Learning Flashcards
1
Q
Who proposed classical conditioning?
A
Pavlov
2
Q
Explain classical conditioning
A
-2 stimuli repeatedly used together causing one to associate with another -unconditioned stimulus triggers unconditioned response -neutral stimuli paired with UCS = leads to CS -overtime = conditioned response
3
Q
What is stimulus generalization?
A
responding to a stimuli which is similar to the CS -generalizing all stimuli together
4
Q
What is spontaneous recovery?
A
a previously conditioned response that reoccurs after extinction
5
Q
What is extinction?
A
UCS and CS not linked for a while -link becomes extinct
6
Q
What were the UCS, UCR, NS, CS & CR in Pavlov’s study?
A
UCS: dog food UCR: salivation NS: bell ringing CS: NS paired with UCS CR: salivation when bell rings
7
Q
What were the aims of Pavlov’s study?
A
explaining the role of conditioned reflexes in the eating behavior of dogs
-explaining how salivation becomes associated with new stimuli
8
Q
What was the procedure of Pavlov’s study?
A
-DV: saliva measured by volume in canula, cut into dog’s cheek
-soundproof chamber to minimize effects of EV’s -paired NS and UCS around 20 times
-variations investigated extinction + spontaneous recovery
9
Q
What were the findings of Pavlov’s study?
A
-NS didn’t initially elicit salivation response -after pairing, NS = salivation after a few seconds -one trial: salivation 9 secs after sound, 45 drops -only if dog alert + undistracted
10
Q
What were the conclusions of Pavlov’s study?
A
link likely to be made in brain between UCS and NS -dog can learn to salivate at bell so it is prepared to eat food when presented
11
Q
What was a strength of Pavlov’s study?
A
-some good experimental controls -reduced impact of EV’s = enhanced internal validity -soundproof chamber = reduce effect of external sounds -external collection of saliva = prevents loss of saliva -response to NS measured before pairing
12
Q
What was an opposing argument of Pavlov’s study?
A
-can’t be generalized to humans (conducted on dogs) -humans have structurally different brains, may respond differently -greater complex cognitive processing HOWEVER -Little Albert study shows that classical conditioning also occurs in humans
13
Q
What was an application of Pavlov’s study?
A
eating problems (e.g. obesity) -overweight children have acquired strong associations between cues that predict arrival of food, overeating follows exposure to these cues -significance in developing therapies such as systemic desensitization
14
Q
What is operant conditioning?
A
a type of learning in which behavior is strengthened if followed by reinforcement or diminished if followed by punishment
15
Q
Who studied operant conditioning?
A
B.F. Skinner
16
Q
Describe what the Skinner box consist of
A
17
Q
How did Skinner use the skinner box to operantly condition rats?
A
everytime a rat pressed the lever, a food pellet fell into the food dispenser (positive reinforcement), quickly learned to go straight to the lever after a few times of being put in the box
rat was also subjected to an uncomfortable electrical current, as they moved around the cage, the rat hit the lever, which immediately switched off the electrical current (negative reinforcement) rats quickly learned to go straight to the lever after a few times of being put in the box.
18
Q
What is positive reinforcement?
A
addition of a pleasant stimulus
19
Q
What is negative reinforcement?
A
removal of unpleasant stimulus
20
Q
What is positive punishment?
A
addition of unpleasant stimulus
21
Q
What is negative punishment?
A
removal of a pleasant stimulus
22
Q
What is the difference between primary and secondary reinforcers?
A
PRIMARY: -biological significance (food, drink, shelter, sex) SECONDARY: -stimulus associated with primary (money - can buy food)
23
Q
Evaluate a strength operant conditioning
A
many studies on both animals and humans -studies consistently show that behavior can be modified by reinforcement or punishment -modern brain studies support
24
Q
Evaluate an opposing argument operant conditioning
A
-incomplete explanation of learning -only explains existing behavior, not where it originates -can’t account for behaviors never performed before
25
Evaluate an application operant conditioning
education and childcare -systems of reinforcement used in range of places -e.g. parents using star charts or food treats to reinforce good behavior
26
What is continuous reinforcement?
reinforcing the desired response every time it occurs
27
what is partial reinforcement?
reinforcing a response only part of the time -slower acquisition of a response but greater resistance to extinction
28
what are fixed-ratio schedules?
-schedule that reinforces response only after specific number of responses -E.g. every 5 pieces of homework, give child cookie
29
what are variable-ratio schedules?
schedule that reinforces response after unpredictable number of responses
30
what are fixed-interval schedules?
-only after specified time has elapses -e.g. giving child cookie after 2 hours of homework
31
what are variable-interval schedules?
unpredictable time intervals -e.g. pop quizzes
32
What are the 4 types of partial reinforcement?
fixed ratio -variable ratio -fixed interval -variable interval
33
Evaluate a strength of reinforcement schedules.
studies on both animals and humans -Latham + Dossett: mountain beaver trappers respond better to variable ratio pay -evidence supporting properties of partial reinforcement in both human + non-human animal learning
34
Evaluate an opposing argument of reinforcement schedules.
-fails to take account of intrinsic motivation (enjoyment/self-motivation) -humans motivated by range of factors -only considers extrinsic motivation (someone else giving the reward/punishment)
35
Evaluate an application of reinforcement schedules.
treating inappropriate behavior -behavior modification systems = treat range of mental health problems -practical benefit to clients
36
What does social learning theory say?
learning through observation and imitation -watching and copying other people (role model) -learning of social factors in the environment
37
Who studied social learning theory?
Bandura
38
what are the 4 stages of social learning theory?
1: attention (to model) 2: retention (remembering model's behavior) 3: reproduction (having the skills for imitation) 4: motivation (e.g. reward)
39
what is vicarious reinforcement and punishment?
-consequences of other peoples' actions -seeing someone else being rewarded/punished
40
What are the 3 stages of Bandura et al.'s bobo doll study (1961)?
1: child placed in room with doll and aggressive or non aggressive model 2: child shown a playroom but then told they can't use it, triggers mild aggression 3: child taken to play room with toys (+bobo doll), observed for 20 mins
41
What were the aims of Bandura et al.'s study?
investigate effect of aggressive role models -investigate gender differences
42
What was the procedure of Bandura et al.'s study?
-matched pairs design
-36 boys, 36 girls, ages 3-6 -aggression ratings determined beforehand
-aggression and non-aggression groups
-control group (no model present)
-after, behavior categorized: imitative, partially imitative, non-imitative
43
What were the findings of Bandura et al.'s study?
-aggression group: completely/partially imitative
-non-agression and control groups: 70% no aggression, less for other 30%
-boys more likely if male model
-boys more likely to be physical instead of verbal (compared to girls)
44
What were the conclusions of Bandura et al.'s study?
social behavior can be acquired by imitation of models -more likely when model is same gender
45
Evaluate a strength of Bandura et al.'s study
-clever experimental design, reduced impact of EV's = enhanced internal validity -matched for aggression before -control group -one at time: controlled conformality effects
46
Evaluate a weakness of Bandura et al.'s study
-artificial environment -lacks external validity -can't be generalized to outside the lab
47
Evaluate an application of Bandura et al.'s study
-learning aggressive behavior (especially boys) -adult role models (parents) -psychologists + social workers = better understanding of risks to children's development by violent parents -important implications of policy around custody and parental contact
48
What were the two variations of Bandura's study?
effect of media exposure
effect of vicarious reinforcement
49
How did the findings of the film-mediated aggressive models variation differ to the original results?
-all 3 groups (live, filmed realistic, cartoon) had increased aggression
50
How did the findings of the influence of model's reinforcement variation differ to the original results?
model punished = group significantly less aggressive
-however introducing promise of reward if aggression was shown increased aggression significantly for all groups
51
What is the difference between a fear and a phobia?
fear = sensible phobia = irrational and life limiting
52
What is the 2 process model of phobias?
explains both the acquisition and maintenance of phobias -acquired by classical conditioning -maintained by operant conditioning
53
How could phobias be maintained by classical conditioning?
-association needs to be paired often unless strong enough first time -confirmed by Watson and Rayners' study of Little Albert
54
How are phobias maintained by operant conditioning?
Negative reinforcement, by avoiding the phobia you are avoiding the negative feelings of being scared
55
How are phobias maintained by social learning theory?
-Lieb et al. (2000) -children of parents with a phobia were more likely to have same phobia -someone else modelling phobia = learnt
56
What are strengths of using classical conditioning to explain phobias?
can account for acquisition -Watson + Rayner experimented, others have replicated: found that you can be conditioned to fear something (using careful controls)
57
What are strengths of using operant conditioning to explain phobias?
shown to maintain phobias -Skinner: shows that maintenance of behavior can be controlled through reinforcement and punishment
58
What are weaknesses of using classical conditioning to explain how phobias are developed?
-animals rather than humans used in the basis research on classical conditioning (pavlov): different brain structures
-can't generalize particularly with anxiety and fear (personal to each person)
-experimentation relied on careful controls, limiting ecological validity of results
59
What are weaknesses of using operant conditioning to explain how phobias are developed?
-phobias arise in real life taking into account environment, surroundings, etc… -all factors can’t be carefully controlled
60
What are the 2 types of treatment for phobias?
systematic desensitization -flooding
61
What are the stages of systematic desensitization?
1: FUNCTIONAL ANALYSIS: careful questioning to discover nature of anxiety 2: CONSTRUCTING HIERARCHY: provoking situations from least to most fearful 3: RELAXING TRAINING: acts as desensitization, therapist teaches client to relax as deeply as possible 4: GRADUAL EXPOSURE: systematic component
62
Give strengths of systematic desensitization.
-ethical (gradual, individuals fully involved)
-studies show success -> clients receiving SD for spider phobia compared with control group = SD group less fearful after 33 months
63
Give 3 weaknesses of systematic desensitization.
-not everyone can learn to relax -operant conditioning principles + cognitive processes impact (can't be fully explained by classical conditioning) -SD may not always be appropriate (e.g. phobia linked to history of trauma)
64
What is flooding?
exposing patients to their phobic stimulus straight away -total immersion
65
Give 2 strengths of flooding.
cost effective and as effective as alternatives -clients free from symptoms sooner (quicker)
66
Give 2 weaknesses of flooding.
may not be effective for all phobias -ethical issues: unpleasant experience, traumatic
67
What is our classic study?
Watson and Rayner (1920)
68
What was the aim of Watson & Rayner?
demonstrate that simple emotional responses such as fear can be acquired through a process of classical conditioning
69
What was the procedure of the classic study (Watson & Rayner: Little Albert)?
-healthy boy, 9 months old: Little Albert -baseline emotional responses to range of objects tested
-5 sessions across 2 weeks -
white rat presented, loud noise struck behind head when he reached to touch
70
What were the findings of the classic study (Watson & Rayner: Little Albert)?
-at baseline testing = no fear but startled by noise -session 1: cried to noise -session 2+3: more cautious to rat, cry&crawl away -only reacted to white fury objects with fear (cried) -sessions 4 + 5: fear to white fury objects remained
71
Evaluate strengths of Watson and Rayners study.
good experimental controls = reduced impact of extraneous variables and enhanced internal validity -Little Albert carefully chosen (emotional stability) -well controlled room to prevent other stimuli -baseline responses checked
72
Evaluate an opposing argument of Watson and Rayners study.
rsome aspects not controlled -e.g. rat was suddenly pushed towards him whereas rattle or ball were placed on floor, movements may have triggered responses rather than animals themselves
73
Evaluate weaknesses of Watson and Rayners study.
-only uses 1 ppt = may not be representative of whole population -not certain of Albert's identity so no way of knowing how representative of a child he was -results may be affected by ppt variables
74
Evaluate an application of Watson and Rayners study.
understanding acquisition of phobias -development of effective therapies -importance in shaping clinical practice
75
What was the contemporary study?
Becker et al. (2002) Eating behaviors following prolonged exposure to TV
76
What were the aims of Becker et al.'s study?
investigate social learning in context of eating behaviors -investigate impact of western attitudes on eating behaviors -see what effect ideas communicated through TV has on body satisfaction + eating disorders
77
What was the procedure of Becker et al.'s study?
-independent measures design, first sample of 63 in 1995, second sample of 65 different girls in 1998
-1st group of teenage girls questioned before TV's introduced in Fiji, 2nd group questioned 3 years later
-standard questionnaire (EAT-26) and semi-structured interview (quantitative + qualitative)
-height & weight also measured
78
What were the findings of Becker et al.'s study?
eat 26 score from 1st sample = 12.7% above 20
from 2nd sample = 29.2% above 20
(above 20 signifies unhealthy eating habits)
rise in self induced vomiting
74% said they felt their body was 'too large', 69% had been on a diet
79
What were the conclusions of Becker et al.'s study?
women in western TV programs became role models = desire thinner bodies -rise in eating disorders + decline in body image
80
Evaluate strengths of Becker et al.'s study.
construct validity, semi sctectired interviews allowed them to expand on questionnaire answers giving further insight
reliable measurements -studies show good reliability of eat-26 = good internal reliability -differences likely to be due to real changes over time
81
Evaluate an opposing argument of Becker et al.'s study.
-although reliability was good, issues with validity -e.g. EAT-26 isnt an official eating disorder diagnosis
82
Evaluate weaknesses of Becker et al.'s study.
-poor generalisibility -unrepresentative sample (only in Fiji) -Fiji traditionally have distinctive attitudes towards body types (high BMI = attractive)
83
Evaluate an application of Becker et al.'s study.
treating eating disorders -applied to TV programs + advertising -learnt through modelling so unlearned in same way
84
what is the aim of our learning practical?
to investigate if there is a difference in politeness between genders
85
what is the background question of our learning practical?
social learning theory we learn gender appropriate behaviours from the people around us. role models show us how to behave and is reinforced through rewards and punishment
86
what are the variables we measured in our learning practical?
politeness
gender
87
what are the operationalised variables for our learning practical?
politeness —> whether a person says thank you at the end of a lesson or not
gender —> person's appearance
88
what is the research hypothesis of our learning practical?
there will be a significant difference in politeness (number of students who say thank you at the end of a lesson) based on gender (mae vs female)
89
what is our sample in our learning practical?
opportunity sample
sixth form students (16 - 18)
Chose a class with a relatively 50/50 split of genders so as not to make differences appear greater or smaller than they actually are (alpha biased)
90
what extraneous variables may influence our learning practical?
if teacher/student needs to leave quickly
if teacher has told off the class previously
personality of student (shy or outgoing)
91
what was the procedure of our learning practical?
Naturalistic covert non-participant observation
Using a tally chart we made a note of how many boys versus how many girls said thank you and how many boys vs how many girls didn't when leaving the classroom after class
We also noted down elements of qualitative data for example whether they said 'have a good day' after saying thank you or if they just said 'cheers' rather than thank you
92
what was the results of our learning practical?
for a chi-squared test, a two tailed hypothesis, df=1 and p<0.05, the critical value is 3.84. our observed value was less than the critical value, the results are not significant. consequently, we reject the research hypothesis and accept the null hypothesis. as such, there is no difference in politeness based on gender
93
what did we find through thematic analysis of our learning practical?
girls are more likely to say thank you formally, with eye contact, whilst still in the room, in a clear voice and do so even if in a group.
"thank you sir!"
boys are more likely to say thank you informally, without eye contact, whilst waking out the door, mumble and have one person say thank you for the whole group.
"cheers"
94
what did we find through quantitative analysis of our learning practical?
On average, 85% of the girls in the class were classed as polite as opposed to 42% of the boys in the class.
95
describe the construct validity of our learning practical
mixed
- if someone says thank you that is polite (face validity)
- could be impolite but self interested (its their teacher. may not act the same way with someone they dont need something from)
- no 'thanks' may mean they are impolite or could just be shy or in a rush
96
describe the ecological validity of our learning practical
- real life setting (naturalisitic), non-participant of covert observation so no demand characteristics so no social desirability bias
- this is real life, relaistic politeness behavior, so results are likely to transfer
97
describe the population validity of our learning practical
- target pop = all normal adults
- sample = 16-17 year olds
- good pv --> you are who you are by 17 so if theyre not polite by now they probabliy wont ever be
- but this is more true for girls than boys. boys more concerned with status at 17 less likely to say thanks than men in their 30s
98
describe objectivity of our learning practical
very little opinion involeved injuding gender or whether they said thank you or cheers etc.
- qualitiative data was objective. we said boys purposely lowered their voice. but this is just our opinion, their voices might just be lower
99
describe the reliability of our learning practical
- inter-rater reliability is high (M vs F), polite vs impolite is very clear and objective)
- not too fast paced, 2 people in same class would see the same thing
- external reliability (test re-test) is low.
observation on mon P1 would be worse than fri P5 for example
100
what is our learning theories key question?
Is the media to blame for anorexia?
101
Describe the issue (anorexia)
Anorexia nervosa is a mental health disorder characterized by a phobia of weight gain causing effects such as low BMI and fatigue from missing meals. Anorexia effects 0.3% of the UK 90% of which are teenage girls. This disorder causes extreme damage to the bodies of those who suffer, 10% of hospitalised cases die either of starvation or suicide it can also lead to the breakdown of marriages or families due to the stress.
102
The media is to blame: support from Becker (key question)
Becker aimed to investigate the effect of Western media on eating behaviours. She used the 826 survey on 63 young Fiji and women in 1995 before TV was introduced to Fiji, then again on 65 different adolescence in 1998. 12.7% of the girls before TV had worrying attitude towards eating (signified by a score over 20) compared to 29.2% after TV. There was also reports of higher levels of self-induced vomiting as a form of weight control. These behaviours are unusual for Fijian Culture as they value robust body types with little exercise, arguably showing that the Western media did have a harmful effect on the girls eating behaviors.
103
The media is to blame: social learning theory (key question)
Bandura's social learning theory suggests people learn through observation and imitation of role models, with this behavior more likely when the model is the same gender as the imitator and when the behavior is rewarded (called vicarious reinforcement). Beauty standards in the industrialized west emphasizes that thin women are more beautiful and successful. This could explain the gender difference in the prevalence of anorexia as young women will try to imitate the women in the media's looks.
104
The media is not to blame: methological flaws with Becker (key question)
The eat26 survey is not a clinical eating disorder diagnosis it just suggests unhealthy eating attitudes. It can be argued that it's unethical to make the girls believe they may have had a medical disorder instead of just unhealthy eating. Similarly 8 out of 63 girls in the first sample had suggested unhealthy eating before TV so there must be another reason than the media. Correlating a rise of self-induced vomiting with eating disorders is a Western view so may not be a symptom of disordered eating in Fiji highlighting the ethnocentric nature of the study.
105
The media is not to blame: Bandura's issues of generalisability
Bandura's social learning theory study generalises from children to adults and adults may not imitate behaviour in the same way or prevalence of children. The study also has low ecological validity as the aggressive behaviour that the children were exposed to is not reflective of the behavior they would be exposed to in real life (hitting an inflatable clown and calling it names). Cumberbatch 1990 also argued that the comedic novelty nature of the doll made the children five times as likely to imitate the behavior. This study was also a short-term study whereas anorexia is a lifetime illness so it can be argued that these findings are not generalizable
106
what is our conclusion for our key question?
the media can have negative effects (the rise in scores in Becker's study, evidence from SLT showing they can learn these behaviours) However they're also must be other explanations for it as some girls already displayed negative attitudes towards eating in Fiji before the introduction of Western TV
107
The role of learning in Child Development: Beverly Fagot (1978)
Observational study of toddlers playing at home with their parents and noted punishments and praise given. Found that boys were reinforced for playing with gender typical toys and punished for playing with dolls so lending support to the idea that gender role behaviour is Learned From the child's environment. However, The study was carried out in the 1970s so we can argue that gender socialization has changed
108
The role of learning in child development: Margaret Mead (1935)
Studied gender roles in three tribes in Papua New Guinea and discovered significant differences.
In the arapesh tribe men and women were peaceful and avoided Warfare. in the mundugmoor men and women were very warlike. tchambuli tribesmen focussed on their appearance and decorating themselves while the women worked. This provides strong evidence for the role of observational learning in gender development as behaviour between genders was not universal suggesting an influence of learning from environment
109
The role of learning in child development: Langlois and Downs 1980 (extra info)
In a Study similar to Beverly Fagot's, Langlois and Downs found that gender inappropriate behaviour was generally punished rather than ignored, with the worst case being when boys displayed feminine behaviour in the view of their father.
110
The role of learning in child development: Karinol and Aida 1997
Observation found that children adopted gender stereotypes toys as their own and when asked to judge a punishment for a child who broke either a sterotypically same-sex or stereotypically opposite-sex toy punishments were harsher for the opposite-sex toy breakers showing the level of gender ownership over stereotypical toys
