behaviorism

Examples of behaviorism in the following topics:

• Classical Conditioning in Behavioral Therapy

• Operant Conditioning in Behavioral Therapy

• Behavioral Therapies

• Shaping

  • Instead of rewarding only the target, or desired, behavior, the process of shaping involves the reinforcement of successive approximations of the target behavior.
  • The method requires that the subject perform behaviors that at first merely resemble the target behavior; through reinforcement, these behaviors are gradually changed, or shaped, to encourage the performance of the target behavior itself.
  • Then, the trainer rewards a behavior that is one step closer, or one successive approximation nearer, to the target behavior.
  • As the subject moves through each behavior trial, rewards for old, less approximate behaviors are discontinued in order to encourage progress toward the desired behavior.
  • In this way, shaping uses operant-conditioning principles to train a subject by rewarding proper behavior and discouraging improper behavior.

• Behavior Therapy and Applied Behavioral Analysis

  • Behavior therapy is based on the idea that maladaptive behavior is learned, and thus adaptive behavior can also be learned.
  • Behavior therapy is a treatment approach that is based on the idea that abnormal behavior is learned.
  • Behavior therapy methods sometimes focus only on behaviors, and sometimes on combinations of thoughts and feelings that might be influencing behaviors.
  • Those who practice behavior therapy, known as behaviorists, tend to look more at specific, learned behaviors and how the environment has an impact on those behaviors.
  • Discuss the goals, techniques, and efficacy of behavior therapy and applied behavior analysis

• Stages of Changing Unhealthy Behaviors

  • The transtheoretical model of behavior change, based on five stages of change, assesses a person's readiness to stop an old, unhealthy behavior and act on a new, healthy behavior.
  • Because health psychology is interested in the psychology behind health-related behaviors, it also concerns itself with how people can learn to change their behaviors.
  • The transtheoretical model of behavior change assesses an individual's readiness to act on a new healthier behavior, and provides strategies to guide the individual through each stage of the behavior-change process.
  • At the precontemplation stage, an individual may or may not be aware of a problematic behavior, and generally has no desire to change their behavior.
  • People in this stage learn more about healthy behavior: they are encouraged to think about the benefits of changing their behavior and to feel emotions about the effects of their negative behavior on others.

• Behavioral Psychology

  • Behaviorism is an approach to psychology that focuses on observable behaviors that people learn from their environments.
  • Rather than focusing on underlying conflicts, behaviorism focuses on observable, overt behaviors that are learned from the environment.
  • In his theory, mental disorders represented maladaptive behaviors that were learned and could be unlearned through behavior modification.
  • Some behavior therapies employ Skinner's theories of operant conditioning: by not reinforcing certain behaviors, these behaviors can be extinguished.
  • This later gave rise to applied behavior analysis (ABA), in which operant conditioning techniques are used to reinforce positive behaviors and punish unwanted behaviors.

• Applications of Classical Conditioning to Human Behavior

• The Influence of Genes on Behavior

  • The influence of genes on behavior has been well established in the scientific community.
  • While genes do not determine behavior, they play a huge role in what we do and why we do it.
  • Behavioral genetics studies heritability of behavioral traits, and it overlaps with genetics, psychology, and ethology (the scientific study of human and animal behavior).
  • Genes can be manipulated by selective breeding, which can have an enormous impact on behavior.
  • In another example, Seymour Benzer discovered he could breed certain fruit flies with others to create distinct behavioral characteristics and change their circadian rhythms.

• Basic Principles of Operant Conditioning: Skinner

  • Operant conditioning is a theory of behaviorism that focuses on changes in an individual's observable behaviors.
  • Much of this research informs current practices in human behavior and interaction.
  • Skinner theorized that if a behavior is followed by reinforcement, that behavior is more likely to be repeated, but if it is followed by some sort of aversive stimuli or punishment, it is less likely to be repeated.
  • Instead of rewarding only the target, or desired, behavior, the process of shaping involves the reinforcement of successive approximations of the target behavior.
  • Behavioral approximations are behaviors that, over time, grow increasingly closer to the actual desired response.