Approaches- Behavioural Approach (Learning Theory)

Question 1

Behaviours claim that behaviour is learned and maintained through what ?

Answer 1

Environmental reinforcement.

Question 2

What are the 4 main principles of behaviourism?

Answer 2

Behaviour is learned from experience

Only observable behaviour is measurable scientifically so should be the focus of testing

It is valid to study the behaviour of animals as they have the same learning processes as humans

We are born a “blank slate “ so there is no predetermined influence on behaviour.

Question 3

What does this approach focus on ?

Answer 3

The behaviour of an individual as opposed to mental processes.
The approach suggests that all behaviour is learnt through experience in the same way as most other behaviours.

Question 4

What 3 processes does the behavioural approach use?

Answer 4

Classical conditioning (association)

Operant conditioning (reinforcement)

Social learning theory- SLT (observation)

Question 5

Who was the physiologist that discovered Classical conditioning ?

Answer 5

Ivan Pavlov.
He was looking at salivation in dogs in response to being fed, when he notices that his dogs would begin to salivate whenever he entered the room.

Pavlov started from the idea that there are some things that a dog does not need to learn. For example; dogs don’t learn to salivate whenever they see food.

This reflex is "hard wired" into the doc. In behaviourist terms, it is an unconditioned response. This can be written as 
Unconditioned stimulus (food) > unconditioned response (salivate)

Pavlov showed the existence of the unconditioned response by presenting a dog with a bowl of food and then measuring its salivary secretions.

However when Pavlov discovered that any object or event which the dogs learnt to associate with food (such as the lab assistant) would trigger the same response, he realised that he had made an important discovery.

Pavlov knew that somehow, the dogs in his lab had learned to associate food with his lab assistant. This must have been learned, because at one point the dogs didn’t do it, and there came a point where they started, so their behaviour has changed. A change in behaviour of this type must be the result of learning.

In behaviourist terms the lab assistant was originally a neutral stimulus. It is called neutral because it produces no response.
What had happened was that the neutral stimulus (the lab assistant) has become associated with an unconditioned stimulus (food).

Question 6

Explain Pavlov’s experiment

Answer 6

Pavlov used a bell as his neutral stimulus.
Whenever he gave food to his dogs he rang a bell.
After a number of repeats of this procedure, he tried the bell on its own.
The bell on its own now caused an increase in salivation.
The dogs have learned an association between the bell and the food and a new behaviour has been learnt. Because this response was learned (or conditioned), it is called a conditioned response. The neutral stimulus has become a conditioned stimulus.
Pavlov found that for associations to be made, the two stimuli had to be present close together in time.
He called this the law of temporal contiguity.
If the time between the conditioned stimulus (bell) and the unconditioned stimulus (food) is too great, then learning will not occur.

Question 7

What is the supporting evidence to Pavlov’s experiment?

Answer 7

Experiment in fear conditioning- Little Albert (WATSON AND RAYNOR, 1920).
Little Albert was an infant who learnt to have a fear of white rats through the process of classical conditioning in an experiment carried out by Watson and Raynor.
Originally Albert liked rats. However in order to induce a phobia, the researcher banged an iron rod behind Albert’s head when he was in the presence of a rat.
Eventually Albert began to fear rats because he associated them with the unpleasant loud noise.

Question 8

What are the other discoveries Pavlov made along the way?

Answer 8

Stimulus generalisation

Pavlov found that if he varied the pitch and tone of the bell the dogs would still salivate. This meant that if a stimulus has characteristics in common with the conditioned stimulus, then the association will also be made with the new stimulus. For example, little Albert generalised his fear of white rats to anything white and fluffy, even Santa’s beard.

Stimulus discrimination

At some point there will be a cut off where a stimulus is too different to the conditioned stimulus to be generalised. For example, Little Albert, did not develop a fear of dogs (too different to white rats).

Time continuity

Pavlov found that the association can only be made if the unconditioned stimulus and neutral stimulus are presented at the same time, or around the same time. If the time lapse between presentations is too great then no association will be made.

Question 9

Who was the law of effect generated by ? - operant conditioning

Answer 9

Thorndike (1898).

Thorndike observed cats managing to escape a puzzle box by pulling a lever. Cats began by escaping the box by chance (accidentally leaning on the lever) but once, they had learned to push the lever to escape, they continued to do so when out in the box.

Question 10

Who explained that our behaviour is influenced by the consequences of our actions?

Answer 10

Skinner (1974)
We learn at an early age which of our actions are right and which are wrong.

Skinner believes that we do have such a thing as a mind, but that it is simply more productive to study observable behaviour rather than internal mental events.

skinner believe that the best way to understand behaviour is to look at the causes of an croon and its consequences. He called this approach operant conditioning.

Question 11

Skinner is regarded as the father of operant conditioning.
Have our is reinforced when ?
Behaviour is not reinforced when?

Answer 11

It is reinforced when repeated (strengthened).

When it is not reinforced it tends to die out/ be extinguished (weakened).

Question 12

Explain skinner’s (1948) experiment on animals which he placed in a “skinner box” and how it showed reinforcement

Answer 12

Skinner showed how positive reinforcement worked by placing a hungry rat in his Skinned box.

Th box contained a lever I’m the side and as the rat moved about the box it would accidentally knock the lever.

Immediately it did so a food pellet would drop into a container next to the lever.

The rats quickly learned to go straight to he lever after a few times of being put in the box.

The consequence of receiving food if they pressed the lever ensured that they would repeat the action again and again.

Positive reinforcement is therefore carrying out an action as you expect a reward (based on experience).

Skinner showed how negative reinforcement worked by pacing a rat in his Skinner box and then subjecting it to an unpleasant electric current which caused it some discomfort.

As the fat moved around the box it would accidentally knock the lever.

Immediately it did so the electric current would be switched off.
The rats quickly learned to go straight to the lever after a few times of being put in the box.

The consequence of escaping the electric current ensured that they would repeat the action again and again.

Negative reinforcement is therefore carrying it an action as oh expect to avoid a negative consequence (based on experience).

Skinner even taught the rats to avoid the electric current by turning in a light just before the electric current came on. The rats soon learned to press the lever when the light came on because they knew that this would stop the electric current being switched on.

These two learned responses are known as Escape learning and avoidance learning.

Question 13

What does the term operant conditioning means?

Answer 13

It means roughly changing of behaviour by the use of reinforcement which is given after the desired response.

Question 14

Explain how positive reinforcement strengthens a behaviour ?

Answer 14

By providing a consequence an individual finds rewarding.
For example if your teacher gives a £5 each time you complete your homework (I.e. A reward) you are more likely to repeat this behaviour in the future, this strengthening the behaviour of completing your homework.

Question 15

What is negative reinforcement?

Answer 15

The removal o an unpleasant reinforced can also strengthen behaviour. Negative reinforcement strengthens behaviour because it stops or removes an unpleasant experience.

For example if you do not complete your homework you give your teacher £5. You will complete your homework to avoid paying £5, this strengthening the behaviour of completing your homework.

Question 16

What is punishment defined as ?

Answer 16

Punishment is defined as the opposite of reinforcement since it is designed to weaken or eliminate a response rather than increase it.

Like reinforcement punishment can work either by directly applying an unpleasant stimulus like a shock after a response or by removing a potentially rewarding stimulus.

For example, you did not complete your homework and so the teacher made you pay £5. In future you will complete your homework to avoid this punishment.

Question 17

What is the ABC method of explaining operant conditioning developed by skinner ?

Answer 17

Antecedents: what happens just prior to a behaviour being performed (e.g. The light coming on prior to the electric current)

Behaviours: skinner called these operant a and the operant in the rat example is pressing the lever.

Consequences: this is what happens after the operant. So, for the rat it was the food pellet being administered

Question 18

What does social learning theory define social learning theory as ?

Answer 18

Bandura (1973): behaviour is learned through imitation of others, who serve as models for behaviour. Observational learning has the greatest impact of the model is rewarded for behaviour, since the observer is more likely to imitate in this case.

2 examples of this are

Mother and child

Ducks and ducklings

Question 19

In social learning theory Albert Bandura (1977) states behaviour is learned from the environment through the process of what?

Answer 19

Observational learning

Question 20

Unlike skinned Bandura (1977) believes that humans are active what?

Answer 20

Active informational processors and think about the relationship between their behaviours and its consequences (meditational process).

Observational learning could not occur unless cognitive processes were at work.

Individuals that are observed are called models. In society children are surrounded by many influential models, such as parents with the family, characters in children’s TV, fiends within their peer group and teachers at school. These models provide examples of behaviour to observe and imitate, e.g. Masculine and feminine, pro and anti-social etc.

The child is more likely to attend and imitate those people it perceives as similar to itself. Consequently, it is more lidl to imitate behaviour by people of the same sex.

Question 21

What is imitation ?

Answer 21

Children pay attention to some of these people (models) and encode their behaviour.

At a later time they may imitate (copy) the behaviour they have observed because they are able to store the act to LTM (retention) and possess the physical capabilities to carry out the act (motor reproduction).

Following this the child must expect positive consequences for imitation and will therefore be vicariously reinforced to copy.

This will occur if the model is rewarded either intrinsically or extrinsic ally for the action and the child will expect the same rewards for copying (motivation).

This cognitive element sets SLT apart from learning theory as the child decides whether or not to imitate based on expected consequences.

Question 22

What is identification ?

Answer 22

Children will have a number of role models with whom they identify. These may be people in their immediate world, such a parents or elder siblings, or could be fantasy characters or people in the media.

The motivation to identify with a particular model is that they have a quality which the individual would like to posses.

Identification occurs with another person (the model) and involves taking on (or adopting) observed behaviours, values, beliefs, and attitudes of the person with whom you are identifying.

The term identification as used by Social Learning Theory involved internalising or adopting another person’s behaviour.

The person (child or adult) can potentially identify with any other person.

Question 23

How is identification different to imitation in social earning theory ?

Answer 23

Identification is different to imitation as it may involve a number of behaviours being adopted whereas imitation usually involves copying a single behaviour.

Question 24

Explain the Bandura Bobo doll experiment?

Answer 24

The experiment adds the validity to the social learning theory of aggression.

Bandura experimented on children, showing an adult role model playing in an aggressive manner with an inflatable bobo doll, including
hitting it with a hammer
kicking it
punching it

Later the children were given the chance to pay with toys (including the bobo doll).

There were 3 conditions

• aggression was performed by adult and was neither punished or rewarded.
• aggression was rewarded by another adult
• aggression was punished.

Bandura found that children tended to replicate the exact forms of aggressive behaviour that they were shown by the role model in the first two conditions.
This shows that expectation of rewards is important (hence why the children who saw the model rewarded imitated) and that a high status role model (adult) is important, as even children who saw no consequence to the adults actions copied their behaviour, suggesting the children look to role models as a guide to how to act.

Question 25

Evaluation (AO3) of bandura’s bobo doll experiment.

Answer 25

This study is an experiment and as such it might therefore be considered to be strong support for social learning theory since experiments have controls which allow the isolation of the IV and the DV which in turn can show a casual relationship, unlike other research methods.

However this piece of evidence may be limited as supporting evidence for SLT by the external validity issue raised by the use of a doll.
It could be argued that the children only copied the role model because the doll was not real and could not be harmed.
Such role models may not be imitated if the child perceives their actions as cruel with painful consequences, s would be the case when hitting a real person, and in this case, attitudes and values play a part in their decision making to imitate.

To add further validity to this criticism, many of the children were reported to show demand characteristics, saying things like “Look mummy, there’s that doll we are meant to hit”. suggesting that they only hit the doll as they thought this was what they thought the researchers wanted them to do.

Furthermore the study lacked population validity, in the study it was confined to children who are much more likely to be influenced than adults.
It is perhaps unlikely that an adult would imitate as readily, having formed a more detailed perspective on how to behave owing to more life experience.

Bandura concluded a whole series in this area and found consistent results regarding the power of role models to produce imitative behaviour both aggressive and non-aggressive, this adds to the importance of this evidence because the replication of finding show the validity of the findings since they can’t be a one-off chance occurrence.

Question 26

What is a contribution of the behavioural approach ?

Answer 26

Treatment of phobias: Association of the feared object with relaxation results in a response of calmness rather than fear over graded trials beginning with the most fearful and ending in least (systematic desensitisation). Since behaviourists would suggest that fears are learned through conditioning, they can be removed through counter conditioning. Using role models who show no fear is also effective (SLT).

Question 27

Evaluating the Behavioural Approach (AO3) referring to animal studies.

Answer 27

Animals

Animals such as rats, cats and pigeons are commonly used by behaviourists to test certain theories. This is often the case where it would be highly unethical to conduct such research on humans.
As animals have similar behaviourists principles governing actions, the use of animal to test these processes would be sufficient.
However, although there are similarities they are not an exact replica of humans meaning that differences may be apparent. This could lead to the research evidence lacking generalizability and proving worthless in defining human behaviour.
Often animal studies are not ethically sound and they are often subjected to significant distress. This would mean that the research methods used are not protecting the animals and in some cases are causing unnecessary stress.

Question 28

Evaluating the Behavioural Approach (AO3) referring to science.

Answer 28

Behaviourists use scientific methodologies to conduct their research such as lab experiments. Experiments such as Pavlov’s dogs and Skinner’s rats are highly controlled meaning the independent variable can be isolated to see the effect on the dependent variable. This would reduce the risk of extraneous variables and results in a cause and effect relationship being established. However, the artificial nature of experiments often results in demand characteristics which would threaten the overall validity of the findings in support of the approach. For example, would Skinner’s rats have reacted in the same way if this was naturalistic?

Question 29

Evaluating the Behavioural Approach (AO3) referring to environment?

Answer 29

The behavioural approach suggests that our environment is hugely influential in determining our behaviour patterns. This approach adopts a nurture perspective as it determines that our behaviours are guided by our experiences. This makes for a rather reductionist approach as any innate influences are ignored or assumed to be a product of environmental influences. These is substantial scientific evidence that supports human behaviour as having a biological influence, for example an increase in dopamine levels is often recorded in people with schizophrenia. This particular psychotic disorder cannot be fully explained using the behavioural approach.

Question 30

Evaluating the Behavioural Approach (AO3) referring to usefulness.

Answer 30

The behavioural approach has useful applications to the real world and is regularly showcased in society. For example, TV behavioural programmes such as “Super Nanny” use Skinner’s operant conditioning principles as a way of reinforcing positive behaviour in young children.
Institutions often use a form of “token economy” system whereby patients receive a “token” when positive behaviour is displayed and they can exchange this token for a reward of their choice at a later stage.
School behaviour systems are further evidence for operant conditioning as detentions are given to students who break certain rules in the hope that this type of punishment would lead to later avoidance of this behaviour.

Question 31

Evaluating the Behavioural Approach (AO3) referring to the role of thought.

Answer 31

The behavioural approach neglects the role of thought and instead assumes that processes such as classical and operant conditioning simply occur. Rather than a person formulating the decision to form an association or deciding to replicate certain behaviours, this approach assumes that the process will occur automatically. For example, Pavlov stated that the dogs made an association with his lab assistant instinctively rather than any thought being incorporated.

Question 32

Evaluating the Behavioural Approach (AO3) referring to determinism.

Answer 32

The behavioural approach is highly determinist; people’s behaviour is assumed to be entirely controlled by their environment and their prior learning, so they do not play any part in choosing their own actions. The approach takes the nurture side of the nature-nature debate, believing that apart from a few innate reflexes and the capacity for learning, all complex behaviour is learned from the environment.