Learning approaches

Question 1

What are the three ways you can learn behaviour included by this approach?

Answer 1

1. Learning by association

2. Learning by consequence

Question 2

Who documented classical conditioning for the first time, who were his research subjects and what were they conditioned to do?

Answer 2

Ivan Pavlov; dogs; salivate when they heard a bell because they associated it with food

Question 3

What are the four types of stimulus? Relate them to Pavlov’s study

Answer 3

1. Unconditioned stimulus: Elicits a reflex response - e.g. food
2. Neutral stimulus: Elicits no response - e.g. bell
3. Conditioned stimulus: Elicits a conditioned response because it is associated with the unconditioned stimulus - e.g. bell
4. Conditioned response: Previously a reflex but is provoked by the conditioned stimulus due to the association made - e.g. salivation

Question 4

What are the four types of stimulus? Relate them to Pavlov’s study

Answer 4

1. Unconditioned stimulus: Elicits a reflex response - e.g. food
2. Neutral stimulus: Elicits no response - e.g. bell
3. Conditioned stimulus: Elicits a conditioned response because it is associated with the unconditioned stimulus - e.g. bell
4. Conditioned response: Previously a reflex but is provoked by the conditioned stimulus due to the association made - e.g. salivation

Question 5

How did Pavlov classically condition his dogs?

Answer 5

Whenever the dogs were fed he rang a bell, which then became associated with the arrival of food

Question 6

How did Pavlov classically condition his dogs?

Answer 6

Whenever the dogs were fed he rang a bell, which then became associated with the arrival of food

Question 7

What is stimulus generalisation?

Answer 7

When a stimulus has characteristics similar to the conditioned stimulus the association would be generalised to this new stimulus as well - e.g. Little Albert being afraid of other white objects

Question 8

What is stimulus discrimination?

Answer 8

A cut-off point has to be made where the association will not be made and stimulus generalisation will not occur. This happens when the characteristics of the conditioned stimulus and an object become too different to be generalised

Question 9

What is stimulus discrimination?

Answer 9

A cut-off point has to be made where the association will not be made and stimulus generalisation will not occur. This happens when the characteristics of the conditioned stimulus and an object become too different to be generalised - e.g. Little Albert not being afraid of a big brown dog

Question 10

What is temporal contiguity?

Answer 10

Pavlov found that association only occurs if the unconditioned stimulus and neutral stimulus are presented at the same time or around the same time otherwise an association will not be made

Question 11

What is operant conditioning?

Answer 11

Learning by consequence; A behaviour is more or less likely to occur depending on the consequence of that behaviour

Question 12

What are the three types of consequences involved in operant conditioning? Explain them

Answer 12

1. Positive reinforcement - Additions to an individual that are beneficial/rewarding
2. Negative reinforcement - Removal/avoidance of a bad consequence such as a detention
3. Punishment - A negative consequence is added to the individual’s life such as anger or detention

Question 13

Which two types of consequences in operant conditioning make behaviour more likely?

Answer 13

Positive reinforcement and negative reinforcement

Question 14

Which type of consequence in operant conditioning makes behaviour less likely?

Answer 14

Punishment

Question 15

Who created the “Law of Effect” and what did his study involve?

Answer 15

Thorndike; involved cats escaping a puzzle box, a behaviour that became more common and faster when positively rewarded

Question 16

What is Thorndike’s “Law of Effect”?

Answer 16

“responses that produce a satisfying effect in a particular situation become more likely to occur again in that situation”

Question 17

What animal did Skinner primarily experiment on?

Answer 17

Rats and pigeons

Question 18

What were the features of Skinner’s Box?

Answer 18

• A response lever that released a pellet
• Loudspeakers and lights that acted as cues
• A metal floor that could be electrified

Question 19

What features of Skinner’s Box were positive reinforcement, negative reinforcement and punishment?

Answer 19

Positive: The pellet
Negative: Avoiding the electrified floor
Punishment: The electrified floor

Question 20

What are the five types of reinforcement schedules? Order them from lowest resistance to extinction to highest

Answer 20

1. Continuous
2. Fixed interval - e.g. every 30 seconds
3. Fixed ratio - e.g. one every ten responses
4. Variable interval - e.g. on average every 30 seconds
5. Variable ratio - e.g. on average every 10 responses

Question 21

What real-life situation shows the resistance to extinction of variable ratio reinforcement?

Answer 21

Gambling addicts - They always believe that the next gamble could be the one that lets them win big because the responses are unreliable

Question 22

What are Skinner’s ABCs of operant conditioning?

Answer 22

To analyse any behaviour it is necessary to consider:
Antecedents - What happens just prior to the behaviour
Behaviours - Skinner calls this the operant
Consequences - What happens just after the operant/behaviour

Question 23

Why is variable ratio reinforcement the most successful for response rate and continuation?

Answer 23

There is no way of predicting when the next reward is going to be given and so the response rate continues at a high level

Question 24

What are the two basic assumptions of social learning theory?

Answer 24

1. Behaviour is learned from the environment, not genetics

2. Behaviour is learned from observing others and the reinforcement or punishment they receive

Question 25

Why is SLT not strictly a behaviourist approach?

Answer 25

It does not look solely at behaviour, it also considers cognitive processes

Question 26

What and whose ideas does Bandura challenge?

Answer 26

Challenges Skinner’s idea that reward and punishment will prompt or stop an action automatically, suggesting instead that they inform the individual of likely consequences which they then assess

Question 27

What is vicarious reinforcement?

Answer 27

We don’t receive the reward or punishment, the person modelling the behaviour does but we witness it, so individuals learn from observing the consequences of the behaviour of others

Question 28

What was the aim of Bandura’s experiment?

Answer 28

To examine the influence of role models on aggressive behaviour

Question 29

What were the results of Bandura’s experiment?

Answer 29

The children who had observed aggressive behaviour acted more aggressively. Boys acted more aggressively than girls, and there was also a greater level of imitation of behaviour if the role model was the same gender as the child

Question 30

What is imitation?

Answer 30

An individual observes a behaviour from a role model and copies it

Question 31

What is identification and why is it important for vicarious reinforcement?

Answer 31

An individual is influenced by another because they are in some way similar or wish to be like them, so they identify with them, such as gender and ethnicity

It is important for reinforcement therefore because the behaviour of someone you identify with has more impact on you than someone you don’t, and makes you more likely to imitate this behaviour

Question 32

What is modelling?

Answer 32

When someone is influential on an individual in some way

Question 33

What are mediating processes?

Answer 33

The thought and consideration prior to imitation over whether or not the behaviour should be imitated

Question 34

What are the four mediational processes discussed by Bandura?

Answer 34

1. Attention - A behaviour has to grab our attention and be noted
2. Retention - The behaviour must be remembered in order for it to be performed later
3. Reproduction - We are limited by our physical ability, and therefore need to be physically able to reproduce the behaviour
4. Motivation - The rewards and punishments are considered by the observer, making the behaviour more likely to be imitated if the rewards outweigh the costs

Question 35

How can social learning theory be criticised?

Answer 35

• A variety of research methods are used and the approach could be criticised for being unscientific
• Not a full explanation for behaviour, as there are instances where a role model is not apparent

Question 36

How can social learning theory be positively evaluated?

Answer 36

• Takes thought processes into account

- Successfully explains imitation of certain behaviours

Question 37

What does Bandura acknowledge in his work and what three approaches therefore could SLT be considered a combination of?

Answer 37

Biology has a role in his work on social learning and aggression because there are biological urges to be aggressive, but SL teaches how and when to be aggressive

A combination of the biological, cognitive and learning theory

Question 38

How can you remember Bandura’s mediational processes?

Answer 38

A-attention
R-retention
R-replication
M-motivation

Question 39

What are the four types of reinforcement in behaviourist theories?

Answer 39

Positive

Negative

Positive punishment - A negative consequence is added due to an undesirable behaviour to make it more or less likely

Omission training - Taking something the subject enjoys away to make a behaviour more or less likely