THE LEARNING APPROACH - KEY STUDIES Flashcards
What was Watson and Rayner’s aim?
to investigate whether emotional responses (fear) can be conditioned by a neutral stimulus and if it could be generalised to similar objects
What was Watson and Rayner’s procedure?
9 month old selected and assessed for emotional stability and was ‘stolid and unemotional’
He was initially unafraid of stimulus (eg cotton wool, rats, toy monkeys)
At 11 months old, he was presented with a neutral stimulus while the researcher struck a steel bar, then calmed with playing blocks
Repeated 5 times one week later, then after a month
Operationalised fear as the little boy crying
At the end of the study, they relocated the study to control for situational effects
Concluded that it’s possible to condition the emotional response of fear due to little Albert crying in response to the stimuli by the end of the study
What were strengths of Watson and Rayner’s study?
Due to ‘little Albert’s’ age he could display no demand characteristics making it more valid as his responses were entirely due to conditioning fear
They provided a baseline comparison to ensure response had been conditioned
Used a standardised procedure of striking a steel bar making it more reliable
What were the weaknesses of Watson and Rayner’s study?
It has been questioned that the little boy had developmental issues decreasing generalisability as his responses could’ve been due to this not the conditioning
Operationalising fear as crying makes it less valid as his crying could have been due to hunger or tiredness
it caused obvious distress making it less ethical and they didn’t recondition little Albert at the end of the study to extinguish the fear
They also exploited Little Albert’s mother as they took advantage of her class position by paying her for access to him
What was Bandura’s aim?
to investigate whether children will imitate aggressive role models, and if they’re more likely to imitate models similar to them
What was Bandura’s procedure?
72 children from Stanford University aged 3-6 in two groups of 36 girls and 36 boys
All children were matched for aggression before research
The boys/girls saw a male/female act aggressively/passively to the bobo doll and a control group didn’t see any model behaviour
The children were observed for ten minutes after exposure to the model behaviour
Before the experiment, the children were all removed from a room of fun toys to make them equally frustrated
All boys were physically aggressive, more with the male model (25.8) compared to female (12.4)
Girls were more verbally aggressive
What are the strengths of Bandura’s study?
Large sample so anomalies less likely to skew the results
All the children were matched for aggression beforehand, meaning individual differences wouldn’t have affected aggression towards bobo doll, making it more valid as behaviour was due to modelling
The models followed a script making it a standardised procedure and more reliable
What are the weaknesses of Bandura’s study?
Ethnocentric, all high class and all children, making the results not generalisable to different cultures, different classes or adults
Children are more compliant so more likely to copy behaviour making it less generalisable
Lacks ecological validity as not a real life situation
The children could have been in an agentic state or know the bobo doll was made to be punched, making it less valid as behaviour not due to modelling
What was Bandura’s 1963 study - imitation of film mediated models variation?
Children watched aggressive human behaviour live, filmed and as cartoons then were observed with the bobo doll
48 boys and 48 girls
Interested in the exposure of media and found that the further away the model was from reality the less imitation
What was Bandura’s 1965 study - vicarious reinforcement and punishment variation?
Consisted of three conditions: model got rewarded for aggression, model got punished for aggression and model had no consequences for aggression
They children were more likely to imitate behaviour if the model got rewarded for it
33 boys and 33 girls
What was the aim of Becker et al’s study?
to investigate the role of culture (media) on Fijian teenage girl’s view on body image
What was the procedure of Becker et al’s study?
Studied teenage girls in Fiji in 1995 when 41% had TVs
The girls answered the eat26 survey and anyone who scored above 20 had a semi-structured interview as they were considered vulnerable to an eating disorder
Then repeated in 1998 when 71% had TVs, and the group answered the eat26 survey and all had interviews
Was a natural experiment as the independent variable occurred naturally (the increase in TVs)
People who scored above 20 more than doubled between 1995 and 1998 (12% to 29%)
There was no change in BMI
11% in 1998 reported purging compared to 0% in 1995
Concluded than women in western TV programmes became role models to the Fijian girls, leading to them desiring smaller bodies
What are the strength’s of Becker et al’s study?
Ecologically valid as it was a natural experiment with no manipulation from the researchers
The eat26 is universally used so results are objective and reliable as they would be understood worldwide
What are the weaknesses of Becker et al’s study?
Results not generalisable as only studied teenage girls in Fiji, therefore results cannot be applied to boys, adults or different cultures
The increase in the number who scored above 20 may not have been due to the media increase, it could have been due to peers or other factors, decreasing the validity as the cause and effect relationship hadn’t been isolated
The eat26 survey wasn’t anonymous meaning the girls could’ve lied making it less valid (yet not important to them)
What was the aim of the learning practical?
to investigate whether women choose healthier meal in restaurants than men
