Questions tagged [behaviorism]

A school of thought that maintains that behaviors can be described scientifically without recourse either to internal physiological events or to hypothetical constructs such as the mind.

Filter by
Sorted by
Tagged with
0 votes
0 answers
10 views

What is the study examining biological sex differences in determination where babies pulled on a string to generate a response?

I'm looking for the study that describes this experiment. I saw it demonstrated in a documentary, but I can't remember the name of it. In the experiment, biological males and females were put in a ...
user1491819's user avatar
0 votes
0 answers
34 views

What differences are between behavioralism and functionalism?

Is it correct that behavioralism and functionalism are similar in that they both treat brain or something else as a blackbox, and are only concerned about the relationships between inputs and outputs ...
Tim's user avatar
  • 121
1 vote
0 answers
43 views

ABC Model of Behaviour: What is an antecedent?

In the context of the three-term contigency what is meant by an antecedent and are there two types of antecendent - stimulus delta and stimulus discriminative? Why is it called the three-term ...
charl2.718's user avatar
1 vote
1 answer
80 views

Does intention matter for positive reinforcement?

What makes something positive reinforcement: The intention or the outcome? I have two examples I'm trying to understand. First, if I am teaching my dog a trick and I give her a treat whenever I say &...
sklearning's user avatar
0 votes
2 answers
268 views

Why scammers curse when you politely expose them [closed]

My experience with (online / email / phone) scammers is that they always curse at the end of the following situation: A scammer contacts you, you engage briefly in polite and sincere manner, you ...
aleksander_si's user avatar
3 votes
0 answers
58 views

Why does smiling indicate happiness? Why couldn’t frowning indicate happiness and smiling indicate sadness?

Is there an evolutionary reason behind this? What about raising eyebrows when surprised, or lowering them when angry?
Jeremy Schmidt's user avatar
0 votes
0 answers
71 views

What Classical Conditioning says about multiple or multimodal stimuli?

I would like to know if classical conditioning somehow predicts/approaches scenarios where multiple or multimodal stimuli associate with a response. I do not have much knowledge on the topic, but it ...
Bruno's user avatar
  • 41
3 votes
3 answers
664 views

What does this sentence of Richard Herrnstein regarding learned helplessness theory mean?

In Maier, S. F., & Seligman, M. E. P. (2016), Learned Helplessness at Fifty: Insights from Neuroscience, the authors quote an objection of Richard Herrnstein, a prominent Harvard Skinnerian (...
Ooker's user avatar
  • 1,771
1 vote
1 answer
78 views

Is there a relationship between viewing and committing war crimes

Recently, I’ve been curious if there’s any relationship between someone committing war crimes and previously viewing them. For example, the War in Afghanistan is considered asymmetrical warfare, where ...
Shaun Cockram's user avatar
5 votes
2 answers
190 views

Does the "learned" in "learned helplessness" refer specifically to behaviorism's conditioning?

I was said that because the experiment of Seligman that gave birth the theory of learned helplessness was an expansion of Pavlov's experiment, hence the word "learned" in the term should be ...
Ooker's user avatar
  • 1,771
3 votes
0 answers
65 views

In the behaviorism it is argued that we learn behavior, but (how) does this influence our way of thinking?

I'm currently learning psychological approaches and social psychology, and this question popped into my head. The book on the approaches is: Glassman, W., Hadad, M. (20130116). Approaches to ...
Michael B.'s user avatar
-2 votes
1 answer
53 views

Why is the shoemaker badly shod?

In other words, why are professionals/experts good at doing what they know to do for others but not for themselves ? What is the psychological bias behind this ? Of course this questions comes from ...
WaterBearer's user avatar
1 vote
1 answer
2k views

What is the difference between conditioning and learning?

The more I think about the difference between learning and Pavlovian conditioning, the more I'm unable to see how they differ. Even though in theory associative learning is just a portion of learning. ...
Ooker's user avatar
  • 1,771
2 votes
1 answer
165 views

Is there a name for this feeling?

With the intent of being seen as a big shot, a person induces unsuspecting observers to underestimate them by intentionally failing in trivial tasks but then successfully completing more complex tasks....
John's user avatar
  • 21
3 votes
1 answer
669 views

I am looking for the name of a phenomenon where people blindly follow others when they sense a threat

So I am composing a post and I am looking for a name of the behaviour among people that they start running when they see two or more people running in opposite direction sensing a potential threat or ...
gfdsal's user avatar
  • 199
4 votes
1 answer
111 views

Are behaviourist practices and/or principles still valid and useful?

I understand how behaviorism is outdated for not considering the brain processes and cognition as ultimately responsible for memory and learning. Nevertheless, after reading Learning Theories: An ...
Luis Morais's user avatar
2 votes
0 answers
39 views

Is there a protocol to cluster observed behaviour data? [closed]

I have observed a number of users in 3 public parks during the course of 2 months and have identified 60 different types of uses. I can't find a protocol to classify similar uses (not users) into ...
Vinicivs's user avatar
  • 121
2 votes
0 answers
69 views

Do we still not know whether violent video games negatively affect players?

As per the answer to the 2018 question on this site about the same topic, we did not know whether there was a causal link between exposure to violent video games and aggressive behavior because the ...
gaazkam's user avatar
  • 327
2 votes
1 answer
85 views

What is the meaning of behaviorally oriented outside-in nature of therapy?

What is the meaning of behaviorally oriented outside-in nature of therapy? I am especially interested why this outside-in word was used but please provide me a wider context of this type of therapy. ...
Poldek's user avatar
  • 21
4 votes
1 answer
321 views

Punishment v.s Negative Reinforcement

Consider the following scenario: Every time I do the groceries with my son he constantly asks for a packet of lollies. I find this constant asking for lollies very annoying, so I always end up ...
Steven H's user avatar
3 votes
3 answers
1k views

What is the medical term for semi-mindless activities to help reduce anxiety? ... such as gardening, mowing, cleaning... perhaps driving

What is the medical term for semi-mindless activities to help reduce anxiety? ... such as gardening, mowing, cleaning... perhaps driving. I recall that, maybe, the word asynchronous was part of the ...
Randy Zeitman's user avatar
2 votes
1 answer
101 views

Is there any significance to the way Trump spreads his hand from each other?

Is there any significance on how President Trump constantly spreads apart from each other his hands while talking? I postulate that this falls under some sort of sub-conscious (or conscious) body ...
Dr. Shmuel's user avatar
0 votes
1 answer
249 views

Are reaction time and memory physiological measure or behavioral observation?

I think that the choice made by a subject in a choice task should be behavioral observation. But I am not sure about reaction time and memory, which is more about ability instead of intention.
Aqqqq's user avatar
  • 207
4 votes
1 answer
223 views

Is it possible to effect both positive and negative reinforcement through the same action?

Consider the following scenario: a rhesus monkey is being put under severe duress somehow (isolation, sense of physical threat, whathaveyou). It is desired that a behavior, like pressing a lever, is ...
readyready15728's user avatar
2 votes
2 answers
469 views

In a class room setting, why do people look at you when you are asking a question?

Picture this scenario: You are a student enrolled in a large class You arrived slightly late to the class, so you are sitting at the back of the class You raise your hands to ask the teacher a ...
Fraïssé's user avatar
  • 349
3 votes
1 answer
71 views

What is the fastest way to make an intermittent reinforced behavior become extinct?

Let's suppose I trained my dog to touch a button and win a prize in random sequences. Now I want to make this behavior become extinct. What is the fastest way: Not allow my dog to see the button ...
Apprentice's user avatar
0 votes
1 answer
35 views

Need to define observation/phenomenon in order to study it, same replies to same political topics, different individuals

I was wondering if anyone could help me define my observation, in order to read some literature on the subject. I have some Cog. Psych. background but have never encountered this during my studies. It ...
Damir Olejar's user avatar
4 votes
1 answer
171 views

What's a simple definition for reactive attachment disorder?

I read an article on Reactive Attachment Disorder. Here's what I know so far Reactive means to react in response to something. Action = reaction. Attachment is the act of bonding or connecting with ...
HeavenlyHarmony's user avatar
3 votes
2 answers
5k views

Can you get addicted from using topical or local anaesthetics to ease pain?

I've been wondering if there was such a thing as developing some kind of physical or psychological dependence on things that relieve pain. While we often hear about opioid addiction, which is ...
HeavenlyHarmony's user avatar
2 votes
1 answer
387 views

Is Behaviorism a type of Functionalism?

Behaviorism separates itself from other psychological views in that it doesn't care about the psyche. Rather, it focuses on how the mind behaves, how outside factors can manipulate it, and so on. ...
Inertial Ignorance's user avatar
7 votes
1 answer
4k views

What happened to self-administered aversion therapy (with a rubber band in particular)?

In the 1970s a great new use for the rubber band was discovered: self-administered aversion therapy. It didn't go so well in some cases, like for "obsessoinal thinking", the outcome being the opposite ...
Fizz's user avatar
  • 10.2k
3 votes
1 answer
2k views

What is the meaning of Trump's 'thumb-and-index-pinch' when he speaks?

When Donald Trump speaks in front of a crowd, he often puts his hand at shoulder level, usually far from it, and lets his palm face the crowd and pinches his thumb and index together while either ...
Olivier Grégoire's user avatar
5 votes
1 answer
392 views

Do violent videos and video games affect your behaviour?

So I've heard many people say watching violent videos affect your behaviour. But I myself don't observe any change in me. So does it truly affect anyone and if yes how exactly? Some of the sites ...
Sonic Splasher's user avatar
1 vote
0 answers
49 views

How much evidence is needed to support a claim? [closed]

Let's say that I hypothesised that if I behave in a certain way (X) then the people I interact with will respond with behaviour (Y). How much evidence do I need to make such claim ?
Shady Programmer's user avatar
4 votes
1 answer
2k views

Understanding fear as a response in classical conditioning

I have difficulties to understand fear as a response to a stimuli. In my view fear occurs as a anticipation of a possible threat in the (nearby) future. Fear prepares the organism so that it can react ...
Stephan Kulla's user avatar
1 vote
0 answers
3k views

Is the order of stimulus pairings in second order conditioning relevant? [closed]

In second order conditioning next to a CS1 + US also a CS2 + CS1 association is learned so that also CS2 will cause a CR. Is the order in which the stimuli associations are learned (CS1 + US and CS2 + ...
Stephan Kulla's user avatar
2 votes
1 answer
173 views

Comparison of Aversion Therapy to other interventions for nail-biting

A product Pavlock, which is essentially a shock bracelet for Aversion Therapy, markets itself as an intervention for a range of habits, including procrastination and nail-biting. Wikipedia cites the ...
Seanny123's user avatar
  • 8,833
7 votes
2 answers
588 views

Effectiveness of aversion therapy for procrastination

Pavlok is a product which is essentially a shock bracelet for Aversion Therapy. It markets itself as an intervention for a range of habits, including procrastination and nail-biting. Is there any ...
Seanny123's user avatar
  • 8,833
2 votes
1 answer
268 views

Cognitivism over Behaviorism [duplicate]

While reading up on the differences between cognitivism and behaviorism, I came across this: Cognitive science, however, overcomes Behaviorism’s main faults, particularly that reflexes and ...
benji's user avatar
  • 121
1 vote
0 answers
56 views

Can someone please help me find this ancedote / experiment?

I have a faint memory regarding an ancedote/experiment conducted for a certain psychological behavioral recognition. My memory recalls: It has something to do with a University experiment which ...
shanDe91's user avatar
1 vote
1 answer
280 views

What do chimpanzees do with fire in the wild, and can they be trained to manipulate burning objects?

It seems that most animals run away or avoid fire at all costs. This is especially apparent during wild fires. Humans, obviously, have figured out how to use fire as a tool. Are we the only known ...
Justas's user avatar
  • 1,537
2 votes
1 answer
442 views

Why is solitary confinement used so widely?

Prison isolation is likely so hard for inmates because people are sociable creatures. Yet, isolation is still used in prisons ('supermax prisons'), in mental hospitals, but also as a strategy to ...
Dan Frman's user avatar
6 votes
2 answers
1k views

Scientific way to prove you are ambidextrous, right handed or left handed?

I grew up in a country where my grandmother's generation used to believe that left handed were related with the Devil, so I know many friends that have been "corrected" when kids and now they are ...
user3574984's user avatar
2 votes
1 answer
447 views

While spoting a liar, whether observing the verbal cue or observing the non-verbal cue helps?

While spotting a liar,is it paying attention to verbal cues such as pauses in speech and speech disturbances, including "ahs," stutters, and incomplete sentences that weighs more or is it paying ...
Vasudev gowda's user avatar
2 votes
3 answers
151 views

Is hand-writing analysis used for analysis of a person's behaviour or anlayzing a person's character?

Does the handwriting analysis of a person predict only his/her behavior or only his/her character or both?
Vasudev gowda's user avatar
3 votes
0 answers
117 views

Can personality be measured without self-report or peer-report?

There's lots of evidence on personality correlating to various behavior, like speed when talking, words used, walking pace, types of books owned, reactions to situations, colors on clothing, +++. Is ...
Berit Larsen's user avatar
  • 3,789
3 votes
3 answers
248 views

Disprove that Humans are selfish

Psychological egoism, can anyone provide an everyday action which a healthy human mind would carry out which doesn't have the motive of preservation of the individuals own life at heart? For example, ...
ThatKidConnor's user avatar
4 votes
1 answer
1k views

Is the current approach to AI learning essentially behaviourism?

AI, to the level that we attempt to create it these days, involves creating neural networks that learn from stimulus (experience, data) and reinforcement. A higher score such as in a Go game, or a ...
Ilya Grushevskiy's user avatar
1 vote
0 answers
197 views

The explaination of definition of learning

In Robert Baron's book I found learning to be "any permanent change in behaviour or behavioural potential as a result of experiences. (Bandura,1986).But I got a question that what is meant by- ...
Hitesh Pathak's user avatar
8 votes
1 answer
825 views

Why some people do not perform well with ambiguity and uncertainty?

I've recently read an article about Generation Z, early 20 year olds born after 1995 in the workforce (similar to this one). The article suggests that unlike previous generation, where ambigious goals ...
Alex Stone's user avatar
  • 9,390