Analysis about Behaviorism and the Learning Approaches to Personality

environment

Pavlov's classical conditioning and Skinner's operant conditioning

The belief that people's behavior is caused in a lawful scientific manner; determinism opposes a belief in free will.

The idea in behaviorism, is that since environmental factors are the causes of behavior, people's behavioral style is expected to vary significantly from one environment to another.

Developed by John Watson. According to this perspective, personality is a result of learned behavior patterns based on a person's environment.

It is deterministic, proposing that people begin as blank slates, and the environmental reinforcement and punishment completely determine an individual's subsequent behavior and personalities.

A process emphasized by Pavlov, in which a previously neutral stimulus becomes capable of eliciting a response because of its association with a stimulus that automatically produces the same or similar response.

The process in which the organism learns to respond to the stimulus that originally was neutral.

The tendency, once a response has been conditioned, for stimuli similar to the conditioned stimulus to elicit similar responses.

In conditioning, the differential response to stimuli depending on whether they have been associated with pleasure, pain, or neutral events.

It occurs when the animal recognizes differences among stimuli.

In classical conditioning the progressive weakening of an association between a stimulus and a response, because the conditioned stimulus is no longer followed by a the unconditioned stimulus.

In operant conditioning the progressive weakening of an association because the response is no longer followed by reinforcement.

Watson and Rayner's term for the development of an emotional reaction to a previously neutral stimulus, as in Little Albert's fear of rats.

A technique in behavior therapy in which a competing response (relaxation) is conditioned to stimuli that previously aroused anxiety.

This technique uses counterconditioning.

The learning (or conditioning) of a new response that is incompatible with an existing response to stimulus.Ex: if the existing response to a stimulus is fear or anxiety, then the goal might be to have the person learn a new response such as relaxation.

B.

F. Skinner's term for the process through which the characteristics of a response are determined by its consequences.

In Skinner's theory, behaviors that appear (are emitted) without being specifically associated with any prior (eliciting) stimuli and are studied in relation to the reinforcing events that follow them.

An event (stimulus) that follows a response and increases the probability of the response occurring again in the future.

In Skinner's operant conditioning theory, a (secondary) reinforcer that provides access to many other (primary) reinforcers (e.

g., money).

The rule for determining when and how often reinforcement will continue; Four types of schedules: fixed ratio, variable ratio, fixed interval, and variable interval.

Schedules of reinforcement in which the response ratio or time requirement is constant.

Schedules of reinforcement in which the response ratio or time requirement can change from one reinforced response to another

An operant conditioning procedure proposed by Skinner whose goal lies in the learning of complex behavior; in which reinforcers guide behavior toward closer and closer approximations of the desired behavior.

Proposed by Skinner; occurs wen an aversive stimulus follows a response decreasing the probability of that response occurring again.

In the Skinnerian view of psychopathology, the learning of a response that is maladaptive or not considered acceptable by people in the environment.

In behavioral assessment, the identification of specific behaviors to be observed and measured in relation to changes in environmental events.

In behavioral approaches, particularly Skinnerian, the identification of the environmental stimuli that control behavior.

Another term for functional analysis.

In behavioral assessment, an emphasis on the identification of antecedent (A) events and the consequences (C) of the behavior, and (B) a functional analysis of behavioral involving identification of the environmental conditions that regulate specific behaviors.

The emphasis in assessment on specific behaviors that are tied to defined situational characteristics (e.g., ABC approach.)

A Skinnerian variant of the experimental method consisting of exposing one subject to three phases: (A) a baseline period, (B) introduction of reinforcers to change the frequencies of specific behaviors, and (A) withdrawal of reinforcement and observation of whether the behaviors return to their earlier frequency (baseline period).

Mischel's description of assessment approaches that infer personality from test behavior, in contrast to sample approaches to assessment.

Mischel's description of assessment approaches in which there is an interest in the behavior itself and its relation to environmental conditions,in contrast to sign approaches that infer personality from test behavior.

Following Skinner's operant conditioning theory, an environment in which individuals are rewarded with tokens for desirable behaviors.