LEARNING - THEORIES OF LEARNING

Question 1

classical conditioning (CC)

Answer 1

AO1:
->unconditioned stimulus (UCS): the stimulus which automatically triggers a specific reflex response
->unconditioned response (UCR): the automatic reflex response to the UCS
->neutral stimulus (NS): a stimulus that would not normally trigger a specific reflex response
->conditioned stimulus (CS): the NS now triggers the reflex response
->conditioned response (CR): this is the learned response (reflex behaviour triggered by the CS)
->for example, Pavlov…
UCS (meat powder) -> UCR (salivation)
NS (metronome) + UCS (meat powder) -> UCR (salivation
CS (metronome) -> CR (salivation)

other features of CC:
->extinction: when the NS is applied repeatedly without the UCS, the learned response weakens until it has been extinguished
->spontaneous recovery: the reappearance of the CR after a rest period, or period of lessened response (shows the association between the NS and UCS has not been extinguished)
->generalisation: refers to the tendency to refer to stimuli that resembles the CS
->discrimination: involves the ability to distinguish between one stimulus and a similar stimulus

AO3: EVALUATION
E->(strength) Pavlov’s 1927 study on salivation in dogs supports the theory of CC
–> UCS (food) -> UCR (salivation) // NS(metronome) + UCS -> UCR // CS (metronome) -> CR (salivation)
–>therefore, proving that classical conditioning works

A->(strength) this theory has a range of IRL applications
–>the principles of CC are used successfully in behavioural therapies such as aversion therapy and SD
–>such therapies can be used to help cure phobias and addictions; if someone is exposed to the phobic object multiple times without negative outcome, CC can help to unlearn the fear

C->(weakness) CC can only explain the appearance of involuntary reflex responses in new situations, it cannot explain the acquisition of entirely new behaviour
–>unlike CC, OC is based on voluntary behaviour and is an active process where learning occurs due to the consequences of actions eg. reinforcement/punishment
–>therefore providing an opposing explanation to CC

H->(weakness) CC is a reductionist explanation of behaviour
–>it breaks down complex behaviour into smaller stimulus-response units of behaviour, potentially leading to an incomplete explanation
–>therefore, there are better explanations than CC

Question 2

operant conditioning (OC)

Answer 2

AO1:
->reinforcement: used to encourage desired behaviour
–>positive reinforcement: given something positive to encourage desired behaviour (eg. money)
–>negative reinforcement: removal of something unpleasant to encourage desired behaviour (eg. no chores)
–>primary reinforcer: something direct that you receive (eg. food)
–>secondary reinforcer: something that enables you to obtain a primary reinforcer (eg. money)
->punishment: used to discourage undesired behaviour
–>positive punishment: addition of something unpleasant to discourage undesired behaviour (eg. more chores)
–>negative punishment: removal of something pleasant to discourage undesired behaviour (eg. phone taken away)

->schedules of reinforcement:
–>continuous: the desired behaviour is rewarded every time in occurs (however, this can lose it’s effect quickly as it gets predictable)
–>fixed ratio: reward behaviour every Nth time (eg. fifth, tenth, twelfth)
–>variable ratio: the number of necessary correct responses is constantly altered (eg. slot machines)
–>fixed interval: reinforcement is made once every fixed number of minutes as long as there has been at least one correct response in that time (eg. paid monthly for work)
–>variable interval: the time between reinforcements is varied (eg. the national lottery)

AO3: EVALUATION
E->(strength) Thorndike conducted an expt in 1911, where he put a cat in a cage with a latch on the door and a piece of salmon outside the cage
–>after trying to reach through the cage, the cat finally hit the latch and the door opened. With the repetition of this expt, the amount of time and effort spent on reaching and scratching by the cats became less and less, and the release of the latch occurred sooner
–>in his Law of Effect, Thorndike assumed that the animals learned the association between a stimulus and response because escaping and eating gave them pleasure

A->(strength) OC is used in real life, like in TEPs
–>TEPs are used to encourage good behaviour, eg. prisoners are given tokens for good behaviour and can spend these tokens on more phone time or cigarettes
–>these tokens are examples of positive reinforcement as the tokens (secondary reinforcers) enable prisoners to gain something pleasant (primary reinforcer)

C->(weakness) SLT is an opposing theory to OC
–>SLT includes cognition as well as behaviours, eg. a child learns to talk through observation, by watching and imitating adults, whereas OC suggests the child must be rewarded every time a word or phrase is said
–>therefore, SLT seems more realistic, children learn to speak quickly and their parents don’t pay attention to every single word they say

H->(weakness) OC has weakness in its research as it is largely based on animal studies
–>the brains of animals are very different to humans: animals may be driven by innate factors and may be too different to humans to draw accurate comparisons. Humans also live very complex lives compared to animals, which is likely to change how we respond to situations
–>this can lead to problems as we can’t generalise the results from animals to humans

Question 3

social learning theory (SLT)

Answer 3

AO1:
->SLT was proposed by Bandura, and presents the idea of observational learning, suggesting that we learn from the environment rather than inner drive through observation, reinforcement and the process of modelling
->there are 3 types of role models:
–>live model: actual individual demonstrating behaviour
–>verbal model: instructional model - descriptions and explanations of behaviour
–>symbolic model: real or fictional characters displaying behaviours in books/TV/films
->vicarious learning:
–>vicarious reinforcement occurs when you imitate the behaviour of someone who has been reinforced for their behaviour
–>vicarious punishment: the tendency to imitate behaviour is weakened after having observed negative consequences for another person engaging in this behaviour
->models are more likely to be imitated if they are similar to the observer (in terms of sex, age, etc), if they are perceived as important and if the behaviour is observable
->the process:
–>attention (observation): learning starts by paying attention to the behaviour displayed by the role model
->retention: the behaviour being modelled needs to be retained by the observer, as the behaviour is usually required to be imitated later
->motor reproduction: in order for the behaviour to be replicated there must be self-efficacy. The behaviour is then performed, reproducing the behaviour that was observed from the role model
->motivation: external/extrinsic - if the behaviour is rewarded it will be repeated, this kind of motivation revolves around some kind of physical outcome // internal/intrinsic motivation - behaviour is motivating if some internal need is satisfied (eg. excitement) // an individual is more likely to copy behaviours if motivated by vicarious or internal reinforcement

AO3: EVALUATION
E->(strength) supportive research from Bandura 1961
–>the findings of Bandura’s 1961 study shows that children exposed to aggressive role models displayed direct imitation of their aggressive behaviour, whereas children not exposed to an aggressive role model did not display aggressive behaviour
–>this supports SLT by proving that children who observe aggressive models will imitate their violent actions

A->(strength) Bandura’s research findings have lead to TV advancements eg. watershed and age ratings
–>as we know, children learn through observation and imitation, so children’s TV channels like CBeebies host multiple shows that aim to teach children values like kindness and curiosity, and teach that violence is wrong
–>children copy the actions of their role models, and if they are only shown kind and gentle role models they will replicate this nice behaviour

C->(weakness) OC provides an alternate theory to SLT
–>OC suggests that we learn through reinforcement and punishment (eg. positive/negative). An example of OC used IRL is TEPs in prisons; prisoners will be rewarded for good behaviour through positive reinforcement eg. more phone time
–>OC is therefore a better explanation of learning as it applies to all ages

H->(weakness) the main piece of research for SLT, Bandura 1961, has low generalisability
–>he used 36 males and 36 females, aged 2-5 years old in his study
–>therefore his research cannot be used to explain how adults learn behaviour