Approaches: The Learning Approach

Question 1

Who were the three psychologists who largely worked on the learning approach?

Answer 1

•Pavlov

• Skinner

•Watson

Question 2

What are me main assumptions of the learning approach?

Answer 2

-The main assumption of the learning approach is that all behaviour is learned and we have a birth is the capacity to learn
-From this viewpoint, a person is the product of their environment, and born a blank slate: Tabula Rasa
-This puts The learning approach at the extreme nurture end of the nature nurture debate
-The learning approach also argues that an order for psychology to be scientific. It should focus on observable behaviour which can be objectively measured rather than on things like cognitive processes which can only be inferred.

Question 3

What does the acronym CIA stand for?::

Answer 3

C: consequences (operant conditioning)

I: imitation (slt)

A: association (classical conditioning)

Question 4

Pavlovs research:

Answer 4

Pavlov carried out research to see if his laboratory dogs could learn to salivate in response to a bell. Pavlov (1902) started from the idea that there are some things that are dog does not need to learn. For example, dogs don’t learn to salivate when they see food. This reflects is hardwired into the dog to help them digest and break down food. In behaviourist terms, it is unconditioned response, I.e. stimulus response connection that requires no learning.Pavlov carefully measured the volume of saliva produced from the dogs in response to food and or a bell
 

Question 5

Define extinction and give an example relating to Pavlov

Answer 5

If the condition stimulus is continually presented without the unconditioned stimulus, then the conditions response gradually dies out or extinguish. For example, no salivation to the bell sound anymore.

Question 6

Define spontaneous recovery and give an example relating to Pavlov

Answer 6

If I conditioned response is not reinforced, it becomes extinguished. But after a period of rest, the response may suddenly reappear. For example, hearing the bell after a week of no salivation And then, starting to salivate again

Question 7

Define discrimination stimulus and give an example relating to Pavlov

Answer 7

The conditioned response is produced only by presentation of the original stimulus it doesn’t extend to similar stimuli. Only reacting to a particular tone of bell

Question 8

Define generalisation and give an example.

Answer 8

Extension of CR from theoriginal stimulus to similar stimuli.E.g. Salivation at all types of bell.

Question 9

Define one trial learning and give an example

Answer 9

When conditioning occurs immediately, after one trial learning. e.g. food poisoning- never eat that food again

Question 10

Outline Skinners research

Answer 10

Skinner called learning from consequences operant conditioning. Essentially theory is that the likelihood of future behaviour is determined by the consequences of past behaviour. This means ‘behavioural expression is determined by its consequences’. In common with Watson, Skinner did not think it necessary to speculate on what went on in people’s minds. Throughout his research he used what had become known has skinner boxes with pigeons and rats and carefully measured the frequency of selected behaviour

Question 11

Primary reinforcers…

Answer 11

Anything that fulfils a basic/biological need.
E.g., food fulfils hunger and water fulfils thirst.

Question 12

Secondary reinforcers…

Answer 12

not inherently reinforcing, it only becomes a reinforcer because it is associated with a primary reinforcer.
E.g., caregiver gives the food that fulfils hunger.

Question 13

Continuous reinforcement….

Answer 13

Desired behaviour is reinforced every single time it occurs.
E.g., rats gets a food pellet every time it presses the lever.

Question 14

Partial reinforcement….

Answer 14

Desired behaviour is reinforced only part or some of the time.
Fixed ratio schedule - a rat gets a food pellet after 5 lever presses.
Variable ratio schedule - a rat gets a food pellet after a number of lever presses that changes all the time.

Question 15

What is positive reinforcement?

Answer 15

Increasing the frequency of a desired behaviour by giving pleasant consequences.
Skinner’s research - when the rat pressed a lever it dispensed food into the box.
Other examples - giving a dog a treat when they give you their paw to shake / a teacher giving students a sticker when they complete a piece of homework really well.

Question 16

What is negative reinforcement?

Answer 16

Increasing the frequency of a desired behaviour by removing something unpleasant.
Skinner’s research - the rat had to press the lever to turn off the electric current running through the floor so they would stop receiving electric shocks.
Other examples - having a shower so that people don’t think you stink / tidying your bedroom so that you can have your phone back.

Question 17

Define punishment with examples

Answer 17

Decreasing the frequency of a desired behaviour by giving unpleasant consequences.
Skinner’s research - when the rat pressed a lever they received an electric shock so never pressed the lever again.
Other examples - you skip school and get grounded by your parents / you misbehave in class and get a detention / you commit a crime and go to prison.

Question 18

Evaluation of behaviourist approach (general): evidence

Answer 18

There is lots of credible evidence to support the behaviourist approach.
Little Albert was conditioned to fear rats. Through pairing rats (NS) with an unpleasant stimulus of a loud bang (UCS), after 7 pairings Albert showed fear in response to the rat. Watson & Rayner had used CC to teach/condition a fear response.
This means the approach has evidence to validate its claims, and can be seen as falsifiable.

Question 19

Evaluation of behaviourist approach (general): extremely scientific

Answer 19

The behaviourist approach is praised for being extremely scientific.
The approach uses both objective and falsifiable methods to study only observable behaviours that underline stimulus-response links e.g. focusing on just the behavioural responses of spider phobics in response to spiders rather than internal cognitions.
This means the behaviourist approach is likely to be trustworthy and reliable deserving of respect (and government funding!).

Question 20

Evaluation of behaviourist approach (general): Evolutionary discontinuity

Answer 20

However, there are methodological issues with some of the research in the behaviourist approach. For example, most of Pavlov’s research was on dogs, meaning there may be issues extrapolating the principles of CC & OC to explain behaviour in humans. This is the issue of evolutionary discontinuity It is argued that humans are qualitatively different to all other species meaning we cannot generalise findings from animal research to humans. E.G. Humans have a language acquisition device (LAD) in their brains that no other animal possesses. This makes human beings unique. All these issues limit the extent to which we can use this research to support the behaviourist explanations of human behaviour.

Question 21

Evaluation of behaviourist approach (general): Benefited society with mental health treatments

Answer 21

The behaviourist approach has made significant contributions to help society including accessible ways to treat mental health problems.
Many useful and effective therapies have been developed using the principles of OC & CC. Example: flooding & SD to treat phobias.
SD uses gradual exposure and deep relaxation to gradually “unlearn” phobias. Some studies have found that SD is effective in treating 91% of individuals with specific phobias.
This means that the approach has ultimately benefited society and can be seen as extremely useful.

Question 22

Evaluation of behaviourist approach (general): environmental determinism

Answer 22

However, the learning approach suffers from environmental determinism.
Behaviourism proposes that most of our behaviour is determined (caused) by past experiences that have been conditioned through our interactions with the environment.
Skinner argued that everything we do is the sum of our reinforcement history.
This means the approach offers an incomplete explanation of human behaviour, neglecting proven biological factors in human behaviour as well as free-will.

Question 23

Evaluation of behaviourist approach (classical): theoretical flaw

Question 24

Evaluation of behaviourist approach (operant): practical applications

Question 25

Evaluation of behaviourist approach (environmentally reductionist)

Question 26

What is social learning theory?

Answer 26

This type of conditioning still uses concepts like reinforcement and punishment, but suggested that we learn by the imitation of others in a social context. He agreed that we learn directly through OC and CC, but also indirectly through imitating role models.

Question 27

Define imitation.

Answer 27

This is when an individual copies the behaviour that they have observed a role model performing.

Question 28

Define identification.

Answer 28

When the observer respects/admires the role model and aspires to be like them or sees themselves as similar to the role model. Identification increases the motivation to imitate a role model.

Question 29

Define modelling

Answer 29

Refers to the things we see or hear models doing, saying etc. Models can be real people we have in our lives, celebrities we see on TV etc and filmed models too. Attitudes as well as behaviours can be modelled.

Question 30

Define vicarious reinforcement.

Answer 30

When an individual observes a role model being rewarded for a behaviour. They are then motivated to imitate this behaviour in the hope of receiving a similar rewarding consequence.

Question 31

Define vicarious punishment.

Answer 31

When an individual observes a role model being punished for a behaviour. Observing a role model being punished for performing a particular behaviour reduces the motivation to imitate that behaviour because the observer does not wish to be punished like the role model was.

Question 32

What are the 4 mediational processes in SLT

Answer 32

- attention - retention - reproduction - motivation

Question 33

Define attention in terms of SLT

Answer 33

The observer has to concentrate on the models behaviour if it is to be imitated. Identification with the role model is important here.

Question 34

Define retention

Answer 34

The behaviour has to be remembered & stored (i.e., retained) if it is going to be imitated later.

Question 35

Define reproduction

Answer 35

The observer must be capable of imitating / reproducing the behaviour that they have observed.

Question 36

Define motivation

Answer 36

The observer must have good reason and want to imitate the behaviour that has been observed.

Question 37

Aim of Bobo doll study

Answer 37

Bandura (1961) set out to see how just watching people influences our behaviour, specifically aggression.

Question 38

Sample size for Bobo doll study

Answer 38

72 children (36 boys and 36 girls) aged between 3-5 years.

Question 39

Procedure of Bobo doll study

Answer 39

Bandura put an adult in a room with a child and some toys, including a bobo doll. The child watched the adult play with the toys (either aggressively or non-aggressively). They were then put in a room with more attractive looking toys that they were told they couldn’t play with as they were for the special children. The child was then taken back into the original toy room and left on their own to see how they would interact with those toys. The children were observed through a one-way mirror. (20 mins)

Question 40

Findings of Bobo doll study

Answer 40

Children who watched the aggressive model copied the behaviour they had seen (they were hitting the bobo doll with their fists or a toy mallet and yelling abuse at it). Closest imitation was when a child observed an adult of the same sex. Another group who watched the non-aggressive adult showed no signs of aggression and also played calmly with the toys, most ignored the bobo doll in favour of the other toys.

Question 41

Describe follow up study of Bobo doll study

Answer 41

In a later study children were shown a film of an adult behaving aggressively towards the bobo doll. This time there were consequences for the model: Group A - was the control group (no consequences) Group B - the model was rewarded for their aggressive behaviour with sweets Group C - the model was punished for being aggressive Findings: Group C showed fewer aggressive acts than A & B. This shows that vicarious punishment is more powerful than vicarious reinforcement.

Question 42

Evaluation point for social learning theory: evidence

Answer 42

Social Learning theory has credible research evidence such as that carried out by Bandura. Using 72 kids (36 boys and 36 girls) Bandura demonstrated the power of imitation with same sex role models. Some kids briefly saw an adult model attack a bobo doll with novel physical and verbal aggressive acts. After being mildly frustrated, the kids were observed through a one-way mirror imitating those very specific aggressive acts. Kids not exposed to an aggressive role model did not display such ‘vicarious’ learning. This means we can be more confident that this approach can be used to help explain human behaviour.

Question 43

Evaluation point for social learning theory: Practical applications

Answer 43

In support of SLT, we can see the approach has led to useful practical applications to help society. For instance, censorship on films, video games as well as the 9pm watershed on mainstream TV attempts to minimalise kids exposure to unsuitable material. Knowing about the potential power of vicarious learning/imitation, we can keep kids away from negative role models in the media. This could imply that SLT helps reduce aggression in kids behaviour.

Question 44

Evaluation point for social learning theory: does not establish cause and effect

Answer 44

Research into SLT like Bandura’s – whilst highly controlled – does not accurately reflect real life. For example, in Bandura’s study, none of the kids actually got hurt, the aggressive display from the role model was highly scripted and unrealistic (rarely do we see adults attack blow up dolls!); ultimately the behaviour could be seen as nothing more than rough and tumble play. This means that, although the research demonstrated SLT in action, it is difficult to show cause and effect of role model behaviour in real life as extraneous variables such as biological factors are uncontrolled.

Question 45

Evaluation point for social learning theory: soft determinism

Answer 45

In addition, SLT suffers from SOFT determinism. SLT claims that although the environment drives and shapes our behaviour its not inevitable. It suggests we choose our role models and have some role in selecting when to attend and retain information. However, this means the approach STILL offers an incomplete explanation of behaviour, neglecting proven factors in human behaviour such as BIOLOGICAL FACTORS.

Question 46

Evaluation point for social learning theory: INCOMPLETE

Answer 46

Finally, the mediating cognitive factors such as RETENTION / MOTIVATION identified in SLT have to be inferred so cannot measure extent of their influence. SLT does not explain cognitive processes, leaving this to cognitive psychologists and so the theory is limited in the extent to which it fully explains the process of imitating behaviours of role models.