Behaviourist vs Social Learning Theory
Behaviourism treats humans like programmable machines - everything you do is simply learned through rewards, punishments, and associations. Skinner argued that free will is just an illusion and your environment completely controls your behaviour through conditioning.
This approach breaks down complex behaviours into simple stimulus-response patterns, making it easy to test in labs with animals. The therapies are straightforward too: systematic desensitisation helps people overcome phobias by associating fear with relaxation, while token economy systems reward good behaviour.
Social Learning Theory takes a more balanced view. Yes, we learn from our environment, but we do it through watching others and choosing who to imitate. Bandura's concept of reciprocal determinism suggests we have some free will through our ability to think about whether we want to copy someone.
Key Insight: Both approaches see us as "blank slates" shaped entirely by nurture, but SLT gives you more control over your choices.
The therapies reflect this difference - SLT uses positive role models rather than just conditioning. Both approaches use scientific methods, though SLT requires more guesswork about internal thought processes during imitation.
