Learning theories and Key question Flashcards
Classical conditioning
Learning by association
Operant conditioning
Learning by consequences (rewards and punishments)
Social learning theory
Learning by observation
a) Explain Pairing in Classical conditioning
b) How could you make a cat salivate at the sound of a tuna can opening?
If you pair an unconditioned stimulus with the neutral stimulus, this forms an association. The neutral stimulus now becomes the conditioned stimulus and the unconditioned stimulus becomes the conditioned response.
Define an unconditioned stimulus (UCS)
Any stimulus producing a natural unlearned response.
Define an unconditioned response (UCR)
A response that occurs naturally without any form of learning.
Define a Neutral stimulus (NS)
An environmental stimulus that does not of itself produce a response.
Define a conditioned stimulus (CS)
A stimulus that has been associated with an unconditioned stimulus so that it now produces the same response.
Define a conditioned response (CR)
a behaviour that is shown in response to a learned stimulus.
What is Extinction?
Removal of a behaviour
What is spontaneous recovery?
The reappearance of a conditioned response that had been extinguished.
Stimulus discrimination
It only responds to certain stimuli and doesn’t respond to some that aren’t similar.
Vicarious reinforcements
Vicarious reinforcement involves learning through observation of the consequences of actions for other people.
what is tabula rata
You are born a blank slate-’tabula rasa’ which means blank slate.
Key learning approach study?
Watson and Rayner
Aim of key study
John Watson and Rosalie Rayner wanted to see if they could condition a phobic response to a white rat in an infant. They wanted to see if a child could learn to be afraid of a previously neutral stimulus.
Procedure
Using a single case experiment, Watson and Rayner selected one child. The infant was chosen for unemotional character. They initially tested the baby with several animals:a dog, a mask, white rat, a rabbit and a cotton wool.
Albert did not respond to any of the stimuli apart from when a hammer struck a pole to create a loud sound. They then showed the white rat at the same time as the sound was created, this meant Albert associated the horrible sound that scared him with the white rat, thus he began to fear the white rat. They repeated the sound with the appearance of the white rat many times to imprint the fear into the baby’s mind.
Results
The study confirmed that a phobia of an object that was not previously feared could be learned. The baby cried and whimpered when the rat was shown. This suggests that NS is now a conditioned stimulus and Alberts crying is a conditioned response.
Conclusion
Watson & Rayner concluded that they had successfully conditioned Albert to fear the white rat and that his fear response generalised to other white, furry things (with a stronger response the more closely they resembled the rat) and transferred to other situations. The conditioning lasted over a month and Watson proposed that the conditioned fear responses Albert was left with would last a lifetime.
Who created the Social learning theory and why did they create it?
Albert Bandura
-wanted to create a more complex theory
ARRM
- Attention to role model
- Retention of the behaviour
- Reproduction of this behaviour
- motivation to imitate the observed behaviour
Bandura’s triangle
explains how behaviour, environment cognitive and personal factors all interact and probe each other.
Bandura’s BOBO doll experiment
One group of nursery children (5-6 yrs) watched a role model beat up a doll, they then copied these actions when placed in a room with a bunch of toys and chose the doll over all of these and proceeded to hit it with a hammer, kneed it and hit it with a mallet
The control group does not hit the BOBO doll and acts less aggressive
