Learning approaches Flashcards
Define schema
the mental framework of beliefs and expectations that influence cognitive processing
Role of reinforcement in behaviour
refers to things that strengthen and increase the likelihood that a behaviour will be repeated in the future
Define vicarious reinforcement
refers to learning that is not the result of direct reinforcement but rather through observing someone else being reinforce for that behaviour
Describe classical conditioning in Pavlov’s study?
Pavlov paired the ringing on a bell with the arrival of food using a dog
the ringing of the bell was the neutral stimulus (no response)
food was the unconditioned stimulus (natural resulting in salivation)
Through pairing of these stimuli a conditioned response was formed
the bell became a conditioned stimulus - producing a conditioned response of salivation in the the absence of the unconditioned stimulus (food)
what are the assumptions of the behaviourist approach?
all behaviours are learnt from our environment
focus on observable behaviour
animals and humans learn in the same way
Psychology should be scientific and so mainly use lab experiments
Who proposed operant conditioning and what did they say?
Skinner
argued that learning is an active process and environmental consequences cause behaviour to be repeated or not repeated
Positive reinforcement
receiving a reward when doing a certain behaviour with the outcome of behaviour being repeated
Negative reinforcement
when a certain behaviour stops a punishment from happening resulting in a desired behaviour being repeated
What are the applications of behaviourism?
increased our understanding of the causes of phobias and attachment
given rise to therapies such as systematic desensitisation and token economy
Evaluation points for behaviourism
+ Scientific credibility
+ Real-life application
- Mechanistic view of behaviour
- Environmental determinism
Scientific credibility of behaviourism?
it was able to bring the language and methods of the natural sciences into psychology by focusing on the measurement of observable behaviour within highly controlled lab settings
it emphasised the importance of objectivity and replication which gives psychology greater credibility and status
Real-life application of behaviourism?
principles of conditioning have been used in the real-work
for example, token economy systems that have been used successfully in prisons and psychiatric hospitals
it works by rewarding appropriate behaviour with tokens that can then be exchanged for privileges
Mechanistic view of behaviour in behaviourism?
animals viewed as passive and machine-like responders to the environment with little or no conscious insight into their behaviour
ignores the importance of mental events during learning
this means a learning theory may apply less to human than to animal behaviour
Environmental determinism in behaviourism?
it sees all behaviour as determined by past experiences that have been conditioned
skinner didn’t believe in free will and called it an illusion
hard determinism, ignores influence of free will
Assumptions of social learning theory
o Bandura agreed with behaviourists, that behaviour is learnt from experience
o However he proposed a different way in which people learn: through observation and imitation
