Approaches Flashcards

1
Q

Wilhelm Wundt (1832-1920)

A
  • Wundt was the first person to call himself a psychologist, believing that all aspects of nature, including the human mind, could be studied scientifically
  • His approach paved the way for the acceptance of psychology as a distinct science in its own right, and experimental psychology as the preferred method of studying human behaviour
  • In his laboratory in Leipzig, Germany, he studied only those aspects of behaviour that could be strictly controlled under experimental conditions
  • These included the study of reaction time (how long it takes people to respond to various stimuli and) and various aspects of sensation and perception
  • Wundtโ€™s aim was to study the structure of the human mind, and he believed that the best way to do this was to break down behaviours such as sensation and perception into their basic elements
  • Because of this, his approach was referred to as structuralism and the technique he used as introspection
  • Although Wundt originally believed that all aspects of human experience can be investigated experimentally, he eventually came to realise that all mental processes such as learning, language and emotions, could not be studied in this strict controlled manner
  • These topics could instead be described in terms of general trends in behaviour among groups of people
  • He referred to this as cultural psychology
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2
Q

Introspection

A

Introspection, from the Latin meaning โ€˜looking intoโ€™, is the process by which a person gains knowledge about his or her own mental and emotional states

  • Just as our perceptual ability enables us to observe our inner world
  • Wundt claimed that, with sufficient training, mental processes such as memory and perception could be observed as they occurred using introspection
  • For example, observers might be shown an object and asked to reflect upon how they were perceiving it
  • This information could then be used to gain insight into the nature of the mental processes involved in perception, reaction time,
  • For example, in Wundtโ€™s studies of perception, participants would be presented with carefully controlled stimuli (e.g. visual images or auditory tones)
  • They would then be asked to provide a description of the inner process they were experiencing as they were experiencing as they looked at the image or listened to the tone
  • This made it possible to compare different participantsโ€™ reports in response to the same stimuli, and so establish general theories about perception and other mental processes
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3
Q

The emergence of psychology as a science

A
  • We might ask โ€˜What is the glue that holds psychology together as a discipline?โ€™
  • This is most probably its reliance on a philosophical view known as empiricism
  • Empiricists believe that knowledge comes from observation and experience alone (rather than being innate)
  • When empirical methods were first applied to the study of human beings by Wundts and his followers, psychology began to emerge as a distinct entity
  • This new โ€˜scientific, approach to psychology was based on two major assumptions
  • First, all behaviour is seen as being caused (the assumption of determinism)
  • Second, if behaviour is determined, then it should be possible to predict how human beings would behave in different conditions (the assumption of predictability)
  • The technique used to explore these assumptions became known as the scientific method
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4
Q

The scientific method in psychology

A
  • The scientific method refers to the use of investigate methods that are objective, systematic and replicable
  • It is objective in that researchers do not let preconceived ideas or biases influence the collection of their data, and systematic in that observations or experiments are carried out in an orderly way
  • Measurement and recording of empirical data are carried out accurately and with due consideration for the possible influence of other factors on the results obtained
  • It is replicable in that observations can be repeated by other researchers to determine whether the same results are obtained
  • If results are it replicable, then they are not reliable and cannot be accepted as being universally true
  • The research process is not restricted to empirical observation alone, but also necessitates the use of reason to explain the results of these observations
  • The development of scientific theories and constant testing and refining of these theories through further observation completes the scientific cycle
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5
Q

Evaluation: origins of psychology (Wundts methods are unreliable)

A
  • A criticism of Wundts structuralist approach, mainly from behaviourists, was that this approach relied primarily on โ€˜non observableโ€™ responses.
  • Although participants could report on their conscious experiences, the processes themselves (e.g. Memory and perception) were considered to be unobservsble constructions
  • Wundts approach ultimately failed because of the lack of reliability of his methods
  • Introspective experimental results were not reliably reproducible by other researchers in other laboratories
  • In contrast, the early behaviourists such as Pavlov anf Thornhill were already achieving reliably reproducible results and discovering explanatory principles that could easily be generalised to all human beings
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6
Q

Evaluation: Origins of psychology (Introspection is not particularly accurate)

A
  • Most psychologists tend to accept Nisbett and Wilsonโ€™s claim that we have very little knowledge of the causes of, and processes underlying, our behaviour and attitudes, a claim which would challenge the value of introspective reports
  • Nisbett and Wilson found, for example, that participants were remarkably unaware of factors that had been influential on their choice of a consumer item
  • This problem is particularly acute in the study of implicit racist, which influence the way they react to members of a different ethnic group, yet because such attitudes exist outside of conscious awareness, self- reports through introspection would not uncover them
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7
Q

Evaluation: Origins of psychology (Strengths of a scientific approach to psychology)

A
  • Because of its reliance on objective and systematic methods of observation, knowledge acquired scientific method is more than just the passive acceptance of facts
  • Because scientific methods rely on belief in determinism, they are able to establish the causes of behaviour through the use of methods that are both empirical and replicable
  • If scientific theories no longer fit the facts, they can be refined or abandoned, meaning that scientific knowledge is self corrective
  • Because psychologists are always repeating each otherโ€™s experiments,it is hard for a theory that does not explain the facts to hang on for very long
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8
Q

Evaluation: Origins of psychology (Limitations of a scientific approach to psychology)

A
  • By concentrating objectivity and control in observations, scientific psychologists create contrived situations that tell us little about how people act in more natural environments
  • Much of the subject matter of psychology is unobservable, therefore cannot be measured with any degree of accuracy. It is probably true to say that of all the sciences, psychology is the most inferential i.e. there is a far bigger gap between the actual data obtained in research investigations and the theories put forward to explain this data
  • Not all psychologists share the view that all human behaviour can be explored by the use of scientific method. If human behaviour is not subject to the laws and regularities implied by scientific methods, then predictions become impossible and these methods inappropriate
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9
Q

Evaluation: Origins of psychology (Introspection is still useful in scientific psychology)

A
  • Despite the fact that introspection rapidly fell out of favour as a research tool, it had not been entirely abandoned by psychologists, and in recent years it has made something of a comeback
  • Csikszentmihalyi and Hunter used introspective methods as a way of making โ€˜happinessโ€™ a measurable phenomenon
  • They gave a group of teenagers beepers that went off during random times throughout the day, surprising participants and requiring them to write down their thoughts and feelings in the moment beep
  • Most of the entries indicated that the teens were unhappy rather than happy, but Csikzentmihalyi and Hunter also found that when their energies were focused on a challenging task, they tended to be more upbeat
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10
Q

Define empiricism:

A
  • The belief that all knowledge is derived from sensory experience
  • It is generally characterised by the use of the scientific method in psychology
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11
Q

Define Introspection

A

-The process by which a person gains knowledge about his or her own mental and emotional states as a result of the examination or observation of their conscious thoughts and feelings

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12
Q

What is the scientific method?

A
  • Refers to the use of investigative methods that are objective, systematic and replicable, and the formulation, testing and modification of hypotheses based on these method
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13
Q

Briefly describe the scientific cycle

A

1) Objective, systematic and replicable observation ->
2) Building, refining or falsifying ->
3) Development of scientific theory ->
4) Testing

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14
Q

The behaviourists approach: Briefly describe classical conditioning

A
  • All animals (including humans) are born with a number of natural reflexes such as the reflex action of salivation when food is placed in the mouth
  • These reflexes are made up of a stimulus (such as food) and its naturally associated response (in this case salivation)
  • When other stimuli are consistently associated with this stimulus, and predict its arrival, then eventually they too trigger the same response and the animal is described as having being โ€˜classically conditionedโ€™
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15
Q

The behaviourists approach: Pavlova research

A
  • Russians physiologist Ivan Pavlov is normally credited with discovering the process of classical conditioning
  • He was investigating the salivary reflex in dogs when he noticed that the animals not only salivated when food was placed in their mouths, but also reacted to stimuli that coincided with the presentation of food, such as the presence of a food bowl or the person who fed them
  • This led him to explore the conditions under which this type of learning was most likely to occur
  • The natural stimulus in any reflex is referred to as as the unconditioned stimulus (UCS) and the natural response to this stimulus is the unconditioned response (UCR)
    During the acquisition phase, a neutral stimulus (NS), which does not elicit the UCR, is presented shortly before the UCS
  • After many pairings of NS+UCS, this changes and the NS is now referred to as a conditioned stimulus (CS) and the response it produces is called a conditioned response (CR)
    -Ringing a bell shortly before presenting food to a hungry animal will eventually (after many pairings of NS and UCS) mean that the bell on its own will be sufficient to produce the response of salivation (CR)
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16
Q

The behaviourists approach: Other important features of classical conditioning

A
  • TIMING- If the NS cannot be used to predict the UCS (e.g. If it occurs after the UCS or the time interval between the two is too great), then conditioning does not take place
  • EXTINCTION- Pavlov discovered that, unlike the UCR the CR does not become permanently established as a response. After a few presentations of the CS in the absence of the UCS, it loses its ability to produce the CR
  • SPONTANEOUS RECOVERY- Following extinction, if the CS and UCS are then paired together once again, the link between them is made much more quickly
  • STIMULUS GENERALISATION- Pavlov discovered that once an animal has been conditioned, they will also respond to other stimuli that are similar to the CS
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17
Q

The behaviourists approach: Operant conditioning

A
  • The basic idea behind Skinners theory of operant conditioning (Skinner, 1938) is that organisms spontaneously produced different behaviours, and these behaviours produce consequences for that organism, some of which may be positive (I.e desirable) and some negative (I.e undesirable)
  • Whether or not an organism repeats a particular behaviour depends on the nature of these consequences , i.e. It is reinforced
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18
Q

The behaviourists approach: Skinners box

A
  • Skinner developed a special cage (called a โ€˜Skinner boxโ€™) in order to investigate operate conditioning in rats
  • The rat moves around the cage, and when it accidentally presses the lever, a food pellet (the reinforced) falls into the cage
  • In no time at all the hungry rat begins pressing the lever in order to obtain food
  • If the food pellets stop, the rat presses the lever a few more times and then abandons it (extinction)
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19
Q

The behaviourists approach: What is reinforcement?

A
  • Reinforcement means just what the word implies, i.e. Something in the environment that strengths (or reinforces) a particular behaviour and so makes it more likely to recur
  • There are two main types of reinforcer, positive and negative reinforcers
  • Although they both make it more likely that a behaviour will recur, they do this in different ways
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20
Q

The behaviourists approach: Positive reinforcement:

A
  • occurs when behaviour produces a consequence that is satisfying or pleasant for the organism; for example, food to a hungry animal or praise given to a child after they do something particularly well are both effective positive reinforcers
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21
Q

The behaviourists approach: Negative reinforcers:

A
  • Involves removal of something aversive (unpleasant) and so restore the organism to its โ€˜pre-aversiveโ€™ clock allows a person to escape from the unpleasant ringing and restores the restful pre-alarm state
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22
Q

The behaviourists approach: Other important features of operant conditioning

A
  • Schedules of reinforcement- although a continuous reinforcement schedule (e.g. Reinforcing a rat every time it presses a lever) is most effective in establishing a particular response, a partial reinforcement schedule (e.g. Reinforcing every third lever press or even 10 minutes) is more effective in maintaining that response and avoiding extinction
  • Punishment- refers to the circumstance whereby a behaviour is followed by a consequence that is undesirable or unpleasant for the organism. Reinforcement increases the likelihood of a behaviour recurring, whereas punishment decreases it. As with reinforcement, punishment can also be positive (i.e. Adding something unpleasant as a consequence, such as slapping naughty child) or negative (i.e. Taking away something pleasant such as โ€˜groundingโ€™ a naughty teenager
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23
Q

Evaluation: The behaviourists approach (strengths of classical conditioning explanations)

A
  • Classical conditioning has led to the development of treatments for the reduction of anxiety associated with various phobias
  • Systematic desensitisation is a therapy based on classical conditioning
  • This form of therapy works by eliminating the learned anxious response (the CR) that is associated with a feared object or situation (the CS)
  • The therapist tries to eliminate one learned response (anxiety) and replace it with another (relaxation) so that the patient is no longer anxious in the of the feared object or when in the feared situation
  • This approach has been found to be effective for a range of phobias such as fear of spiders (arachnophobia) and fear of flying (aerophobia)
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24
Q

Evaluation: The behaviourists approach (Limitations of classical conditioning explanations)

A
  • Different species face different challenges to survive, so have different capabilities to learn through the process of classical conditioning
  • As a result, relationships between the CS and UCS tend to be more difficult to establish for some species than for others
  • Seligman proposed the concept of preparedness to explain this
  • Animals are prepared to learn associations that are significant in terms of their needs (e.g. a dog will quickly learn to associate the smell of meat with the presence of food), yet unprepared to learn associations that are not significant in this respect (e.g. A dog will find it harder to associate the sound of a bell with food)
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25
Q

Evaluation: The behaviourists approach (Strengths of operant conditioning explanations)

A
  • A particular strength of Skinnerโ€™s research was his reliance on the experimental method, which uses controlled conditions in an attempt to discover a possible casual relationship between two or more variables, Skinnerโ€™s reliance on the Skinner box was a good example of this approach in practice
  • By manipulating the consequences of behaviour (the independent variable), he was able to accurately measure the effects on the rats behaviour (the dependent variable)
  • This allowed him to establish a cause and effect relationship between the consequences of a behaviour (ie positive or negative) and the future frequency of its occurrence
26
Q

Evaluation: The behaviourists approach (Limitations of operant conditioning explanations)

A
  • Skinners research has received some criticism because his experiments involved the study of non-human animals rather than humans
  • Critics claim that his reliance on rats and pigeons means that Skinners studies can tell us little about human behaviour
  • They claim that, unlike non-human animals, human beings have free will rather than having their behaviour determined by positive and negative reinforcement
  • Skinner argued that free will was merely an illusion and what we believe are behaviours chosen through free will are actually the product of external influences that โ€˜guideโ€™ our behaviour on a daily basis
27
Q

Evaluation: The behaviourists approach (A limited perspective on behaviour)

A
  • Behaviourists have been accused of ignoring other levels of explanation such as those that emphasise the importance of cognitive factors or emotional states
  • By treating human beings as a product of their conditioning alone means that we ignore the evidence for the role of these other factors in shaping behaviour
  • However, Skinner rejected this claim, arguing that these internal states are scientifically untestable
  • He argued that even complex behaviours such as our interactions with the opposite sex or pathological behaviour can be better understood by studying the reinforcement history of the individual
28
Q

Outline the biological approach in pschology

A
  • The biological approach views human beings as biological organisms. Therefore it explains, all psychological processes as being determined by biology
  • All that is psychological (thoughts and behaviours) must have a biological cause
  • Biological psychologists are particularly are particularly interested in the role of genetics in determining behaviour and how characteristics can be passed down through generations
  • Chemical and hormonal changes in the nervous system, neurochemistry, are also important areas of research
  • More recently, psychologists have become interested in how Charles Darwinโ€™s ideas about biological evolution might apply to human behaviour, allowing us to understand the original adaptive significance of behaviours such as mate selection or aggression
29
Q

Explain how heredity factors affect behaviours

A
  • Heredity is the passing of characteristics from one generation to the next, via genes.This is the reason why offspring โ€˜take afterโ€™ their parents in terms of psephological characteristics
  • Genes carry โ€˜instructionsโ€™ for a particular characteristic e.g intelligence/temperament
  • How this characteristic develops depends how the gene interacts with other genes and partly on the influence of the environmental
  • The nature/ nurture debate concerns whether behaviour is determined by nature (e.g. genes, evolution, hormones) or whether nurture has more of an influence (environmental, culture, social variables)
30
Q

What is the difference between genotype and phenotype?

A

genotype- The genetic code that is โ€˜writtenโ€™ in the DNA of an individuals cells
phenotype- The physical appearance that results from this inherited information

31
Q

Define genotype

A
  • Genetic code written in the DNA of an individuals cells
  • Flamingos do not have pink encoded on to their genotype
  • Genotype generally affects the phenotype
32
Q

Define phenotype

A
  • The physical appearance/ observable characteristics
  • There are affected by both the genotype and the environment
  • The food flamingos eat either makes their phenotype white or pink
33
Q

define heritability

A
  • The proportion of phenotypic variance attributable to genetic variance
  • Extent to which genetic individual differences contribute to individual differences in observed or phenotypic individual differences
34
Q

(The influence of biological structures on behaviour)

What is the nervous system?

A

The nervous system is comprised of several connected systems:

  • The central nervous system (CNS) comprises the brain and spinal chord
  • The peripheral nervous system (PNS) comprises the somatic and autonomic nervous systems
35
Q

what does the nervous system do?

A
  • The nervous carries messages from one part of the body to another using individual nerve cells known as neurones
36
Q

What do neurones do?

A
  • Neurones transmit nerve impulses in the form of electrical signals
37
Q

What aspects of behaviour are due to to neuronal control?

A
  • Many aspects of behaviour are under neuronal control, including breathing, eating and sexual behaviour
38
Q

The influence of biological structures on behaviour

Name the 4 main regions (lobes of the brain

A
  • Frontal lobes
  • Temporal lobes
  • Parietal lobes
  • Occipital lobes
39
Q

What is the largest part of the brain?

A

Cerebrum, compiling 85% of the brain mass which is responsible for โ€˜higher orderโ€™ functions such as thought and language

40
Q

The cerebrum is dived into how many hemispheres?

A

2

41
Q

What is the outer surface of the cerebrum called?

A

Cerebral cortex

42
Q

(The influence of neurochemistry on behaviour)

Explain neurotransmitter

A

1) Nerve impulse reaches the end of one neurone
2) A chemical called a neurotransmitter is released
3) The neurotransmitter travels from one neurone to the next across a junction called a synapse
4) There are many different types of neurotransmitter, some of which trigger the receiving neurone to send an impulse and and some stop it from doing so
5) Those neurotransmitters that trigger nerve impulses in the receiving neuron and stimulates the brain and balance mood are called inhibitory neurotransmitters

43
Q

Give an example of an excitatory neurotransmitter

A

Dopamine and it is associated with our โ€˜driveโ€™ or motivation

44
Q

Serotonin is an inhibitory transmitter

How does it affect behaviour?

A

It is necessary to maintain a stable mood

For example, Crockett found that when Serotonin levels are low people tend to display increased aggression

45
Q

The impulses of hormones on behaviour

A

~In response to a signal from the brain, hormones are secreted directly into the the bloodstream by the endocrine glands, where they travel to their โ€˜target cellsโ€™ and exert their influence by stimulating receptors on the surface of or inside cells
~The presence of a a hormone causes a physiological reaction in the cell, altering its activity

46
Q

define hormone

A

Chemicals that are produced by endocrine glands such as the pituitary gland, which together make up the endocrine system

47
Q

research evidence for hormones

A
  • Carre studied a Canadian ice hockey team over the course of a season
  • They found evidence of a surge in levels of the hormone testosterone whenever the team played in their home stadium, suggesting the hormone energised the players to defend their home territory
48
Q

Evolutionary argument (Darwin):

A
  • Charles Darwin argued that, over time, organisms become adapted to their environment through biological evolution
  • This refers to the changes that take place in the characteristics of a population over time
  • The mechanism behind evolution is called natural selection
  • Individuals within a species differ from each other in terms of their physical characteristics and in their behaviour, and at least some of this variation is inherited
  • Because individuals must compete with each other for access to resources (mates, food etc)
  • Those who survive this competition and go on to reproduce till tend to have behaviours that are more likely to lead to survival and reproductive success than those who do not
  • These behaviours will be passed on to offspring and will become become more widespread in the population; through the process of natural selection, successive generations will develop behaviours that are even more likely to lead to survival and reproductive success
  • Buzz studied 37 different cultures found universal similarities in human mate perferences
  • Women desired men with resources (to provide for offspring ) whilst men desired young, physically attractive women (an indication of fertility)
49
Q

Evaluation: The biological approach (The importance of the scientific method)

A
  • The biological approach uses the scientific method, particularly the use of the experiment method, as its main method of investigation
  • Experimental studies take place in highly controlled environments so that other researchers so that other researches are able to replicate studies under the same experimental conditions, thus adding to the validity of the original findings if they can be reproduced
  • In early studies of brain functioning, clinical case studies were the primary method of study, but they were fraught with difficulties such as researcher bias and lack of control
  • However, the use of sophisticated imaging and recording techniques has increased the precision and objectivity of experimental research in this area
50
Q

Evaluation: The biological approach is reductionist

A
  • Reductionism is the belief that complex human behaviour can be explained by breaking it down into its smallest component parts, such as the action of genes, neurochemicals and hormones
    For example, many explanations of mental disorders are reductionist because genes or neurochemical imbalances are believed to the main cause of these disorders
    -However, whilst a reductionist approach lends itself to scientific investigation, critics argue that we cannot fully understand a behaviour without also taking account of the other factors that influence it
    -These include cognitive emotional and cultural factors, all of which have a significant influence on behaviour
51
Q

Evaluation: Applications for the biological approach

A
  • A strength of the biological approach is that it provides clear predictions, e.g. about the effects of neurotransmitters imbalance in depression has led to the development of drug treatments which correct this imbalance and minimise depressive symptoms
  • Likewise, research into circadian rhythms and their effect on psychological well-being has led to significant improvements in the working conditions of those people who work on shifts
52
Q

Evaluation: problems for evolutionary explanations of behaviour (biological approach)

A
  • Because most human behaviours can be transmitted by both genetic and cultural routes, an evolutionary explanation of behaviour is complicated by this additional possibility
  • Critics of evolutionary explanations claim that many established patterns of human behaviour have purely cultural origins with no survival or reproductive value
  • An example would be the incest taboos that exist in most societies
  • An evolutionary explanation would emphasise the problems of genetic mutations that would arise from interbreeding; therefore natural selection would favour those individuals that avoided such practices
  • However, most cultures also have strict, culturally determined moral codes of conduct and incest taboos would undoubtedly form a part of such codes
53
Q

Evaluation: The dangers of genetic explanations

A
  • Recent research suggesting basis for criminal behaviour has led to concerns about how this information might be used
  • Critics claim this may lead to genetic screening of the population to identify this genetic susceptibility and subsequent discrimination against those with a predisposition for criminality
    This also creates the danger that genes might then be used as convenient explanations for complicated human behaviour, despite the fact that the connection between genes and complex behaviour such as criminality is far from straightforward
  • However, other psychologists suggest that if individuals discover that they have a genetic predisposition for criminality or a mental disorder such as schizophrenia, this gives them the opportunity to avoid environmental situations likely to trigger this predisposition or to develop coping skills that would protect them from its influence
54
Q

What did Albert Bandura believe? (Social learning theory)

A
  • That new patterns of behaviour could be acquired not only through direct experience, but also by observing ones own behaviour and behaviour of others
  • Unlike operant conditioning, where the role of reinforcement is simply to strengthen a response by providing immediate consequence, Bandura believed that reinforcement could also serve an informative function for the individual
  • During the course of learning, people not only perform responses; they also observe the different consequences of their own and othersโ€™ behaviour
  • On the basis of this feedback, they develop hypotheses about the types of behaviour most likely to succeed in a given situation
  • These hypothesis then serve as guides for their future behaviour
  • Bandura referred to this approach as social learning theory
55
Q

Social learning theory (Bandura, 1986)

Modelling

A
  • In order for social learning to take, someone must carry out (or โ€˜modelโ€™) the attitude or behaviour to be learned
  • Individuals that perform this role are referred to as models
  • There are different types of model
  • A live model might be a parent, a teacher at school or a member of a peer group
  • A symbolic model would be someone portrayed in the media, for a character on TV
  • These models provide examples of behaviour that can be observed by the individual and later reproduced by them in a process known as imitation
56
Q

Social learning theory (Bandura, 1986)

Imitation

A
  • Although a certain amount of learning takes place through direct reinforcement, much of what a child learns is acquired through imitation of attitudes and behaviour that are modelled by parents and significant others
  • Research on imitation has shown that, unlike the relatively slow learning that takes places with conditioning, when a model is provided, whole patterns of behaviour can be rapidly acquired
  • The key determinants of whether a behaviour is imitated are (i) the characteristics of the model, (ii) the observerโ€™s perceived ability to perform that behaviour and (iii) the observed consequence of the behaviour
57
Q

Social learning theory (Bandura, 1986)

Identification

A
  • Identification refers to the extent to which an individual relates to a model and feels that he or she is similar enough to them that they would be likely to experience the same outcomes in that situation
  • Research suggests that children are more likely to identify with, and preferentially lean from, models who are similar to them, particularly same-sex models, identification with a model means that the individuals is more likely to imitate their behaviour, meaning that social learning is more likely to be effective
58
Q

Social learning theory (Bandura, 1986)

Vicarious reinforcement

A
  • Bandura and Walters noted that children who observed a model rewarded for aggressive behaviour were much more likely to imitate that behaviour than children who already observed a model punished for the same behaviour
  • Bandura called this vicarious reinforcement -i.e. individuals learn about the likely consequences of a =n action, and then adjust their subsequent behaviour accordingly
  • The concept of vicarious reinforcement suggests that individuals do not need to experience rewards or punishments directly in order to learn
  • Instead they can observe the consequences experienced by a model and then make judgements as to the likelihood of experiencing these outcomes themselves
59
Q

Social learning theory (Bandura, 1986)

The role of mediational processes

A
  • Social learning differs other learning approaches in that it places special importance on internal mediational processes
  • Bandura claimed that, in order for social learning to take place, the observer must form mental representations of the behaviour displayed by the model and the probable consequences of that behaviour in terms expectancies of future outcomes
  • When appropriate opportunities arise in the future, the might display the learned behaviour provided that the expectation of positive consequences is greater than the expectation of negative consequences
60
Q

Social learning theory (Bandura, 1986)
Key study: Bandura (1961)
Procedures

A
  • Bandura carried out an experiment involving children who observed aggressive or non-aggressive adult models and were then tested for imitative learning in the absence of the model
  • Half the children were exposed to adult models interacting aggressively with a life-sized Bobo doll and half exposed to non-aggressive models
  • The aggressive model displayed distinctive physically aggressive acts towards the doll, e.g. striking it with a mallet, accompanied by verbal aggression such as saying โ€˜POWโ€™
  • Following exposure to the model, children were frustrated by being shown attractive toys which they were not allowed to play with
  • They were then taken to a room where, among other toys, there was a BOBO doll
61
Q

Social learning theory (Bandura, 1986)
Key study: Bandura (1961)
Findings

A
  • Children who observed the aggressive model reproduced a good deal or physically and verbally aggressive model exhibited virtually no aggression toward the Bobo doll
  • About one-third of the children who observed the aggressive model repeated the models verbal verbal responses while none of the children who had observed the non-aggressive model made verbally aggressive remarks
  • In a follow-up to this study, Bandura and Walters found that children who saw the model being rewarded for aggressive acts were more likely to show a high level of aggression in their own play