learning psychology in paper 1 Flashcards
pavlov - experiment with dogs
what was the aim?
- to test whether a unconditioned response can be linked with a neutral stimulus therefore causing learning to take place and producing a conditioned response.
pavlov - experiment with dogs
what was the procedure?
- To do this he set up an experiment where he placed a dog in a box where it couldn’t smell or hear anything to avoid extraneous variables.
- To measure the DV a tube was attached to its mouth to accurately measure saliva.
- During the conditioning the neutral stimulus (a metronome) was paired with food (UCS) about 20 times.
- During this pairing, the dog will salivate (UCR). After this the sound was presented without the food.
pavlov - experiment with dogs
what were the results?
- The results showed that the dog started to salivate 9 seconds after hearing the metronome, and after 45 seconds had produced 11 drops of saliva.
pavlov - experiment with dogs
what was concluded?
- that a neutral stimulus when paired with an unconditioned stimulus would turn conditioned and produce a conditioned response like the production of saliva.
pavlov - experiment with dogs
what was a strength?
- Pavlov used carefully controlled experiments with the environment of the dogs controlled completely (external noise), except for the variables being tested (buzzer/food).
- He utilised a soundproof chamber to reduce the possibility of external sounds distracting the dogs or providing additional stimuli that could be the unintended NS.
- Also, the collected of the dog’s saliva in a cannula helped prevent the loss of saliva and provided and objective measurement of salivation.
- Therefore, the study has high internal validity, and a valid cause-effect relationship can be concluded about the dog salivating to the sound of the buzzer due to the association made.
pavlov - experiment with dogs
what was a weakness?
- it was conducted on dogs, there are many issues with generalising the findings of animal studies onto humans, as different species have structurally different brains.
- Humans have a larger cerebral cortex than most species, which permits more complex cognitive processes and conscious choice. Whereas animals are driven more by instincts.
- Pavlov suggested his findings of learning can be generalised to humans, but this may not be entirely true due to the differences in our physiology, brains and thought processes compared to dogs
classical conditioning
what is a UCS?
a stimulus that produces a natural response (no learning)
classical conditioning
whats a UCR?
response that occurs without any learning or previous association
classical conditioning
whats a NS?
an environmental stimulus that produces no response
classical conditioning
whats a CS?
the NS that is associated with UCS to produce the same response it did
classical conditioning
whats a CR?
a behavioural response that has been learnt in association with the CS
classical conditioning
whats extinction?
When the conditioned stimulus is encountered without the unconditioned stimulus for a period of time, the conditioned response is extinguished CS stops producing CR.
classical conditioning
whats spontaneous recovery?
- Spontaneous occurrence of an extinct response re-appearing (CS triggers CR again), but without any re-conditioning.
- Demonstrates that extinction does not mean you have unlearnt the responses the response may disappear, but will not always be completely eradicated.
classical conditioning
whats stimulus generalisation?
- When the conditioned response is exhibited in reaction to other stimuli that are similar to conditioned stimulus, but have never been conditioned specifically.
classical conditioning
whats a strength?
- Classical conditioning is supported by research. - Pavlov (1927) demonstrated it in dogs by associating a bell with food to elicit a salivation response.
- Watson and Rayner (1920) demonstrated it in a human baby by associating a rat with a loud bang to elicit a fear response.
- Overall, there are good controlled studies that demonstrate that both animals and human learn behaviours through classical conditioning, increasing the validity of classical conditioning as an explanation of learning.
classical conditioning
whats a weakness?
- it can only **explain a small range of behaviours **that can be acquired.
- It** can explain salivation but can’t explain complex chains for learned behaviour. For example, it can explain why someone learns to fear a dog but does not explain how someone learns and maintains behaviours that they use to avoid dogs.
As such, classical conditioning can only be a partial explanation of learning behaviours**, and other explanations, such as operant conditioning is needed to explain learning of complex behaviours.
operant conditioning
what is operant conditioning?
- learning through the consequence of actions
- involves voluntary behaviour.
operant conditioning
what is positive reinforcement?
- rewarding the subject by adding something that it likes.
- more likely to repeat the behaviour.
operant conditioning
what is negative reinforcement?
- rewarding the subject by removing some painful stimulus.
- more likely to repeat the behaviour.
operant conditioning
whats is positive punishment?
- punishing the subject by adding an unpleasant stimulus.
- less likely to repeat the behaviour.
operant conditioning
what is negative punishment?
- punishing the subject by removing a liked stimulus.
- less likely to repeat the behaviour.
operant conditioning
summarise the skinner box study
rat
the rat was conditioned to only press the lever when the light was on to get the food, otherwise it was faced with an electric shock.
operant conditioning
what is a primary reinforcer?
- reinforcers that are rewarding as they have biological significance.
- they occur naturally and dont have to be learned i.e. food and water.
operant conditioning
what is a secondary reinforcer?
- reinforcers that are rewarding due to their associations with primary reinforcers.
- they dont directly satisfy a survival need but may be the means to do so i.e. money
operant conditioning
what is behaviour modification?
- a therapy that has its theoretical basis in operant conditioning and the experiments of BF skinner.
- used to extinguish undesirable behaviour by removing the reinforcer and replace the original behaviour with a desirable behaviour and reinforce it.
operant conditioning
whats is behaviour shaping?
- step by step process used to change behaviour.
- i.e. skinner box
- i.e. learning to write
operant conditioning
whats is continous reinforcement?
- where the reinforcement is given every time the desired behaviour is completed.
- once response is securely attached, reinforcement can be moved to a partial scheduele.
operant conditioning
whats a fixed interval?
- where the first behaviour is rewarded only after a specified amount of time as elapsed.
- i.e. child given money for chores at the end of the day.
operant conditioning
what is variable interval?
- where a behaviour is rewarded after an specified amount of time has passed.
operant conditioning
what is fixed ratio?
- where a behaviour is reinforced only after a specified number of times.
- i.e. treat or treating
operant conditioning
what is variable ratio?
- when a behaviour is reinforced after an unpredictable number of times.
- i.e. gambling and the lottery
operant conditioning
what is a strength?
- backed by research evidence
- skinner box study, where a rodent learnt to push a lever in response to a light and to avoid electrocution, studies on humans have drawn similar concluscions.
- this means theres firm evidence supporting the existence of operant conditioning in human and animal learning, a cause and effect relationship can be established.
operant conditioning
what is a weakness?
- can only explain how existing behaviours are strengthened or weakened but not where it originates from.
- can explain why the rat pulled the lever but doesnt explain how it learnt to do so.
- showing that operant conditioning is still not a full explanation of behaviour.
classic study: watson and rayner
what was the aim?
- aimed to see if its possible to induce fear in a human child of a previous neutral stimuli through classical conditioning and whether the fear will be transferred onto other similar objects.
classic study: watson and rayner
what was the procedure?
- When Albert was 11 months old, the experiments started.
- There were 5 sessions in total for conditioning, in the sessions, the loud noise was repeatedly paired with the white rat.
- Session 1 – white rat was presented to Little Albert and when he reached towards the rat, the bar was struck loudly behind his head
- Session 2 – one week later Albert returned and was exposed five times to the paired rat and loud noise. He was shown wooden blocks to which he showed no fear.
- Session 3 – five days later Albert returned and his responses towards the rat and other objects such as the cotton balls, fur coat, rabbit, etc were measured.
- Session 4 – five days after that Albert was taken to a different new environment, his responses to the rat and objects were again measured.
- Session 5 - the final test was when Albert was 12 months old. The test included a Santa mask, a fur coat, the rat, a rabbit, and a dog.
classic study: watson and rayner
what were the findings?
- In the baseline test, Albert displayed no fear of any of the objects but he did respond to the loud noise by crying.
- By session 3, Albert would cry and rapidly crawl away from the rat even without the loud noise present.
- In session 3 Albert also reacted to the white furry objects with fear. He displayed mild fear to the dog
- In session 4-5 Albert’s fear to white furry objects remained but were less extreme when he was in a different environment.
classic study: watson and rayner
what was concluded?
- The study confirmed that a phobia of an object that was not previously feared could be learned, which supported Watson and Rayner’s original aim
- They also proposed that, because the fear response was evident a month after the initial conditioning took place, such conditioned emotional responses could last a long time.
classic study: watson and rayner
what was a strength?
- had a standarised procedure.
- albert was selected due to his emotional stability, making it less likely that an anxious temperant could affect the fear conditioning.
- therefore making it more likely that the changes in alberts behaviour were due to the conditioning and learning by association.
classic study: watson and rayner
what the weakness?
- not represenative of the true acquisition of phobias.
- alberts fear was created in a controlled methodical way, but in real life, children would acquire fears more spontaneously.
- meaning it isnt represenative of real life learning of fears and the development of phobias.
social learning theory
what is it?
- behaviour can be learned by observing and imitating others
social learning theory
what is modelling?
- from the role models perspective this is a demonstration of a specific behaviour.
- i.e. a dad modelling caring behaviour by bringing flowers to mum.
social learning theory
what is a role model?
a significant individual in a persons life
social learning theory
what is imitation?
copying the observed behaviour.
social learning theory
what is vicarious reinforcement?
learning through the consequences of another persons behaviour
social learning theory
what is self-efficacy?
a person knowing their own ability to do something and being confident with it.
social learning theory
what are the 4 stages of social learning?
- attention
- retention
- reproduction
- motivation
social learning theory
what is attention?
attention placed on the behaviour of the model.
social learning theory
what is retention?
- main cognitive element of SLT.
- observed behaviour stored in memory.
social learning theory
what is reproduction?
- when the behaviour is replicated in the appropriate situation.
- observer has to be able to replicate it.
social learning theory
what is motivation?
- the thing that drives someone to repeat the behaviour is vicarious reinforcement/punishment.
- learners must want to demonstrate what they have learned.
social learning theory
whats is vicarious punishment?
- the observer sees the role model being punished for their behaviour.
- observer less likely to show this behaviour in the future.
social learning theory
what are intrinsic and extrinsic motivations?
- intrinsic = inherent satisfaction rather than physical outcome from modelling the behaviour
i.e dads behaviour makes child feel good as they feel more like their dad - extrinsic = tangible outcome rather than a feeling i.e. trophy
social learning theory
what is a strength?
- backed by research evidence
- banduras study on children demonstrate that children were more likely to imitate an agressive model if they were the same sex.
- supports banduras claims that behaviour can be acquired by observation and imitation.
social learning theory
what is a weakness?
- evidence shows that genetic factors are important as well as environmental.
- kendler et al, showed that identical twins are more similar in their levels of agression than non, suggesting that agressivness is mainly genetics rather than learnt through modelling.
- therefore SLT is not a complete explanation for the acquisition of all types of behaviour.
bandura studies
what was the aim?
to investigate whether agression can be acquired through observed behaviour
bandura studies
what was the procedure?
- An independent groups design was used for the participants:
- 36 boys and 36 girls aged 3-6 were selected from the Stanford University Nursery
- Aggression was rated on 4 separate 5 point scales by observers.
- Children were places into groups of threes of the same sex and were allocated to one of the following conditions:
- Aggression group: Observed an aggressive adult punching, kicking and shouting at an inflatable “bobo” doll.
- Non-aggression group: Observed a model who was just assembling a mechanical to.
- Control group: No model was present when the children were playing.
- Step 2: Children were taken to another room and were made frustrated, by being deliberately shown new toys and were told they were for “other children”
- Step 3: After a period of 10 minutes, the participants were taken into a playroom with a range of toys, including the bobo doll. Their behaviour was covertly observed through a one-way mirror
bandura studies
what were the findings?
categorised as:
- Imitative aggression: sitting or hitting the bobo doll in a similar way as the model
- Partially imitate: Using hitting toys aggressively on toys other than the bobo doll
- Non imitative aggression: Aggression that was not similar to what the model did
- Children who witnessed the aggressive model were more likely to completely or partially imitate aggression.
- Children who observed non-aggressive behaviour were significantly less aggressive.
- Boys were also overall more likely to imitate aggression from a same sex model
bandura studies
what was concluded?
- Social behaviour such as aggression can be acquired by imitation of models.
- Imitation is more likely when the modelled behaviour was gender.
bandura studies
what was a strength?
- highly controlled
- The children were matched based on existing aggression, reducing the potential effects of individual differences in aggression being an extraneous variable.
The multiple conditions included a non-aggressive conditions, allowed the researchers to control for spontaneous aggression. - These levels of controls ensured the study has a high level of internal validity; therefore, we can be sure that the observed aggression was a result of the children observing the aggressive models.
bandura studies
what was a weakness?
- lacks mundane realism.
- The situation that Bandura used to measure learning of aggression, is different from typical situations in which children might have displayed aggressive behaviour towards people.
- This means that we cannot be sure to what extent the findings of Bandura’s study showing that children learn to behave aggressively by observing adult role models, will apply to situations of learning behaviour in everyday settings.
bandura studies
what was the aim of the bandura variation 1963 study?
- To investigate whether a filmed model would have the same effect as a live model on children’s aggression.
- It was also to investigate whether cartoon aggression will have a similar impact to realistic filmed aggression
bandura study
what was the procedure of the bandura variation 1963 study?
- The participant had 48 boys and 48 girls in an independent groups design.
- They were 39-52 months old and were selected from the Stanford University nursery
- Conditions:
1. Live aggression conditions: The children watched an adult act aggressive towards a Bobo Doll
2.Filmed realistic aggression: Watched the same aggressive behaviour but on a screen.
3.Cartoon aggression condition: Watched a TV model dressed as a cartoon cat perform the same aggressive behaviours
4.Control group: Did not watch aggression
bandura studies
what were the findings of the bandura variation 1963 study?
- All the three experimental groups displayed increased aggression. The mean were the highest in the cartoon condition, then in the filmed condition, then in the live conditions.
- These differences between the three experimental conditions were not significant.
- But they were significant from the control condition, which had a lower mean aggression
bandura studies
what was concluded from the bandura variation 1963 study?
- Exposure to live or filmed aggression increases the likelihood of aggression in response to frustration, even if the aggression is modelled by a cartoon figure
bandura studies
what was the aim of the bandura variation 1965 study?
- To investigate whether reinforcement of the punishment of an aggressive model would influence the aggression displayed in children in response to frustration.
bandura studies
what was the procedure of the bandura variation 1965 study?
- The participant had 33 boys and 33 girls in an independent groups design.
- They were 42-71 months old and were selected from the Stanford University nursery
- Conditions:
Model reward condition: The children saw a second adult praise the model for their aggression with a drink and chocolate - Model punished condition: The second adult this time scolded the other adult and spanked them with a rolled-up newspaper
- No consequence (control) condition: Model was neither reinforced or punished
- the children followed the researcher into the room. While they waited, the watched some TV. One of three programmes would be shown, dependent on their condition.
- Afterwards, the children were deliberately frustrated and taken into a playroom like the other two Bandura studies.
bandura studies
what were the findings of the bandura variation 1965 study?
- Children in the model punished condition were less aggressive than the other two conditions.
- But once the reward was offered to the children, the differences between the groups were wiped out. Increasing the aggressiveness scores in all three groups significantly.
bandura studies
what was concluded from the bandura variation 1965 study?
- Vicarious punishment reduces imitated aggression.
- But the promise of reinforcement is a more powerful influence on aggression
phobias: acquisition and maintenace
what is the mower 2 process model?
that phobias are acquired through classical conditioning and are maintained through operant conditioning.
phobias: acquisition and maintenace
what study shows how phobias are maintained?
- mower 1960
- demonstrated that rats would develop avoidance behaviours to escape electrical shocks.
- a rat was placed in a cage where shocks were delivered, the rat could escape the shock by jumping over a barrier, this is negative reinforcement.
phobias: acquisition and maintenace
what is another way phobias can be acquired?
- cook and mineka suggested that phobias can also be acquired through observational learning.
- i.e attention - observing a parent fear the cat, retention - when she sees the cat she remembers the behaviour, reproduction - they repeat the behaviour, motivation - child may want to be like the parent or be comforted by them which is vicarious reinforcement.
phobias: acquisition and maintenace
what was a strength?
- lots of supporting evidence
- little albert where he learned to fear allw hite fluffy objects through classical conditioning.
- mowers studies of rats also demonstrated that animals could avoidance behaviours towards adverse stimuli, as this would provide negative reinforcement when the anxiety is reduced.
- suggesting that even though learning theories dont provide a full explanation of phobias, learning does take place in some cases.
phobias: acquisition and maintenace
what was a weakness?
- cant explain some phenomena associated with the acquisition of phobias.
- seligman found that we acquire certain phobias more easily than others like snakes more than cars.
- suggesting that we are pre-programmed to acquire fears of things which were hazardous in our evolutionary past, therefore learning is an incomplete explantion for phobias due to an evolutionary component.
treatment of phobias
what is flooding?
- a behavioural therapy in which a client is exposed to an extreme form of phobis stimulus in order to reduce anxiety triggered by that stimulus.
- the individual is exposed repeatdely with no room to escape, overtime they learn the fear is harmless and the stimulus become extint.
- or they become tired of their own fear response.
treatment of phobias
what is a strength of flooding?
- supportive evidence
- kaplan and tolin (2011), 65% of patients with specific phobia given a single session of flooding showed no symptoms of specific phobias 4 years later.
- suggesting that rapid exposure to a fearful situation or stimulus via flooding can be an effective treatment.
treatment of phobias
what is a weakness of flooding?
- not very effective in treating social phobias
- most social phobias have a cognitive aspect, the patient usnt simply afriad or anxious but also have accompanying unpleasant thoughts or feelings.
- therefore flooding can only be used for some phobias, only tackles behavioural aspects not cognitive.
treatment of phobias
what is systematic desensitisation?
- enables individuals to overcome their anxieties by learning to relax in the prescence of stimuli.
- process can be in vivo (exposure to a real object) or vitro (imagined situations)
- patient is first taught relaxation techniques
- they then go through a fear hierachy starting with something small like looking at a photo to somehing big like touching the spider.
treatment of phobias
what is a strength of SD?
- supportive evidence
- gilroy (2003), gave 42 patients 3 45 min sessions, patients were asssessed on the severity of their arachnophobia, they found that at both 3 months and 33 months the SD group were less fearful than the relaxation group.
- therefore SD is an effective long term treatment for phobias.
contemporary study: becker et al
what was the aim?
- to disover the impact of western attitudes on the eating behaviours and related attitudes of Fijian teenage girls
- also to see the effect of the ideas communicated through television programmes would have on their body satisification and eating disorders.
contemporary study: becker et al
what was the procedure?
- group 1: 63 17yrs from 2 schools in 1995
- group 2: 65 17yrs girls from 2 schools in 1998
- participants were asked to complete a modified version of the EAT-26 questionnaire, it investigated binging and purging behaviours.
- a score above 20 is deemed high and indicates that the person may have negative views on their body.
- everyone was asked to take part in a semi-structured interview, those who scored over 20 were asked to take part in further interviews.
- participants in 1998 were also asked some more questions regarding body image, dieting and their parents concerns on diet and weight.
contemporary study: becker et al
what were the findings?
- weight didnt differ but views did
- television viewing did increase from 41% to 71% in 1998
- scores of dsyfunctional eating increased with 29.2% scoring over 20 in 1998 and only 12.7% in 1995.
- 11.3% reported purging in 1998 compared to none in 1995.
- 30% of girls considered TV characters to be role models.
- in 1998, 74% said they felt too large and 69% had dieted which was alienated to their culture.
contemporary study: becker et al
what was concluded?
- tv had an influenced changes in eating attitiude in women which was opposite to the traditional attitudes and norms towards eating and body image that had previously dominated the culture.
contemporary study: becker et al
what was a strength?
- the qualitative and quantitative data both confirm the effects of TV models on the behaviour of girls.
- 30% of girls considered TV characters to be role models and scores of dsyfunctional eating increased with 29.2% scoring over 20 on EAT-26 in 1998 compared to 12.7% in 1995.
- highlighting the negative effect of TV models on the behaviour of young girls, they have learnt about beauty standards and have tried to change themselves.
contemporary study: becker et al
what was a weakness?
- issues with self reporting data
- the girls may not tell the complete truth or feel like they have to answer a certain way, decreasing the validity of the results.
- therefore the data may not be applicable to the wider world, we cant really establish a cause and effect relationship.
key question
what is the key question?
what are the implications for society if anorexia is a learned disorder?
