Learning Approach (APPROACHES 1/6)

Question 1

three theories

Answer 1

behaviourist approach
- classical conditioning (Pavlov)
- operant conditioning (Skinner)

social learning theory (Bandura)

Question 2

assumptions

Answer 2

behaviour influenced by nurture, not nature
should study observable behaviours only
born as ‘blank states’ with the capacity to learn - genetics and biology do not affect behaviour
humans are only animals and should not be treated as more complex (animal research relevant)

Question 3

classical conditioning

Answer 3

Pavlov, 1927
learn through association of stimuli in environment
consciously or sub-consciously learn to produce a reflex to a stimulus that would not normally cause this response

Question 4

Pavlov’s research aims

Answer 4

originally investigating dogs’ digestive system
turned to investigating whether reflex response of salivation could be conditioned

Question 5

Pavlov’s procedure

Answer 5

lab experiment on 35 dogs of different breeds
in sealed, sound-proof lab to prevent other stimuli
collected saliva - number of drops was measured
paired neutral stimulus, metronome, with unconditioned stimulus of food around 20 times

Question 6

Pavlov’s results

Answer 6

found that neutral stimulus did not initially elicit a salivation response whereas the unconditioned stimulus of food did so immediately
salivation commenced 9 seconds after the metronome sounded, 45 drops of saliva collected

Question 7

Pavlov’s conclusions

Answer 7

environmental stimuli, through repeated pairing could trigger a salivation reflex response
through process of association, the conditioned stimulus (metronome), leads to conditioned response (salivation)

Question 8

Pavlov’s research strengths

Answer 8

controlling sounds and extraneous variables increases internal validity (IV had effect on DV)
sure that it was the metronome rather than other prompts

Question 9

Pavlov’s research weaknesses

Answer 9

unethical
harness limited movement, limits credibility
reduced ecological validity, unnatural behaviour in artificial environment

Question 10

before conditioning

Answer 10

dogs see food - UCS
naturally causes automatic response of salivation - UCR
metronome has no significance to the dog and so does not cause a response - NS

Question 11

during conditioning

Answer 11

conditioning the dog to learn that food will immediately be presented after a metronome
NS and UCS repeatedly paired together or associated
dog’s salivation is still UCR - pairing of two stimuli means we can’t be sure that the metronome alone caused salivation

Question 12

after conditioning

Answer 12

metronome is no longer neutral - has meaning to the dog - become conditioned stimulus
salivation has become a learned response to conditioned stimulus, and is now a conditioned response

Question 13

unconditioned –> conditioned

Answer 13

unconditioned stimulus (food) –> unconditioned response (salivation)

neutral stimulus (metronome) + unconditioned stimulus (food) –> unconditioned response (salivation)

conditioned stimulus (metronome) –> conditioned response (salivation)

Question 14

UCS

Answer 14

unconditioned stimulus
original stimulus that causes a reflexive reaction
naturally occurring and unlearned

Question 15

UCR

Answer 15

unconditioned response
the original reflex action

Question 16

NS

Answer 16

neutral stimulus
a stimulus that causes no reaction

Question 17

CS

Answer 17

conditioned stimulus
a NS causing a learned, reflex reaction after associated with the UCS

Question 18

CR

Answer 18

conditioned response
the learned response elicited by the CS

Question 19

stimulus

Answer 19

any change in the environment that we register

Question 20

reflex

Answer 20

an automatic response to a stimulus
immediate with no thought
can be learned and conditioned

Question 21

response

Answer 21

changes in our behaviour due to a stimulus

Question 22

extinction

Answer 22

if the CS is not paired with the UCS occasionally after conditioning then the CR will die out

Question 23

stimulus generalisation

Answer 23

classical conditioning response seen with other stimuli similar to the original CS
the more similar, the stronger the response

Question 24

spontaneous recovery

Answer 24

occurs after extinction
CR returns when there is no pairing of the NS and UCS and soon becomes extinct again

Question 25

Watson and Rayner’s research - Little Albert

Answer 25

study using classical conditioning principles to see if they could cause a human baby to develop a fear he did not have previously
test whether classical conditioning worked with humans

Question 26

Watson and Rayner’s research aims

Answer 26

whether they could condition fear of an animal by simultaneously presenting the animal and striking a steel bar to make a loud noise to frighten the child
whether fear would be transferred to other animals and objects
the effect of time on the conditioned response

Question 27

operant conditioning study

Answer 27

Thorndike conducted an experiment where he put a cat in a cage with a latch on the door and a piece of salmon outside the cage
cat accidentally hit latch and door opened
with repetition, amount of time and effort spent reaching and scrabbling decreased and the latch was released earlier
analysis of behaviour - learning puzzle as consequence of food which was reinforcement
first took 5 mins –> after 10 trials became 5 seconds
trial and error learning
law of effect - of effect is desirable, behaviour is learnt and repeated
learning takes place because of what happens after the action

Question 28

operant conditioning

Answer 28

law of effect enabled Skinner to develop the theory of operant conditioning, which explains hoe we learn new voluntary and complex behaviour and is known as ‘learning through consequence’
if we are rewarded/reinforced for a behaviour then we are more likely to repeat that behaviour, and if we are punished, then we are less likely to repeat it

Question 29

reinforcement

Answer 29

reward to encourage repetition of behaviour
POSITIVE - receiving something we want
primary satisfies a basic need (hunger, thirst)
secondary - receiving something that allows us to get an object that will satisfy a basic need (money)
NEGATIVE - something undesirable is taken away
sometimes reinforcement is unintentional - lead to odd or undesirable behaviour

Question 30

punishment

Answer 30

does not teach new behaviour
weakens or stops undesirable behaviour
POSITIVE - presents something unpleasant or painful whenever behaviour is shown
NEGATIVE - removing something pleasant

Question 31

behaviour shaping

Answer 31

used to develop complex unnatural behaviours by reinforcing behaviour resembling target behaviour
reinforcement becomes more selective (successive approximations) until desired response achieved
behaviour broken into stages, reinforcement at each one until complex behaviour has been achieved

Question 32

Skinner’s box

Answer 32

recorded behaviour of animals in response to different consequences
contained lever for an animal to press for food
had speaker and lights used to trigger a behaviour
shock generator deliver punishment

Question 33

Skinner’s box positive reinforcement

Answer 33

rewarded with food pellets after pressing lever to encourage behaviour

Question 34

Skinner’s box negative reinforcement

Answer 34

subjected rats to electric shock but rewarded them by removing it if they pressed the lever
would sometimes switch a light on before an electric shock - learnt to press lever when light was on to avoid shock

Question 35

Skinner’s box punishment

Answer 35

punished with electric shocks if they pressed the lever, so they learned not to press it, behaviour weakened

Question 36

Skinner’s box strengths

standardised procedure
good applicability

Answer 36

standardised procedure - all rewarded and punished in the same way, all confined to same Skinner box
other researchers can replicate easily
check for consistency
reliable

good applicability
applied in schools and amongst parents to encourage positive behaviours in children and discourage others
useful in many real life settings and simply - giving children sweets to encourage repetition)
increase understanding of how we learn and can be used for greater good in society

Question 37

Skinner’s box weaknesses

ecological validity
generalisability

Answer 37

lacks ecological validity
unfamiliar and artificial environment - not accurate representation of natural behaviour, don’t know if rewards and punishment are relevant in a natural environment

findings difficult to generalise to humans - rats have smaller and less complex brains - difficult to make comparisons
cannot assume humans will learn in the same way - limits usefulness of findings

Question 38

social learning theory

Answer 38

Bandura
learn through observation and imitation of role models
behaviour is not random and do not wait for rewards to determine whether we will continue a behaviour
observational learning - two way process with environment and individual interacting (reciprocal determinism)

Question 39

imitation

Answer 39

acquired through imitation of behaviour and attitudes modelled by parents and significant others - quicker than conditioning

Question 40

determinants of imitation

Answer 40

characteristics of model
observer’s percieved ability to perform that behaviour
observed consequences of behaviour

Question 41

identification

Answer 41

refers to extent of which individual relates to a model and feels that they are similar enough to experience same outcomes
increases likelihood of imitating behaviour

Question 42

characteristics increasing imitation

Answer 42

same sex
similar age or older
admired/respected/high status

Question 43

modelling

Answer 43

someone must model (carry out) behaviour for it to be learned
live models - parents, teachers, peers
symbolic models - characters on TV, people on media
behave in certain way and this can be observed by an individual and later reproduced (imitation)

Question 44

vicarious reinforcement / punishment

Answer 44

children more likely to imitate a model if they were rewarded for behaviour and less likely to imitate the model if they are punished

Question 45

mediational processes between observation and imitation

Answer 45

observer forms mental representations of behaviour displayed by model and thinks about probable consequences
suggests there is more conscious thought as to whether to perform a behaviour

Question 46

four mediational processes (ARRM)

Answer 46

ATTENTION - observer must carefully watch the model perform a behaviour and consequences by paying attention
RETENTION - observer must retain what they have observer to be able to later repeat it - imitation is not always immediate
REPRODUCTION - only imitated if observer has ability to carry it out
MOTIVATION - rewards and punishment that follow behaviour are observed
(intrinsic - how it makes you feel, extrinsic - physical reward)
if percieved rewards outweigh costs, more likely behaviour is imitated

Question 47

skinner’s research strengths

Answer 47

high reliability
standardised procedure - specific controls in Skinner box
rewarded and punished each rat in the same way for performing the same behaviours
increases replicability
easily check for consistency - whether rats continue to press lever when rewarded and whether they stop when punished

good applicability
findings applied in schools and amongst parents to encourage more positive behaviours and eliminate negative ones in children
useful in many settings and in simplistic ways
increase our understanding of how we learn
used for greater good in society

Question 48

Skinner’s research weaknesses

Answer 48

poor generalisability
used rats and pigeons - different brain structure and conscious awareness/decision-making to humans
can’t generalise to humans and suggest that humans learn through rewards and punishment in the same way
humans have different motivations to animals, so performing same procedure on humans might not yield same results

low ecological validity
Skinner box in a lab environment with strict controls and conditions
can’t be sure that they would repeat desirable behaviour in a more natural environment
lack validity - only know how behaviour is in an artificial environment

Question 49

social learning theory strengths (supporting evidence)

aggression, dogs, monkeys

Answer 49

support by Bandura, Ross and Ross found that children were more aggressive after observing an aggressive role model, which supports that people learn through observation and imitation - theory is accurate and valid

support for idea of learning through observation - Kubinyi found that when pet dogs watched their owners push the handle of a box to release a ball, dogs were able to reproduce this behaviour after observing 10 times.
findings cannot be fully generalised to humans, as typical characteristics of role models are hard to apply to animals and dogs may not go through same cognitive processes

observation, imitation and modelling support by Cook and Mineka research where monkeys were made to to watch a video of another monkey reacting to a real snake and a toy snake. After multiple exposures, the monkeys demonstrated a fear of snakes after watching the model monkey show fear.
supports the idea of vicarious punishment - experiencing model monkey’s punishment as fear due to being exposed to snakes and imitating this behaviour.

Question 50

social learning theory weaknesses

Answer 50

limitations in testing theory as behaviour observed may not be reproduced immediately e.g. a child observing someone being scared of a plane may not display this fear until they themselves go on a plane.
difficult to test for observational learning
experiments only show specific behaviours at a specific time, so results are limited, and lack of validity in findings at the time the study is carried out.

issues in claiming that observational learning shown by animals is also true of humans e.g. dogs in Kubinyi quickly imitated behaviour of their owners; this does not mean that humans learn through imitation in the same way or as quickly as dogs did.
humans have a greater understanding of moral and social norms meaning that greater thought process used in making a decision whether to reproduce the observed behaviour, not likely to be the case with animals, limiting generalisability

Question 51

social learning theory weaknesses (different theory)

Answer 51

SLT involves cognitions (unobservable thought processes) - mediational processes refers to attention and retention
moves away from behaviourism which only studies observable behaviours
theory less scientific and more based on inferences
lacks credibility, not based on scientific methods

Question 52

social learning theory strengths (application)

Answer 52

useful in explaining behaviour such as aggression and gender development and can be applied as a therapy
observational learning used alongside rewards - if OCD patient observed someone they trusted carrying out a more desirable behaviour with no unpleasant consequences, they may be inclined to imitate e.g. washing hands after touching things
has good applicability to real world
encouraging sufferers to improve mental health

Question 53

Bandura, Ross and Ross aims

Answer 53

transmission of aggression through imitation of aggressive models
aims to investigate whether exposure to a real-life aggressive model increased aggression in children

Question 54

Bandura, Ross and Ross hypotheses

Answer 54

children exposed to aggressive models would imitate the aggression shown
children exposed to non-aggressive models would not show high levels of aggression
there would be a gender difference - boys expected to show more imitative aggression than girls

Question 55

Bandura, Ross and Ross method

Answer 55

tested 72 children (36 male, 36 female, between ages of 3 and 5)
a male adult and a female adult acted as models and one female experimenter conducted the study
participants divided into 8 experimental groups of 6 children, with remaining 24 forming a control group

AGGRESSIVE MODEL CONDITION
6 boys - male model
6 boys - female model
6 girls - male model
6 girls - female model

NON-AGGRESSIVE MODEL CONDITION
6 boys- male model
6 boys - female model
6 girls - male model
6 girls - female model

children matched for physical and verbal aggression from ratings - groups were on similar terms of aggression
individually brought in to a room with the model
the child sat at a table, where were shown how to design a picture
model was taken to opposite corner containing a table, chair, tinker toy, mallet and inflatable bobo doll
the child watched the model and could not play with the toys

Question 56

Bandura, Ross and Ross aggressive conditions

Answer 56

model played with tinker toy for a minute then began to act aggressively towards the bobo doll for 9 mins
e.g. (repeated 3 times)
- laid the doll, sat on it, punched on the nose
- raised the doll, struck on head with mallet
- tossed it up and kicked around the room
verbal statements used between behaviours
- ‘sock him in the nose’
- ‘hit him down’
- ‘throw him in the air’
- ‘kick him’
- ‘pow’
non-aggressive comments
- ‘he keeps coming back for more’
- ‘he sure is a tough fella’

Question 57

Bandura, Ross and Ross non-aggressive conditions

Answer 57

model sat in the corner, quietly playing with the tinker toys and ignoring the bobo doll

Question 58

Bandura, Ross and Ross after 10 minutes

Answer 58

child was taken to another room and given toys to play with for 2 mins
toys were taken away as a control to provoke mild aggression arousal and ensured they were in a equally frustrated mood before being observed

Question 59

Bandura, Ross and Ross after 2 minutes

Answer 59

child taken to final experimental room, allowed to play with aggressive and non-aggressive toys
- aggressive toys: bobo doll, mallet and peg board, dart guns, tether ball
- non-aggressive toys: tea set, crayons, ball, dolls, bears, cars, plastic animals
had 20 mins of free play whilst being observed through a one-way mirror

Question 60

Bandura, Ross and Ross behavioural categories

Answer 60

behaviour observed at regular time intervals and scored according to three types of imitative behaviour
- imitative physical aggression - acts displayed by model
- imitative verbal aggression - repeating model’s phrases
- imitative non-aggressive verbal responses

other categories
imitated essential components of model’s behaviour but did not perform complete act or was aggressive to another toy - scored as partially imitative behaviour e.g. mallet aggression, non-imitative physical and verbal aggression, aggressive gun play

Question 61

Bandura, Ross and Ross results

Answer 61

children exposed to an aggressive model displayed significantly more aggression than children exposed to non-aggressive model
boys and girls displayed more imitative aggression after observing aggressive model
this effect was stronger after watching a same-sex aggressive model
most aggressive group was male children who watched an aggressive male model
least aggressive was female children who watched a non-aggressive male model
watching an aggressive model had a greater effect on boys than girls
male models copied most by male children
boys were not more aggressive in all instances - females exposed to a female models were more aggressive than boys exposed to a female model

Question 62

Bandura, Ross and Ross conclusion

Answer 62

boys are more influenced than girls when watching a male model
girls are more influenced by verbal aggression than physical
observing aggression incites both imitative and non-imitative aggression
girls more likely to copy aggression from a male model than a female model - boys were more influenced by a same sex model

Question 63

Bandura, Ross and Ross strengths

Answer 63

good generalisability
large sample size of 72 children
findings generalised to target population of children
sample limited as children were aged 3-5, cannot generalise to adults and whether they imitate aggression easily
good population validity

high validity
covert experiment, no demand characteristics, one way mirror
participants wouldn’t adjust behaviour, unaware they are being observed

highly reliable
used standardised procedure - all children observed for 10 mins, played for 20, same toys
lab setting with controlled conditions, easily replicated for consistency

Question 64

Bandura, Ross and Ross weaknesses

Answer 64

ethnocentrism (carried out in 1 country)
cannot be sure findings can be applied to children in other parts of the world
lacks generalisability

lacks ethical credibility
limited protection from harm as children should not have been exposed to aggression
removed toys to anger children - distressing

lacks ecological validity
strange and unusual setting - big room alone, one way mirror
results invalid as not accurate representation of behaviour in an everyday setting