The behavioural approach is the assumption that behaviour is learned. Experience and interactions with the environment make us what we are. This perspective has been called environment determinism because it suggests that we are determined by the environm

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Introduction

The behavioural approach is the assumption that behaviour is learned. Experience and interactions with the environment make us what we are. This perspective has been called environment determinism because it suggests that we are determined by the environments in which we exist.

The main features of behaviourist theory

The second assumption is that all behaviour can be explained in terms of conditioning theory. Conditioning refers to changing behaviour in the absorbable behaviour.

The third main assumption is that we need to look no further than the behaviours we can observe in order to understand and explain how humans and non-humans animals operate. It is sufficient to be concerned only with external and observable behaviour.

A further assumption of the behaviour approach is that humans and non- human animals are only qualitatively different. This is supported by the theory of evolution which suggests that all animals have evolved from common ancestors and are built from the same unit. Much behaviorist research is conducted with non-human animals. It is important to recognize the contrasting perspectives within behaviourism;

* Methodological behaviourism; the view that all perspectives use some behaviourist concepts to explain behaviour. This is