Learning Psychology Flashcards

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1
Q

Who proposed classical conditioning?

A

Pavlov

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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

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3
Q

What is stimulus generalization?

A

responding to a stimuli which is similar to the CS -generalizing all stimuli together

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4
Q

What is spontaneous recovery?

A

a previously conditioned response that reoccurs after extinction

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5
Q

What is extinction?

A

UCS and CS not linked for a while -link becomes extinct

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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

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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

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8
Q

What was the procedure of Pavlov’s study?

A

-DV: saliva measured by volume in canula -soundproof chamber to minimize effects of EV’s -paired NS and UCS around 20 times -variations investigated extinction + spontaneous recovery

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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15
Q

Who studied operant conditioning?

A

B.F. Skinner

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16
Q

What is positive reinforcement?

A

addition of a pleasant stimulus

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17
Q

What is negative reinforcement?

A

removal of unpleasant stimulus

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18
Q

What is positive punishment?

A

addition of unpleasant stimulus

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19
Q

What is negative punishment?

A

removal of a pleasant stimulus

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20
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)

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21
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

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22
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

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23
Q

Evaluate an application operant conditioning

A

education and childcare -systems of reinforcement used in range of places -e.g. parents using star charts or food treats to reinforce good behavior

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24
Q

What is continuous reinforcement?

A

reinforcing the desired response every time it occurs

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25
Q

what is partial reinforcement?

A

reinforcing a response only part of the time -slower acquisition of a response but greater resistance to extinction

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26
Q

what are fixed-ratio schedules?

A

-schedule that reinforces response only after specific number of responses -E.g. every 5 pieces of homework, give child cookie

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27
Q

what are variable-ratio schedules?

A

schedule that reinforces response after unpredictable number of responses

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28
Q

what are fixed-interval schedules?

A

-only after specified time has elapses -e.g. giving child cookie after 2 hours of homework

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29
Q

what are variable-interval schedules?

A

unpredictable time intervals -e.g. pop quizzes

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30
Q

What are the 4 types of partial reinforcement?

A

fixed ratio -variable ratio -fixed interval -variable interval

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31
Q

Evaluate a strength of reinforcement schedules.

A

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

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32
Q

Evaluate an opposing argument of reinforcement schedules.

A

-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)

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33
Q

Evaluate an application of reinforcement schedules.

A

treating inappropriate behavior -behavior modification systems = treat range of mental health problems -practical benefit to clients

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34
Q

What does social learning theory say?

A

learning through observation and imitation -watching and copying other people (role model) -learning of social factors in the environment

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35
Q

Who studied social learning theory?

A

Bandura

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36
Q

what are the 4 stages of social learning theory?

A

1: attention (to model) 2: retention (remembering model’s behavior) 3: reproduction (having the skills for imitation) 4: motivation (e.g. reward)

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37
Q

what is vicarious reinforcement and punishment?

A

-consequences of other peoples’ actions -seeing someone else being rewarded/punished

38
Q

What are the 3 stages of Bandura et al.’s bobo doll study (1961)?

A

1: child placed in room with doll and aggressive or non aggressive model 2: mild aggressive arousal 3: child taken to play room with toys (+bobo doll), observed for 20 mins

39
Q

What were the aims of Bandura et al.’s study?

A

investigate effect of aggressive role models -investigate gender differences

40
Q

What was the procedure of Bandura et al.’s study?

A

-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

41
Q

What were the findings of Bandura et al.’s study?

A

-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)

42
Q

What were the conclusions of Bandura et al.’s study?

A

social behavior can be acquired by imitation of models -more likely when model is same gender

43
Q

Evaluate a strength of Bandura et al.’s study

A

-clever experimental design -reduced impact of EV’s = enhanced internal validity -matched for aggression before -control group -one at time: controlled conformality effects

44
Q

Evaluate a weakness of Bandura et al.’s study

A

-artificial environment -lacks external validity -can’t be generalized to outside the lab

45
Q

Evaluate an application of Bandura et al.’s study

A

-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

46
Q

What were the 2 variations of Bandura’s study?

A

1: film-mediated aggressive models 2: influence of model’s reinforcement/punishment

47
Q

How did the findings of the film-mediated aggressive models variation differ to the original results?

A

-all 3 groups (live, filmed realistic, cartoon) had increased aggression

48
Q

How did the findings of the influence of model’s reinforcement variation differ to the original results?

A

model-punish =ed group significantly less aggression -introducing promise of reward increased aggression significantly for all groups

49
Q

What is the difference between a fear and a phobia?

A

fear = sensible phobia = irrational and life limiting

50
Q

What is the 2 process model of phobias?

A

explains both the acquisition and maintenance of phobias -acquired by classical conditioning -maintained by operant conditioning

51
Q

Who proposed the 2 process model?

A

Mowrer (1960)

52
Q

How could phobias be maintained by classical conditioning?

A

-association needs to be paired often unless strong enough first time -confirmed by Watson and Rayners’ study of Little Albert

53
Q

How are phobias maintained by operant conditioning?

A

rewarded = will be repeated -punished = not repeated -reinforcement if phobia kept and punishment if faced

54
Q

How are phobias maintained by social learning theory?

A

-Lieb et al. (2000) -children of parents with social phobia were more likely to have same phobia -someone else modelling phobia = learnt

55
Q

What are strengths of using classical conditioning to explain how phobias?

A

can account for acquisition -Watson + Rayner experimented, others have replicated: found that you can be conditioned to fear something (using careful controls)

56
Q

What are strengths of using operant conditioning to explain how phobias?

A

shown to maintain phobias -Skinner: shows that maintenance of behavior can be controlled through reinforcement and punishment

57
Q

What are weaknesses of using classical conditioning to explain how phobias?

A

-animals rather than humans used: 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

58
Q

What are weaknesses of using operant conditioning to explain how phobias?

A

-phobias arise in real life taking into account environment, surroundings, etc… -all factors can’t be carefully controlled

59
Q

What are the 2 types of treatment for phobias?

A

systematic desensitization -flooding

60
Q

What are the stages of systematic desensitization?

A

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

61
Q

Give 3 strengths of systematic desensitization.

A

-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

62
Q

Give 3 weaknesses of systematic desensitization.

A

-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)

63
Q

What is flooding?

A

exposing patients to their phobic stimulus straight away -total immersion

64
Q

Give 2 strengths of flooding.

A

cost effective and as effective as alternatives -clients free from symptoms sooner (quicker)

65
Q

Give 2 weaknesses of flooding.

A

may not be effective for all phobias -ethical issues: unpleasant experience, traumatic

66
Q

What was the aim of the classic study (Watson & Rayner: Little Albert)?

A

demonstrate that simple emotional responses such as fear can be acquired through a process of classical conditioning

67
Q

What was the procedure of the classic study (Watson & Rayner: Little Albert)?

A

-healthy boy, 9 months old: Little Albert -baseline emotional responses to range of objects tested -4 sessions across 2 weeks -session 1: white rat presented, loud noise struck behind head when he reached to touch -session 2: exposed 5 times to CS, no fea

68
Q

What were the findings of the classic study (Watson & Rayner: Little Albert)?

A

-at baseline testing = no fear but startled by noise -session 1: cried to noise -session 2: 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, less extreme in ot

69
Q

Evaluate strengths of Watson and Rayners study.

A

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

70
Q

Evaluate an opposing argument of Watson and Rayners study.

A

some aspects not controlled -e.g. rabbit suddenly and dog pushed towards: may have triggered responses rather than animals themselves

71
Q

Evaluate weaknesses of Watson and Rayners study.

A

-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

72
Q

Evaluate an application of Watson and Rayners study.

A

understanding acquisition of phobias -development of effective therapies -importance in shaping clinical practice

73
Q

What was the contemporary study?

A

Becker et al. (2002) Eating behaviors following prolonged exposure to TV

74
Q

What were the aims of Becker et al.’s study?

A

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

75
Q

What was the procedure of Becker et al.’s study?

A

-independent measures design -group of teenage girls questioned before TV’s introduced in Fiji, different group questioned 3 years later -standard questionnaire (EAT-26) and semi-structured interview (quantitative + qualitative) -height & weight also meas

76
Q

What were the findings of Becker et al.’s study?

A

-similar weights in each group -41 % in 1995 and 71% in 1998 = TV at home -scores of dysfunctional eating = 30% in 1998, up by 13% since 1995

77
Q

What were the conclusions of Becker et al.’s study?

A

women in western TV programs became role models = desire thinner bodies -rise in eating disorders + decline in body image

78
Q

Evaluate strengths of Becker et al.’s study.

A

reliable measurements -studies show good reliability of eat-26 = good internal reliability -differences likely to be due to real changes over time

79
Q

Evaluate an opposing argument of Becker et al.’s study.

A

-although reliability was good, issues with validity -e.g. EAT-26 scores didn’t predict eating disorders in sample of Brazilian women

80
Q

Evaluate weaknesses of Becker et al.’s study.

A

-poor generalisibility -unrepresentative sample (only in Fiji) -Fiji traditionally have distinctive attitudes towards body types (high BMI = attractive)

81
Q

Evaluate an application of Becker et al.’s study.

A

treating eating disorders -applied to TV programs + advertising -learnt through modelling so unlearned in same way

82
Q

What is the key question?

A

Is the influence of role models something that causes anorexia nervosa?

83
Q

What study did Pratt do?

A

-600 facebook users, aged 16-40 -over 50% said FB makes them more self-conscious

84
Q

What points would be included in the introduction of the key question essay?

A

-estimated 1.6 mill people in UK = directly affected by eating disorders -mainly women aged 16-40 -male cases rising -signs + symptoms: low BMI, skipping meals, dizziness/lack of energy

85
Q

How are Social Learning theory and Becker et al. included in the key question essay?

A

social learning Theory: people identify with popular characters, rewarded (e.g. insta likes) = more likely -Becker et al. supports: Fiji study, celebrity culture and role models = partly responsible for increased anorexia prevalence

86
Q

How are pro-ana sites/social media included in the key question essay?

A

becoming more popular, natural pictures criticized -Pratt

87
Q

How are operant conditioning and Holland et al. included in the key question essay?

A

likes = positive reinforcement -operant conditioning: reqarding someone = more likely to repeat but -Holland et al.: genetic factors involved, only small percentage exposed to celebrity culture = anorexic

88
Q

Give a stat on suicide and anorexia that can be included in the key question essay?

A

-8% people with anorexia die within 5 years

89
Q

Which solutions can be discussed in the key question essay?

A

social learning Theory solutions -regulation of media -telonovelas: using popular characters as role models effective in increasing contraception use (supporting evidence)

90
Q

What points would be made in the conclusion of the key question essay?

A

-learning theories offer explanation for excessive weight loss -although may also be impacted by genetic factors, SLT’s suggest ways to reduce anorexia and save lives