The Behaviourism Theory Description
What is behaviourism
Behaviorism was created by Pavlov and skinner and they both worked together to get to the bottom of how humans learn. They are trying to figure out if we learn from experience. In this theory they mention that humans can be conditioned to behave in a good or bad way. So for example we can love and to hate by being conditioned too. So it’s about our ability to shape and change behavior. Pavlov’s dog was an experiment that was created by Pavlov and Skinner. Classic conditioning happened by Pavlov educating the dog so that it reacts to a particular sound which initiates it to get excited at the presence of food.
The sound of bells ringing was the sound pavlov used to connect to the dogs food to the dog so when the bell is rung the dogs is aware that it is time to eat and food is on its way. Food is the thing that conditions the dog which is also known as the stimuli, the dog is getting excited which is the unconditioned response, and the sound of the bells is another conditioned stimuli. Certain aspects Pavlov’s theory showed are correct. Because he was able to condition the dog with a certain sound to experiment the effect on operant conditioning.
Skinner done an experiment on a rat which considered off him giving a rat a treat and it had to obtain the food and avoid the punishment of being electrocuted. This is recognized as both good and bad reinforcement. For example if there was a little boy who had been good and finished all of this work he would be given a reward which will condition him into wanting to always be good so he could get more rewards Social learning The social learning theory questions if behaviour is learnt by imitating or observing the behaviour of a role model.
The person who came up with this theory is Albert Bandura he is saying that to learn behaviour in a successful way there needs to be availability of things like media, game or a person needs to make an appearance can sway how you act by influencing your behaviour. Attention is also needed because in order for someone to learn attentiveness is needed. Retention is behaviour that you learn meaning the behaviour needs to be kept. Reproduction is also a part of this theory because it is the repetition of the behaviour.
Finally we have motivation which the last and final stage. Motivation is needed to amend the behaviour. Albert bandura done an experiment to prove that his theory might be right by doing an experiment called Bandura's bobo doll. This study was about aggression it was to help prove that social learning takes part of growing up. So what he did to prove his theory was he gathered some children to observe some adults be aggressive towards a doll and they copied exactly what the adults done.
The social learning theory basically says that the people around you can have a great affect on how you grow up it’s like a cases of monkey see monkey do. This theory overlooks peoples capability to lead their own lives no matter their environment. Social learning theory basically says that no matter what we are always learning even if it’s from the things around us like people, media, games anything that is in our environment we can learn behaviour from anywhere. Everything has an impact on how we live our lives and it can mould and shape us to the person we turn out to be.
Psychodynamic Freud Erikson
The psychodynamic theory is founded by S. Freud and E. Erikson. This theory makes a point about the fact that there is so many more things to discover about the brain and that we only know a half of it, there is so many more things we need to learn about the human mind. This theory states our mind is made up of three parts, ego, ID and superego. The ID is the most purest part of the mind. This part focuses getting what we want. This makes it very spontaneous. The ID you could say is very confident. The superego are the emotions that form because of socialisation and maturity, the superego controls the ID.
The superego is conformist it considers how we behave according to society. The superego is the traits that have been gained from things like socialisation and maturation. The superego is what controls the ID. The superego is what considers how we are to act. An example is how we are to act so we can be accepted by society. Finally we have the third part which is the ego. The ego balances your ego and morals. The ego is logical, straight to the point, because it looks at the bigger picture and plans things out so it's the logical part of our brains. It keeps the things you want realistic and controlled. Freud feels that the development we make as an infant has an influence on our personalities as we grow up to be adults.
Erikson
Freud focused too much on the lustful side rather than on the needs of an individual to be part of society and what they need to live a productive life. Erikson felt like he was missing a part. The first stage of development stated by Erikson is Trust vs Mistrust, this happens during the first years of an infant this is where the gain trust when all their needs are met because they are dependent on others. when their needs are met they learn to trust and when they are not getting what they need they develop mistrust.
The next stage is Autonomy vs Shame and Doubt which is at the ages of 1-3 years where they are little more independent than when they are an infant because they are more mobile and have a little more freedom because they are free and able to do small things. Shame and doubt is when the child is too controlled which causes the child to feel confused and they from a doubt in their own abilities which can have a bad impact on them and how they grow up because they can feel like they are never good enough.
The third stage is when they are 3-6 years of age this is the Initiative vs Guilt stage, initiative is developed when the child is encouraged to try new things and this is also where they develop new skills. The guilt is developed when the child gets told of for trying new things this can make the child scared to do things because they don't want to get into trouble this is bad because the child won't learn.
Fourth stage is Industry vs Inferiority they are 6-12 years old. At this age children tend to be busy and creative and also curious to things around them. This is where they look up to people and decide what they want to be when they are older. Inferiority happens when the child is forced to do things that they are incapable of for them at their age and then they get compared to other children which causes there self-esteem and confidence to be knocked occurs.
The fifth stage is identity vs confusion this is when they are ages 12-18 this is the stage where their identity is formed at these times stress and conflict. At these ages you tend to find a out who you want to be through your physical changes and intellectual changes. You can also find yourself confused about the role you play in society. Children can additionally develop an individuality that is negative because of their inability to fulfil the demands of society and the people around them.
Fixation is a consequence of either too much or too little attention during a stage of growing up. E.g. if you are fixated on the Oran you can grow up to be a smoker because that’s what you have seen you might think it’s the only way to make you feel better. If someone is fixated on the anal stage they might become very messy and disorganised which is known as anal responsive. Anal retentive means you can be very organised. Anxiety can be provoked as a consequence of repressed emotions.
Biological/ genetic theory Giselle
The biological outlook says that the progress of a person is reliant on their genes rather than environmental factors. Gesell is a very important figure who was acknowledged for creating the theory of maturation. For example we develop in accordance to disparate fixed stages. According to Gesell the heart forms, next the nervous arrangement, next the bones and muscles. From birth forwards our genes are accountable for our development. The genes are accountable for a little illness recognized as hereditary illnesses such as Huntington, sickle cell anaemia and cystic fibrosis are bypassed on from parent to child. From a biological outlook the endocrine system and nervous system are extremely vital to our development.
Our nervous system activates nerve fibres inside the nervous system, mind and body. This helps to free the discharge of hormones that are made in the endocrine gland. Our hormones possess a huge impact on our behaviour. For example melatonin that is produced by the pineal gland. Testosterone is accountable for aggression. Oxytocin is accountable for producing the pituitary gland that produces milk and accountable for female orgasm. An example of our hormones being altered is by our lifestyles it’s like shift work.
Working at night this isn’t the best time to work because it affects our health because our body is programmed to nap at night. They say that depression mostly happens during times like late autumn and winter because of a lack of light. That’s why depression is associated with these seasons Cognitive George Kelly, Piagetcognitive theory mentions how our minds work. Like how our recollection and minds works. Piaget was a psychologist who did a little work on trying to compute intelligence. He led an examination on children of comparable intelligence; the main idea was to recognize the stages of cognition. With this information he made up 4 stages.
The first stage is called sensory motor this begins at birth this is after the child cannot observe concerning things that are not instantly in front of them, therefore merely concentrating on what they are acting and observing in the moment. after folows the second stage which is pre-operational. This appears when the child is around the age of 2.This is after symbolic thinking skills start to develop, that way that they are capable of talking about concerning things that are beyond their experience. Though at this stage they are incapable to reason in a mature and logical manner.
Third part is concrete operational that happens at the ages of 6/7 at this stage the child is capable of developing adult like logic but they are also limited to reasoning. Final stage is conventional procedures that appears at the ages of 11-12 at this period the youngster is capable of contemplate logically and apply hypothetical ideas. Piaget made a film called the epistemology of Jean Piaget, clarifying the reason and thinking behind his experiment. He said that he is not an innatist as he doesn’t focus on actions. He says that we all unceasingly craft our own knowledge. He states that he is not an empiricist’s contemplate that vision is a duplicate of objects, but vision is always integration and interpretation. Piaget says that we do not discover plainly by observation but by elucidating according to our own structures.
George Kelly is also another important figure in the cognitive theory. He is known for developing the psychology of personal construct. He compared individuals to scientists, he says that we do not need to be held down by past experiences. In Georges mind he says that everyone has an idea of how things are supposed to be. For example how we want to live our lives. He says that most scientists can’t think in a different way because they have made themselves that way. He says that People should strive to change the things they believe to make themselves better also to help them figure out new ways to get where they want to be so they can live a better life that will make them happy. He also mentioned that your anxiety levels will reduce if you make sure you are more orgainised planning ahead can help
Humanist Maslow, Rogers
Humanist it’s all basically about a person’s willingness to do something so their motivation so it’s about their centred approach. This theory was discovered by Maslow and Rogers. Maslows view is that everyone is trying to become the best can be and trying to better themselves this is known as self-actulization. He also says that says that after someone has reaches the highest point they can they become complacent. But some people are not happy with being complacent so they keep pushing themselves to be even better. So for example if i was a nurse i wouldn’t want to be just a nurse i would want to be head nurse or even higher Where as C. Rogers idea was about self-concept so how you perceive a person.
This method is about people and how they look at themselves. So who are they. In his theory the client is put at the center of the therapiotic process. He focuses on making the environment positive so he positive towards his clients no matter the situation. So an example is you could have a client who has committed an offense let’s say murder or rape in this situation the expert needs to stay affirmative. Because if the humanist way they demand to be non-judgmental and open minded M1. The social learning is concerning the discovering that occurs as the consequence of observing, replicating and retaining actions perceived in others
The behaviourism theory is concerning the fact that human and animal actions is convinced by conditioning. Without pondering thoughts or feelings and disorders that are psychological are best when the behavioural pattern is changed. What makes these two theories similar is the way that they both think that human actions are from what we learn like the things around us for example as a child we hear our parents shouting at a younger sibling we will then go to our friends house and play a game of parents and you find that the child shouts at the other person because they have seen it and replicated that behaviour. E’xperience is a very important thing growing up because we learn from them thats what both of the theories say. One more vital similarity is that getting feedback is important in improving someones learning. Both theories contain support and penalty in explanations of behavior.
Differences
Social learning theories recognise the fact that a learner plays a big role in their learning, because the learner can select who they pay attention to, that actions they make and whereas to replicate the learnt behaviour. In the end the learner is capable of selecting how they answer to the aftermath of their actions. Whereas the behaviourist believe that the learner responded affirmatively to it environment. The social learning theory is aware of the fact that actions can come to be fixed. According to Bandura these behaviours come to be internalised after copied and reinforced the right way. This way that if Behaviourist were correct, our actions should steadily change in response to new reinforcement.
Another difference is that the social learning Theory only measures observable behaviour, because of this most of the information that they find is done in laboratories this can affect the how accurate the observations are. Unlike the behaviourist, they experiment on humans and the findings are upheld by natural observations. Both of these theories add cognitive processes into behaviourist values. The information they find are mostly established on lab examinations because of this they are easy to replicate and allows precise manipulation of autonomous variables to mad e, that permits a cause and result connection to be established.
One more strength is that there is less reductions. The perspectives are both extremely good at seeing actions that have been imitated. The problem with both of these theories is that they fail to explain how cognitive behaviour works. They focus too much on the external factors that change the why you act rather than thinking about the inner factors such as genetics, is it nature or nurture. Lab examinations are man made as the setting could produce abnormal actions that does not imitate real existence that gives it a low ecological validity as it cannot be generalised. This is a weakness.
Conclusion
The behaviourist theory is established merely on a change in behaviour. Behaviourists do not compute understanding because they do not feel that your mental capacity can be measured. Where as social learning the opposite of behaviourism as it doesn’t seize environmental impact into consideration. Social learning theory says that learning occurs mainly across through the people around you so your role models.
