Behaviorism
Dec 18, 2015
• How do we know how to respond to different stimuli?
• Jumping at the sound of a loud noise.
• Feeling anxiety after seeing flashing police lights in your rearview mirror.
• Squinting in the bright sunlight.
• Pulling your hand away after touching a hot stove.
• Grabbing for your phone when hearing your ringtone.
Do Now
Behaviorism
Science of Observable Behavior
Mental process cannot be studied directly but behaviorists believe that people’s behaviors are directly related to mental process
Scientific approach - focus on experimentation
Movers and ShakersIvan Pavlov - discovered classical conditioning
John B. Watson - Father of Behaviorism - > Behavior without reference to thought
B.F Skinner - Operant Conditioning - Pigeons and Skinner Box
Behaviorism
Stimulus Response Pairing
Intro to Behaviorism Clip
Key Terms - Classical
ConditioningUnconditional Stimulus (UCS)- a stimulus that naturally triggers a response
Unconditioned Response (UCR)- a naturally occurring response to a stimulus
Conditioned Stimulus (CS)- a previously neutral stimulus that now elicits a response after being coupled with a UCS
Conditioned Response (CR) - a learned response to a previously neutral stimulus
Now Lets PlayDoggy Game
What about with People?
John Watson experiments with a baby named lil albert
Other TermsGeneralization - the tendency to respond to any stimulus similar to the CS - ex. lil Albert and all white furry things not just rats
Distinction - the ability to discriminate the CS from other familiar stimuli - ex. end of class bell vs fire alarm bell
Extinction - “unconditioning” - fading responses when the CS is no longer coupled with the UCS - ex. if Watson had paired white furry things with no loud noise many times, Albert would not be scared anymore
How do you feel about classical conditioning?
Option 1:What are you talking about!?!?
Option 3: Are you kidding? This is cake!
Option A:What are you talking about!?!?
Option A:What are you talking about!?!?
Option 2: I got it so far!
Option B: Are you kidding? This is cake!
Option4: Um..28? Sorry..I am obsessing over college stuff
Option 5: Ew...I hate slouchy hats.
Exposure Therapy
Used to extinguish phobias
Based on behaviorism
The anxiety provoking stimuli is presented to the person with greater frequency until there is no more anxiety
This is a good example
This is a bad example
What are punishments for behavior?
What are rewards for behavior?
Operant ConditioningThe learning of behaviors as a result of the
consequences that occur after those behaviors
Developed by B.F Skinner
Skinner was interested in the stimulus response
aspect of behaviorism but wanted to see if he could
train animals to elicit specific behaviors
Created the ”Skinner Box”
Example
Key Terms- Operant Conditioning
Positive Reinforcement - the addition of a positive consequence to increase a behavior - Rewards
Negative Reinforcement- the removal of a negative stimulus to increase a behavior
Punishment - the addition of negative consequence to decrease a behavior
Omission training - the removal of a positive stimulus to decrease a behavior
Skinner and his Pigeons
Pigeons Training Ping Pong Pigeons