Crash Course Psychology #11 is where I learn about behaviourism and the basics of how the brain learns.
For context, Crash Course inspired me to learn the basics of psychology, so I’ve made it my mission to watch the entire Crash Course Psychology playlist and paraphrase each episode in my own words. This journey wouldn’t have been possible without the Crash Course team, so many thanks to them! To showcase what I learnt, here is my personal paraphrase of episode 11:
Ivan Pavlov
Originally Pavlov aspired to be a Russian Orthodox priest, but instead he studied medical science and the digestive system for 20 years. Earning Russia’s first Nobel prize for expanding our understanding on how stomachs worked. However, he didn’t study human stomachs because procedures were cruel. He studied dog stomachs. Through these studies and observable behaviour of these dogs, he discovered a simple but important form of learning: Associative Learning.
Before that, just for context, let’s define learning. For Psychologists, we can define learning as the process of acquiring, through experience, new and relatively enduring information or behaviours. This is not the only way to define and describe learning, but it’s the one we will use when discussing with the behaviourist paradigm. In the context of behaviourism, learning is acquiring survival behaviour through experience.
Associative Learning
Definition: When a subject (humans, animals, etc) links certain events, behaviours, or stimuli together in the process of conditioning.
Associative learning is arguably the most elemental, basic form of learning a brain can do. Pavlov found that humans aren’t the only ones that learn. He found that animals can exhibit this Associative Learning. One example of this is Classical Conditioning.
Classical Conditioning.
Definition: A type of learning in which one learns to link two or more stimuli and anticipate events.
(1) Before conditioning: A Unconditioned Stimulus naturally leads to an Unconditioned/Natural Response. Separately, there is also the Neutral Stimulus, which doesn’t lead to the Unconditioned/Natural Response.
(2) During conditioning: You combine both the Unconditioned Stimulus + the Neutral Stimulus to achieve the Unconditioned/Natural Response, together repeatedly until the association between the 2 stimuli are made, in a stage called Acquisition.
(3) After conditioning: The Neutral Stimulus has now become a Conditioned Stimulus, because it now causes the former Unconditioned/Natural Response to become a now Conditioned Response.
We think Classical Conditioning could be an adaptive form of learning developed to help the subject survive environments. Additionally, methodologically, Classical Conditioning shows how a process like learning can be studied through direct observation of behaviour, without all the messy feelings and emotions. Along with Pavlov, B.F. Skinner and John B. Watson also preferred this and embraced Psychology as all about objective, observable behaviour.
Another example of Associative Learning is Operant Conditioning.
Operant Conditioning
Definition: A type of learning in which behaviour is strengthened if followed by a reinforcer or diminished if followed by a punisher. Basically, increasing behaviour with a good consequence (like a reward), and decreasing behaviour with a bad consequence (like a punishment).
B.F. Skinner is famous for designing his ‘Skinner Box’, an operant chamber where he could observe a rat’s behaviour in a controlled environment. Here, he learned some interesting things.
Positive Reinforcement. Definition: A positive reinforcer is a stimulus that, when presented after a response, strengthens the response.
Operant Conditioning behaviour requires Shaping. Definition: A procedure in which the reinforcer guides a behaviour towards closer approximations of the desired behaviour.
With each successful attempt towards the desired behaviour, you gain what are called Successive Approximations. You do this until the desired behaviour is fully achieved. This marks the end of Shaping, and one cycle of Operant Conditioning.
In everyday life, we are all continuously reinforcing, shaping, and refining our behaviours to adapt to the world. Either intentionally or unintentionally. Both for positive reinforment, and negative reinforcement.
Negative Reinforcement. Definition: A negative reinforcer is any stimulus that, when removed after a response, strengthens the response.
Positive reinforcement is getting a reward after a desired behaviour. Negative reinforcement is removing an upsetting stimulus after a desired behaviour.
It’s important to note that negative reinforcement is not the same as punishment. Punishment decreases a behaviour either positively (gaining something upsetting) or negatively (losing something important). While negative reinforcement removes the upsetting stimulus to increase behaviour.
The many factors needed for Conditioning
Conditioning is actually way more complex than it seems. There are additional layers beyond the surface. For example:
Primary Reinforcers. Definition: An innately reinforcing stimulus, like one that satisfies a biological need.
Conditioned Reinforcers. Definition: A stimulus that gains its reinforcing power through its association with a primary reinforcer.
Reinforcement Schedule. Definition: A pattern that defines how often a desired response will be reinforced.
Extinction. Definition: When you don’t get enough continuous reinforcement, the progress towards a desired behaviour dies.
Partial (Intermittent) Reinforcement. Definition: Reinforcing a response only part of the time. Results in slower acquisition, but greater resistance to extinction, compared to continuous reinforcement.
Conclusion of Crash Course Psychology #11
Behaviourism. Definition: A school of thought that saw Psychology as an empirically rigorous science, focused on observable behaviour and not unobservable internal mental processes.
Pavlov’s work contributed to the foundation of the Behaviourist school of thought, viewing Psychology as a science with emphasis on proof. Today, we see Psychology as the science of behaviour and mental processes. Despite how we see Psychology today, Pavlov’s contributions were tremendous. His research ushered in more experimental rigour & behavioural research right up to present day.
Learning, beyond the definition used to discuss the behaviourist paradigm, is what allows us to adapt to our environments and survive.
It’s also worth noting that John B. Watson was in a time where toxic biogenetic determinism advanced by eugenics were growing. So his position of behaviourism can be seen as not only his idea of how people behaved, but also his rebuttal to his environment.
Danniel’s thoughts on Crash Course Psychology #11
- None so far!
Enjoyed this learning of Psychology? Test your knowledge against these quick custom Kahoot! quizzes I’ve made based on the episode above: This is the easy mode and this is the hard mode for Crash Course Psychology #11.
Also, do check out what else Psychology related I’ve learnt from my Psychology blog!
Credits for Crash Course Psychology #11
Original Content & Media by Crash Course
Content Consumed and Paraphrased by Danniel Iskandar
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