A method where individuals are asked to observe and report their own conscious thoughts and feelings in response to stimuli in their environment
What are the evaluations of Pavlovs research ?
Pros :
. Based on empirical evidence - scientific
. Real life application -Little Albert
Cons:
.Reductionist -ignores mental processes
. Animal studies may not generalise to humans
What is operant conditioning and who made the term up?
. Learning through consequences – reinforcement and punishment
. B.F Skinner
What is positive reinforcement?
. Adding something positive after desired behaviour is observed
What is negative reinforcement ?
Removing something unpleasant when desired behaviour is displayed
What was B.F Skinners experiment ?
An animal is placed in the box.
The animal's behavior is monitored, and specific responses (e.g., pressing a lever) are reinforced with a reward (food) or negatively reinforced by removing electric shock.
The behaviour is reinforced
What is punishment ?
applying something unpleasant to reduce behaviour.
What are the evaluations of Skinners Box ?
Pros :
. Practical reallife applications
. Controlled lab experiment (no extraneous variable) = high reliability
Cons :
. No emphasis on mental processes or biology so can’t be sure if reinforcement works
. Low ecological validity can’t tell if rats would actually act like that in normal environment
. Animal cruelty
.Animal studies may not generalise to humans
What is social learning theory and who made the theory?
Learning through observing, imitating others in a social context, Albert Bandura
What are the mediational processes for SLT?
. Attention - individuals must pay attention to the behavior they are observing, focusing on relevant details
. Retention - The observed behavior must be stored in memory for later recall and imitation
. Reproduction - Individuals need to be able to physically and mentally reproduce the observed behavior
. Motivation - An individual must be motivated by preserved rewards or attention that comes with repeating the behaviour
What are the assumptions for social learning theory?
. Learning takes place indirectly ,through vicarious reinforcement
. Learning occurs through observation and imitation of others behaviour
. Behaviour is learned in social contexts by watching rolemodels
. Cognitive processes mediate the learning process
What is modelling ?
Performing a behaviour for others to imitate
What types of models are there?
Live - someone in the person real life eg. teachers
Symbolic - someone the actual person doesn’t interact with in their everyday life eg.celebrity
What is vicarious reinforcement ?
Learning occurs by observing the consequences of someone else’s behaviour
What is identification ?
The observer associates themselves with a role model and wants to be like them
What did Bandura find in his study ?
. Boys were more aggressive then girls
. Boys were more likely to act aggressive after viewing samesex model
. People who observed more aggressive model were more likely to show aggression themselves
What are the evaluation for Baduras BoBo Dolls ?
Pros :
.Laboratory study
. Real life relevance eg. Banning of violent video game ,role model teachers
Cons :
. Doesn’t explain how behaviour originate
. Ignores biological and internal processes
What are the assumptions for cognitive approach ?
Behaviour is the result of internal mental processes.
The mind is like a computer – input → process → output.
Thought processes can be studied scientifically via inference.
What is a schema?
Cognitiveframework of beliefs based on past experiments.
Why can schemas be good/bad?
. Help us process information quickly
. Can fill in the gaps in our knowledge
. May create distortions and stereotypeseg. Eyewitness accounts
What are theoretical models?
. Simplified visual representation of cognitive processes eg. Multi-storemodel of memory
What are the evaluations of the theoretical model?
Pros:
. Useful for research
. Flexible and clear
Cons:
. Machine reductionism
. No biological basis
What is the computer system?
. Type of theoretical model that uses computer analogies