Which statement best characterizes behavioral approaches?

Which statement best characterizes behavioral approaches?

• A. Behaviors are learned through conditioning.
• B. Unconscious conflicts drive behavior.
• C. Behavior is determined by past traumas.
• D. Behavior cannot be modified.

Answer: (A)

Behavioral approaches hold that behavior is learned through conditioning and shaped by environmental consequences. In classical conditioning, a neutral stimulus becomes associated with a meaningful one, producing a learned response. In operant conditioning, behaviors are strengthened or weakened by reinforcement or punishment, making them more or less likely to occur again. Because of this focus on learning and observable change, saying that behaviors are learned through conditioning best fits the behavioral perspective. The other statements reflect ideas from other theories: unconscious conflicts are central to psychodynamic theory, past traumas are emphasized in trauma- or psychodynamic-informed views, and the idea that behavior cannot be modified conflicts with the behavioral emphasis on how changing cues and reinforcement can alter behavior.

Behavioral approaches hold that behavior is learned through conditioning and shaped by environmental consequences. In classical conditioning, a neutral stimulus becomes associated with a meaningful one, producing a learned response. In operant conditioning, behaviors are strengthened or weakened by reinforcement or punishment, making them more or less likely to occur again. Because of this focus on learning and observable change, saying that behaviors are learned through conditioning best fits the behavioral perspective. The other statements reflect ideas from other theories: unconscious conflicts are central to psychodynamic theory, past traumas are emphasized in trauma- or psychodynamic-informed views, and the idea that behavior cannot be modified conflicts with the behavioral emphasis on how changing cues and reinforcement can alter behavior.