Application Of The Behaviourist Perspective Psychology Essay

Application Of The Behaviourist Perspective Psychology Essay Operant conditioning is a process of learning, it was found by Burrhus Frederic Skinner BF Skinner. Skinner invented the operant conditioning chamber, also known as the Skinner Box. He innovated his own philosophy of science called radical behaviorism, and founded his own school of experimental research psychology – the experimental analysis of behavior. His analysis of human behavior culminated in his work Verbal Behavior, which has recently seen enormous increase in interest experimentally and in applied settings. Operant conditioning is a type of learning in which an individual’s behavior is modified by its consequences; the behavior may change in form, frequency, or strength. Operant conditioning is distinguished from classical conditioning in that operant conditioning deals with the modification of voluntary behavior or operant behavior. Operant behavior operates on the environment and is maintained by its consequences. Classical conditioning (also Pavlovian condi tioning or respondent conditioning) is a form of learning in which the conditioned stimulus (CS), comes to signal the occurrence of a second stimulus, the unconditioned stimulus (US). (A stimulus is a factor that causes a response in an organism.) The conditioned response is the learned response to the previously neutral stimulus. The US is usually a biologically significant stimulus such as food or pain that elicits a response from the start; this is called the unconditioned response (UR). The CS usually produces no particular response at first, but after conditioning it elicits the conditioned response (CR). Classical conditioning differs from operant or instrumental conditioning, in which behavior emitted by the subject is strengthened or weakened by its consequences (reward or punishment). This perspective is most useful in explaining our different ‘Learned’ behaviours. It lets us look at a specific behaviour and see where we got it from and how we got it. Changing behaviour is where we change our behaviour sometimes because of maybe a fear or phobia. Classical conditioning is used for explaining these but it is also good for helping us change these behaviours. There is a method to change phobic behaviour, this is called ‘Systematic Desensitisation’. You would put together a list of things that relate to the fear, and relax to the point where you are comfortable enough to look at the thing without being scared. Then you would move up to the next level of it. For example, if you were afraid of spiders, you would get comfortable with seeing a picture of a spider, then the next level would be having a spider in the room with you but in a cage, and this could progress up to you being able to hold the spider. This is called a ‘Hierarchy Of Fear’. Classical conditioning has also been used to treat other things like alcoholism, they are given a drug, when that drug is mixed with alcohol it causes them to feel sick and be sic k. They then associate alcohol with sick and unpleasantness. Application of the Social Learning Theory Social Learning Theory suggests that many things can influence our behaviour. This could be things like; Peers, Siblings, Parents, Television, Sports, Personalities and celebrities. If we see someone we admire behaving in a certain way, we are more likely to imitate them. Albert Bandura is a famous Psychologist at Stanford University. For almost six decades, he has been responsible for contributions to many fields of psychology, including social cognitive theory, therapy and personality psychology, and was also influential in the transition between behaviorism and cognitive psychology. He is known as the originator of social learning theory and the theory of self-efficacy, and is also responsible for the influential 1961 Bobo doll experiment. He felt that learning did not have to be conditioned or reinforced all the time. New behaviour could be could be learnt by observing others. Observational Theory refers to learning of a new behaviour through watching someone else perform the behaviour. This behaviour can be learnt but does not have to be reproduced unless the individual is motivated to perform the new behaviour. Role Theory suggests that because we live in a certain culture, come from a certain religion or are friends with certain types of groups, we adopt certain roles as we are expected to live up to certain expectations. It also suggests we change our roles to suit our environment. Bandura also thinks that our behaviour is influenced by the presence of others.