 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.

• Walking straight through low doorways is punished with a bonk on the head.

Examples of Negative Punishment

• The child has his crayons taken away for fighting with his sister.

• "This car isn't getting any closer to Disneyland while you kids are fighting!"

• The teenager is grounded for misbehaviour. • The dolphin trainer walks away with the fish

bucket when the dolphin acts aggressive. • "I'm not talking to you after what you did!"

Key assumptions of behaviourism

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

• People have no free will – a person’s environment determines their behaviour

Key assumptions of behaviourism

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

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

• Behaviour is the result of stimulus – response (i.e. all behaviour, no matter how complex, can be reduced to a simple stimulus – response association).

Key assumptions of behaviourism

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

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

• But what about people??• What are the main criticisms of behaviourism?• Work in twos or threes to

figure these out.

Consider

• A behaviourist researcher wants to look into upbringing and aggressive behaviour.

• What might they expect to find?• How might aggressive behaviour get

“rewarded”?