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
Role of vicarious reinforcement in social learning theory
For indirect learning to take peace an individual observes the behaviour of others
Imitation only occurs if behaviour is seen to be rewarded
Learner observes the consequence of behaviour
What are the steps of meditational processes in SLT and describe them
Attention - the extent to which behaviour is noticed
Retention - how well behaviour is remembered
Motor reproduction - ability of observer to perform behaviour
Motivation - the will to perform the behaviour, often determined by whether behaviour was rewarded or punished
Identification in learning theory
imitate the behavior with whom they identify with, their role models
process is called modelling
Evaluation points of SLT
+ the importance of cognitive factors in learning is addressed
- over-reliance on evidence from lab studies
- underestimates the influence of biological factors
- less determinist than the behaviourist approach
- explains cultural differences in behaviour
importance of cognitive factors in learning shown in SLT
Humans and many animals store information about the behaviour of others and use this to make judgements about when it is appropriate to perform a certain action
As such, SLT provides a more comprehensive explanation of human learning by recognising the role of meditational processes
over-reliance on evidence from lab studies in SLT
Bandura’s ideas were developed through observation of young children in a lab setting
Bobo doll research
lab studies = demand characteristics
children thought the main purpose of the doll was to strike it, behaving in a way that they thought was expected
How does SLT underestimate the influence of biological factors?
little reference to biological factors
one consistent finding of the Bobo doll study is that boys were often more aggressive than girls regardless of the specifics of the situation
this can be explained by testosterone, therefore biological factors
this isn’t accounted for by SLT
How does SLT explain cultural differences?
can account for how children learn from individuals around them which can explain how cultural norms are are transmitted through particular societies
how is SLT less deterministic than behaviourist approach?
reciprocal determinism
environment has an influence on us but we also influence the environment
element of choice suggests free will
