research methods

Question 1

What are 4 assumptions of learning theories?

Answer 1

-born a blank state
-mind is a black box
-Watsons statement
-animals and humans learn in similar ways

Question 2

What does the assumption ‘born a blank state’ mean?

Answer 2

Everyone is born with no knowledge or skills, the human mind is an empty vessel with only a few instincts at birth.

Question 3

Where do learning theories believe all behaviours are learned from?
What does with agree and differ from?

Answer 3

The environment.
Agrees with the nurture approach.
Differs from evolution theory which believes you have adapted skills already.

Question 4

What does thee assumption ‘mind is a black box’ mean?
What does this oppose?

Answer 4

Views the mind as something you cant access, concerned with observable behaviour like thinking and emotion.
Opposes freuds theory as he believes in the unconscious mind.

Question 5

What did Watson (1913) state?

Answer 5

‘Psychology as a behaviourist views it is a purely objective experimental branch of natural science. It’s theoretical goal is prediction and control’

Question 6

What does the assumption that ‘animals and humans learn in similar ways’ mean?
What does this approach use?

Answer 6

This approach uses lab experiments on humans and animals in order to investigate behaviour.

Experiments are used as lab experiments have the strong controls necessary to draw the cause and effect conclusions which increase validity in explaining behaviour
.
Learning theory believes that the laws of behaviour are equally the same and animals allow for reputation and validity.