What are the two types of learning approaches?
Behavourist approachSocial learning theory
What are the assumptions of the behaviourist approach?
- Behaviour is learnt through experiences- Humans are born 'tabula rasa' (a blank slate)- Scientific methods that are associated with observing behaviour- Behaviour is like that of animals therefore we can test on animals and draw conclusions about humans with the results
What are the two types of conditioning in the behaviourist approach?
Classical conditioning and Operant conditioning
What is classical conditioning?
Learning by association
When does classical conditioning occur?
When two stimuli are repeatedly paired together
Who are the two psychologists that investigated classical conditioning (separately)?
Pavlov, Watson
What was the aim of Pavlov's study?
To see if dogs can form an association with neutral stimuli
Produce a diagram that shows the procedure of Pavlov's study
Food (UCS) -> Salivating (UCR)Food (UCS) + Bell (NS) -> Salivating (UCR)Bell (CS) -> Salivating (CR)
What did Watson & Rayner do for their study?
They conditioned a fear of white rats (and objects similiar to white rats) in a 9 month old baby (Little Albert)
Produce a diagram that shows the procedure of Watson & Rayner's study
Loud noise (UCS) -> Crying/fear (UCR)Loud noise (UCS) + White rat (NS) -> Crying/fear (UCR)White rat (CS) -> Crying/fear (CR)
What is operant conditioning?
Learning through consequence
What are the three types of consequences as part of operant conditioning?
Punishment, positive reinforcement, negative reinforcement
What is punishment?
When something negative happens in response to an organism's behaviour
What is positive reinforcement?
When an organism is rewarded for their behaviour
What is negative reinforcement?
When something negative is taken away in response to an organism's behaviour (as a reward)
Who was the psychologist that tested positive and negative reinforcement?
Skinner
What was the procedure of Skinner's study that tested positive reinforcement?
A rat was conditioned to press a lever for food and conditioned a pigeon to turn in a circle
What was the procedure of Skinner's study that tested negative reinforcement?
In a Skinner box, the grid was electrified and when the rat presses the lever, the current is switched off so it learns to press the lever to take away the pain.
How scientifically credible is the behaviourist theory?
It measures observable behaviour (unlike introspection) and lots of the studies were done in a laboratory therefore high internal validity and replicatability
How can we apply the behaviourist theory to real life?
In prisons and psychiatric wards
What is the mechanistic view regarding the behaviourist theory?
In contrast to other approaches, the behaviourist theory suggests that individual's mental processes are passive with no conscious insight into behaviour
What factor does the behaviourist theory ignore? Therefore, what can it be known as?
Free will, environmental determinism (where genetics play no part in our behaviour and our behaviour is determined by external factors therefore we can supposedly predict behaviours)
What are the ethical issues regarding the studies that investigated the behaviourist theory?
Protection from harm - lots of animals were put under distressing conditions
What are the assumptions of the social learning theory?
- Involves forming mental representations of observed behaviour- Behaviour is sorted in the memory- We imitate behaviour depending on the consequences of it- We tend to imitate those who are similar to us in some way
List the main components of the processes and other key terms associated with the social learning learning theory
- Attention- Retention- Reproduction/Imitation- Reinforcement- Role models- Identification- Observation- Direct reinforcement- Vicarious reinforcement- Mental representation
What is 'attention'?
When an individual attends to the behaviour of a model
What is 'retention'?
Behaviour that is observed is then stored in the memory
What is 'imitation'?
When an individual reproduces the behaviour they observed
What is 'direct reinforcement'?
When YOU receive the consequences of YOUR behaviour. An individual imitates a behaviour and is either rewarded or punished for it.
What is 'vicarious reinforcement'?
When you observe the behaviour of OTHERS and the consequences THEY receive for it. An individual observes someone else be punished or rewarded for their behaviour.
What is 'identification'?
When an individual shares factors with the person of whom they observe, i.e. gender, age, ethnicity
What is a 'role model'?
Someone who individuals look up to and observe the behaviour of, i.e. parents, older siblings, celebrities
What is a 'mental representation'?
An image of something that is stored in the memory of an individual doing the observed behaviour and its consequences
Who conducted the study that investigated the social learning theory?
Bandura
What was the sample used in Bandura's study?
36 boys, 36 girls (aged between 3 and 6)
What experimental design was used in Bandura's study?
Matched pairs design
How many experimental groups were used in Bandura's study?
8
What were the different experimental groups in Bandura's study?
First the sample was divided into 2, one group was exposed to an aggressive model and the other was exposed to an unaggressive model. Of these, the groups were divided into 2 again, one group saw a same sex model and the other group saw a different sex model.
What was the independent variable(s) in Bandura's study?
Whether or not they observed the adult engaging in aggressive behaviour, whether or not the child was the same gender as the adult
What were they measuring in Bandura's study?
Whether or not the child imitated the behaviour of the model
What was the procedure of Bandura's study?
Participants was left in a room with an adult (of either the same gender or not) and a bobo doll (a big inflatable doll). The adult (model) striked the doll, aggressively, physically and verbally attacking it. The adult then left the room and the behaviour of the child alone with the bobo doll was observed.
What were the findings of Bandura's study?
Those who saw the adult aggressively hit the doll significantly attacked the doll more than those who saw the non-aggressive adult. Boys were slightly more physically aggressive but they were equally verbally aggressive. The male model was more influential than the female model.
In what way is the social learning theory better than the behaviourist theory?
Because it takes into consideration cognitive factors
What is problematic about the way in which most the studies carried out supporting the social learning theory?
Most of them were laboratory studies therefore they may have produced demand characteristics so participants may have behaved differently to the way they normally would thus lacking in internal validity for they may not have been directly testing what they set out to be
What does the social learning theory ignore?
Biological factors
What does the social learning theory help to explain?
Cross-cultural differences in behaviour
The social learning theory is less .... than the behaviourist theory thus making it more .....
Deterministic, realistic (as it takes into account free will and our ability to choose what behaviour we attend to and imitate)
Learning approaches // Approaches
What are the two types of learning approaches?
Learning approaches // Approaches
What are the assumptions of the behaviourist approach?
Learning approaches // Approaches
What are the two types of conditioning in the behaviourist approach?
Learning approaches // Approaches
What is classical conditioning?
Learning approaches // Approaches
When does classical conditioning occur?
Learning approaches // Approaches
Who are the two psychologists that investigated classical conditioning (separately)?
Learning approaches // Approaches
What was the aim of Pavlov's study?
Learning approaches // Approaches
Produce a diagram that shows the procedure of Pavlov's study
Learning approaches // Approaches
What did Watson & Rayner do for their study?
Learning approaches // Approaches
Produce a diagram that shows the procedure of Watson & Rayner's study
Learning approaches // Approaches
What is operant conditioning?
Learning approaches // Approaches
What are the three types of consequences as part of operant conditioning?
Learning approaches // Approaches
What is punishment?
Learning approaches // Approaches
What is positive reinforcement?
Learning approaches // Approaches
What is negative reinforcement?
Learning approaches // Approaches
Who was the psychologist that tested positive and negative reinforcement?
Learning approaches // Approaches
What was the procedure of Skinner's study that tested positive reinforcement?
Learning approaches // Approaches
What was the procedure of Skinner's study that tested negative reinforcement?
Learning approaches // Approaches
How scientifically credible is the behaviourist theory?
Learning approaches // Approaches
How can we apply the behaviourist theory to real life?
Learning approaches // Approaches
What is the mechanistic view regarding the behaviourist theory?
Learning approaches // Approaches
What factor does the behaviourist theory ignore? Therefore, what can it be known as?
Learning approaches // Approaches
What are the ethical issues regarding the studies that investigated the behaviourist theory?
Learning approaches // Approaches
What are the assumptions of the social learning theory?
Learning approaches // Approaches
List the main components of the processes and other key terms associated with the social learning learning theory
Learning approaches // Approaches
What is 'attention'?
Learning approaches // Approaches
What is 'retention'?
Learning approaches // Approaches
What is 'imitation'?
Learning approaches // Approaches
What is 'direct reinforcement'?
Learning approaches // Approaches
What is 'vicarious reinforcement'?
Learning approaches // Approaches
What is 'identification'?
Learning approaches // Approaches
What is a 'role model'?
Learning approaches // Approaches
What is a 'mental representation'?
Learning approaches // Approaches
Who conducted the study that investigated the social learning theory?
Learning approaches // Approaches
What was the sample used in Bandura's study?
Learning approaches // Approaches
What experimental design was used in Bandura's study?
Learning approaches // Approaches
How many experimental groups were used in Bandura's study?
Learning approaches // Approaches
What were the different experimental groups in Bandura's study?
Learning approaches // Approaches
What was the independent variable(s) in Bandura's study?
Learning approaches // Approaches
What were they measuring in Bandura's study?
Learning approaches // Approaches
What was the procedure of Bandura's study?
Learning approaches // Approaches
What were the findings of Bandura's study?
Learning approaches // Approaches
In what way is the social learning theory better than the behaviourist theory?
Learning approaches // Approaches
What is problematic about the way in which most the studies carried out supporting the social learning theory?
Learning approaches // Approaches
What does the social learning theory ignore?
Learning approaches // Approaches
What does the social learning theory help to explain?
Learning approaches // Approaches
The social learning theory is less .... than the behaviourist theory thus making it more .....