More Learning Theories

Question 1

State 4 procedure points of Bandura’s original Bobo doll experiment

Answer 1

There were 8 experimental conditions of 6 children, with the remaining 24 children forming a control group.
In the aggressive condition in the model player with a toy for a minute and then began to act aggressively towards the bobo doll.
In the non aggressive condition the model only played with the toy set and was subdued.
Each child was then taken to another room containing a bobo doll, a mallet and the toy set as well as other aggressive tots such as a gun left to play.

Question 2

State 3 results of Bandura’s original Bobo doll experiment

Answer 2

Aggression by the male model was imitated most, by both girls and boys.
About 1/3 of the children who observed the aggressive model imitated the models behaviour.
Girls were more likely to engage in verbal aggression and bus not e likely to engage in physical aggression.

Question 3

State the conclusions of Bandura’s original Bobo doll experiment

Answer 3

Not all behaviour is shaped by reward and punishment as skinner suggested. In order for behaviour to be shaped it must be produced first, and observational learning can explain how it is produced.
Male aggression is culturally accepted and expected.

Question 4

State 2 strengths of Bandura’s original Bobo doll experiment

Answer 4

👍The experiment has high reliability due to high levels of control and standardised procedures eg all children were out into a similar emotional state (frustrated) before being observed. More than one observer was used this means there was good inter rater reliability and no risk of bias.
👍The experiment has positive contributions to society. The study had made contributions to our understanding about how children learn to acquire behaviours through observing those around them. Exposed the effects of tv violence on children and the importance of censorship laws.

Question 5

State 2 weaknesses of Bandura’s original Bobo doll experiment

Answer 5

👎The study lacks ecological validity. This is because the research was carried out in an artificial laboratory setting with unnatural conditions. Eg being place in a room of toys the children may have felt they had to play with and were supposed to act in a certain way.
👎The sample lacks generalisability. This is because it only consisted of children aged between three and five therefore the results may not be representative of teenagers and adults.

Question 6

State the aim of Becker et al’s contemporary study

Answer 6

To investigate the effect of TV on attitudes to eating and eating behaviours in Fijian adolescent girls.

Question 7

State 4 procedure of Becker et al’s contemporary study

Answer 7

First sample of 63 girls were studied in 1995, before the introduction to TV to Fiji. A second, different sample of 65 grow was studied three years later in 1998.
Qualitative date came from narratives, stories about feelings and behaviours around the introduction of TV.
Quantative date was gathered by using a questionnaire about eating behaviours called EAT-26.
Those who initially scored 20 or above in the survey were asked to take part in a semi-structured interview.

Question 8

State 3 results of Becker et al’s contemporary study

Answer 8

In 1995 41.3% said their household had a TV compared to 70.8% in 1998.
In 1995, 0% of girls used self-induced vomiting as a means of weight control compared to 11.3% in 1998.
83% of those interviewed felt that TV had influenced the way they looked at their bodes with 77% stating TV ha influenced their body image.

Question 9

State 2 strengths of Becker et al’s contemporary study

Answer 9

👍It is high in validity because of the use of both qualitative and quantative methods allowed for triangulation to be achieved increasing the depth and detail of the data. The qualitative data confirmed that the girls felt that they did imitate TV role models, the quantative data alone could not uncover this attitude.
👍the study has scientific credibility as it was controlled with standardised procedures. Eg the survey EAT27 was kept the same for both samples in 1995 and 1998. The measure remained the same in both samples allowing for accurate comparisons to be made.

Question 10

State 2 weaknesses of Becker et al’s contemporary study

Answer 10

👎The study has low generalisability as the study only used one specific culture with specific cultural attitudes to eating and dieting, having these specific cultural attitudes means the findings may be culturally specific and not represent other cultures outside of Fiji.
👎The study lacks scientific credibility due to a lack of control over the sample. The two samples used were different making comparisons difficult.

Question 11

Describe individual differences within learning psychology

Answer 11

Learning psychologists claim that all individual differences in behaviour are due to to different experiences of learning.
There are important individual differences that shape our individual experiences and behaviour.
Eg not all individuals display aggressive behaviour when exposed to violent stimuli.

Question 12

Describe developmental psychology within learning psychology

Answer 12

Our behaviour and experiences are affected by a number of developmental factors.
They can be seen in the development of phobias and language acquisition in children.

Question 13

State the aims of Bandura’s original Bobo doll experiment

Answer 13

To see if children exposed to an aggressive model would later reproduce aggressive acts.
To see if children are more likely to imitate the same sex model than opposite sex model.

Question 14

What learning theories support individual differences?

Answer 14

Classical conditioning - Pavlov found in one if his experiments that the same procedure carried out on two different dogs produced the opposite effects.
Operant conditioning - individual behaviour is conditioned through systems of reinforcement. Desired behaviours are positively reinforced with rewards appropriate to the individual.
Social learning theory - Bandura’s SLT suggests for modelling to be effective, the role model must be competent, powerful and relevant in the eyes of the observer.

Question 15

What learning theories support developmental psychology?

Answer 15

Classical conditioning - shows how associations between stimuli and responses are learned and affect someone’s development. They may learn a phobia that way.
Operant conditioning - Skinner claimed that children develop language through imitating their caregivers, who through reinforcement also shape the child’s initially incorrect attempts at speech.
Social learning - emphasises the influence of role models on our development. Eg it can explain how children learn gender identity from observing the world around them.

Question 16

Describe the acquisition of phobias using classical conditioning

Answer 16

Phobias are learned by association.
A phobia is a conditioned response to a conditioned stimulus which on previous occasions was a neutral stimulus and had been paired with an unconditioned stimulus.

Question 17

Describe the acquisition of phobias using operant conditioning

Answer 17

A phobia can be learned through positive punishment.
Eg if someone is bitten by a dog after they stroked it, that might e a positive punishment. This may lead to someone not stroking a dog in the future and may develop into a phobia of dogs.

Question 18

Describe the acquisition of phobias using social learning

Answer 18

Phobias can be learned vicariously by observing the consequences of other people’s behaviour.
This can be through the observation and imitation of family members, peers and media role models.
Eg a child may develop a phobia of spiders by:
They observe an older sibling scream every time they see a spider.
There may e vicarious in forcemeat where a parent makes the older child feel better by comforting them.
The younger child then imitates the fear when they see a spider.

Question 19

Describe the maintenance of phobias using classical conditioning

Answer 19

CC principles can be used to maintain a phobia in some instances.
Eg if a phobia of dogs person is bitten again by a dog then the association will be maintained.

Question 20

Describe the maintenance of phobias using operant conditioning

Answer 20

Once a phobia it continues due to operant conditioning.

The phobic avoids the thing they fear so it is further learned through negative reinforcement.

Question 21

Describe systematic desensitisation

Answer 21

The aim of SD is to get the patient to associate the response of relaxation instead of fear to the object/event/situation that causes a phobia.

1) client is taught relaxation techniques so they can achieve the faired the desired relaxed response.
2) clinician and client create hierarchy of fears.
3) gradually expose the client to phobic situations, involves introducing the least feared idea while the person relaxes.
4) once the fear is coped with at that level the client moves up o the next level.
5) eventually the client will be desensitised so they are no longer sensitive or afraid of their thing.

Question 22

Describe flooding

Answer 22

Involves exposure to a phobic stimulus, across a small number of long therapy sessions.
The aim is to replace the fear response with a non-fear response.
1) patient is immediately exposed to an extreme form of phobic stimulus.
2) lea to a fear response however the fear will not last, as the patient learns quickly that the phobic stimulus is harmless.
3) when the fear response die out, the individual will interpret that their fear response has been replaced with a calm response.

Question 23

State one strength and one weakness of systemic desensitisation

Answer 23

👍SD is more ethical than other treatments. This is because unlike other treatments such as flooding the treatment univalves a gradual exposure to the phobia and the client has a degree of control over the process. Eg clients lists the hierarchy of fears and they can say if their anxiety gets too much.
👎There are individual differences as it is not always successful for some people and phobias. Some people find it difficult to transfer their learning outside of the clinic role plays to real life situations.

Question 24

State one strength and one weakness of flooding

Answer 24

👍It is quick and cost effective. Flooding usually needs 2 or 3 session and sometimes is successful after one. This means the treatments is cheaper than other therapies such as SD.
👎There are ethical concerns as the treatment can be very traumatic and will temporarily create high levels of anxiety, raised heart beat etc. it might also not be suitable for those with learning difficulties as they may not fully understand what is happening to them.

Question 25

What is the learning key question?

Answer 25

Is the influence of role models and celebrities something that causes anorexia?

Question 26

Describe the key question for learning

Answer 26

Anorexia is an eating disorder characterised by being extremely underweight, approximately 15% less than ideal weight, and refusing to eat properly. May also overly exercise.
Sufferers tend to see themselves as fat even when they are painfully thin.
It has been claimed that anorexia could be caused by cultural images such as size zero models which trended in the 2000s.
A survey quoted in the daily telegraph found that two thirds of the 2000 girls surveyed blamed celebrities with perfect bodies for their own negative body image.

Question 27

Explain the learning key question using social learning theory

Answer 27

People identify with their role model celebrity, observe how thin they are and try to imitate this behaviour. If they are then complimented for losing weight they are motivated to continue.
Bandura’s studies show that behaviour tend to be imitated if the behaviour is carried out by someone who is of the same sex as the observer. So girls are more likely to imitate female celeb role models eg cara d similar age and gender.
Through vicarious reinforcement teenagers continue to imitate the behaviour of role models. Skinny celebs are rewarded by being on the cover of magazines so girls will assume they’ll be rewarded for being skinny.

Question 28

Explain the learning key question using operant conditioning

Answer 28

Positive reinforcement might be compliments for Wong thin or losing weight by peers.
Negative reinforcement might be losing weight in order to avoiding being bullied for being fat.

Question 29

Explain the learning key question using cross cultural differences

Answer 29

Cross cultural differences in levels of anorexia support the learning approach’s explanation as different types of behaviour and social norms are likely to be modelled in different counties.
Nasser (1986) found that Egyptian women studying in London were more likely to have to an eating disorder than those studying in Cairo.

Question 30

State a conclusion for the learning key question

Answer 30

Evidence suggest that role models and celebrities might contribute towards the high levels of anorexia in Britian. If this is so the goer meant need to enforce restrictions on models who are used for advertising campaigns in the future.