Approaches - 02 Learning approaches

Question 1

What does the behaviourist approach say we are born as?

Answer 1

A tabula rasa or a blank slate

Question 2

What does the behaviourist approach focus on?

Answer 2

observable events i.e. stimuli and responses and the conditions under which learning would be most likely to occur

Question 3

The behaviourist approach argues that in order for psychology to be scientific it should focus on behaviour which is what?

Answer 3

That can be objectively measured rather than on things like cognitive processes which can only be inferred.

Question 4

What did the behaviourist approach say all behaviour could be explained by?

Answer 4

Classical and operant conditioning

Question 5

What is operant conditioning?

Answer 5

Learning via rewards and reinforcement

Question 6

What is classical conditioning?

Answer 6

Learning via associations

Question 7

Why does the behaviourist approach say that it is ok to research animals?

Answer 7

because humans are animals and so behaviour will be directly relevant to humans so we can extrapolate/generalise

Question 8

Who discovered classical conditioning and how?

Answer 8

Ivan Pavlov while he was studying salivation in dogs

Question 9

In Pavlov’s study what was the food before conditioning?

Answer 9

Unconditioned stimulus

Question 10

In Pavlov’s study what was the salivation before conditioning?

Answer 10

Unconditioned response

Question 11

In Pavlov’s study what was the bell before conditioning?

Answer 11

Neutral stimulus

Question 12

In Pavlov’s study what was the bell after conditioning?

Answer 12

Conditioned stimulus

Question 13

In Pavlov’s study what was the salivation after conditioning?

Answer 13

Conditioned response

Question 14

What is positive reinforcement?

Answer 14

Giving a desirable consequence as a result of a specific behaviour making that behaviour more likely to occur again in the future

Question 15

What is negative reinforcement?

Answer 15

Taking away an undesirable state as a result of a specific behaviour making that behaviour more likely to occur again in the future

Question 16

What is positive punishment?

Answer 16

Giving an undesirable consequence as a result of a specific behaviour making that behaviour less likely to occur again in the future

Question 17

What is negative punishment?

Answer 17

Taking away a desirable state as a result of a specific behaviour making that behaviour less likely to occur again in the future

Question 18

How did Skinner study operant conditioning?

Answer 18

He created an experimental tool called the Skinner box

Question 19

What did the Skinner box allow Skinner to do?

Answer 19

Allowed him to have complete control of the organism’s environment

Question 20

What was Skinner trying to investigate?

Answer 20

How the type of reinforcement or punishment given and the rate of reinforcement or punishment affected the rate of learning

Question 21

What 3 things could be kept constant in the Skinner box?

Answer 21

1-temperature
2-light
3-noise

Question 22

What happened to the rats before they entered the Skinner box?

Answer 22

They were starved

Question 23

How was positive reinforcement used in Skinner’s experiment?

Answer 23

The rats received a food pellet every time they pressed a lever so they should learn to press it more often to keep receiving the food

Question 24

How was negative reinforcement used in Skinner’s experiment?

Answer 24

The rats would have an electric shock turned off if the pressed the lever so they should learn to press it more often to stock the electric shocks

Question 25

How was punishment used in Skinner's experiment?

Answer 25

The rats would have their heat tuned off when they pressed the lever so they should learn to avoid the lever to stop their heat getting turned off

Question 26

What is a continuous reinforcement schedule?

Answer 26

In a continuous schedule, every instance of a desired behaviour is reinforced

Question 27

What is a partial reinforcement schedule?

Answer 27

In a partial schedule they only reinforce the desired behaviour occasionally

Question 28

Which type of reinforcement schedule is more effective and why?

Answer 28

The partial schedule of reinforcement because it is more effective in maintaining the responses and avoiding extinction

Question 29

Supporting evidence of the behaviourist approach (3)

Answer 29

1- Pavlov's dogs - Classical conditioning 2- Skinner's box - operant conditioning 3- Watson & Raynor - Classical conditioning of a phobia (little Albert)

Question 30

Practical application of the behaviourist approach (2)

Answer 30

1- classical conditioning - Treatment of phobias 2- operant conditioning - Token economy systems

Question 31

Evaluation of methodology used in the behaviourist approach

Answer 31

1- strength - experimental method = controlled conditions also objective and replicable = greater credibility and status 2- Weakness - ethics - stressful conditions may have affected how animals responded = reduction in the validity of results 3- Weakness - using animals not humans - animals passive, humans much more active role in learning, more free will = cautious in generalising to humans

Question 32

Contrast with an alternative to behaviourism

Answer 32

The nature vs nurture debate -behaviourists extreme nurture position, behaviour learned, conditioning -ignore roles of nature, innate and inherited most psychologists argue that behaviour is due to am interaction between nature and nurture -so behaviourists cannot adequately explain human behaviours on its own

Question 33

Did Bandura agree or disagree with behaviourists?

Answer 33

He agreed, but proposed that learning takes place in a social context through observation and imitation of others behaviour

Question 34

What are the 4 features of social learning theory

Answer 34

1-learning occurs indirectly 2-observing consequences of behaviour 3-Mediational processes play a crucial role in learning 4-Identification with a role model is important

Question 35

What is vicarious reinforcement

Answer 35

When children see that a behaviour has been rewarded or reinforced and so they are much more likely to be copied than behaviours that are being punished

Question 36

What are the 4 mediational processes as suggested by Bandura (ARRM)

Answer 36

A-attention R-retention R-reproduction M-motivation

Question 37

What is attention in ARRM?

Answer 37

Whether or not a behaviour is noticed. We pay attention to role models

Question 38

What is retention in ARRM?

Answer 38

Whether a behaviour is remembered in LTM

Question 39

What is reproduction in ARRM?

Answer 39

The individual replicates the behaviour shown by a model

Question 40

What is motivation in ARRM?

Answer 40

The will or desire to perform the behaviour, which is often determined by whether the behaviour was rewarded or punished (vicarious reinforcement)

Question 41

What is modelling?

Answer 41

When you observe the actions or behaviours of a role model, this leads to imitation of the model's behaviour.

Question 42

What is identification?

Answer 42

the extent to when an individual relates to a model and feels that he/she is similar to that person

Question 43

What makes someone more likely to imitate a model's behaviour?

Answer 43

If they are attractive and have a high status

Question 44

Supporting evidence for SLT

Answer 44

Bandura + Walters' study (1963) = learn through consequences of others = increase our confidence in theory

Question 45

Practical application of SLT

Answer 45

made aware of need for protecting children from violence = shows need for watershed on TV and use of age restrictions

Question 46

Evaluation of methodology used in SLT

Answer 46

conducted in lab setting = demand characteristics "look mummy there's the doll we have to hit" = low internal validity =limit usefulness

Question 47

Contrast with an alternative for SLT

Answer 47

1-less deterministic than biological = more realistic and flexible approach 2-Ignores biological factors = important influences on behaviour not accounted for by SLT

Question 48

Describe the sample in Bandura's study.

Answer 48

36 boys + 36 girls from Stanford University Nursery School aged 3-6

Question 49

What were the 3 conditions in Bandura's study?

Answer 49

1- Aggressive model shown to 24 kids 2-Non-aggressive model shown to 24 kids 3- No model shown to 24 kids (control)

Question 50

How were the children subjected to mild aggression in Bandura's study?

Answer 50

Taken into a room with attractive toys, as soon as they started to play the experimenter told them that were the best toys and only for the other children

Question 51

Describe the procedure of Bandura's Bobo doll study

Answer 51

-They children watched their given model(aggressive, non-aggressive or no model) -Then all children subjected to mild aggression -Then taken into another room which contained aggressive toys, non-aggressive toys and a 3 foot Bobo doll -The children's behaviour was observed through a one way mirror

Question 52

What were the results of Bandura's Bobo doll study?

Answer 52

-Children who observed the aggressive model acted more aggressively towards the Bobo doll than the other groups -Boys imitated more physically aggressive acts than girls -Boys were more likely to imitate same-sex models than girls

Question 53

Do the findings of Bandura's Bobo doll study support or reject social learning theory and why?

Answer 53

Supports because it shows that we learn via the consequences or lack of consequences of others as the children saw that the models faced no consequences and so imitated their aggressive behaviour

Question 54

What did Bandura and Walters do in their follow up study?

Answer 54

-showed videos of an adult acting aggressively towards a Bobo doll -One group saw the adult being praised for their behaviour -Second group saw adult being told off for their behaviour -Final group saw the aggression without any consequences

Question 55

What were the results of Bandura and Walter's follow up study?

Answer 55

When given the Bobo doll to play with the first group (praised) behaved much more aggressively followed by the last group (no consequence) and then the second group (punished), who behaved the least aggressively

Question 56

Evaluation of the methodology of Bandura and Walter's follow up study

Answer 56

-Possible children were aware of the aim of the study and what was expected of them (demand characteristics) so they may not have shown their natural behaviours -They may have hit the Bobo doll because they thought that was what they had to do for the experiment