The inception of behaviourism occurred in the early part of the twentieth century, it was a rallying cry against the often unproven theories, and subjective methods utilised by proponents of the introspection discipline of psychology. This new behaviourist discipline would utilise the scientific method to test its theories and record empirical evidence to support its claims.
These early behaviourists believed that behaviour could be explained by monitoring and examining how one interacts with the surrounding environment. This required the behaviourists to make several assumptions. First the human mind was to be seen as “tabula rasa”, an empty vessel to be filled with knowledge from the sum of our perceptions and experiences. Additionally …show more content…
Of the nine items, Albert responded fearfully to three of them, these three items were cotton wool, a burning newspaper and a hammer striking a four foot steel bar which was hanging behind his head. Albert 's response defines these three items as the unconditioned stimuli. As the other items illicit no response, they become neutral. Two months later Albert is presented with one of the neutral stimuli, a white rat, as well as the three unconditioned stimuli that had made him fearful. Over the next seven weeks, this happened several times. Eventually the rat, a conditioned stimulus, became feared by Albert. This in turn made the fear a conditioned response. The fear (conditioned response) also manifested with regard to other stimuli. Notably, the rabbit, a dog, a sealskin coat and Watson 's hair. However Albert showed the ability to discriminate between the hair of Watson and two observers. Over the next month, Albert 's response to the rat persisted although his reaction became less volatile, the response was still evident. Soon after he was removed from the hospital.
Classical conditioning is often applied in various forms of therapy, two of these are desensitisation therapy and aversion therapy. Aversion therapy works by associating the unwanted behaviour with an unpleasant response such as pain or nausea. While desensitisation is commonly used to deal with phobia and involves relaxation techniques. By gradually introducing …show more content…
Although his work was eschewed by Watson in favour of Pavlov 's formulation. It would later form the basis for operant conditioning under B.F Skinner. Thorndike proposed that any action resulting in pleasure would likely be repeated while any action that provided a negative experience would not likely be undertaken again.
Skinner introduced the idea of reinforcement into Thorndike 's model. When behaviour is reinforced it becomes stronger, and without reinforcement it will become weaker and eventually crumble. Skinner proposed that there are three types of operant, neutral operants do not effect behaviour. However, reinforcers raise the likelihood of a behaviour being repeated. Where as punishers lower the likelihood of a behaviour being repeated.
Reinforcers can work in two ways, for the benefit of or to the detriment of the operant. These modes are referred to as positive and negative reinforcement. The are also two types of reinforcement, primary and secondary. Primary reinforcement is attributed to things we naturally perceive to be good such as praise or sex. Where as a secondary reinforcer is a reinforce by association to a primary such as money or sweets. Conversely, punishment can also work in two ways. Either by provision of an unpleasant experience such a pain or by the removal of a
These early behaviourists believed that behaviour could be explained by monitoring and examining how one interacts with the surrounding environment. This required the behaviourists to make several assumptions. First the human mind was to be seen as “tabula rasa”, an empty vessel to be filled with knowledge from the sum of our perceptions and experiences. Additionally …show more content…
Of the nine items, Albert responded fearfully to three of them, these three items were cotton wool, a burning newspaper and a hammer striking a four foot steel bar which was hanging behind his head. Albert 's response defines these three items as the unconditioned stimuli. As the other items illicit no response, they become neutral. Two months later Albert is presented with one of the neutral stimuli, a white rat, as well as the three unconditioned stimuli that had made him fearful. Over the next seven weeks, this happened several times. Eventually the rat, a conditioned stimulus, became feared by Albert. This in turn made the fear a conditioned response. The fear (conditioned response) also manifested with regard to other stimuli. Notably, the rabbit, a dog, a sealskin coat and Watson 's hair. However Albert showed the ability to discriminate between the hair of Watson and two observers. Over the next month, Albert 's response to the rat persisted although his reaction became less volatile, the response was still evident. Soon after he was removed from the hospital.
Classical conditioning is often applied in various forms of therapy, two of these are desensitisation therapy and aversion therapy. Aversion therapy works by associating the unwanted behaviour with an unpleasant response such as pain or nausea. While desensitisation is commonly used to deal with phobia and involves relaxation techniques. By gradually introducing …show more content…
Although his work was eschewed by Watson in favour of Pavlov 's formulation. It would later form the basis for operant conditioning under B.F Skinner. Thorndike proposed that any action resulting in pleasure would likely be repeated while any action that provided a negative experience would not likely be undertaken again.
Skinner introduced the idea of reinforcement into Thorndike 's model. When behaviour is reinforced it becomes stronger, and without reinforcement it will become weaker and eventually crumble. Skinner proposed that there are three types of operant, neutral operants do not effect behaviour. However, reinforcers raise the likelihood of a behaviour being repeated. Where as punishers lower the likelihood of a behaviour being repeated.
Reinforcers can work in two ways, for the benefit of or to the detriment of the operant. These modes are referred to as positive and negative reinforcement. The are also two types of reinforcement, primary and secondary. Primary reinforcement is attributed to things we naturally perceive to be good such as praise or sex. Where as a secondary reinforcer is a reinforce by association to a primary such as money or sweets. Conversely, punishment can also work in two ways. Either by provision of an unpleasant experience such a pain or by the removal of a