LEARNING THEORY

• OTHER NAME FOR LEARNING THEORY?

  Behaviourist explanation/ two-process model
• WHAT IS CLASSICAL CONDITIONING (SIMPLIFIED)?

  learning through association
• WHAT IS OPERANT CONDITIONING (SIMPLIFIED)?

  learning through reinforcement
• WHAT IS POSITIVE REINFORCEMENT (SIMPLIFIED)?

  rewarding which causes the behaviour to continue
• WHAT IS NEGATIVE REINFORCEMENT (SIMPLIFIED)?

  something is removed which causes the behaviour to continue
• WHO PUT THE LEARNING THEORY FORWARD?

  Behaviourists
• WHAT IS THE MAIN POINT OF THE LEARNING THEORY?

  behaviour is learnt rather than innate
• WHAT DOES THE LEARNING THEORY PROPOSE ABOUT CHILDREN?

  children are born as blank slates and become who they are due to experiences
• HOW DOES THE LEARNING THEORY STATE INFANTS LEARN TO ATTACH TO THEIR CAREGIVERS?

  association with food, strengthened through reinforcement
• WHAT IS THE LEARNING THEORY SOMETIMES REFERRED TO AS A RESULT OF THE MAIN PRINCIPLES RELATION TO FOOD?

  'Cupboard love' theory
• WHAT IS THE UCS IN THE LEARNING THEORY?

  food
• WHAT IS THE UCR IN THE LEARNING THEORY?

  happy baby
• WHAT IS THE ORIGINAL NS IN THE LEARNING THEORY?

  mother
• WHAT IS THE NS PAIRED WITH TO CREATE A UCR?

  UCS
• WHAT DOES THE MOTHER (NS) BECOME AFTER PAIRING?

  CS
• WHAT DOES THE MOTHER PRODUCE AFTER PAIRING?

  CR (happy baby)
• WHAT IS THE CS IN LEARNING THEORY?

  mother
• WHAT IS THE CR IN THE LEARNING THEORY?

  happy baby
• WHAT BECOMES THE PRIMARY REINFORCER IN THE LEARNING THEORY?

  food
• WHAT BECOMES THE SECONDARY REINFORCER IN THE LEARNING THEORY?

  caregiver
• EXAMPLE OF POSITIVE REINFORCEMENT (BABY)?

  • baby cries
  • father feeds baby
  • baby continues to cry in future as father bringing food is rewarding
• EXAMPLE OF POSITIVE REINFORCEMENT (FATHER)?

  • father plays with baby
  • baby smiles and laughs
  • father continues to play in future as baby's reaction is rewarding
• EXAMPLE OF NEGATIVE REINFORCEMENT (BABY)?

  • baby cries
  • father feeds baby
  • baby's hunger goes away
  • baby continues to cry in future as removal of hunger is rewarding
• EXAMPLE OF NEGATIVE REINFORCEMENT (FATHER)?

  • baby cries
  • father feeds baby
  • baby's crying goes away
  • father continues to feed baby in future as removal of crying is rewarding
• STRENGTHS?

  intuitive approval
• WEAKNESSES?

  • counter-evidence from animal studies
  • counter-evidence from human studies
  • evolutionary debate
• HOW DOES THE LEARNING THEORY HAVE INTUITIVE APPROVAL?

  • Behaviourist approach
  • well established scientific approach in psychology
• COUNTER-EVIDENCE AGAINST LEARNING THEORY FROM ANIMAL STUDIES WAS DONE BY WHO?

  Harlow
• COUNTER-EVIDENCE AGAINST LEARNING THEORY FROM HUMAN STUDIES WAS DONE BY WHO?

  Schaffer and Emerson
• HARLOW'S EXPERIMENT?

  MONKEY EXPERIMENT

  • isolated infant monkeys attach to cloth monkey
  • rather than a wire one which provided food
• CONCLUSION?

  • primates attach for comfort rather than food
  • learning theory is weakened
  • arguable that Bowlby's theory is a better explanation
• SCHAFFER AND EMERSON'S EXPERIMENT?

  SCOTTISH CHILDREN STUDY

  • in the 1960s
  • over half children were primarily attached to a person who did not feed them
• CONCLUSION OF SCHAFFER AND EMERSON EXPERIMENT?

  food is overestimated in learning theory, therefore it lacks explanatory power
• EVOLUTIONARY DEBATE SUGGESTS WHAT?

  born with innate need to attach
• CONCLUSION OF EVOLUTIONARY DEBATE?

  better explains why babies are born with social behaviours that elicit care/ can mimic human reactions within minutes of being born

  ENVIRONMENTAL DETERMINISM
• WHAT DOES THE EVOLUTIONARY THEORY SUGGEST ABOUT THE LEARNING THOERY?

  ignores potential biological influences (theory is incomplete)