Behaviorism

John Watson

Conditioned emotional reaction Examples – Little Albert; fetishes;

emotions associated with perfumes, “favorite songs”, or “favorite place.”

Generalization, discrimination, and extinction all apply.

Review

What are limitations of Classical conditioning? – re-pairing of stimuli/ some stimuli cannot be conditioned.

What is higher order or secondary conditioning?

B.F. Skinner and Operant Conditioning

Positive reinforcement negative reinforcement positive punishment negative punishment

Important Definitions

Reinforcers are anything that increases a behavior. According to Operant conditioning, if a behavior is increasing, it is being reinforced.

Punishers are anything that decreases a behavior. Thus, if a behavior is decreasing, it is being punished.

Important Definitions, cont.

"positive" means that something is added

"negative" means that something is taken away.

Reinforcer PunisherPositive + Reinf. + Punish.Negative - Reinf. - Punish. 

To Summarize Positive reinforcement occurs when a

behavior increases because something is added (given, applied). Usually what is added is something liked, wanted, or desired.

Negative reinforcement occurs when a behavior increases because something is taken away. Usually what is taken away is something aversive (unpleasant or painful).

Summary, cont. Positive punishment occurs when a

behavior decreases because something is added (given, applied). Usually what is added is something aversive (unpleasant or painful).

Negative punishment occurs when a behavior decreases because something is taken away. Usually what is taken away is something liked, wanted, or desired.

Examples

Common Positive Reinforcers – giving Candy, praise, hug, balloon, sticker, or saying “thanks”

Common Negative Reinforcers - When a behavior results in the stopping of yelling or nagging, stopping the electrical shock, or decreasing

anxiety.

Examples, cont.

Common positive punishments- Spanking, hitting, yelling, applying electric shocks, giving extra homework, “overcorrection” – making them write 100 times.

Examples, Cont.

Common negative punishments - Taking away of privileges, “grounding”, taking away of attention (Time Out).

3 Questions to ask

1. What is the behavior? 2. Is it increasing or decreasing

over time? 3. Is it increasing (or decreasing)

over time because something was added, or because something was taken away?

Tantruming Child Example

Positive Reinforcement

the tantruming child in the grocery store is being positively reinforced when the parent gives them the candy/toy after they start tantruming. They will tantrum faster and more often if you give them something they want after they tantrum. Positive reinforcement = The child gets the candy/toy for having the tantrum.

Negative Reinforcement

the parents' behavior of “giving in” or of giving the candy is negatively reinforced when the child stops tantruming. The child stops the loud screaming and the embarrassment once the candy is given, so the parents' behavior of “giving in” is much more likely to increase in the future.

Why does reinforcement work so much better than punishment?

1.Punishment (ie corporal punishment) teaches children that bigger, older, and stronger people have the right to hit smaller, younger, weaker people.

2. punishment does not teach people how to behave properly. It teaches people to hide their improper behavior, but not how to behave differently.

Reinforcement > Punishment, cont.

3. To be effective, punishment must be administered immediately and every time the behavior occurs.

4.To be effective, punishment must be fairly intense each time it is administered.

Reinforcement > Punishment, cont.

5. Punishment can have “side effects” of developing negative feelings and withdrawal from more than the specific instance (ie if punished for throwing a book, you may avoid all books vs the throwing). Also, you can develop negative feelings towards the punisher and want to avoid them.

 

Know what shaping or successive approximation is.

How do Behaviorists explain the development of phobias?

1.  Classical conditioning + operant conditioning (avoidance = negative reinforcement).

2. Operant conditioning + avoidance

CHANGE: Classical conditioning therapies

1. Systematic Desensitization  2. Aversion therapy

Systematic Desensitization

Aversion Therapy

http://www.minddisorders.com/A-Br/Aversion-therapy.html

Change: Operant Conditioning therapies

1. Behavior Management (for individuals)

 2.Token economy (for groups of people)

 3.Biofeedback

Change – Behavioral therapy

The teaching of a more appropriate or more effective behavior, skill, or strategy (ie problem solving skills, progressive muscle relaxation, or deep breathing)

ABA Design- Reducing a Behavior

 

Baseline Treatment Withdrawal of treatment  

(A) (B) (A)

ABA Design – Increasing a Behavior

Baseline Treatment Withdrawal of treatment  

(A) (B) (A)

Potential Strengths of Behaviorism

1. Committed to systematic research and theory development

 2. Recognizes the role of situational and

environmental variables in influencing behavior

 3. Provides a variety of therapy

techniques that have been found to be very reliable and effective

Potential Strengths, cont.

4.uses experimental methodology and Test Data, so it is easier to establish reliabililty and validity than other methodologies and type of data.

5. Experimental design has the potential to establish cause and effect relationships.

Potential Weaknesses for Behaviorism1. Oversimplifies personality and neglects important

phenomenon (thoughts, feelings, genetics) 2. Lacks a single, unified theory  3. Requires further evidence to support claims for

certain problems of treatment effectiveness. (Limitations of animal models; Do we know exactly why behavioral therapies work?)

4. Deals with only simple behaviors

Psychodynamic-------------\Humanist Behavioral

<‑1‑‑‑2----‑3‑‑\‑4‑‑‑5‑‑‑‑6‑‑‑‑7‑\‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑-----------------------------------‑‑‑>

nature nurture

1= S. Freud; 2= A. Freud; 3= E.Erikson; 4= Object Relations; 5 = NeoFreudians; 6= ego psych.; 7=A.Adler

Psychoanalytic\

continuum