‘Behaviourists Explain Maladaptive Behaviour in Terms of the Learning Principles That Sustain and Maintain It. Discuss This Statement and Show How a Behaviourists Approach to Therapy Is in Stark Contrast to a Psychoanalytic One’

Behaviourist approach has may strengths to its findings, there has a been a vast amount of experiments from other theorists that support the theory. However, many weaknesses can be highlighted. One is how using rewards or other means to shape behaviour can be argued that the individual is only motivated for these rewards which can encourage a shallow and materialistic style. Another limitation that can be mentioned is that that behaviourist research was widely carried out on animals, for instance Skinner’s rats, Watson’s cats and Pavlov’s dogs. We cannot compare human behaviour to that of an animal. We cannot be 100% certain that humans would act the same way as the animals experimented on (McLeod,2017). As well as this, another criticism states how even though you can change someone’s behaviour in one environment, what happens when the individual goes to a different environment where positive behaviour isn’t reinforced. O’Brien gives an example of if a teacher changed a challenging child’s behaviour at school but then the child went home to the same environment as before, the child would find it increasingly hard to stick to the changed behaviour (O’Brien 2016). I feel that I can relate to this with a child I have in my class. I have managed through positive reinforcement to change his behaviour that he showed in previous classes, however when communicating with his carer it is noted that his previous behaviour is still present in his home environment.

The basic assumption of the behaviourist approach is that all behaviour is learned through experiences a person has in their environment. From this we know that behaviourists are on the side of nature in the “nature vs. nurture” debate. In comparison bio psychologists will be firmly on the side of nurture.

"The behaviourist approach has been a dominant influence in psychology, it represents one of the ‘hardcore' approaches, which has contributed a great deal to our understanding of psychological functioning " (Malim & Birch, 1998)

Classical conditioning is a type of associative learning which occurs when two stimuli are paired together repetitively and therefore become associated with each other eventually producing the same response. Classical conditioning was developed from the findings of Ivan Pavlov to account for associations between neutral stimuli and reflexive behavior such as salivation. Pavlov (1927) accidently discovered that dogs began to salivate before they had tasted their food. To support his theory, he carried out experiments using dogs which involved measuring the amount of saliva they produced. In his experiments, food started off as an unconditioned stimulus (UCS) which produced salivation, an unconditioned response (UCR). They are both unconditioned as they occur naturally without being learned. The dogs were presented with a bell (NS), this provided no salivation. The bell and food were presented together and after many trails an

Behavioural therapy looks at the way people act and respond when they are distressed or under pressure. It helps to modify unhelpful behaviours such as avoidance, which may exacerbate the problems or the way the client feels. This usually means gradually facing up to feared and avoided situations e.g. Demi’s self-harm and bulimia. As a consequence, new behaviours to deal with problems and situations are learned.

Its application to the treatment of mental problems is known as behaviour modification. Learning is seen as behaviour change moulded by experience; it is accomplished largely through either classical or operant conditioning.

According to McLeod (2017), behaviourism is an approach in psychology that focuses on scientific testing and investigating how environmental interactions cause all human behaviour to be learnt. Behaviourists do not focus on covert behaviour, such as feelings or thoughts, as they cannot be scientifically

A weakness is that this approach doesn’t establish the cause of abnormal behaviour. Critics say that just because abnormal behaviour can be changed by therapy, it does not mean that it was learnt. For example therapy can lead an anorexic person to put on weight, this does not mean they are cured, because they will never reach the optimum of their health due to the underlying cause of anorexia still being there. This weakness suggests that this model is not always scientific.

An important feature of behavioural therapy is its focus on current problems and behaviour, and on attempts to remove behaviour the patient finds troublesome. This contrasts greatly with psychodynamic therapy, where the focus is much more on trying to uncover unresolved conflicts from childhood (i.e. the cause of abnormal behaviour). Examples of behaviour therapy are aversion therapy and flooding. Aversion therapy is used when there are stimulus situations and associated behaviour patterns that are attractive to the client, but which the therapist and the client both regard as undesirable. This therapy involves associating such stimuli and behaviour with a very unpleasant unconditioned stimulus, such as an electric shock.

Behavioral therapies are based on the theory of classical conditioning.  The premise is that all behavior is learned; faulty learning (i.e. conditioning) is the cause of abnormal behavior. Therefore the individual has to learn the correct or acceptable behavior.  An important feature of behavioral therapy is its focus on current problems and behavior, and on attempts to remove behavior the patient finds troublesome. This contrasts greatly with psychodynamic therapy (re: Freud), where the focus is much more on trying to uncover unresolved conflicts from childhood (i.e. the cause of abnormal behavior).  Examples of behavior therapy include: Systematic DesensitizationAversion TherapyFloodingThe theory of classical conditioning suggests a response is learned and repeated through immediate association.  behavioral therapies based on classical conditioning aim to break the association between stimulus and undesired response (e.g. phobia, additional etc.). Behavioural therapy is focused on human behaviour and looks to eradicate unwanted or maladaptive behaviour. Typically this type of therapy is used for those with behavioural problems or mental health conditions that involve unwanted

Exposure therapy is based on the principles of Pavlovian Extinction. Pavlov’s dogs became conditioned to salivate when a bell would ring because they learned to

In comparison to psychoanalysis and psychodynamic therapies, behavior therapies are not comprehensive. Moreover, models of behavior therapy do not address nonconscious factors that underlie behavior. Possibly, only social learning theories approximate comprehensive theories of behaviorism. Finally, behavior therapies are not comprehensive systems of psychotherapy.

The dogs would start to salivate just by hearing the bell ringing, which normally would not produce this response. The first part of the process involves an unconditioned response, like blinking or salivating. The next part needed for classical conditioning is an unconditioned stimulus. The unconditioned stimulus is one that automatically produces the unconditioned response, such as the smell of food triggering salivation. During conditioning, the neutral stimulus, like the bell in Pavlov’s case, is repeatedly paired with the unconditioned stimulus, or the meat powder. After a while, the neutral stimulus becomes the conditioned stimulus. The conditioned stimulus then produces a conditioned response, since the subject of the experiment has associated the conditioned stimulus with the unconditioned response. Many interesting experiments have been conducted using classical conditioning. Another scientist that preformed an experiment with classical conditioning is John B. Watson. Watson used classical conditioned to make a young boy fear white fluffy objects. He scared the child by making loud noises every time the child was presented a white rat.

Behavioural Psychology originated in the late 19th to early 20th century and was concerned with the prediction and control of the observable, measurable, external aspects of human experience. Behaviourist psychologists rejected the introspective method used by previous philosophers and psychologists and instead relied on using observation and data that was objective and empirical. This is known as an anti-mentalist approach; Behaviourists considered the workings of the mind

Psychology is not just philosophical speculation and reasoning over the years it has evolved and it is now also recognised as a science, to understand what psychology is all about it is necessary to know it’s origins and the theorist who brought it out of obscurity, Sigmund Freud. He developed the Psychodynamic or Psychoanalytical perspective to enable better understanding of human behaviour these concepts will be discussed further later in this study. After Freud opened the gateway other perspectives and approaches have been developed, now with five main areas of psychology - Cognitive, Behaviourist, Biopsychology and Humanist approaches. For a comparison with the Psychodynamic theory, Behaviourist Theory will be discussed.