| What are the key principles of behaviourism? | Psychologist follow the learning approach, believe that humans are born as blank slates, everything is shaped by interaction with the envrionment, no response is set. |
| What is classical conditioning? | We learn by association when 2 things happen at the same time (or happens just before another) |
| What is operant conditioning? | We learn by consequences of either being rewarded or punished |
| What is the social learning theory? | We learn by observing and imitating role models |
| What are the 2 parts of Mowrer's 2 process model of how phobias are explained? | 1. Phobias are initiated through classical conditioning (association)
2. Phobias are maintained through operant conditioning (consequence) |
| What is a unconditioned stimulus? | Event/object in the environment that will cause the physiological response |
| What is a unconditioned response? | Uncontrollable physiological reaction/reflex a response to the stimulus |
| What is a neutral stimulus? | Previously un-associated stimulus to the response |
| What is a conditioned stimulus? | After learning the association has taken place |
| What is a conditioned resposne? | After learning the assoctiation has taken place |
| What is the little Albert experiment - Watson and Rayner? | Wanted a fear response in a non-anxious baby. Pairng a rat which the baby was fine with at first, to a loud bang.
After a number of pairings, the baby was scared of the rat and similar characterisitcs of a rat (generlisation) |
| Name the different labls of the stimulus' and reactions with Watson and Ryner? | Neutral stimulus - the rat
Unconditioned stimulus - the bang
Unconditioned reaction - baby crying
Conditioned stimulus - the rat
Conditioned response - baby crying |
| How are phobias maintained? | They are maintained by operant conditioning. The behaviour is reinforced or punished, the beahviour is reinforced which means it is repeated. But behaviour that is punished is terminated. |
| What is positive reinforcement? | Rewarding the behaviour by giving them something to encourage this beahaviour in the future. (getting chocolate when you are done with work) |
| What is positive punishment? | Add an unpleasent stimulus to the environment which will decrease the frequency of the beahviour (getting a dentention) |
| What is negative reinforcement? | Removing of the stimulus which will lead to an increase of behaviour. (not attending class bc you haven't done the work) |
| What is negative punishment? | You get something taken away from you, will lead to a decrease of behaviour. |
| A strength of the behavioural explanation of phobias? | -Watson and Ryner, demonstrated classical conditioning with a formation of a phobia with a rat when paired with a loud noise to make a conditioned reaction
-Supports the idea of the 2 process model, it will form a phobia as well as generlisation occuring with stimulus phobic stimulus
-Results are hard to generlise though due to the case study, possibly unique behaviours. Need to apply with caution. |
| A strength of the behavioural explanation of phobias? | -Therapy
-The ideas have have been used to develop treatments, like systematic desensitisation and flooding.
-Systematic desensitiation: helps to unlearn their fears using principals of classical conditioning. Flooding: prevents people from avoiding their phobia by stopping negative reinforcement.
-Have been successfully used to help people, providing furthur support for real life application and its effectiveness |
| A weakness of the behavioural explanation of phobias? | - Doesn't provide complete explanation, does not consider genetics
-Seligman aruges that animals and humans are genetically programmed to learn an association between a potentially life threatening stimulus and fear.
-Would have been adaptive to repidly avoid acient fears like height and snakes, bc theses would have been dangerous to us in our evolutionary past.
-Innate predisposition to certain phobias, biological preparedness and casts doubt to two-process model - suggests that there is more to phobias to classical conditioning |
| A weakness of the behavioural explanation for phobias? | -Ignores the role of cognition
-Behaviours may develop through irrational thinking, not jsust learning through avoidance and assocation. Eg: clautrophobic people may think 'I am going to get trapped and suffocate in the lift' which is an irrational thought not taken into account.
-The cognitive approach has lead to CBT, a more succesful treatment compared to the behaviourist treatments
-Means that the 2 process model does not completely explain, as well as treat, phobias as well. |
