behaviourist approach Flashcards
who is bandura and what did he think
he created social learning theory and the bobo doll study and believed learning through observation and imitation of others
what were the aims of the bobo doll study
to examine if the sex of the model affected the participants and if the same sex had an influence on behaviour
to examine the continual influence of the models behaviour
advantages of the classical conditioning A03
•has face validity all experienced learning through association used to explain a range of behaviours
•practical application led to development of treatment - anxiety associated with phobias helpful in the real world
disadvantages of classical conditioning
•assumption that learning in animals can be extrapolated to humans has been criticised
advantages of operant conditioning
•Skinner used expiremental methods with its associated level of control. Use of skinner box shows this approach in practice able to manipulate consequences of behaviour.Able to accurately measure animals behaviour and establish a cause and effect relationship between the consequences of behaviour and the future frequency of its occurrence
•Practical application used in educational settings and general parenting meaning that it has face validity because you are able to use it in real life situations
disadvantages of operant conditioning
can we extrapolate to humans Others criticise Skinner saying as humans we have free will rather than being determined by reinforcement. Lacks validity since we are unable to generalise results to humans
advantages of social learning theory
emphasises importance of cognitive factors in learning.
-cant offer a comprehensive account for human behaviour
-humans and animals store information about the behaviour of others - make judgement about when it is appropriate to perform certain actions
sit=good practical application unlike BA(only explain universal biological processes that do not change with culture)
Adv of SLT
can account for cultural difference in behaviour
can account for children learn from other people as well as through media - can explain cultural norms are transmitted
useful in understanding behaviour
SLT= good practical application unlike BA
Disadv of SLT
•underestimates the influence of BA
-consistent finding in the Bobo Doll experiment: boys show more aggression than girls
-differences in testorone levels - more in boys
Bandura may have underplayed the important influence of biological factors on behaviour making SLT reductionist
•relies too heavily on evidence from controlled labs
-Banduras ideas developed lab settings - demand characteristics
-purpose of the Bobo Doll is to hit- children may be behaving as they should be
research tell us about how children actually learn in their daily life. reduces external validity
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Adv of Cognitive Approach
•Has real world application
-helped to interpret actions of others and has been used to explain faulty thinking processes due to dysfunctional behaviour
>led to successful treatment etc OCD
•Approach is scientific
-expiremental methods provides researchers w a rigourous method for collecting and evaluating evidence in order to reach accurate conclusions about how the minds work
>conclusions are based more on common sense and introspection (can give misleading picture of mental processes-not consciously)
Disadv of cognitive
•Computer models are used to explain human information processing
- Computers don’t make mistakes and they don’t forget anything
>humans do all of these - limits the appropriateness of explaining human thought and behaviours using computer models
•Ignores emotion and motivation
- approaches focusing on motivational processes in behaviour tend to largely ignore the cognitive processes in behaviour
>lack of focus on motivational states may be explained by the over-dependence on information processing analogies, motivation is clearly irrelevant to a computer but not to a human being
adv of biological approach
•BA uses scientific method as its main method of investigation
-controlled environment- can replicate data adding to the validity
>techniques have contributed to the scientific validity of the biological approach
•provides clear predictions-about effects of neurotransmitters on behaviours or the influence of biological rhythms on behaviour
~led to significant applications of biological research in the real world
~led to development of effective drug treatments
>further demonstrates the value of adopting the biological approach to human behaviour
