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Behaviorist Perspective

The behaviorist perspective views personality as being shaped by external regularities in reward and reinforcement through conditioning and learning. Key theorists include Ivan Pavlov, BF Skinner, John Dollard, and Neal Miller. Their theories focus on concepts like classical conditioning, operant conditioning, reinforcement, and frustration-aggression. Personality structure, according to behaviorists, develops from habits formed through conditioning and is governed by drives, cues, responses, and rewards.

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74 views20 pages

Behaviorist Perspective

The behaviorist perspective views personality as being shaped by external regularities in reward and reinforcement through conditioning and learning. Key theorists include Ivan Pavlov, BF Skinner, John Dollard, and Neal Miller. Their theories focus on concepts like classical conditioning, operant conditioning, reinforcement, and frustration-aggression. Personality structure, according to behaviorists, develops from habits formed through conditioning and is governed by drives, cues, responses, and rewards.

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Nats Magbalon
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© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Behaviorist

Perspective
Leading Theorists
1. Ivan Pavlov
2. BF Skinner
3. J Dollard
4. N. Miller

Structure of Personality
• External regularities in reward.

Key Concepts
Reinforcement, conditioning, learning, and extinction.
Classical Conditioning: Ivan Petrovich Pavlov
Ivan Pavlov (1849-1936), a Russian psychologist and a Nobel Prize
awardee for his work on basic learning processes.
• His research was aimed at better understanding the digestive patterns
in dogs.
• This is a type of learning in which a neutral stimulus comes to bring
about a response after it is paired with a stimulus that naturally
brings about that response.
• Many of our behaviors today are shaped by the pairing of stimuli.
• Basically, the findings support the idea that we develop responses to
certain stimuli that are not naturally occurring.
Classical Conditioning: Ivan Petrovich Pavlov
Important concepts in classical conditioning
are:
1. Neutral stimulus: is a stimulus that before conditioning, does not
naturally bring about the response.
2. Unconditioned stimulus (UCS): A stimulus that naturally brings about a
particular response without having been learned.
3. Unconditioned response (UCR): A response that is natural and needs no
training (e.g. salivation at the smell of food).
4. Conditioned stimulus (CS): A once-neutral stimulus that has been paired
with an unconditioned stimulus to bring about a response formerly
caused only by the unconditioned stimulus.
5. Conditioned response (CR): A response that, after conditioning, follows a
previously neutral stimulus (e.g. salivation at the ringing of a bell).
Principles of Classical Conditioning
1. Acquisition. This is the process by which an organism learns an
association. It follows the typical learning curve: the conditioned
stimulus (CS) and unconditioned stimulus (UCS) are paired.
2. Second Order Conditioning and Social Attitudes. Once a conditioned
stimulus is established, it may in turn serve as an unconditioned stimulus
for other neutral stimuli. A well-conditioned CS can be paired with a new
neutral stimulus, which eventually becomes associated with the same
conditioned response. An example is when Pavlov’s bell to which the dog
is already conditioned is repeatedly paired with flashlight. The second
stimulus becomes associated with the new CS (light) and soon begins to
produce salivation (CR). This process is called second-order-conditioning.
Principles of Classical Conditioning
3. Extinction: It is a basic phenomenon of learning that occurs when a
previously conditioned response decreases in frequency and
eventually disappears. This can happen when two stimuli are
dissociated or when the sequence and timing is broken.
Spontaneous recovery is the reemergence of an extinguished
conditioned response after a period of rest and with no further
conditioning.
Principles of Classical Conditioning
4. Stimulus Generalization is the tendency to respond to a stimulus
that is similar to but different from a conditioned stimulus. This also
means that the more similar two stimuli are, the more likely
generalization is to occur. An example is a growling tiger and a
growling dog both causing fear.
5. Stimulus Discrimination. This happens when two stimuli are
distinct from each other. An example is when you see our father
opening his wallet in the morning, you feel excited because your
allowance is going to be given in a moment. But when you see your
father opening his bag, you are not as excited as the first since you
know that usually, no allowance is given when he opens it.
Operant Conditioning: Burrhus Frederick
Skinner
• Burrhus Frederick Skinner (1904- 1990)
• American Psychologist born and raised in the
small town of Susquehanna, Pennsylvania.
• Operant” refers to how an organism
operates on the environment, and hence,
operant conditioning comes from how we
respond to what is presented to us in our
environment.
• Reinforcement is the process by which a
stimulus increases the probability that a
preceding behavior will be repeated. In other
words, pressing the lever is more likely to
occur again because of the stimulus of food
or pellet.
Two Types of Reinforcers
1. Primary reinforcer satisfies some
biological need and works naturally,
regardless of a person’s prior experience.
Examples of primary reinforcers are
chocolates (food), shelter, and clothes.

2. Secondary reinforcer in contrast, is a


stimulus that becomes reinforcing
because of its association with a primary
reinforcer. Money, gift cheques, and
phone loads are examples of this.
Positive Reinforcers, Negative Reinforcers, and
Punishment
1. Positive reinforcer is a stimulus added to the environment that
brings about an increase in a preceding response.
2. Negative reinforcer refers to an unpleasant stimulus whose
removal from the environment leads to an increase in the
probability that a preceding response will occur again in the future.
An example is when one is sick (unpleasant stimulus) and he takes
medicines and feels well. The next time that he gets sick, he will
take medicines or when a mother kisses the bruised arm and the
child feels relieved, it will be repeated when a similar pain is felt by
the child.
Positive Reinforcers, Negative Reinforcers, and
Punishment
3. Punishment refers to a stimulus that decreases the probability
that a prior behavior will occur again. Punishment can weaken a
response either through the application of an unpleasant
stimulus or by the removal of something pleasant.
Schedules of Reinforcement
Timing and frequency are important in the administration of
reinforcers. Creativity in determining reinforcers can also be valuable.
1. Continuous reinforcement schedule: Reinforcing a behavior every
time it occurs.
2. Intermittent reinforcement schedule: Reinforcing of a behavior but
not all of the time.
3. Fixed-ratio schedule: A schedule by which reinforcement is given
only after a specific number of responses is made e.g. a gift for
every 10 correct answers.
Schedules of Reinforcement
4. Variable-ratio schedule: A schedule by which reinforcement occurs after
a varying number of responses rather than after a fixed number e.g. slot
machine.
5. Fixed-interval schedule: A schedule that provides reinforcement for a
response only if a fixed time period has elapsed, making overall rates of
response relatively low e.g. during prelims and exams, students study
more but less after or in between.
6. Variable-interval schedule: A schedule by which the time between
reinforcements varies around some average rather than being fixed e.g.
exams with unpredictable intervals.

Shaping is the process of teaching a complex behavior by rewarding closer


and closer approximations of the desired behavior.
In their view, habits make up the structure
Learning Theory of personality.

Neal E. Miller (1909-2002)

• From Milwaukee, Wisconsin.


• Interests were in Learning, Psychoanalysis, and Physiology
• Was President, American Psychological Association.

John Dollard (1900-1980)


• Born in Menasha, Wisconsin.
• PhD in Sociology
• Professor of Anthropology at Yale University and was interested in psychoanalysis.
Dollard and Miller believe that habits (a deeply ingrained, learned
pattern of response) are governed by four elements of learning:

1. Drive. Any stimulus (esp. an internal stimulus such as hunger)


strong enough to goad a person to action (such as hunger, pain,
lust, frustration, fear).
2. Cue (external stimuli or signs that guide responses, especially those
that signal the likely presence or absence of reinforcement). Signals
from the environment that guide
3. Responses (any behavior, either observable or internal) so they are
most likely to bring about
4. Reward or reinforcement. Any stimulus that causes drive reduction.
Four (4) Kinds of Conflict
1. Approach-approach conflict. When the organism is attached to two things at the
same time. Conflict is between two positive goals that are equally attractive at the
same time.
2. Avoidance-avoidance conflict. When the organism is repelled by two things at the
same time.
3. Approach Avoidance. When the organism is both attracted and repelled by the
same object or goal. Example: High paying boring job.
• Features
• Tendency to approach a goal is stronger when the subject is nearer to it.
• Tendency to avoid a feared stimulus if the subject is nearer to it.
• Strength of avoidance increases more rapidly with nearness.
• Strength of the tendency to approach or avoid varies with the strength of the drive upn which they are
based.
• When two incompatible responses are in conflict, the stronger one will occur.
4. Double approach avoidance conflict
• When the organism is both attracted and repelled by two objects at the same time, the
person has ambivalent feelings to both.
Frustration-Aggression Hypothesis
Aggression is defined as an act whose goal response is injury to an organism.
Frustration leads to aggression.
Three (3) Factors the determine how much aggression will result from
frustration.
1. Drive level associated with the frustrated response. The more intensely
the person wants the goal, the more frustration if unattained.
2. Completeness of the frustration. Goal responses that are only partially
blocked will lead to less frustration and less aggression.
3. Cumulative effect of minor frustrations. Minor frustration will
eventually add up to frustration and aggression.
Assessing Behaviorist Perspective
Strength
Can force a more scientific analysis of the learning experiences that
shape personality.

Weaknesses
May dehumanize unique human potentials through comparison to rats
and pigeons.
May ignore advances from cognitive and social psychology.
Q: Nov 23 Jung to Dollard and Miller

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