Blank State

Tabula Rasa or Blank State

  • The theory of the Tabula Rasa, or Blank State, posits that individuals start life with a mind void of any data or pre-existing knowledge.
  • This concept comes from the Behaviourist approach to psychology and suggests that all human behaviour is the result of conditioning and environmental factors, not inborn traits or instincts.
  • A prominent psychologist related to this theory is John B. Watson, who argued that he could shape an infant into any kind of person, regardless of the child’s inherent traits.

Key Concepts of Blank State

  • Learning through experience: Behaviourists believe that humans learn all their behaviours and skills through direct exposure and experience.
  • Focus on observable behaviour: Behaviourism concentrates on observable behaviours, ignoring innate traits or attributes, as they are not quantifiable.
  • Importance of conditioning: Behaviourists hold that behaviours are learnt through conditioning - either classical (Pavlov) or operant (Skinner).
  • Nurture over nature: The principle of the Blank State goes hand-in-hand with Behaviourism’s focus on the environment’s impact on shaping an individual’s behaviour, often called ‘nurture’ against ‘nature’.
  • Importance of the environment: Everything a person becomes is attributable to experience and interaction with their environment, according to this approach.

Criticisms of the Blank State Theory

  • Ignoring biological factors: Critics argue that the Behaviourist approach, including the Blank State theory, discounts biological influences like genetics and innate abilities.
  • Excessive focus on the environment: Also criticised is its emphasis on environmental impacts, arguing that pre-wired traits and characteristics could be equally, if not more, crucial in moulding behaviour.

Behaviourist Approach and Child Development

  • Learning through reinforcement: Behaviourists suggest that reinforcement, whether positive (rewards) or negative (punishments), contributes significantly to children’s learning process.
  • The theory also emphasizes that learning happens mostly through imitation, understanding the action-consequence relationships, and other environmental interactions.

While revising, ensure you understand what ‘Blank State’ theory implies in terms of different methodologies used in psychology, such as conditioning and other behavioural changes, to answer potential questions that cover the basis of human behaviours in relation to this theory.