Behavioural Approach & Social Learning Theory

Behavioural psychology starts with a simple idea: we're all born as tabula rasa (blank slates) and learn everything from our environment. No innate behaviours, just pure learning through experience.

Operant conditioning by Skinner shows how consequences shape behaviour. Positive reinforcement (getting something good like food) and negative reinforcement (removing something unpleasant like stopping an electric shock) both make behaviours more likely to happen again. Punishment does the opposite - it reduces behaviour by adding something unpleasant.

Classical conditioning by Pavlov demonstrates learning through association. Think of how you might feel hungry when you hear the school dinner bell - that's your brain linking two things together through repeated pairing.

Quick Tip: Remember that negative reinforcement isn't punishment - it's removing something bad to encourage behaviour!

The approach has brilliant practical applications like systematic desensitisation for treating phobias, but it's quite deterministic - suggesting we've got no free will over our actions. Critics also point out that animal studies might not apply to humans due to our complex thought processes.

Social Learning Theory takes things further by adding observation and imitation. We don't just learn from direct experience - we watch others and copy what works for them. This happens through mediational processes: attention (noticing behaviour), retention (remembering it), reproduction (being able to copy it), and motivation (wanting to do it).

Vicarious reinforcement means we're more likely to copy behaviours when we see others being rewarded for them. This theory better explains cultural differences and gives us more agency over our behaviour than pure behaviourism.