Learning approach

• What are the assumptions of the learning approach?

  • All behaviour is learned from experience
  • Only observable behaviour can be measured and only measurable behaviour can be tested
  • We are born a blank slate, genetics have no influence on our behaviour
  • The same laws of learning apply to human and non-human behaviour
• What is classical conditioning?

  Learning through association
• What did Pavlov do to research classical conditioning?

  Got his dog to associate the sound of a bell with being fed, leading to salivation
• What was the dog associating before conditioning?

  Bell -> no response

  Food (unconditioned stimulus) -> Salivation (unconditioned response)
• What did Pavlovs dogs associate during conditioning?

  Food (unconditioned stimulus) + Bell (neutral stimulus) -> Salivation (unconditioned response)
• What did Pavlovs dogs associate after conditioning?

  Bell (conditioned stimulus) -> Salivation (conditioned response)
• What is operant conditioning?

  Learning by consequence
• What is positive reinforcement?

  Rewarding for an action in order for it to be repeated
• What is negative reinforcement?

  A behaviour is produced to avoid a negative outcome so it is repeated
• What is punishment?

  Produces an undesirable outcome so won’t be repeated
• What did Skinner do to investigate operant conditioning?

  • An electric current shocks a rat
  • Rat accidentally presses lever to switch off current
  • The rat has learned to press the lever to avoid the current
  • A light switches on prior to a shock
  • The rat presses a lever before shock -> negatively reinforced behaviour
• What is continuous reinforcement?

  Reinforcing after desired outcome every time
• What is partial reinforcement?

  Reinforcing after desired outcome only sometimes
• What is more effective, continuous reinforcement or partial reinforcement?

  Partial reinforcement
• What are some strengths of the learning approach?

  • Successful treatment of phobias
  • Effective treatments for learned disorders
• What are some weaknesses of the learning approach?

  • Reductionist, ignores role of evolution and genetics
  • Some animals find some behaviours harder to learn than others