Behaviourist/ learning approach

• what are the assumptions of the behaviourist approach?

  ->psychologists should only study observable, quantifiable behaviour

  -> all behaviour is learned

  -> humans are no different from animals and should not be regarded as more complex

  ->research on animals behaviour is directly relevant to humans
• who was Ivan Pavlov

  he developed the theory of classical conditioning
• define classical conditioning

  it a type of learning in which an existing involuntary reflex is associated with a new stimulus.
• one supporting evidence for classical conditioning

  ->Pavlov famously tested his theory using dogs, who were conditioned to associate the sound of a bell (neutral stimulus) with food (unconditioned stimulus).

  ->this resulted in the dogs producing a salivation response (conditioned response) at the sound of a bell (conditioned stimulus), even when no food was present
• what observations did Pavlov make after this experiment?


  ->he demonstrated that repeated exposure to an event leads to a learned and uncontrollable behaviour.

  ->this process can be used to explain the acquisition of phobias and the development of attachment
• give another case study/supporting evidence for classical conditioning 


  ->Little Albert-conducted by John B.Watson, John Hopkins Uni, 1920

  ->they presented 9 month old Albert a white rat and he showed no fear

  ->Watson then presented the white rat with a loud bang that startled little Albert and made him cry
• what was the aim of the Little Albert case study?


  to test the principles of classical conditioning
• what was concluded of the Little Albert case study?


  ->after continuous association of the white rat and loud noise, he was classically conditioned to experience fear at the sight of the rat.

  -> Albert's fear generalized to the other stimuli that were similar to the rat e.g white fur, cotton wool, Santa mask

  -> this is known s generalisation
• who came up with Operant Conditioning 


  Skinner
• explain operant conditioning 


  ->Skinner suggested that behaviour

  ->Skinner suggested that behaviour is a result of learning through the consequences of our actions
• When Skinner conducted his research into his operant conditioning theory using rats and pigeons, what did he find?


  ->three types of reinforcement
• describe and explain the three types of reinforcement?


  ->positive reinforcement: when a behaviour is followed by a desirable consequence (reward) and is more likely to be repeated (increase in behaviour)

  ->negative reinforcement: when a behaviour is followed by the removal of am adverse consequence and is more likely to be repeated (increase in behaviour)

  ->punishment: when a behaviour is followed by an unpleasant consequence and is less likely to be repeated (there is a decrease in behaviour)
• device to test operant conditioning 


  ->device- "Skinner's box"

  ->it is a cage where a rat could be placed with a small lever (which the rat would be trained to press), a chute that would release pellets of foods, and a floor which could be electrified
• supporting evidence for operant conditioning 


  ->hungry rat was placed in a cage, every time it activated the lever, a food pellet fell into the food dispenser (PR)

  ->the rat quickly learned to go straight to the lever after a few times of being put in the box

  ->this suggests that positive reinforcement increases the behaviour

  ->another experiment- a rat was placed in a cage in which was subjected to an uncomfortable electrical current, moving around, the rat hit the lever

  ->this switched off the electrical current (NR). suggests that NR increases the behaviour
• give a strength of the behaviourist approach 


  ->one strength of the behaviourist approach is that it has useful applications to help solve real-world problems

  ->for example, token economy, (based on principles of OC) are used in institutions like prisons or hospitals where good/approaches behaviours are rewarded with tokens which can be exchanged for privileges such as extra free time or access to free resources
• limitation of the behaviourist approach

  ->a limitation is that it is highly deterministic as it suggests we have little free will to control our behaviour (we are simply responding to environmental influences

  ->for example, in Pavlov's dog experiment, the dog didn't have a choice in what consequences it got, it also couldn't control it's reaction. In essence, the dog didn't have any control over how the bell was paired with the food creating a paired response, it couldn't control it's salivation
• why is this a limitation of the behaviourist of the behaviourist approach?


  a problem with determinism is that is inconsistent with society's ideas of responsibility and self-control that form the basis of our moral and legal obligations, as a society we argue that people have free will over their actions
• what are the assumptions of the social learning theory?


  ->it still suggests that behaviour is learned, but learnt in a different way

  ->Bandura suggests that learning occurs through observation and imitation of others

  ->the SLT suggests that learning occurs directly through operant and classical conditioning but also indirectly
• define vicarious reinforcement


  it refers to learning indirectly
• describe the process of vicarious reinforcement 


  ->indirect learning, the individual observes the behaviour of others

  ->they may imitate this behaviour but, in general, imitation only occurs if the behaviour is seen to be rewarded (reinforced) rather than punished

  ->the learner basically observes a behaviour but most importantly observes the consequences of that behaviour
• describe the SLT 


  the social learning theory is often described as the 'bridge' between traditional learning theory and the cognitive approach because it focuses on how mental (cognitive) factors are involved in learning
• describe the four mediational processes 


  ->attention-the extent in which we notice a behaviour

  ->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 punished or rewarded
• describe the role of identification in the social learning theory 


  ->people especially children are much more likely to imitate the behaviour of people with whom they identify- role models

  ->process is called modelling

  ->a person becomes a role model if they are seen to possess similar characteristics to the observer and or attractive and have high status

  ->role models may not be physically present in the environment, and this has important implications for the influence of the media on behaviour
• case study of the SLT


  Bandura, Ross and Ross(1961)- The Bobo Doll Experiment
• what was the aim of the bobo doll experiment


  investigate whether aggression can be learned through social learning theory principles
• describe the method of the bobo doll experiment

  ->controlled observation (IV's manipulated, 72 kids

  aged between 3-6, split into three group for ten mins

  ->aggressive model- the child played in a room with an adult who hit and shouted at the bobo doll

  ->this group was then sub-divided by the gender of the child and adult model

  ->non-aggressive models-the child played in a room while an adult played quietly with a constructions set. this group was divided once again by the gender of the child and the adult model, creating another conditions

  ->control group- the child didn't see a model
• what were the results of the bobo doll experiments


  ->the children were deliberately frustrated by being taken into another room where they were told they could not play with any toys but aggressive toys

  ->results- children who saw the aggressive model produced more aggressive acts than those in either of the other two groups

  ->boys imitated same-sex models more than girls.

  ->girls imitated more physical aggression if they saw male models, and more verbal aggression if they saw female model
• what conclusion was drawn from the experiment

  aggressive behaviour can be learned, in children, through observation and limitation of a model
• what is a limitation of the SLT 


  ->a limitation is that the SLT is the underestimation of the influence of biological factors

  ->Bandura makes little reference to the impact of biological factors in SLT. One finding in the Bobo Doll experiment was that boys were often more aggressive than girls regardless of the situation explained hormonal factors such as difference in testosterone levels, an hormone present in greater quantities in boys

  ->this means that this important influence on behaviours isn't accounted for in SLT which may decrease the validity of the experiment