The Behaviourist Approach
1a) Outline two assumptions of the Behaviourist Approach (4 marks)
One assumption of the Behaviourist Approach is that they believe the environment influences behaviour. An example of this behaviour would be social learning theory were it is believed that we learn through observing and imitating models such as parents this is known as environmental determinism.
Another assumption of the Behaviourist Approach is that they believe scientific methods should be used only to study behaviour which is observable. They believe mental behaviour cannot be objectively measured, so choose to only study actions that can be observed, e.g. the learning of aggression via lab experiments by ‘Bandura’.
1b) Describe the Social Learning Theory of Aggression (8 marks)
The Social Learning Theory (SLT) is learning through observing and imitating models such as parents or people in the media. It is a behaviourist theory because it can be tested in a controlled environment (laboratory) and conclusions from observations can be drawn, and behaviourists say we learn from our environment.
Bandura (1977) also claimed that for social learning to take place individuals must undergo four stages. The first one being attention, individuals will learn the Aggressive Behaviour if they observe the model’s behaviour. Secondly, retention, the behaviour must be remembered in order for the individual to apply it. The third stage is reproduction: individuals must be able to reproduce the behaviour. And finally, motivation, individuals will display Aggressive behaviour if the expectation for reward is greater than the expectation of punishment.
Bandura did an experiment to see whether SLT can explain aggression in children after watching models acting in a certain way. He set up a laboratory where young children of equal aggression levels were put into groups and told to watch either a model being aggressive towards a Bobo doll, a model being calm towards a Bobo doll or no model at all, as a control. They were then taken into a room on their own and observed to see how they behaved after seeing their models depending on which group they were in. Bandura found that children who watched an aggressive model acted violently towards the doll, and children who watched a calm model were much less violent in comparison. The control group who didn’t watch a model were more violent than those who watched a non-aggressive model. Bandura concluded that aggression can be provoked or caused by observing and imitating a role model as they want to behave like them, however whether the behaviour is imitated or not depends on certain factors the person portrays such as the same age, gender , of higher status and whether their likeable these factors can all influence the observers behaviour.
Another experiment took place with variations to the previous experiment where a film of an aggressive adult with a Bobo doll however the film ended in three alternative ways; the model was either rewarded, punished or neither. It was found that if a child observes vicarious reinforcement, where a reward is given for aggressive behaviour then this increases the likelihood of the aggressive behaviour being imitated however, if a child observes vicarious punishment, this decreases the likelihood of the aggressive behaviour being imitated. This demonstrates how there is more to social learning theory than just observation. There are innate factors involved whereby those who observe aggressive behaviour consider the conditions and then decide whether to imitate the observed behaviour. These are known as mediation cognitive factors.
2) Describe how the Behaviourist Approach has been applied to either Aversion Therapy or Systematic Desensitisation (12 marks)
Systematic desensitisation was first developed by Wolpe
The aim of the therapy is to extinguish a phobia by eradicating an undesirable behaviour (fear) and replace it with a more desirable behaviour such as relaxation. This works on the principle of reciprocal inhibition were both behaviours appose each other. The behavioural approach assumes that all behaviour is learned from the environment. Therefore, we can unlearn conditioned responses by manipulating the environment.
In stage 1 the patient is taught how to relax completely as a relaxed state is incompatible with anxiety. In stage 2 the patient and therapist together build a series of imagined scenes each one causing a little more anxiety than the previous one. These are put into a hierarchy from least fearful to most fearful. This is a desensitisation hierarchy. In stage 3 the patient gradually starts to work through the lower rungs of the desensitisation hierarchy visualising the feared object event whilst employing the relaxation technique. In stage 4 the patient moves up the hierarchy each time mastering a step (remaining relaxed and anxiety free whilst imagining the phobic object/event) until they eventually master the feared situation itself. They should now be cured of their phobia. Feared stimuli are conditioned through therapy to be associated with relaxation. This will lead to extinction of the fear response. SD uses generalisation. It is impossible for the therapist to account for every possible fearful situation. Relaxation learned should be generalisable to other similar stimuli.
Another key point is that a phobia can be eradicated through classical conditioning and maintained through operant conditioning. Therapy also consists of two types such as in vivo and vitro; Vivo is therapy which allows the patient to be in the same room as the phobia until the phobia is extinguished whereas Vitro is therapy in which you have to visualise the fear. The more effective of the two is in vivo however there are many more practical reasons why in vitro may be used. E.g. fear of surgery as you can’t gradually have a little amount of surgery and then more until the phobia is extinguished.
‘Lang and Lazovik’ conducted research in which groups of patients were involved; one group of the patients had SD vivo therapy whereas the other group had none. Each patient had a phobia of snakes. Once the research was done the patients who had received in vivo seemed to be comfortable with snakes after therapy whereas the patient who hadn’t received the therapy were still scared of the phobia. ‘McGrath’ found that SD treatment was 75% successful with a range of phobias as patients had responded to the treatment.

3a) Evaluate two strengths of the Behaviourist Approach (6 marks)
One strength of the behaviourist approach is that it is useful in the real world. For example, the theories of classical conditions are used in therapy in order to help people overcome phobias. Lang and Lazovik used this to help students overcome their fear of snakes by using classical conditioning to help them eventually associate snakes with relaxation, via systematic desensitisation.
Another strength of the BA is scientific methods can be used to learn about the way people and animals behave and establish cause and effect – why we act the way we do in certain environments. Experiments can be carried out in a controlled environment to ensure results are reliable and they are replicable – the laboratory can be set up again and again and results can be collected and checked for consistency, for example Bandura’s experiment into aggression levels in children using the Social Learning Theory.
3b) Evaluate two weaknesses of the Behaviourist Approach (6 marks)
One weakness of the behaviourist approach (BA) is that its deterministic (an individual’s behaviour is controlled by internal and external factors) for example Bandura could manipulate the environment to determine someone’s behaviour, this is a weakness because the deterministic approach implies that people have no control over their behaviour due to internal and external factors. This raises many ethical issues if an individual behaviour can be manipulated.
Another weakness of the Behaviourist approach is that its nomothetic, which means that it does not take into account the individuality of a person. This is a weakness because it means that abnormalities cannot be explained as it just groups everyone together as one. For example, the social learning theory of aggression investigated by Bandura assumes that every person learns aggression by watching models which actually not everyone does, for example could be due to hormones.
5) Explain and Evaluate the methodology used by the Behaviourist Approach (12 marks) e
One methodology used by the behaviourist approach is human lab experiments. In this methodology, scientists use standardised procedures which mean all things used were parts of the procedure, consistent size and quantity for everyone in the study. They also have a lot of people in the study and although they may not know the true aims, they all give their consent to be in the study. Scientists also measure the dependant variable as well as manipulate the independent variable. For example, if an experimenter gave one group of participants a memory test in the morning, and gave another group a memory test in the evening, the independent variable would be time of day and the dependant variable would be the score on the test. Eventually the researcher would establish cause and effect.

Behaviourists use this approach because it focuses on observable behaviour, and they can’t confirm thoughts and feelings as they are immeasurable so behaviourists only care about things they can see. They also like it because its scientific approach and for psychology to be accepted as a real science, it’s important to do studies scientifically. They also favour it because it takes out extraneous variable (like the temperature, time of day etc.) so they know all behaviour is caused by the environment in the lab they manipulate.
One example of this method would be Banduras bobo doll study. This took place in a controlled, artificial environment. The dependant variable (aggression of the child) was measured, and the independent variable (video of aggressive model) was manipulated.
A strength of this approach is that extraneous variables (variables that may affect the result) can be controlled as the experiment takes place in an artificial environment. The experimenter has control over the situation. Therefore they can establish cause and effect relationships, as they know the extraneous variables are being controlled. They can be reasonably certain that the change they made to the independent variable caused the change to the dependant variable and not anything else. In bandura’s study it was possible to control extraneous variables to ensure they didn’t affect the DV. Another strength of this methodology is that lab experiments often involve accurate measurements and standardised collection of data. Often the data is collected is quantitative (statistical/numerical), therefore, highly objective and less susceptible to subjectivity and interpretation. Banduras study produced numerical data which is easier to analyse and compare than qualitative data.
A weakness of this approach is demand characteristics, this is when participants know/ work out the true aim of the study and try to please/ displease the researchers, and their behaviour isn’t a true representation and is inaccurate. Some children in Bandura’s study said that the bobo doll was for hitting. This means that their aggressive behaviour may have been due to demand characteristics. Another weakness is that as the experiment takes place in an artificial, controlled setting and the operationalisation of variables, sometimes people wouldn’t behave the way they would in an everyday situation, so the experiment lacks ecological validity. Bandura’s study was conducted in a controlled environment and the operationalisation of variables (e.g. the model’s aggressive behaviour) may have led to behaviours being different to everyday life.