Classical & Operant Conditioning Learning Approaches Flashcards
What is the classical conditioning theory?
When NS consistently paired with UCS so it eventually takes on properties of stimulus & able to produce CR
(Learning new process via process of association)
What is the first stage in classical conditioning?
BEFORE CONDITIONING:
Unconditioned stimulus produces unconditioned response in organism
E.g. dog’s bark (UCS) creates sense of fear (UCR)
What is the second stage in classical conditioning?
DURING CONDITIONING:
Stimulus which produces no response (the Neutral Response) associated/paired with UCS when presented together numerous times
For classical conditioning to be effective, NS should occur before/same time as UCS, not after
E.g. perfume (UCS) associated with scent from specific person (NS)
What is the third stage in classical conditioning?
AFTER CONDITIONING:
NS associated with UCS & becomes known as CS, that when presented, triggers Conditioned Response (CR)
SO EVERY TIME CS PRESENTED, IT IT CREATES CR
Example of classical conditioning?
A person (NS) who has been associated with nice perfume (UCS) is now viewed as attractive (CR)
So, NS (person) has become the CS (person) leading to a CR (attraction)
Each time the person (CS) is presented, they trigger a CR (attraction)
What is the golden rule of classical conditioning?
NS ALWAYS SAME AS CS
Who is the godfather of classical conditioning?
Ivan Pavlov
Who is the godfather of operant conditioning?
Burrhus F. Skinner
What is operant conditioning?
Learning through reinforcement or punishment
If behaviour followed by desirable consequence, behaviour more likely to be repeated
What was the Little Albert Experiment?
Little Albert was 11-month-old child
Watson & Rayner showed him multiple furry objects, like rabbit, Santa’s beard, rat. He had no fear.
To condition Albert, Watson showed him objects again
But when Albert saw/touched the object, Watson struck a metal bar behind Albert’s head to upset him
After a few rat-hammer pairings, Albert became distressed when presented with just the rat
He had been conditioned to fear the rat
Albert generalised his fear to other furry things, like Santa beard & Watson’s white hair
What are the three actions involved in operant conditioning?
Positive reinforcement
Negative reinforcement
Punishment
What is positive reinforcement?
Strengthens behaviour by providing rewarding consequence and increases likelihood it will occur again in the future.
E.g. if teacher gives you £5 for every homework you hand in, you’ll be more likely to do homework
What is negative reinforcement?
Removal of unpleasant reinforcer/stimulus, which becomes ‘rewarding’ to person as they go back to ‘pre-aversive’ state, strengthens behaviour
E.g. if you don’t complete homework, teacher takes £5 form you
You’ll do homework to avoid paying £5, thus strengthening behaviour
What is punishment?
Application of unpleasant consequence following certain behaviour, resulting in behaviour less likely to occur again
Can work by directly applying unpleasant stimulus or removing potentially rewarding stimulus
E.g. deducting someone’s pocket money for undesirable behaviour
Evaluate the behaviourist approach
Strength - Scientific credibility
E.g. - Able to bring language & methods of natural sciences into psychology by using objective, scientific methods: focus on observable behaviour & control of EVs. We can thus establish cause-effect relationship.
Ex. - Behaviourist experiments have good scientific credibility
Limitation - Animal studies
E.g. - Most of evidence gathered through animal studies, e.g. Skinner
Ex. - Very hard to generalise findings to human behaviour given how much more complex & intelligent we are
Limitation - Strongly deterministic
E.g. Researchers in field share view free will is complete illusion & human behaviour completely environmentally determined
Ex. - Low level of explanation: primarily focuses on simple stimulus-response associations. Human experience seems so much richer than just using operant & classical conditioning to get through life
