Behaviourism

Behavioural Approach

The rise of the behaviourism approach marked a notable shift in the field of psychology. Before behaviourism was fully established, there were other approaches, such as Wilhelm Wundt's introspection and Sigmund Freud's psychoanalysis.

However, behaviourists such as John Watson believed that for this new field of psychology to be taken seriously as a science, it must focus on phenomena that can be measured and observed.

The underlying assumptions of the behavioural approach in psychology are summarised by John Watson (1913):

• Behavioural psychology studies behaviours that are observable and quantifiable.

• Behaviours are mostly learnt from interaction with our environment; this supports the nurture approach.

• Humans and animals exhibit very similar learning patterns, so conclusions from animal experiments can be generalised/ extrapolated to humans.

• In line with its objective and scientific approach to psychology, experiments conducted by the behavioural approach are mostly lab-controlled.

Behavioural Theory

We now know where the basic principles of the behavioural approach originated, but we've yet to discuss how behavioural theories were initially formed. Well, it began with two men - Ivan Pavlov (classical conditioning) and B.F. Skinner (operant conditioning).

Classical Conditioning: Pavlov's Dog

In 1897, Ivan Pavlov was the first to demonstrate a behaviourism phenomenon called classical conditioning.

He tested this theory by observing a dog's response to a repeated stimulus. He observed that repeated pairings of a sound of a bell (neutral stimulus) with food given to dogs simultaneously could generate a conditioned response, i.e., salivation at the sound of the bell even when no food is provided.

The steps of Pavlov's experiment were as follows:

• Dogs salivated (unconditioned response) when provided with food (unconditioned stimulus).

• Then the bell (neutral stimulus) was rung whenever food was presented.

• Gradually after repeated pairing, the dogs salivated at the sound of the bell even when no food was given. The bell became the conditioned stimulus, and salivation became the conditioned response.

The dogs learnt to associate the sound of the bell with being fed. The sound of the bell became a trigger for the dogs that caused salivation even when no food was given.

Fig 1 - The Pavlov dog Experiment was conducted to show how classical conditioning works, commons.Wikimedia by Maxxl².

Operant Conditioning: The Skinner Box

When humans or animals respond to the environment, their actions are followed by consequences.

If the result is positive, the behaviour will be repeated. If the consequence is unpleasant, the behaviour will be avoided. B. F. Skinner decided to test this theory by placing a hungry rat in a cage with a lever.

Each time the lever was activated, a food pallet was dropped into a dispenser. The rat quickly learnt this behaviour, and after the food was pushed into the dispenser several times, it would press the lever when hungry.

Skinner suggested several types of learning occur during operant conditioning:

• Positive reinforcement is when an action is rewarded; it increases the likelihood of repeating desired behaviours. You might, for example, get ice cream when you finish all of your homework before the weekend.

• Negative reinforcement is when an action prevents an unpleasant outcome which increases desired behaviour, like when you put on sunscreen to avoid sunburn.

• Punishment is when an action performed has a negative consequence. It decreases unwanted behaviours, for example, when you get suspended from school for breaking the rules.

Fig 2 - Skinner's rat experiment illustrated how operant conditioning works, commons.Wikimedia.org

In a second experiment, Skinner placed a rat in a cage and subjected it to mild electric currents. The rats moved around due to discomfort from the electric currents.

The electric currents stopped whenever the rat pressed the lever. After being subjected to the same situation a few times, the rat quickly learnt to press the lever to avoid uncomfortable electric currents through negative reinforcement.

Behavioural Philosophy

The strengths of the behavioural philosophy might be summarised as follows:

• It has scientific credibility. As all experiments are lab-controlled, there is little space for biased judgments of individuals or external variables to affect the study's objectivity.

• Classical and operant conditioning have practical applications in psychological treatments, as, for example, in the systematic desensitisation for treating phobias, which is based on classical conditioning.

• Behaviourism set a precedent for using animals as research subjects, leading to many important discoveries in psychology.

Here are a few more limitations the behavioural philosophy can have:

• The behavioural approach portrays humans as passive beings whose cognitive thought processes do not influence their behaviours. Therefore, the approach can be argued as deterministic.

• It rules out biological causes of learning and performing behaviour. For example, low levels of the neurotransmitter serotonin affect the symptoms of depression and OCD.

• It fails to explain internal mental processes, such as memory, problem-solving, and decision-making abilities, which are likely to play an essential role in human behaviours. Thus, the approach can be criticised as reductionist.

Behaviourism Examples

So what are some examples of the behaviourism approach's important contributions to modern psychology? Well, let's first look at phobias and how to treat them. Behaviourists would say that a phobia results from an unpleasant learning experience.

Since the phobia was learned, the assumption is that it can be unlearned or re-conditioned.

The behaviourist approach also helps us understand other psychological conditions, such as addictions. For example, a gambling addiction likely forms due to operant conditioning, in which a person's destructive behaviour is reinforced through the rewards of winning (even if the losses are greater), or operant conditioning.

Once again, the behaviourist approach to understanding addiction has also influenced how this condition is treated.

Cognitive-Behavioural Therapy

So what is cognitive-behavioural therapy (CBT)? Well, it's regarded as one of the most effective types of evidence-based treatment psychologists use today for psychological conditions, including:

• General Anxiety Disorder (GAD)

• Major Depressive Disorder (MDD)

• Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD)

• Phobias

• Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)

• Schizophrenia

• Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD)

• Eating Disorders

Patients undergoing cognitive-behavioural therapy may be asked to engage in behavioural tasks such as practicing new skills or stepping out of their comfort zone as a path towards healing. Without the behaviourism approach, this powerful form of therapy would not even exist.