4.1 content (learning) Flashcards
1
Q
what’s an unconditioned stimulus (UCR)?
A
- naturally triggers an unconditioned response or reflex
- you don’t need to learn to respond, it happens automatically
2
Q
what’s an unconditioned response (UCR)?
A
reflex or natural response to a UCS
3
Q
what’s a neutral stimulus (NS)?
A
doesn’t trigger any response
4
Q
what’s a conditioned stimulus?
A
after NS is repeatedly paired with UCS, becomes conditioned stimulus
5
Q
what are the key terms in classical conditioning?
A
- UCS
- UCR
- NS
- CS
- CR
6
Q
what’s extinction?
A
when CS and UCS have not been paired for a while, CS no longer elicits CR strongly
7
Q
what’s spontaneous recovery?
A
- when extinct responses reappear without new pairings
- weaker responses than original CR
8
Q
what’s stimulus generalisation?
A
conditioned response to one object is exhibited in the presence of similar stimuli
9
Q
what was the aim of pavlov’s study?
A
to investigate whether a UCR can be linked with a NS therefore causing a CR and learning to take place
10
Q
what was the procedure of pavlov’s study?
A
- placed a dog in a box where it couldn’t smell or hear anything to avoid extraneous variables
- a tube was attached to its mouth to accurately measure saliva
- during the conditioning the neutral stimulus - metronome was paired with food (UCS) about 20 times
- the dog will salivate (UCR)
- after, the sound was presented without the food
11
Q
what were the findings of Pavlov?
A
- dog started to salivate 9 seconds after hearing the metronome
- after 45 seconds it produced 11 drops of saliva
12
Q
what was the conclusion of pavlov’s study?
A
NS when paired with a UCS would turn conditioned and produce a CR like the production of saliva
13
Q
what’s a strength of pavlov’s study?
A
- high levels of internal validity
- used soundproof chamber to get rid of external sounds distracting the dogs that could be the NS
- makes it clear salivation was in response to the bell
- therefore, this demonstrates a cause-effect relationship between conditioning and behaviour
14
Q
what’s a weakness of pavlov’s study?
A
- conducted on dogs so can’t generalise for humans
- humans have a larger cerebral cortex which permits more complex cognitive processes
- animals driven more by desires
- therefore, findings can’t be generalised to humans as physiology is different
15
Q
what’s a strength of classical conditioning as an explanation for learning?
A
- Pavlov, Watson and rayner
- demonstrated by having dogs associate a metronome to food
- demonstrated in human baby who was conditioned to be afraid of a rat
- therefore, there are good controlled studies that demonstrates there is classical conditioning in learning
16
Q
what’s a weakness of using classical conditioning as an explanation for learning?
A
- it can only explain a small range of behaviours
- can explain why someone learns to fear something, but not how they maintain that behaviour of avoiding it, such as avoiding dog parks cos ur scared of dogs
- therefore, classical conditioning can only be a partial explanation of learning behaviours
17
Q
what are the terms in operant conditioning?
A
- positive reinforcement
- negative reinforcement
- positive punishment
- negative punishment
18
Q
what’s positive reinforcement?
A
adding a pleasant stimulus (nice thing) to maintain a behaviour
19
Q
what’s negative reinforcement?
A
removing an unpleasant stimulus to increase a behaviour
20
Q
what’s positive punishment?
A
adding an unpleasant stimulus to decrease a behaviour
21
Q
what’s a negative punishment(?
A
removing a pleasant stimulus to decrease a behaviour
22
Q
what’s a primary reinforcer?
A
- occur naturally and are rewarding
- examples are food, water, sex
23
Q
what are secondary reinforcers?
A
- rewarding as it’s linked to primary reinforcers
- example is money to buy food (primary reinforcer)
24
Q
what’s a strength of using operant conditioning as an explanation for learning?
A
- supported by many studies
- skinner shows negative reinforcement when the rat pulls lever and electric shocks go away
- shows positive reinforcement when rats get food after pushing lever
- therefore, there is a firm evidence supporting existence of operant conditioning in animal learning
25
what’s a weakness of operant conditioning?
- **only** explains how **existing behaviours are strengthened or weakened**
- **doesn’t explain** where **behaviours originate** from
- **doesn’t account** for **learning new behaviours**
- therefore, it **explains wider range of behaviour than classical conditions** but **still not a full explanation**
26
what is a fixed ratio?
**reinforcement (reward) given** after **action completed** a **fixed number of times**
e.g pay day for jobs
27
what’s a fixed interval?
**reinforcement given** after a **fixed period** of **time, if action is completed**
e.g child given pocket money by the end of the day aslong as chores done, don’t need to do it again
28
what’s a variable ratio?
**reinforcement given** after action completed an **unknown number of times**
e.g online dating and finding a match, u have to try many times
29
what’s a variable interval?
**reinforcement given** after **unknown/varying periods of time** if an **action is completed**
e.g you’ve done ur test u don’t need to do it again but u dk when ur teachers gonna give it back
30
what is shaping?
**encouraging complex behaviours** such as learning **how to speak**
e.g scented stickers
31
what is successive approximations?
behaviour that’s **similar to target behaviour is reinforced**, and **reinforcement only continues** when **behaviour becomes closer to target behaviour**
e.g you get a 6 in gcse maths and ur target is a 9, you get sweets for every grade you go up
32
what’s a strength of reinforcement schedules?
- has **research support** e.g skinner
- when **rat gets positive reinforcement of food**, they **voluntarily press the lever**
- **therefore**, firm evidence supporting that **partial reinforcement is better than fixed reinforcement**
33
what’s a weakness of reinforcement schedules?
- **doesn’t provide** a **full account** for human learning
- **not able to explain** motivational factors for learning that are **intrinsic**, such as **enjoyment of tasks**
- therefore, reinforcement properties **only provide a partial explanation** for **human behaviour and learning**
34
what was the aim of bandura?
**to investigate** whether **aggression can be acquired** through **observed behaviour** and **to investigate** if **boys are more prone** to acquiring aggressive behaviour
35
what was the procedure of bandura?
- **72 children, 36 boys and girls**
- **24 aggressive, non aggressive and controls** in different groups
- **aggressive** models were **punching, kicking and shouting** at a **bobo doll**
- used **“pow”** and **“throw him in the air”**
- **non aggressive models** were **assembling a mechanical toy**
- control group had no models
- **kids** were measured by being **taken to another room**
- **showed toys** and said it was for **“another child”**
- after **10 mins**, they were taken to a **playroom with toys** including bobo doll and **behaviour was observed covertly**
36
what were the findings of bandura?
- group that saw the **aggressive models** were **more aggressive than other groups**
- boys were **more physically aggressive** than girls
- **boys** imitated **aggressive male models the most**
37
what was the conclusion of bandura’s study?
- **aggression** can be **acquired through observing behaviour**
- **imitation** is **more likely when modelled** behaviour was **gender typical**
38
what is a strength of bandura?
- high **internal validity**
- children were **covertly observed**, wouldn’t suppress or increase aggression **thinking they’re being watched**
- **therefore**, we can be **reasonably sure** that **observed aggression** was a **result of observing aggressive models**
39
what’s a weakness of bandura?
- **doesn’t provide** an explanation for **long term aggression**
- **only** observed **immediate effects** of observing aggression in children, and **no explanation for if there’s long term effects**
- **therefore**, the study **doesn’t show how aggression is maintained** only how it’s learned
40
what are the two variations for bandura?
1. og = 1961
2. 1963
3. 1965
41
what was the aim of bandura’s 1963 study?
**to investigate** whether a **filmed model** would have the **same effect** as a **live model** on **children’s aggression**
42
what was the procedure of bandura 1963?
- **48 boys and 48 girls**
- **39-52 months** old selected from **Stanford uni nursery**
- **one group** children watched **adult aggress** towards a bobo doll **irl**
- **one group** watched same aggression on a **screen**
- **one group** watched the same but a tv model **dressed as a cartoon cat**
43
what were the findings of bandura 1963?
- **all 3 groups** displayed **increased aggression**
- **cartoon** was the **highest**, then **filmed** then **irl**
- **differences** between 3 experimental conditions **were not significant**
44
what was the aim of bandura 1965?
**to investigate** whether **reinforcement or punishment** of an **aggressive model** would **impact children imitating**
45
what was the procedure of bandura 1965?
- **33 boys and 33 girls**
- **42-71 months old** from **Stanford uni nursery**
- **one group** saw aggressive **model being rewarded** with a **drink and chocolate**
- **one group** saw aggressive **model being punished** by being **spanked with a newspaper**
- **one group** saw **no** reinforcement or punishment for model
46
what was the findings of bandura 1965?
- children that **saw model being punished** were **less aggressive**
- once **reward was offered** to children, **differences between groups were wiped out** by **increasing aggressiveness** in all groups **significantly**
47
what’s a strength of bandura variations?
- high **internal validity**
- **multiple conditions** involved a **non aggressive condition**, allowing **researchers to control** for **spontaneous aggression**
- **therefore**, levels of control makes us **sure** that **observed aggression** was a **result of observing models**
48
what’s a weakness of bandura variations?
- low **mundane realism**
- **aggressive task** was very artificial and **controlled** and the fact **children were playing alone** is **different from typical environments** of a child **displaying aggression** (eg classroom fighting over a pen)
- **therefore**, the **findings** of the study **cannot be applied** to settings **outside the lab**
49
what’s a phobia?
- **anxiety disorder** which **interferes** with **daily living**
- **irrational fear** that produces a **conscious avoidance** of the feared object
50
what’s a strength of learning theories as an explanation for phobias?
- supporting evidence from **human and animal studies**
- **watson and rayner** shows that **humans can acquire fear** responses to **non threatening objects** through **classical conditioning**
- suggests that **even though learning** doesn’t provide a **full explanation**, it **does take place in some cases**
51
what’s a weakness of learning theories as an explanation of phobias?
- **cannot explain** some **phenomena** associated with **acquisition of phobias**
- **seligman** shows that we **acquire some phobias more easily than others** for eg fear of snakes instead of cars
- therefore, suggests **learning is an incomplete explanation** for phobias as there **may be an evolutionary component**
52
what are the steps in social learning theory?
1. attention
2. retention
3. reproduction
4. motivation
53
what is attention?
- **attention placed** on the **observed behaviour** of a **role model**
- role model is **someone who has desirable traits** to you
54
what is retention?
- **recall** of the **observed behaviour** by **elaborate rehearsal**
- main **cognitive element** of learning, as they **recall events they observe**
55
what is reproduction?
**observed behaviour** is **replicated** in an appropriate situation
56
what’s motivation?
- **vicarious reinforcement** happens and is where **people learn through consequences of actions** of other people
- when learner **sees their role model be reinforced**, they’re **motivated** to also do it
57
what’s a strength of social learning theory?
- **supported** by a large **number of studies**
- **bandura’s studies** demonstrate that **children were more likely to imitate** an aggressive model **if** they were given a **reward for their actions**
- therefore, **supports SLT’s claims** that **behaviour can be acquired by observation** and **vicarious reinforcement affects likelihood** of imitations
58
what’s a weakness of social learning theory?
- competing **research evidence**
- evidence that **genetic factors also are also important** in learning as **kendler** found that **identical twins** had **higher concordance rates in aggression** than non identical
- therefore, **SLT may be an incomplete explanation** for learning aggression
59
What are the treatments for phobias?
1. Systematic desensitisation
2. Flooding
60
how does systematic desentitization work?
- based on **reciprocal inhibition**, you **can’t feel two opposite feelings at the same time**
- therapist and client discusses the **nature of the anxiety** and **possible triggers** of phobias
- **anxiety hierarchy** is used, with least anxiety triggering at the bottom and **move up one by one**
- **every step** you **use relaxation techniques** such as **muscle relaxation, meditation, deep breathing**
- overtime the **phobia becomes extinct**
61
how does flooding work?
- **no step by step** or **anxiety hierarchy** build up
- **exposed repeatedly** with the phobia in an **intensive way with no option to escape**
- phobic stimulus continually presented
- patient **learns that it is harmless** and phobia goes away — **extinction**
62
what’s a strength of SD?
- **supportive evidence**
- gilroy had **two groups: relaxation (no SD)** and **experimental group (SD)**
- found at **3 months and 33 months** the **SD group were less fearful**
- therefore, evidence **adds validity to the use of SD** as an effective **long term** treatment
63
what’s a weakness of SD?
- **not** able to fully treat **all phobias**
- only effective with **specific situations**
- **less effective** with **generalised anxiety disorders**
- therefore, **not most appropriate way to treat minority** of patients
64
what’s a strength of flooding?
- **evidence to support** use of flooding
- **kaplan** reported **65% of patients with specific phobias** with a single session of flooding showed **no symptoms 4 years later**
- therefore, **suggest that rapid exposure prove effective** as a treatment
65
what’s a weakness of flooding?
- not very effective with **social phobias**
- most social phobias have a **cognitive aspect** and has **unpleasant thoughts or feelings** with the **situation** (eg. feeling ur worthless)
- therefore, **flooding could not be the only treatment** for some phobias as it **doesn’t take into account cognitive aspects**
