Transcript Behavioural Approach - Beauchamp Psychology

Learning Objectives
0 By the end of the lesson, you should be able to
identify…
What the behavioural approach is.
What are its key points.
What are its evaluation points including strengths and
Weakness.
Behaviourism
0 Set of psychological views which sees the scientific
view of observing behaviour. Concentring itself with
only what can be seen and measured.
0 ALL BEHAVIOUR IS AQUIRED THROUGH EXPERIENCE
0 Everything we do is learnt (Tabula rasa)
Acquisition
of Behaviour Revision
0 Classical – Learning through association. Making a
neutral stimulus a controlled stimulus (ABBA)
0 Operant- Learning through reinforcement eg;
punishment, discrimination, generalisation.
0 Social Learning Theory- Learning through modelling
and that model being rewarded or punished
(vicarious support)
Behavioural
approaches
application to
abnormal behaviour
Classical – A Good explanation of
phobia's or a fear of objects that has
been associated at sometime in the
past with an anxious response.
0 Eg; Phobic behaviour is an example of escaped
avoidance for learning (new behaviours)
Can we think of any further examples???
Operant – Maladaptive
behaviour can be rewarded or
reinforced
May be functional for the individual, but this kind of
learning through reinforcement isn’t healthy in the long
run
eg; panic attacks with children demanding extra
attention can lead to being over nurtured or spoilt.
0 Can we think of any further examples???
Social Learning Theory
We need to take social context
into account e.g; observation
of role models.
Eg; Kendali + Hammen (1995) said its difficult to
distinguish between gentic and SLT.
Task: Discuss in pairs this question?
Is depression, OCD, phobia's genetic or inherited
through watching the behaviours? Nature vs Nurture
Debate.
Basic Principles
1. Only behaviour is important
We can only concern ourselves with what we can see or
measure, to understand the world. Therefore
behaviourist focus on external behaviours. They argue
anything else is or could be biased and subjective to the
person looking at it.
2. Abnormal behaviours are acquired
From whatever acquisition process, such as television,
media, parents, peers.
3. Role of environment
The learning environment may reinforce problematic
behaviours, eg; avoidance lawyers anxiety, depressive
behaviours may elicit help; society may provide
maladaptive models as a source of indirect
reinforcement.
Evaluation
Strengths
The behavioural approach can provide convincing
explanations of some psychological disorders, including
the role of classical conditioning.
Its also lead to successful
therapies being made.
Limitations
A limited View.
- Behaviourist approach has been criticised for offered
a limited view and not accounting for the reasons for
abnormality. However cognitive behaviourists did
take the role of cognition into account.
Seligman (1970)
Suggests we are Bio logically hardwired from a basic instinct to fear certain
small dangerous animals, so even thought where not cave men anymore where
cant stop the behaviour.
0 Counter Evidence
0 Advantage is that it is open to scientific investigation
but research has not always supported the view.
0 Behaviourist examples of Phobia’s have a problem
explaining and identifying what traumatic trigger
incidents people have to cause certain Phobia's.
0 Most phobia fit specific categories that can be seen as
dangerous rather than ‘irrational’
0 The symptoms and not the cause
- It does provide the basis for a range of therapies, their
effectiveness is variable and may not provide long term
solution. This may be because the treatments are only
are only addressing symptoms.
Research Methods
Experiments
Animal Studies
Most appropriate given the
scientific nature of the approach, as
its about observable behaviours.
The laws of learning are universal it
is reasonable to generalise from
animal studies to humans. Allowing
high degree of control and getting
around ethical issues of controlling
human behaviour.
Homework: (a) Outline key features of the
psychodynamic approach to psychopathology.
(6 marks)
AO1 = 6 marks Outline of features of the psychodynamic approach
to psychopathology
Features may refer to assumptions, causes/explanations, concepts
of abnormal
behaviour:
• focus on the role of the unconscious in motivating behaviour
• abnormality arises out of unresolved conflicts of childhood, early
experience
• defence mechanisms, repression, tripartite personality, stages of
development and fixation