The learning Approach Flashcards
Tabula Rasa Concept
Idea popularized in 17th century by English philosopher John Locke.
Main Assumptions:
-We all begin life as a blank slate. Experiences +interactions with the environment shape our behavior and these changes are directly observable.
-We learn though the process of operant/classical conditioning + social learning. This can be understood through stimulus-response model.
-Idea that as babies, we have no innate or inborn knowledge (quite arguable)-every physical and social interaction marks our slate(idea of school childrens chalkboards), creating an ever-changing set of rules guiding our future behavior.
-This viewpoint clearly supports nurture debate side.
-“No mans knowledge here can go beyond his experience”.
What is learning?
Learning refers to relatively permanent changes in behaviors caused by experiences in the environment as opposed to changes that result from biological maturation(Kimble, 1961). For example, a baby may be praised for using a spoon to eat their yoghurt, meaning they are more likely to use their spoon properly in the future (this is learning).However, until they have the physical skills to coordinate their arms, hands + fingers to use spoon, (biological maturation), it will not matter how much praise they receive as its just not possible yet.
The stimulus-response model
A stimulus is a change in the environment that can be detected by 1 of our 5 senses, such as loud noise, cold breeze, nasty smell, or picture of a gorgeous kitten.
In behavioral psych, something is called a stimulus if it elicits a behavioral response/reaction, like saying “Ahhhh!”when seeing kitten.
Some responses are involuntary, meaning we have no control over them. These responses are called reflexes + are often ones that are evolutionarily adaptive like flinching when hearing sudden noise or seeing spider scuttling across floor.
Three theories of learning
Classical conditioning,Operant conditioning,Social/ Imitative learning
Classical conditioning
The 3 studies in this chapter each focus on a diff type of learning. Saavedra&Silverman studied a boy with a phobia of buttons. Phobias can be learned through classical conditioning, a process where 2 stimuli become associated with one another. This type of learning was discovered by Ivan Pavlov-1927.
While studying digestion in dogs, Pavlov noticed that the dogs salivated (a reflex response) as soon as they saw a certain laboratory assistant (a stimulus). The dogs had learned to associate this person with food and were expecting their dinner!
Pavlov conducted a series of famous experiments where he repeatedly paired the ticking of a metronome (a neutral stimulus) with food (an unconditioned stimulus). Eventually, the dogs began to salivate as soon as they heard the metronome, which had become a conditioned stimulus.
1920-John Watson and Rosalie Rayner classically conditioned an 11-month-old baby known as Little Albert to be scared of a pet rat. They paired the rat with the sound of a metal bar being struck with a hammer. After 7 pairings, the boy began to cry and tried to crawl away from the rat as soon as he saw it. The researchers concluded that fear can be conditioned, leading other researchers to explore the idea that if phobias can be learned then it may be possible to unlearn them in therapy.
Operant conditioning
Operant conditioning discovered by Burrhus Frederic Skinner (1938), an American psychologist who mainly worked with rats and pigeons. He observed that when organisms (including humans) perform a certain behaviour, it is what happens immediately afterwards that determines whether that behaviour becomes more or less likely to occur again in the future. If behaviour is rewarded/positively reinforced, it will become more likely, and if it is punished it will become less likely. Also discovered that negative reinforcement (the removal of an aversive or unpleasant stimulus) can also act as a reward, making behaviour more likely.
The term ‘primary reinforcer’ used for rewards that meet a basic human need (e.g. food), whereas a secondary reinforcer is something that does not meet a need in itself but is associated with something that does - for example, money does not meet a basic need but it can be exchanged for things that do.
Social learning
Bandura et al (1961) examined how children learn aggressive behavior via the process of social learning. Albert Bandura believed that much of our behavior is learnt via observation and the imitation of models, or people with whom we identify or admire. They may be powerful, attractive, or part of a group to which we wish to belong.
We pay attention to their behavior and store a mental representation of it. If we are able to reproduce it + are motivated to do so, we may perform the same behavior ourselves at some point in the future.
Methodology
Psychs from the learning approach argue that mental events cannot be studied empirically (i.e. directly through the senses),-this led them to abandon the study of cognitive processes and focus entirely on observable behaviour. This is why Watson, Pavlov and Skinner are also known as the behaviourists. Much of the work carried out by early behaviourists involved laboratory exps, often involving animals. Animal exps were favoured bc their environments could be strictly controlled in order to observe the impact of certain stimuli on behaviour.
Behaviourists often collect quantitative data – for example, number of trials needed to learn a certain skill, number of learned behaviours observed within a certain time period. Pavlov (1927) counted num of droplets of saliva produced in response to the metronome; his measurements were very precise as he collected the saliva in a tube (cannula) inserted through the dog’s cheek.
Strengths
-Very scientific
-It has shown that much behaviour is learned through the principles of operant and classical conditioning
-Many practical applications (behaviour modifications, behaviour therapies)
-Social learning theory takes account of the cognitive elements of learning
Weaknesses
-Most of the experimental work has been done on animals-lack of generalisation to human
–Lack of ecological validity because of the lab experiments
-Ignored inbuilt, genetic biases in learning which are due to evolution
Issues+Debates: Applications to everyday life
The theories and studies from the learning approach have numerous real-world applications, including treatments and therapies for clinical disorders, captive animal management (e.g. to facilitate veterinary procedures), and awareness of the role of behavioural role models in the media and the impact they can have on children’s behaviour.
Issues+Debates:Individual and situational explanations
Individual diffs are explained as ppl experience differing sociocultural environments and, therefore, have different reinforcement histories leading to diff traits.
Alternatively, the approach can be linked to sit explanations, as in any given situation, exposure to a conditioned stimulus could trigger a conditioned response, while exposure to role models and the experience of reinforcement and/or punishment can affect an individual’s behaviour, either at the particular time or in future.
Issues+Debates:Nature vs Nurture
This approach focuses on the role of nurture, but the role of reflexive behaviours in classical conditioning also demonstrates the role of nature.
Issues+Debates:The use of children in psychological research
Bandura et al. and Saavedra and Silverman both worked with children, and in this approach, you will have an opportunity to think about the practical and ethical issues around working with children as participants.
Issues+Debates:The use of animals in psychological research
Fagen et al. worked w elephants in Nepal; in this study, you will have the opportunity to think about the issues presented by working with one of the planet’s largest endangered species in a real-world setting, as opposed to the usual rats, cats and dogs studied in the laboratories of the learning approach’s most famous contributors (i.e. Pavlov and Skinner).
Brief History
1920-Watson and Rayner classically condition Little Albert to be scared of a pet rat.
1927-Ivan Pavlov conditions dogs to salivate to sound of a metronome.
1938-BF skinner first uses term operant conditioning.
1961-Bandura et al (aggression) publish the first in a series of studies investigating social learning theory, in which young children observe an aggressive adult model.
2002-Saavedra and Silverman (button phobia) conduct their case study w a boy w a button phobia.
2014-Fagen et al (elephant training) train elephants in Nepal using operant conditioning, potentially saving their lives and certainly their wellfare.
Methodology 2
Watson and Rayner (1920) collected qualitative data in form of observational notes that were made about how Albert responded to various stimuli, including wooden blocks, a burning newspaper and a fur coat.
Case studies are common in clinical psychology and may be used to support the efficacy of certain therapies. The key features of a case study are the use of a variety of different data-gathering techniques (called method triangulation) and the collection of different types of data – qualitative and quantitative, primary and secondary.
If babies are born as blank slates, what about new-born animals? Do new-born animals acquire everything they know through experience of the world too? How would you train a pet?
