Learning psychology

• Learning theories


  Explain how we acquire behavior, emphasising the importance of nurture. They suggest that a baby is a 'tabula rasa' (a blank slate) waiting to be moulded and shaped by external forces in their environment
• Conditioning


  Another word for learning
• Classical conditioning


  1. Learning through association

  2. Naturally occurring stimulus-response links, an unconditioned stimulus (UCS) creates an unconditioned response (UCR)

  3. Neutral stimuli (NS) when present initially produce no effect, but when paired repeatedly with a UCS an association is formed and the NS will become a conditioned stimulus (CS) which produces a conditioned response (CR)
• Generalization


  • A CS can become generalized once the response has been learnt, meaning a similar stimulus may produce the same response
• Discrimination


  • Over time, the conditioned response only occurs when presented with the specific conditioned stimulus, as the learner has refined their learning and identified the difference between the stimuli
• Extinction


  • The removal (death) of the behaviour, which happens if the conditioned stimulus is continually presented without the unconditioned stimulus
• Spontaneous recovery


  • The accelerated relearning of an association after extinction, meaning extinction is not the same as 'unlearning'
• Pavlov was a Russian physiologist who made a foundational contribution to psychology when he researched salivation in dogs
• Pavlov concluded that environmental stimuli, through repeated pairing, can trigger a response
• Pavlov found that higher order conditioning is possible (i.e. 2 neutral stimuli can be paired with the UCS)
• Pavlov also found stimulus generalisation to similar sounding tones but discrimination between very different sounding tones
• Strengths of classical conditioning


  • Credibility
  • Widespread application
  • Scientific research methods
• Weaknesses of classical conditioning


  • Contrived, artificial lab environment
  • Reductionist, underestimates biological factors
  • Problems with animal ethics and generalisability to humans
  • Alternative theories offer broader explanations
• Operant conditioning


  Learning through consequence, where an association is made between a behaviour and a consequence for that behaviour
• Operant conditioning


  1. Antecedent (stimulus to trigger behaviour)

  2. Behaviour (response made by the animal)

  3. Consequence (reward/punishment that follows behaviour)
• Reinforcement


  Used to encourage good behaviour, either by giving something pleasant (positive reinforcement) or taking away something unpleasant (negative reinforcement)
• Punishment


  Used to discourage bad behaviour, either by giving something unpleasant (positive punishment) or taking away something pleasant (negative punishment)
• Token economies


  • Based on operant conditioning principles, using 'tokens' as secondary reinforcers to encourage desirable behaviour and reduce undesirable behaviour
• Schedules of reinforcement


  • Fixed interval
  • Variable interval
  • Fixed ratio
  • Variable ratio
• Behaviour modification


  A therapy based in operant conditioning to extinguish undesirable behavior, replace it with desirable behaviour and reinforce it
• Token economies have been used, controversially, to treat abnormal behaviour
• Strengths of operant conditioning


  • Foundational, inspired further research
  • Scientific research methods
  • Wide range of applications
• Weaknesses of operant conditioning


  • Contrived, artificial lab environment
  • Reductionist, underestimates biological factors
  • Problems with animal ethics and generalisability to humans
  • Oversimplified explanation
• Social learning theory


  Learning through observation, where humans and animals watch and imitate the behaviour we see around us
• Stages of social learning


  1. Attention

  2. Retention

  3. Reproduction

  4. Motivation
• Mineka & Cook (1988) found that rhesus monkeys in captivity with no fear of snakes developed it after watching other wild monkeys show fear
• Vicarious reinforcement


  Learning from observing the consequences of others' behaviour
• Social learning theory account for Holly learning to use a fork


  1. Attention to Tom's demonstration

  2. Retention of how to hold and use the fork

  3. Reproduction of the fork-using behaviour

  4. Motivation from Tom's praise and Holly's positive feelings
• Classical conditioning explanation of phobias

  Pairing a neutral stimulus with a negative, frightening experience could create a conditioned fear response
• Operant conditioning explanation of phobias


  Increases and decreases in fear response behaviour with different rewards and punishments, linked to social phobias
• Social learning explanation of phobias


  • Learning can occur by observing others, particularly the consequences of their behaviour
  • Observing someone's fear
  • Imitation of fear
  • Reinforcement of fear behaviour
• Dubi et al (2008) found maternal modelling influences babies' fear reactions
• Dollinger et al (1984) found lightning survivors demonstrated more intense fear of storms after their experience
• Hekmat (1987) found only 23% of animal phobics had any type of conditioning experiences
• Mineka & Zinbarg (2006) recorded a case study of a boy who developed fear of vomiting after witnessing his grandfather vomit
• Systematic desensitisation


  • Reciprocal inhibition - learning to relax when faced with something stressful
  • Gradual exposure to the feared object/situation
• Flooding


  Placing the phobic client with the feared object/situation for a prolonged period with no option to leave
• Implosion


  Similar to flooding but the client imagines being presented with the feared object and uses muscle relaxation to reduce anxiety
• Social modelling


  A person with a fear observes another person interact happily with the feared object, learning the stimulus will not harm them
• Social learning theory explains how children learn their gender identity through observing the world around them