Behavioural perspectives P1: Explain the principal
psychological perspectives
Psychology is the scientific study of behaviour and the mental processes. The goals of
a psychologist are to describe, predict, explain and control behaviour.
The behavioural perspective is the theoretical perspective that we are born with a
blank slate and that we learn our behaviour through the experiences we have through
the environment and it can also influence our behaviour. This theory explains behaviour
and learning in terms of stimulus-response relationships. It is different to other theories
because it is believed that humans and animal are controlled by their environment,
according to behaviourists. To prove their theories, some behaviourists have conducted
experiments to prove their theories.
There are two types of conditioning; classical conditioning, which is a theory that was
studied by Ivan Pavlov and operant conditioning, which is a theory that was studied by
Burrhus Frederic Skinner.
Classical conditioning was first studied by Ivan Pavlov in the late 1800’s. It is when a
stimulus creates a response. He observed how dogs salivate to help them digest food
and that they will also salivate when they know that their food is coming as they can
associate food with the other stimulus such as opening the door. He then carried out a
study with a bell. Before conditioning the dog, when a person was ringing the bell, there
was no response and therefore did not salivate. Then, during conditioning, Pavlov would
give the dog food (unconditioned stimulus) after a bell was rung and then the dog would
salivate (unconditioned response). Eventually, after conditioning, when a bell was rang
(conditioned stimulus), the dog would salivate (conditioned response) as it associated
the bell with receiving food. This study of classical conditioning shows that human and
animals are both conditioned in their behaviour through their environment and it has
also been used to explain phobias. Classical conditioning can be used to explain how
someone with anxiety learns to avoid things that may trigger their anxiety. This is learnt
by experience. This may have caused a person to stay away from anything that may
hurt them or put them in a situation of danger such as heights but this also means that
they will struggle to get over their fears/phobias. Behaviourists believe that we learn
through actions and for people with an anxiety disorder, subsequently, it could have an
effect on their behaviour.
A criticism to classical conditioning is that it is too simple in terms of the human
behaviour. It tries to explain that an object equals a response. This means that the
theory ignores other explanations for the responses. This would be classed as
reductionism as it has reduced the explanations down to one single thing. Another
criticism to classical conditioning is that behaviourists have done most of their research
on animals . This means that the research they do is then generalised to the findings of
humans. However, we are not all that similar to animals and the behaviour is different,
so the results for both should not be the same or generalised.
psychological perspectives
Psychology is the scientific study of behaviour and the mental processes. The goals of
a psychologist are to describe, predict, explain and control behaviour.
The behavioural perspective is the theoretical perspective that we are born with a
blank slate and that we learn our behaviour through the experiences we have through
the environment and it can also influence our behaviour. This theory explains behaviour
and learning in terms of stimulus-response relationships. It is different to other theories
because it is believed that humans and animal are controlled by their environment,
according to behaviourists. To prove their theories, some behaviourists have conducted
experiments to prove their theories.
There are two types of conditioning; classical conditioning, which is a theory that was
studied by Ivan Pavlov and operant conditioning, which is a theory that was studied by
Burrhus Frederic Skinner.
Classical conditioning was first studied by Ivan Pavlov in the late 1800’s. It is when a
stimulus creates a response. He observed how dogs salivate to help them digest food
and that they will also salivate when they know that their food is coming as they can
associate food with the other stimulus such as opening the door. He then carried out a
study with a bell. Before conditioning the dog, when a person was ringing the bell, there
was no response and therefore did not salivate. Then, during conditioning, Pavlov would
give the dog food (unconditioned stimulus) after a bell was rung and then the dog would
salivate (unconditioned response). Eventually, after conditioning, when a bell was rang
(conditioned stimulus), the dog would salivate (conditioned response) as it associated
the bell with receiving food. This study of classical conditioning shows that human and
animals are both conditioned in their behaviour through their environment and it has
also been used to explain phobias. Classical conditioning can be used to explain how
someone with anxiety learns to avoid things that may trigger their anxiety. This is learnt
by experience. This may have caused a person to stay away from anything that may
hurt them or put them in a situation of danger such as heights but this also means that
they will struggle to get over their fears/phobias. Behaviourists believe that we learn
through actions and for people with an anxiety disorder, subsequently, it could have an
effect on their behaviour.
A criticism to classical conditioning is that it is too simple in terms of the human
behaviour. It tries to explain that an object equals a response. This means that the
theory ignores other explanations for the responses. This would be classed as
reductionism as it has reduced the explanations down to one single thing. Another
criticism to classical conditioning is that behaviourists have done most of their research
on animals . This means that the research they do is then generalised to the findings of
humans. However, we are not all that similar to animals and the behaviour is different,
so the results for both should not be the same or generalised.
