Gerard Keegan's Psychology Site: Approaches: Behaviourist

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The Behaviourist Approach

Links to the behaviourist approach

JB Watson was moved to write of one associate "I just wonder whether he or other of my colleagues confronted with my situation would not have sold himself to the public."

Get an insight into our subjects dark past and visit http://www.ucc.uconn.edu/~lundquis/watson.html

What did Pavlov think of the unconscious?
http://www.arbl.cvmbs.colostate.edu/hbooks/pathphys/
digestion/misc/pavlov.html

Visit the BF Skinner Foundation
http://www.bfskinner.org/bio.asp

The behaviourist approach understands us in terms of learning stimulus-response units of behaviour.

The Behaviourist Approach At A Glance
If you need to write about this approach it is a good idea to know a definition, and then be able to elaborate on key features. You may also be called upon to discuss applications and limitations. All this is schematically represented below. Use the glossary, as before, to help you.

Stimulus-response
We act as we do because of S-R units of learned behaviour. Our behaviour arises because we learn, or become conditioned to respond to a stimulus (object, event, person) in our environment.

Founding father JB Watson 'Psychology as the behaviourist views it' (1915) aka The Behaviourist Manifesto

NB Watson & Rayner (1920) Conditioned Emotional Reactions aka 'Little Albert'

Thanks to Pollywollydoddle from Kilmarnock.

Pavlov (1927) Theory of Classical Conditioning
Stage 1 before classical conditioning

    Food (UCS)     --------->     Salivation (UCR)

Stage 2 during classical conditioning

    Bell (CS) + Food (UCS)     ------>     Salivation (UCR)

Stage 3 after classical conditioning

    Bell (CS)     --------->     Salivation (CR)

NB Extinction, reinforcement, stimulus generalisation, and stimulus discrimination.

BF Skinner's theory of operant conditioning

Operant = reward or unpleasant consequence that encourages/discourages the repetition of a behaviour.

Explain Skinner's Box and positive reinforcement (reward). Explain negative reinforcement (unpleasant consequence).

Schedules of reinforcement:

Fixed ratio, fixed interval. Also variable ratio, variable interval. Give example: gambling fruit machines (Why? Refer to theory)

Criticisms/limitations.

Reductionist (in terms of mere S-R units)

Mechanistic. ABC model of behaviour.
Antecedent -> Behaviour -> Consequences

Deterministic (we behave in response to environment. We have little free will.

Applications.

Behaviourist psychotherapy. First say what a 'psychotherapy' is. Then elaborate on behaviourist psychotherapies. These are of two types. Behaviour therapies that rely on Pavlov's theory of classical conditioning; and behaviour modification techniques that are based on Skinner's theory of operant conditioning. They share a common purpose in that they both species of behaviourist psychotherapy attempt to change faulty, or dysfunctional, stimulus-response behaviours to the better.

Applications (continued)

Behaviour Therapies

Systematic desensitisation

Implosion therapy

Aversion therapy

Behaviour Modification

Token economy

Programmed learning

Behaviour therapies attempt to change one stimulus response association with another. Behaviour modification techniques help encourage new behaviours by the use of reward in the learning process. Systematic desensitisation and implosion therapy is particularly useful in the treatment of phobias. The token economy is widely, and successfully, used in psychiatric hospitals, prisons, and even schools!

Before you go onto the Behaviourist Approach Crossword, check the previous section's crossword via the Psychoanalytic Crossword Answer Page

Test your knowledge and generalisation skills with the Behaviourist Approach Crossword

Test your knowledge with the Behaviourist Approach Quiz!

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