The Behaviourist Perspective
• This perspective seeks to understand
human behaviour in terms of what has
been learnt.
• They study behaviour.
• They assume that all human behaviour is
a result of what has been learnt,
eg shyness or aggression.
• They think ALL behaviour is a result of
either Classical Conditioning (Pavlov)
or Operant Conditioning (Skinner).
Classical Conditioning
1.
Pavlov recognised
that when a dog was
given food it salivated
which is a
physiological
response.
2.
He then rang a bell at
the same time as
feeding the dogs.
3.
He then realised that
after a while, if you
rang a bell the dog
would salivate
WITHOUT any food
present.
4. The dog has been
conditioned to salivate
when a bell rings.
1. Before Conditioning
2. Before Conditioning
Response
Response
Salivation
Unconditioned
Stimulus
Unconditioned
Response
3. During Conditioning
+
No Salivation
Neutral
Stimulus
4. After Conditioning
Response
Response
Salivation
US + CS
No Conditioned
Response
Unconditioned
Response
Salivation
Conditioned
Stimulus
Conditioned
Response
1. Before Conditioning
2. Before Conditioning
Response
Response
Salivation
Unconditioned
Stimulus
Unconditioned
Response
3. During Conditioning
+
No Salivation
Neutral
Stimulus
4. After Conditioning
Response
Response
Salivation
US + CS
No Conditioned
Response
Unconditioned
Response
Salivation
Conditioned
Stimulus
Conditioned
Response
Classical Conditioning
• Classical conditioning
explains LEARNED
responses to neutral
stimuli.
• The bell was the
neutral stimulus
because normally a
bell does not make
dogs salivate, but the
dogs learned that
when a bell rang they
would get food and so
they salivated when
they heard the bell.
Ringing
Bell
Equals
Salivating
Dog
Classical Conditioning
• Unconditioned Stimulus (US): A naturally occurring event
in the environment which provokes a response
eg a door banging or the smell of food
• Unconditioned Response (UR): Your instinctive response
to something that happens
eg you jump when a door bangs loudly, or you salivate
when given food.
• Conditioned Stimulus (CS): A new, neutral stimulus that
has been paired with the unconditioned stimulus.
eg the bell in Pavlov’s experiment is the conditioned
stimulus and is paired with the food.
• Conditioned Response (CR): A learnt response to the
new conditioned stimulus
eg salivating when the bell rings in Pavlov’s experiment
Classical Conditioning
Do you suffer from
Aichmophobia?
Read handout PP01 and in
small groups discuss:
1. How classical
conditioning can be used
to cure a phobia of
needles?
2. How classical
conditioning can be used
to cause a fear of needs?
Don’t forget to include the US, UR, CS and CR
Operant Conditioning
Skinner was an
American
psychologist
who studied
animals to
discover how
they learn new
behaviours.
A Skinner Box
Operant Conditioning
Speaker
Rat
Signal Lights
Lever
To Food Dispenser
Food Pellet
Electric Grid
The box contains a lever which, when pressed, caused
things to happen. Skinner wanted to see if the rat could learn
the behaviour of pressing the lever.
Operant Conditioning
How a rat learns to press a lever
• The rat in the Skinner Box accidentally presses the
lever and food is released.
• When the rat has accidentally hit the lever many
times, it learns that:
Pressing the lever = food pellet
• The food pellet is experienced as REINFORCING
(something the rat would like to have more of).
• The rat repeats the behaviour of pressing the lever
to receive more food pellets.
Operant Conditioning
Positive Reinforcement
When behaviour causes something
pleasurable this is called positive
reinforcement.
Eg when the rat hit the lever it received a
food pellet which was positive reinforcement
of that behaviour.
This woman’s boyfriend told her he LOVED
this outfit. He gave her LOTS of attention
and kisses when she wore it which was
pleasurable. She therefore wore it again,
and again and again! She was positively
reinforced to wear the outfit.
Give an example of when you have been
positively reinforced.
What do you
think of this
outfit?
Operant Conditioning
Negative Reinforcement
• When behaviour removes something unpleasant this is called
negative reinforcement.
• Eg Skinner changed the box to have a small electric current
that could be stopped when the lever was pressed.
• The rat learnt that pressing the lever would stop the current.
Rat
Lever
Electric Grid
• So, pressing the
lever REMOVED the
electrocution.
• The rat was
negatively
reinforced to press
the lever.
Operant Conditioning
Negative Reinforcement
A mum uses the ‘naughty step’ when her 4
year old boy is ‘naughty’.
He is only allowed to leave the naughty step
when he has said sorry for his behaviour.
The child has a tantrum and refuses to say
sorry. He is not allowed to leave the naughty
step until he has calmed down and said sorry.
The child eventually calms down and says
sorry.
Every time the child is on the naughty step he is
not allowed to leave until he is calm and said
sorry.
After a few weeks the child learns that he can
remove the unpleasantness of the naughty
step by displaying behaviour that his mum
approves of (saying sorry and being calm.)
Have you been
negatively
reinforced?
Operant Conditioning
Punishment
I’m not
When behaviour causes something that is
unpleasant and horrible, this is called
punishment.
pressing
that
lever
again!
Skinner changed the box to give an electric
shock when the lever was pressed.
The rats learnt that pressing the lever caused
an electric shock which was unpleasant and
horrible.
Through punishment, the rats learnt not to press
the lever.
Lever
Operant Conditioning
Punishment
Paranoia
Lauren is 17 and has started
smoking cannabis with her
friends. Her friends enjoy it
and it makes them feel
happy.
Lauren finds that when she
smokes cannabis it makes
her paranoid and she is scared
and feels horrible inside.
The paranoia is punishment
of the cannabis smoking
behaviour and so Lauren
stops the behaviour.
Have you been
reinforced through
punishment?
Operant Conditioning – Group Work
1. A nursery
Give examples of when it would be appropriate to use
positive, negative and punishment reinforcements. Give
examples of how you would do this.
2. A foster home
Explain how you would use operant conditioning to
work with a 12 year old child in a foster home who was
displaying aggressive and violent behaviour towards
other children in the home.
3. A residential care home
Explain how you would use operant conditioning to
work with an 89 year old in a residential care home who
was displaying aggressive and violent behaviour
towards staff.
The Behaviourist Perspective
• In small groups discuss how useful
you think the behaviourist
perspective is in explaining human
behaviour.
• Discuss the criticisms of Pavlov and
Skinner’s experiments in explaining
human behaviour. Discuss the
limitations of the behaviourist
perspective.