Health and Social Care Unit 8

1365 Words6 Pages
UNIT 8: PSYCHOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVES FOR HEALTH AND SOCIAL CARE P1: EXPLAIN THE PRINCIPAL PSYCHOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVES BEHAVIOURIST Behaviourists argue that we can see a ‘prediction and control of behaviour’ in animals. Meaning we can predict and control the behaviour of both humans and animals. Behaviourists believe we are born as ‘blank slates’ and all behaviour is learnt, meaning that we learn how to act, or re-act in certain situations. The behaviourist approach suggests that all behaviours are learnt, so if someone is an aggressive person then they have learnt to act this way through conditioning. This involves two forms of conditioning which are classical conditioning and operant conditioning. Classical conditioning is based on the research that Pavlov carried out. Classical conditioning is when individuals learn to associate things with specific experiences. This association is automatic – individuals are not aware of it. Operant conditioning is based on the research that skinner carried out. Operant conditioning is when an individual is directly rewarded in some way, so they repeat this behaviour. If they are punished for behaviour, then they would be less likely to repeat it. All individuals are aware that their behaviours lead to a consequence. SOCIAL LEARNING Social learning believes that we learn our behaviour from the people around us. There are many ways in which other individuals, groups, culture and society can have an effect on the behaviour of individuals. The self-fulfilling prophecy is when an individual can affect the behaviour of another individual. An example of this is when a teacher, who expects a student to be lazy, is likely to treat that student in such a way that it results in the student actually behaving in that manner. Conforming is when individuals quite often conform to their culture and society. If everybody is doing
Open Document