Outline And Evaluate The Behavioural Model Of Psychopathology
The behavioural model suggest that all behaviours – including abnormality – is learnt. It suggests that we have very few innate characteristics that we are born with. According to the behavioural model there are three ways in which we learn, these include classical + operant conditioning and social learning theory.
Classical conditioning is learning by associated, this is when we create a new stimulus response link by associating one stimulus to a response. For example little albert was conditioned to have a phobia of white fluffy objects.
Psychologists found an unconditioned stimulus for Albert which was a loud noise, this was his unconditioned response of fear. They then placed a white rat in with Albert (he wasn’t scared of it) and played they noise every time the rat was near. By doing this Albert created a new stimulus response link by associating the rat with the fear which the noise elicited. The rat was a conditioned stimulus and fear was the conditioned response.
One strength of classical conditioning that it has led to advancements in anxiety disorders such as phobias. Systematic desensitization was based on classical conditioning and has been a very successful treatment.
One limitation to classical conditioning is that some people cannot explain how they had gained a phobia from. A psychologist has tried to offer an explanation of why this happens, he suggested that some phobias are down to adaptive and not maladaptive behaviours. For example, some of us have phobias of snakes and spiders to try and stay away from poisons and disease.
Another way this model suggests that we learn is by operant conditioning, or learning by consequence. If somebody dog a certain behaviour and this is follows by positive reinforcement then they will be more likely to repeat the behaviour. If it is followed by negative reinforcement then they will be less likely to repeat it.
This can offer an explanation of anxiety disorders such as anorexia. When anorexic people eat
Classical conditioning is learning by associated, this is when we create a new stimulus response link by associating one stimulus to a response. For example little albert was conditioned to have a phobia of white fluffy objects.
Psychologists found an unconditioned stimulus for Albert which was a loud noise, this was his unconditioned response of fear. They then placed a white rat in with Albert (he wasn’t scared of it) and played they noise every time the rat was near. By doing this Albert created a new stimulus response link by associating the rat with the fear which the noise elicited. The rat was a conditioned stimulus and fear was the conditioned response.
One strength of classical conditioning that it has led to advancements in anxiety disorders such as phobias. Systematic desensitization was based on classical conditioning and has been a very successful treatment.
One limitation to classical conditioning is that some people cannot explain how they had gained a phobia from. A psychologist has tried to offer an explanation of why this happens, he suggested that some phobias are down to adaptive and not maladaptive behaviours. For example, some of us have phobias of snakes and spiders to try and stay away from poisons and disease.
Another way this model suggests that we learn is by operant conditioning, or learning by consequence. If somebody dog a certain behaviour and this is follows by positive reinforcement then they will be more likely to repeat the behaviour. If it is followed by negative reinforcement then they will be less likely to repeat it.
This can offer an explanation of anxiety disorders such as anorexia. When anorexic people eat