Untitled Quiz

PS338 Behaviourist Perspectives

• Course code is PS338
• Course title is Behaviourist Perspectives
• Lecturer is Dr Jenny Groarke
• Contact details: Qwickly: 4290, University of Galway, @Galway.ie

Behaviourism and Personality

• Behaviourism questions the concept of personality as something inherent
• Instead, it views personality as a pattern of learned behaviours
• The image of a pigeon and mouse illustrates this idea
• The image of a pigeon and mouse with chat bubbles implies that personality can be shaped by the environment

Learning-Based Approaches

• Learning is defined as change in behaviour due to experience
• Two key ideas:
  • Stimuli close together in time elicit the same response
  • Behaviors followed by pleasant outcomes are repeated; unpleasant outcomes lead to abandoning the behavior

What is Personality?

• Personality is a dynamic organisation, inside the person
• It is made up of psychophysical systems
• It forms characteristic patterns of behaviour, thoughts, and feelings.
• Quote from Allport (1961, p.11)

Theories of Personality

• Psychodynamic theories (Freud, Adler, Erikson): View personality as a set of internal forces that compete and conflict.
• Humanistic theories (Rogers, Maslow, Kelly): Emphasize potential for growth and development if conditions are met.
• Trait theories (Allport, Cattell, Eysenck, the Big 5): Focus on stable, embedded traits within a person.

Science of Psychology

• Goals of Psychology
  • Investigation and description
  • Understanding and prediction
  • Influence and control

Pragmatic/Scientific Model of Personality

• A working model of behaviour focuses on observable behaviour
• Parsimony (simplicity) is key
• Observables are examined without denying internal states.
• The utility of internal states in explaining behaviour is questioned, focus is on predictability and control

Example of an Ordinary Sequence of Events

• An example of how behaviour isn't directly connected to personality, but rather the environment.
• Context (e.g., weather) influences internal processes which shapes behaviours (e.g., cooking and eating) that lead to outcomes (e.g., happiness).
• The external conditions can be manipulated and the same behaviour patterns can exist (e.g., sunny vs. rainy)

Example of Ordinary Sequence of Events: BUT WITHOUT Using Internal Events to Explain Behaviour

• A simpler model of behaviour, purely based on relationship between environment (context), behaviour and outcome. No mention of internal factors.

Ordinary Sequence of Events Does Not Change:

• Further explanation and example of behavior, purely based on environment, behavior and outcome. No internal factors

Sequence of Events: The Behavioural Focus on a Theory of Parsimony

• Another diagram showing the context, behaviour, and outcome relationship.
• The focus is totally on observable factors.

Let's Interpret the Data!

• The dependent variable (DV) is the rate of response.
• High rate of responding was observed across different contexts.
• The pattern suggests a strong response to social reinforcement.

Behavioural Theory

• Key figures in behavioural theory are Watson, Skinner, Thorndike, and Millar and Dollard

John B. Watson

• Considered the "Father of Behaviorism"
• Emphasized observable behavior over subjective experiences as the focus of psychology. (Watson, 1924/1930).
• Nature versus nurture debate: Focused on the role of experience in shaping personality

Radical Behaviourism

• A reaction against Freudian and humanistic interpretations of behaviour.
• Focuses on environmental causes of behaviour
• Inspired by Pavlov's work

Behaviourism

• The science of behaviour
• Behaviour has causes in the environment.
• Analysis studies how to shape environments to influence likelyhood and frequency of behaviour.

Behaviorism (cont.)

• People should be studied externally.
• Personality sums a person's behaviour.
• Causes of behaviour are observable.
• Goal of functional analysis: Understanding causes within the environment.
• Experience shapes everything.

Behaviourism (cont.)

• Goal: To discover laws that describe functional behaviour-environment relationships.
• Environment: Consists of all existing circumstances in which an organism exists
• Stimulus: Specific component of the environment
• Response: Specific behavioural instances.
• Stimulus-response (S-R) concept

Behaviorism: Classical Conditioning

• How classical conditioning works
• Pavlov's dog experiment
• Learning that one stimulus is a warning or signal for another
• Learned helplessness: Events seemingly happening randomly, leading to anxiety and depression

Classical Conditioning (S-R Psychology)

• Modification of involuntary, elicited behaviours.
• Magnitude of response is dependent variable.
• Habituation is a key concept.

Behaviorism: Habituation

• Simplest form of behaviour change from experience.
• Can influence responses to violence in media, or impact of major life events
• Affective forecasting: How we predict future emotions.

Classical Conditioning

• Explains how a neutral stimulus becomes associated with a specific response.
• Includes clear definitions of unconditioned and conditioned stimuli and responses.

Classical Conditioning and the Conditioned Emotional Response

• Demonstrates how existing emotions (unconditioned response) can become associated with a new stimulus (conditioned stimulus).
• Demonstrates classical conditioning relating to Little Albert

Classical Conditioning and the Conditioned Emotional Response

• Explains how stimuli are generalized. (Little Albert experiment)

Behaviourism: Basic Assumptions

• Continuity Hypothesis: Early experiences have a lasting impact on personality development
• Reductionism: Complex phenomena can be broken down into basic components
• Empiricism: Focus on observables rather than intangible internal events in the study of human behaviour.
• Determinism: All behaviour is caused by environmental factors.
• Emphasis on observable behaviour, not internal thought processes
• Behaviour is not random

Recap

• Theories of Personality
• Science of Psychology and the scientific model of personality
• Behaviourist Take on Ordinary Events in Contrast to Other Approaches (Observable outcomes less focus on "inner processes")

Today

• Skinner, Thorndike
• Classical Conditioning (S>R)
• Operant Conditioning (R>S)
• Consequences of Behavior
• RFT (Relational Frame Theory)

E. L. Thorndike

• Key figures in early work on animal learning.
• The Law of Effect: Consequences strengthen or weaken behaviour
• Trial and error learning

B.F. Skinner

• Key figure in reinforcement theory
• Operant conditioning (how consequences influence behaviour)

Skinner (cont.)

• Key concepts include the Skinner Box, which allowed for the study of behaviour in a controlled setting.
• Emphasis on how behaviour is shaped by the environment
• Emphasis on overt and covert behaviours

Classical Conditioning and Operant Conditioning

• Two basic ways in which learning happens.

Techniques of Operant Conditioning

• Reinforcement
• Punishment
• Shaping

Two Types of Consequences

• Reinforcement:Increases future behaviours
• Punishment: Decreases future behaviours

Reinforcement

• When a stimulus change follows a response then increases the future frequency of behaviours .

Punishment

• When a stimulus change follows a response and decreases the future frequency of behaviour

Consequences Reinforcements and Punishments

• Positive/negative reinforcement and punishment are different types of consequences that influence behaviour

Schedules of Reinforcement

• Continuous and Intermittent reinforcement schedules (fixed interval, fixed ratio, variable interval, variable ratio).

It Gets a Little More Complicated...

• Introduction of the three-term contingency: Antecedents, behaviour, and consequences that shape behaviour through observable and measurable events

ABC of Behavior

• Diagram representing Antecedents, Behaviour, and Consequences

Not all Behaviour is Directly Learned

• Generalisation and discrimination regarding emitted behaviour learned or innate.

Shaping Behavior Our Personality

• Differential reinforcement of successive approximations to shape a target behaviours or skills to help increase the frequency, or to decrease frequency of maladaptive behaviour

Shaping Behaviour and Our Personality(cont.)

• Reinforcing those responses that meet a specific criterion along some dimension (e.g., toilet training, table manners, studious habits).

Limitations of Radical Behaviour

• Complex cognitive behaviours (thinking/problem solving) are difficult to explain with pure behavioral frameworks
• Criticism of Functional Definitions and rule-governed behaviour.

RFT

• Emphasises frames, relationships and reinforcement of specific language behaviour to shape our environment and interactions.

What is Behaviourism?

• Overview of behaviorism as a distinct approach in psychology.

What do We Do?

• Example questions of behaviour: Do inside or do outside.

Conclusions...

• Overview, examples, and considerations regarding different types of responses to external triggers like pandemic restrictions

Conclusions... (cont.)

• Behaviourist framework: External triggers, stimuli, association, reinforcement/punishment impact responses to situations.