Here is a limitation in the style of a PEEL evaluation paragraph:

One limitation of the behaviourist approach is that it is reductionist. For example it only considers animals, including humans, to be passive and machine-like responders to the environment, with little to no conscious insight into their behaviour. This is a limitation because it fails to consider the complexities of human behaviour.  Other approaches such as social learning theory or the cognitive approach have emphasised the importance of mental processes during learning.  These processes, which mediate between stimulus and response, suggest that people may play a much more active role in their own learning.  This means that learning theory may apply less to human than to animal behaviour.Consequently the credibility of the behaviourist approach is reduced.


It relies heavily on empirical methods which lack ecological validity. Most of the research is done under highly controlled conditions which don’t mimic real life situations where conditioning would take place. 

The behaviourist approach emphasises that Psychology should be seen as a science and that behaviour is learned through the environment, by collecting data through careful and controlled observation and measurement of behaviour. This can be seen as a weakness because it limits the understanding and the factors influencing our behaviour. For example, the behaviourist approach focuses more on the nurture side of the nature/nurture debate. This means that all behaviour is learned, ignoring the way the genetic make-up could have an effect on shaping behaviour.

Psychology

What is a limitation of the behaviourist approach in psychology?

If words are similar, your short term memory has issues processing them because it takes longer to sort out which word is which so creates confusion. Dissimilar are easier because they won’t be as muddled.

Claire Woods

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Claire Woods