Key Question Flashcards
What is the Learning Theories key question?
Is the influence of role models and celebrities something that causes anorexia?
What are the 4 AO1 points for your answer to the key question?
Anorexia - someone refusing to eat properly, if at all
Physical symptoms - being extremely underweight (BMI < 18)
Cognitive symptoms - being excessively thin but still seeing yourself as overweight
Emotional & behavioural symptoms:
+ Losing interest in socialising
+ Tiredness
+ Coldness
+ Stomach pain
+ No menstruation
What are 4 statistics for eating disorders/anorexia?
Eating disorders affect at least 9% of the population worldwide
Around 608,000-725,000 anorexics in the UK
95% of people with an eating disorder are aged between 12 to 29 years old
The prevalence is a lot higher in females (90%) and most are from Western countries
What are the wider societal, political and economic impacts of eating disorders? (3 points)
Eating disorders cost the UK roughly 6.8 to 8 billion a year (BEAT report, 2015)
Limited resources for treatment due to high prevalence rate - 41% of people diagnosed had to wait more than 6 months for treatment
Eating disorders have the highest mortality rate among psychiatric disorders
How can anorexia affect an individual? (2 points)
Ana Carolina Reston - a Brazilian model who aspired to be one from a very young age
Went from 8 stone to 6 stone - died of complication linked to anorexia
How does classical conditioning link to anorexia? (3 points)
- Fame and glamour (UCS) produces adoration (UCR)
- Advertisers associate fame and glamour with thinness (NS)
- As a result, people associate thinness (CS) with adoration (CR)
How does operant conditioning link to anorexia? (3 points)
Positive reinforcement:
Public/peer praise for fashion trends and looking like a thin celebrity
Negative reinforcement:
Women not getting criticism for their appearance when they lose weight from extreme dieting
Both consequences lead to repeat food-restrictive behaviours
How does the Social Learning Theory link to anorexia? (4 points)
Attention:
Media often exposes teenagers to slim celebrity role models who are perceived as desirable and of high social status
Retention:
+ Teenagers repeatedly observe celebrity role models promoting exercise routines, diets
Motor Reproduction:
+ Teenagers are physically capable of controlling their dietary intake and exercise routines
+ They identify themselves with the celebrity role model
Motivation:
Teenagers see their role models rewarded with social media ‘follows’ and magazine endorsements - vicarious reinforcement