The Learning Approach (Week 2)

Question 1

The Learning Approach

Answer 1

• Developed from Behaviourism.
• Claims behaviour is learn’t through experiences.
• Focuses on observable behaviours
• Investigating mental processes, unconscious forces as unscientific and therefore untestable.
  **Key Studies: **
  1. Bandura et al. (agression)
  2. Fagen et al. (elephant learning)
  3. Saavedra and Silverman (button phobia)

Question 2

Assumptions

Answer 2

An assumption of an approach is the ideas it puts forward about the way behaviour should be explained and how behaviour should be studied.

Question 3

Key assumptions of the Learning Approach

Answer 3

• Each life begins as a ‘blank slate’: observable changes to our behaviour can result from interactions with the environment.
• The processes of social learning, operant conditioning and classical conditioning are the ways in which humans and animals learn. These processes involve stimulus-response i.e. experiences with our environment (stimuli) shape our behaviour (responses)
• Learning results in the acquisition of new responses.
• Learning may occur without new behaviours necessarily being demonstrated (behavioural potential)
• The environment influences and provides opportunities for learning (by providing experiences)

Question 4

Behaviourism

Answer 4

Behaviourism is a perspective which assumes that all behaviour is learnt (nothing is innate) and focusses on observable behaviour only (ignores the role of the mind).
Behaviourism forms part of the learning approach. In other words, the learning approach builds on the original ideas of behaviourism.

Question 5

Nature

Answer 5

the characteristics we are born with or develop out of the natural maturation process.

Question 6

Nurture

Answer 6

the characteristics we develop as a result of learning.

Question 7

Classical Conditioning

Ivan Pavlov

Answer 7

* Learning by association
Before conditioning: the food is unconditioned stimulus and the dog’s unconditioned response is salivation.
The bell is the neutral stimulus. *
During conditioning: The (ns) bell is shown to the dog alongside the unconditioned stimulus (food), numerous times, the dog will salivate (unconditioned response as there is food presented).
After conditioning: Now the bell has become* conditioned stimulus* and the salivation becomes the conditioned response. The dog has learn’t to salivate when it hears a bell.

Question 8

Classical conditioning

Watson & Raynor’s study ‘little Albert’ (1920)

Answer 8

Before conditioning: Albert feared (unconditional response) loud noises (unconditioned stimulus), but he was not scared of rats (neutral stimulus)

During conditioning: Watson and Raynor presented Albert with a rat, whilst simultaneously using a hammer and a metal bar to make a loud noise.

After conditioning: Little Albert had learned to fear (conditioned response) white rats (conditioned stimulus).

Question 9

Key Terms - Classical conditioning

Unconditioned stimulus

Answer 9

An event that produces an innate, unlearnt reflex response.

Question 10

Key Terms - Classical conditioning

Unconditioned response

Answer 10

An innate, unlearned reflex behaviour produced when exposed to an unconditioned stimulus.

Question 11

Key Terms - Classical conditioning

Neutral stimulus

Answer 11

An event that does not produce a response.

Question 12

Key Terms - Classical conditioning

Conditioned response

Answer 12

A learned response produced when exposed to a conditioned stimulus.

Question 13

Operant conditioning

B.F Skinner - Learning by the consequences of actions

Answer 13

**The rats behaviour is ‘shaped’ until it ‘learns’ what the lever is for. **
* When the rat presses the lever in the Skinner box it receives food. This is a reward (positve reinforcement) > behaviour will continue.
* With an electric grid on when the rat pressed the lever the shocks would stop. This is negative reinforcement > behaviour continued.
* Lastly, if the rat pressed the lever and got an electric shock (punishment) they would stop pressing the lever > behaviour not repeated.

Question 14

Key Terms: Operant Conditioning

Reinforcement

Answer 14

Anything which has the effect of increasing the likelihood of the behaviour being repeated.

Question 15

Key Terms: Operant Conditioning

Positive reinforcement

Answer 15

Anything which has the effect of increasing the likelihood of the behaviour being repeated by using consequences that are pleasant when they happen i.e. food for the rat/pigeon.

Question 16

Key Terms: Operant conditioning

Negative reinforcement

Answer 16

Anything which has the effect of increasing the likelihood of the behaviour being repeated by using consequences that are pleasant when they stop. eg. Aspirin to get rid of a headache. In simple terms, it is behaviour that makes something unpleasant go away.

Question 17

Key terms: Operant conditioning

Punishment

Answer 17

Anything which has the effect of decreasing the likelihood of the behaviour being repeated by using consequences that are **unpleasant **when they happen.

Question 18

Social learning theory (SLT)

Answer 18

• Builds on behaviourism
• More focused on human participants
• indirect experience recognised eg. Witnessing a behaviour
• internal processes are included
• behaviour is learn’t by observation and imitation.

Question 19

Role models

Answer 19

• Role model inspires or encourages others to imitate positive or negative behaviours.
• The behaviour the role model displays is ‘modelling’.
• Identification is more likely to happen if the model is similar (age, gender, ethnicity)

Question 20

Vicarious reinforcement and punishment

Answer 20

Vicarious - indirect
Vicarious reinforcement – observing another person being rewarded for the observed behaviour makes it more likely that the observed behaviour will be imitated.

Vicarious punishment - observing another person being punished for the observed behaviour makes it less likely that the observed behaviour will be imitated.

Question 21

Internal mediational processes

Answer 21

Attention – the extent to which we notice certain behaviours
Retention – how well the behaviour is remembered
Motor reproduction – the ability of the observer to perform the behaviour
Motivation – the will to perform the behaviour, which is often determined by whether the behaviour was rewarded or punished.

Question 22

Strengths of the Learning Approach

Answer 22

• Allows psychologists to investigate the effect of the environment on behaviour.
• Very scientific - usually uses controlled experimental methods.
• Provides a strong counter-argument to the nature side of the nature-nurture debate.
• Many useful applications eg. desensitisation (treating phobias)

Question 23

Weaknesses of the Learning Approach

Answer 23

• reductionist as it ignores influences of nature and cognition on behaviour.
• use of this perspective relies on lab experiments> lack ecological validity.
• Ethical concerns
• Many animal studies cause problems when generalising to humans.