(abby) learning theories- classical conditioning Flashcards
what are the 4 assumptions of learning theories
-suggest that human behaviour is learnt after birth
- the theories believe that nurture is responsible for causing behaviour
- believe that human behaviour should be investigated using the scientific method
- have many practical applications that are seen in society
what does tabula rasa mean
- all individuals are born as a blank slate
who developed classical conditioning
Ivan Pavlov, a Russian psychologist
what was the aim of pavlovs study with salivation in dogs
- how exactly the lab coat and food had become linked
- wanted to find out if a reflex behaviour (salivation) can be produced in new situations through learning
what did pavlov hypothesise
- that the presentation of precise stimuli would evoke a salivation response if the stimulus was paird with food
what was the procedure of pavlovs study
- each dog placed in a sealed room didnt allow the dog to see, hear or smell anything outside-> this was to prevent other stimuli from making the dog salivate
- the dog was strapped into a harness and its mouth was linked to a tube that drained saliva away into a measuring bottle
- in control condition pavlov presented dog with food and it salivated
- in experimental condition, dog presented with neutral stimulus of sound- dog didnt salivate
- to condition dog, neutral stimulus was paird with food around 20 times
what was the sample of pavlovs study
- 35 dogs of a variety of breeds, raised in kennels in the lab
what were the results of pavlovs study
- through measuring the dogs saliva, that the dogs learned to associate the sound (CS) with the food (UCS)
- salivation started 9 seconds after hearing the metronome and by 45 secs had produced 11 drops of saliva
- found that secondary conditioning was possible as the dogs learnt to salivate at the sound of the buzzer
what does the theory of classical conditioning propose
- learning a new behaviour is a process of association so that two stimuli are linked together to produce a newly learned response in a person or animal
what were the conclusions of pavlovs study
- the environmental stimuli that previously had no relation to the reflex action could through repeated pairings, trigger a salivation response
what occurs in the 1st stage of classical conditioning
- the unconditioned stimulus produces an unconditioned response in an organism
what occurs in the 2nd stage of classical conditioning
- involves another stimulus called the neutral stimulus which has no specific effect on the organism
what occurs in the 3rd stage of classical conditioning
- the neutral stimulus is presented with the unconditioned stimulus
- usually has to be repeated multiple times
what occurs in the 4th stage of classical conditioning
- the conditioned stimulus has been associated with the unconditioned stimulus to create a new conditioned response
what is extinction
- in some cases the association can simply disappear between the CS and CR
- this can happen when the paired stimulus is separated meaning the learned response is no longer carried out
what is spontaneous recovery
- after extinction sometimes the association recurs for no specific reason
- the CS suddenly produces the response that was conditioned previously
what is stimulus generalisation
- tendency for the CS to produce the same behaviour in a similar situation after the response has been conditioned
how does psychology as a science relate to pavlovs experiment
- pavlovs research being carried out in experimental conditions which recorded quantitative data, contributed towards the underpinning of psychological research being based upon experiments
how can pavlovs experiment be considered reductionist
- classical conditioning can be considered to be reductionist as pavlov implied that behaviour can be explained by stimulus response links
what are the weaknesses of classical conditioning
- methodology
- alternatives
- evidence against
what are the strengths of classical conditioning
- evidence in support
- methodology
- applications
how is evidence in support a strength of classical conditioning
- lots of research to support which increases its credibility as an explanation of learning in animals and humans
- e.g pavlov (1927) dog salivate to the sound of a tuning fork and other auditory stimuli
- e.g Watson and rayner (1920) classical conditioning could explain emotional responses in a human child
how is methodology a strength of classical conditioning
- the theory is a scientifically credible explanation of human learning, becauise its based on empirical evidence carried out in controlled expriments
- use of animals allows for strict control of extraneous variables
- because this theory only concerns itself with directly observable behaviours, every step in the conditioning process is discernible, this addas to the credibility since empiricism is important
- it is reductionist meaning complicated behaviours are broke down and scientifically tested
how are applications a strength of classical conditioning
- classical conditioning has led to a number of effective treatments for dysfunctional behaviours such as systematic desensitisation and aversion therapy
how is methodology a weakness of classical conditioning
- generalising the findings and conclusions to huma learning is not easy
- it also lacks validity as reductionism can lead to incomplete explanations of human behaviour
how is alternatives a weakness of classical conditioning
- the theory focusses only of observable behaviours and ignores the role of cognititve processes
- there are other theories such as social learning theory which includes cognitions as well
how is evidence against a weakness of classical conditioning
- it is deterministic meaning it doesnt allow for any degree of free will and a person has no control over the reactions they have learned from classical conditioning like phobias
what was the overall aim of watson and rayners study and what were the 3 aims they had
- to test is classical conditioning could occur in humans
- 1) whether they could condition a fear of an animal
- 2) whether the fear would be transfered to other animals or objects
- 3) the effect of time on the conditioned response
what was the procedure of watson and rayners study at 9 months
- carried out a baseline asses his fear reactions
- they introduced little albert to a white rat, a rabbit, cotton wool and other stimuli
- he showed no fear whatsoever
- the researcher also banged a hammer against a steel bar which made a loud noise
- albert made a fear response of crying
what was the procedure of watson and rayners study at 11 months 3 days
- albert was checked again and showed no fear response to the stimuli
- bar was struck as he touched the rat causing him to fall and cry
what was the procedure of watson and rayners study at 11 months 10 days
- albert was presented the rat with and without sounds
- he reached but didnt play with it
repeated with sounds and then rat alone and albert cried immediately and crawled away - he was given blocks to play with which he did without a problem
what was the procedure of watson and rayners study at 11 months 15 days
- continued witht the study to see if his fear had been transferred to different stimuli
- slight reaction to dog and fur coat
- negative reaction to santa mask
- shows stimulus generalisation
what was the procedure of watson and rayners study at 11 months 20 days
- introduced the rat alone
- his response was less marked than previously
- researchers decided that the association had weakened so they renewed it
what was the procedure of watson and rayners study at 1 year 21 days ( a month later)
- they wanted to see if the conditioned emotional fear had lasted longer than a month
- he still responded negatively to the stimuli showing that it lasts longer than a month
what are the conclusions of watson and rayners study
- a CR of fear can occur in humans after even a few pairings of stimulus
- however, pairings may ahve to be repeated
- CR can be transfered
what is the conditioned stimulus in Watson and Rayners study
- the white rat
what are the strengths of watson and rayners study
- reliability
- applications
- internal validity
what are the weaknesses of watson and rayners study
-ethics
- ecological validity
- generalisability
how is generalisability a weakness of watson and rayners study
- involves a case study of one individual (albert)
- this means that the study is only representative of one person and results arent generalisable to a wider population
- for example he is a young 9 month old child at the start and its not clear that females and adults would respond in the same way
how is reliability a strengthof watson and rayners study
- regarded to have high reliability
- the methodology used by watson and rayner was simple and well documented step by step so it can be easily replicated
- for example albert was exposed to the loud noise and the rat in a set of standardised procedures based on pavlovs theory of classical conditioning
how are applications a strength of watson and rayners study
- the results provide an explanation of how a fear response is learnt- so if it can be learnt then it can be unlearnt through treatments based on classical conditioning
- it has given important therapies for phobias like SD
- for example it underpins one of the most effective ways to treat anxiety disorders (CBT)
how is validity a strength of watson and rayners study
- can be argued to be high in validity
- because the study was scientific and carried out in a lab with high levels of control
- for example the use of blocks as a baseline to show albert played perfectly normally when given objects that had not been conditioned
how are ethics a weakness of watson and rayners study
- although ethical guidelines did not exist at the time of their study, this study can still be criticised on ethical grounds
- albert was not easily frightened prior to the experiment but throughout he became more fearful of many other situations as well, therefore he was not fully protected of harm
- for example he was described as crying multiple times
how is validity a weakness of watson and rayners study
- ecological validity of the study is lowered by the fact that the study was done in veryt controlled conditions
- the study took part in both a quiet, small room. most babies learn in far more complex environments
- W&R controlled the stimuli little albert was exposed to throughout the study which made the procedure artificial
