4.1 content (learning) Flashcards
what’s an unconditioned stimulus (UCR)?
- naturally triggers an unconditioned response or reflex
- you don’t need to learn to respond, it happens automatically
what’s an unconditioned response (UCR)?
reflex or natural response to a UCS
what’s a neutral stimulus (NS)?
doesn’t trigger any response
what’s a conditioned stimulus?
after NS is repeatedly paired with UCS, becomes conditioned stimulus
what are the key terms in classical conditioning?
- UCS
- UCR
- NS
- CS
- CR
what’s extinction?
when CS and UCS have not been paired for a while, CS no longer elicits CR strongly
what’s spontaneous recovery?
- when extinct responses reappear without new pairings
- weaker responses than original CR
what’s stimulus generalisation?
conditioned response to one object is exhibited in the presence of similar stimuli
what was the aim of pavlov’s study?
to investigate whether a UCR can be linked with a NS therefore causing a CR and learning to take place
what was the procedure of pavlov’s study?
- 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
what were the findings of Pavlov?
- dog started to salivate 9 seconds after hearing the metronome
- after 45 seconds it produced 11 drops of saliva
what was the conclusion of pavlov’s study?
NS when paired with a UCS would turn conditioned and produce a CR like the production of saliva
what’s a strength of pavlov’s study?
- 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
what’s a weakness of pavlov’s study?
- 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
what’s a strength of classical conditioning as an explanation for learning?
- 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
what’s a weakness of using classical conditioning as an explanation for learning?
- 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
what are the terms in operant conditioning?
- positive reinforcement
- negative reinforcement
- positive punishment
- negative punishment
what’s positive reinforcement?
adding a pleasant stimulus (nice thing) to maintain a behaviour
what’s negative reinforcement?
removing an unpleasant stimulus to increase a behaviour
what’s positive punishment?
adding an unpleasant stimulus to decrease a behaviour
what’s a negative punishment(?
removing a pleasant stimulus to decrease a behaviour
what’s a primary reinforcer?
- occur naturally and are rewarding
- examples are food, water, sex
what are secondary reinforcers?
- rewarding as it’s linked to primary reinforcers
- example is money to buy food (primary reinforcer)
what’s a strength of using operant conditioning as an explanation for learning?
- 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
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
what is a fixed ratio?
reinforcement (reward) given after action completed a fixed number of times
e.g pay day for jobs
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
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
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
what is shaping?
encouraging complex behaviours such as learning how to speak
e.g scented stickers
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
what are the two variations for bandura?
- og = 1961
- 1963
- 1965
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
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
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
what was the aim of bandura 1965?
to investigate whether reinforcement or punishment of an aggressive model would impact children imitating
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
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
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
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
what’s a phobia?
- anxiety disorder which interferes with daily living
- irrational fear that produces a conscious avoidance of the feared object
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
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
what are the steps in social learning theory?
- attention
- retention
- reproduction
- motivation
what is attention?
- attention placed on the observed behaviour of a role model
- role model is someone who has desirable traits to you
what is retention?
- recall of the observed behaviour by elaborate rehearsal
- main cognitive element of learning, as they recall events they observe
what is reproduction?
observed behaviour is replicated in an appropriate situation
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
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
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
What are the treatments for phobias?
- Systematic desensitisation
- Flooding
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
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
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
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
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
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
