Behavioural & learning Theories Flashcards
LO 4 (22 cards)
1
Q
Behavioural Theory
A
studies observable actions or behaviours, not internal mental states.
2
Q
Learning Theory
A
observe and imitate by interaction
3
Q
Behaviorism
A
- psychological theory that attempts to explain why people behave the way they do.
- what can be observed.
- all behavior can be traced back to an external stimuli.
- behavior can be modified through reinforcements and punishments.
4
Q
what are reinforcements
A
- stimuli designed to encourage a particular behavior to occur again;
- punishments are stimuli designed to discourage a particular behavior
5
Q
Social learning theory
A
expands the ideas of behaviorism.
- explain why people behave the way they do; - behavior is based on a combination of observable stimuli, and internal psychological processes.
6
Q
3 requirements for social learning
A
- retention = individual’s ability to remember behavior that he observed
- reproduction = individual’s ability to reproduce that behavior.
- Motivation = individual’s desire to engage in that behavior.
7
Q
explain classical conditioning
A
- Ivan Pavlov (physiologist and natural scientist) ran a study in which he rang a bell every time he fed the dogs.
- ringing a bell made the dogs salivate.
1. neutral stimulus = bell (by itself will not produce a response, like salivation)
2. unconditioned stimulus= the food (happens without any learning or conditioning)
3. unconditioned response = dog salivates when the food is presented
4. conditioned response = the NS by itself will produce the same response as the US, like the dogs drooling
when they heard the bell.
8
Q
pavlov’s different personality types
A
- Choleric – bad tempered
- Melancholic – sad, depressed
- Sanguine – optimistic/positive
- Phlegmatic- unemotional and calm
9
Q
pavolvs psychological phenomena
A
- physiological theory
- human behaviour linked to nervous system
10
Q
J. B Watson
A
- took the work of Pavlov & adapted it to psychology to explain why people behaved in the ways they did.
- He adapted the ideas of stimulus response or persons environ responses, to human learning
- explain that there are certain conditioned responses.
- These responses helps in understanding the range of human behaviours and adapting that understanding to more difficult things.
11
Q
John Watson’s Little Albert experiments
A
- It involved conditioning a certain phobia in a child by showing him different white fluffy animals (white rat), and then banging loud objects together (steel rod) behind him.
- The child grew afraid of those white objects because of the noise that he anticipated as result of seeing them.
12
Q
John Watson and behaviourism
A
- emotions are hereditary pattern reactions
- personality = totality of behavioural patterns
- certain conditional reflexes would be be reinforced or become extinct depending if they were reinforced
- new reflexes could develop
13
Q
why the little albert experiment did not prove watsons view of personality
A
- the stimuli were too general
- emotional responses were nit reliable as albert was a baby
- there was no follow-up to the experiment
- only 1 subject
14
Q
what happened to little albert
A
- died at the age of 6 of hydrosephalus
- no reports of harm before his death
- his name was douglas meritte
15
Q
ethical issues of the little albert experiment
A
- watson and rayner concluded that it was ethical as:
- unemotional infant so it would’t harm him
- he would be exposed to similar fear experiences when he left the nursery
- they could decondition him before he left, however they did not do that
decondition him: candy while they showed his fear object, activity around the feared object
16
Q
mary cover jones
A
- theraputic techniques, exposing institutionalised children who showed fear to certain animals and loud noises
- disuse: no feared stimuli for weeks
-verbal appeal: verbal positivity withe feared animals - negative adaption:presenting feared object repeat
- repression: other children around who did not fear
- distraction: other activities to distract
- direct conditioning: pleasent stimuli while with fear
- social conditioning: other children playing with the animal
17
Q
thorndike
A
- Developed psychological theory that combined functionalism & associationism.
- connection of nerves determined flow of neural current = control psychological function
- selecting-and–connecting theory
- Learning was based on neural connections btw stimulus and response,
- unsuccessful impulses would be extinguished and successful impulses would be retained
18
Q
thorndike cat experiment
A
- Successful impulses were linked to pleasure- Example: a cat confined to a box learning to get out and reach for food.
- physiological explanation to psychological
- Successful steps in learning would be rewarded and vice versa.
- Pleasure/satisfaction determined which response would be learned. (SATISFYING EVENT = LIKELY TO OCCUR AGAIN, DISCOMFORTING REACTION = LESS LIKELY
19
Q
Guthrie, Tolman & Hull
A
- Guthrie stated that only the pairing of stimulus and response was required for learning to occur.
- Rewards or consequences did not strengthen behaviour.
- Tolman stated that animals have purposiveness and that they are cognitive of a goal. Therefore, organism learn meaning and develop cognitions.
- Hull stated that reinforcement is central to learning. He proposes intervening variables between stimuli and responses.
20
Q
skinner - operant conditioning
A
- theoretical orientation based on the premise that scientific psychology should study only observable behaviour.
- Behaviour is determined by environmental stimuli not internal mental states
- When responses are followed by favourable consequences (reinforcement) they are strengthened.
- When responses are followed by negative consequences (punishment) they are weakened.
21
Q
Skinner: Types of selection by consequences (personality could be understood)
A
- Phylogenetic (natural selection by Darwin)- The environment selects variation among
individuals on the basis of survival and reproductive success. It depends on the types of events-
negative or positive reinforcers. - Ontogenic- behaviours act on the environment to produce consequences or effect. Those
behaviours that are successful are selected on the principle of reinforcement. - Cultural: This refers to the development, maintenance and modification of group behaviour.
- Cultural practices occur through genetic inheritance, modelling, imitation, rule adherence and consequent
reinforcement.
22
Q
skinner - operant and respondent behaviour
A
- respondent behaviour: behaviour occurs in the presence of stimuli that elicit a specific reaction
- operant behaviour when there is no stimuli
- stimuli: modifications to environ
