Psyx 385 1st Edition Lecture 12Outline of Last Lecture I. Behavioral ApproachesII. Assumptions of Early TheoristsIII. Pavlovian OriginsIV. John Watson’s BehaviorismV. B.F. Skinner Radical BehaviorismOutline of Current LectureI. Fundamental AssumptionsII. Understanding Operant PrinciplesIII. Assumptions continued IV. Behavioral Approaches EvaluatedV. Cognitive ApproachesVI. Gestalt PsychVII. Gestalt Principles AppliedCurrent LectureFundamental Assumptions1. The purpose of science = prediction and control2. Dualism is false: the physical world is the only world3. Behavior is determined and lawfula. Causes found in the environmentb. Often these are in the past…These notes represent a detailed interpretation of the professor’s lecture. GradeBuddy is best used as a supplement to your own notes, not as a substitute.c. Operant conditioning: Behavior operates in the environment consequences ( R&P)i. Behavior likelihood then depends on consequencesUnderstanding Operant PrinciplesThe Three Term Contingency1. Behavior (response)2. Consequences (R/P)3. Occasion under which behavior occurs (stimuli) a. Occasion (stimulus) during consequences can acquire control over the responsei. “behavior is under stimulus control”Assumptions continued1. Subject matter= BEHAVIOR ONLY!a. ‘mind’ and ‘mentalism’ don’t promote prediction and controli. intentional vs. physical (behavior) explanations1. INT: ‘umbrella because he believes it will rain’2. Behavior: umbrella because of environmental contingencies3. INT: Accepts that beliefs cause behavior independent of past influences4. Behavior: Assigning causal role to beliefs impedes inquiry2. ‘thinking’…’public’ vs. ‘private’ eventsa. public= accessible; private= limited accessibilityb. private events ARE behavior, they don’t cause itc. implies ‘speaker’ and ‘listener’ interaction between ‘the total verbal episode’d. when speaker= listener and no one else can observe this (private) thinkingi. consequences for thinking are within the person3. Environment changes organism no need for ‘mentalism’/unknown structuresa. Documentation for changes = a task of futureBehavioral Approaches Evaluated1. Positive Aspects…a. Falsifiable/testable: emphasize behavior and assume evolutionary continuityb. Account for environmental specificity in behavior and personalityc. Informative regarding the mechanisms behind behavior2. Limitationsa. Dehumanizing?b. Deceptively parsimoniousi. Belief does appear to influence behavior1. Note intentional vs. physical vocabulary…2. I: Rat presses because it believes it will get food3. P: Rat presses because of reinforcement of behavior4. Dennett: Both Equally SpeculativeCognitive Approaches1. ‘Characteristic Thought’ composes personalitya. we interpret world in unique/consistent ways2. Roots: Gestalt Psychologya. Tenets:i. We seek meaningii. Sensation organized into meaningful perceptionsiii. The whole exceeds the sum of its partsGestalt Psych1. Meaning emerges from the whole; it is not contained in any single element2. We automatically are ‘meaning makers’Gestalt Principles Applied1. Lewin’s Life Space: B = f(P,E)=F(LSp)a. Behavior is a function of internal person (e.g., thought) and external (environment) factorsi. (P, E)= Life Space= present
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