Learning approach

• Learning approach


  Rejects the vagueness of introspection, focusing instead on observable events i.e. stimuli and responses, and the conditions under which learning would be most likely to occur. In particular, Behaviourists such as Skinner criticised earlier areas of psychology because they relied on unseen and unconscious processes which cannot be objectively measured. A s a result, behaviourists only focus on observable behaviour which can be accurately measured and interpreted.
• Basic assumptions of the Behaviourist approach

  We are born a blank slate. We are not born with any genetic, predisposed traits or abilities; instead all human behaviour is learned from the environment. Our environment is individual to each person. Behaviourists reject all unseen human experience: whilst learning theorists accept that humans have thoughts and emotions, these are of no interest to behaviourists because they are subjective and cannot be objectively measured. Suggests we have very limited free will or personal responsibility. Use strictly scientific research methods.
• Pavlov - Classical Conditioning


  Classical Conditioning suggests that human and animal behaviour can be learned by association, when a previously neutral stimulus becomes associated with an unconditioned response.
• Classical conditioning - Pavlov overview


  When a neutral stimulus (e.g. the bell), which produces no response, is repeatedly paired with an unconditioned stimulus (e.g. food), which produces an unconditioned response (e.g. salivation), so that the 2 stimuli become associated. In this case, the bell produces the same response (salivation) as the food. The neutral stimulus (the bell) has become a conditioned stimulus which produces a conditioned response (salivation). They are said to be conditioned because they have been learned.
• Pavlov procedure


  Pavlov harnesses dogs and connected tubes to their saliva ducts so their level of salivation could be measured. Before conditioning, Pavlov rang a bell which produced no response in teh dogs (neutral stimulus). However, when presented with food (unconditioned stimulus), the dogs salivated as a natural reflex (unconditioned response). During conditioning, Pavlov rang the bell (NS) every time the dogs were fed. The dogs continued to salivate (UCR) in response to the food (UCS).
• Pavlov - Findings and Conclusions

  After conditioning, the dogs associated the bell with the food so they salivated in response to the bell alone. The bell was no longer neutral; it had become a conditioned stimulus which produced a conditioned response, salivation.
• Operant conditioning


  Suggests that human and animal behaviour can be learned by consequences, such as reward and punishment. If a person is rewarded for a particular behaviour, it is more likely that they will repeat the behaviour in anticipation of a similar reward, conversely they are less likely to repeat the behaviour if they are initially punished for it.
• Positive reinforcement


  Provides a pleasant consequence to make behaviour more likely e.g. food.
• Negative reinforcement


  Removes an aversive consequence to make behaviour more likely e.g. turning off an electric shock.
• Punishment


  Provides an aversive consequence to make behaviour less likely e.g. an electric shock.
• Operant conditioning overview


  Learning by consequence through positive reinforcement (Where a reward is provided), making it more likely for the behaviour to be repeated in anticipation of the same consequence; negative reinforcement (Where an aversive stimulus is removed), making it more likely for the behaviour to be repeated in anticipation of the same consequence; and punishment (Where an aversive stimulus is provided), making it less likely for behaviour to be repeated in anticipation of the same consequence.
• Operant Conditioning - Skinner procedure

  Skinner's box contained a lever, which could be pressed to deliver food (reward) or to switch off unpleasant stimuli, such as mild electric shocks (negative reinforcement). Coloured lights in the box allowed the rat to discriminate conditions. A device outside the box recorded the amount of lever presses. Skinner used hungry rats. Each rat merely explored their environment when they first entered but after accidently pressing the lever, the rats quickly learned to associate the lever presses with food.
• Operant Conditioning - Skinner Findings

  • Positive Reinforcement - rats given a food pellet (positive reinforcer) were more likely to repeatedly press the level in anticipation of the same consequence.
  • Negative Reinforcement - rats would quickly learn to press the lever to turn off electric shocks, returning them to a pre-aversive state (reinforcer), making them more likely to repeatedly press the lever in anticipation of the same consequence.
  • Punishment - rats given an electric shock (punisher) very quickly learned not to press the lever in anticipation of the same consequence.
• Strength of learning approach

  • Real life applications which is when the principles of an approach are put into practice outside of the laboratory in real life. Token economies (reward systems) have successfully been used in prisons to encourage positive behaviour. Patients receive a token, which can be exchanged for privileges when engaging in desirable behaviours. Due to the success of these treatments, it is clear that humans behave in the way predicted by the theory, therefore contributing to our understanding of human behaviour.
• Limitation of learning theory

  • Environmentally determinist which is when a theory suggests that our free choice or personal responsibility is limited by learned, environmental factors outside of our control. For example, not all children who are punished for undesirable behaviours will stop doing them, some children may choose to continue to behave in this way despite the punishments they receive. This suggests that humans do have free will to choose and that we are not just a sum total of our reinforcement history, this casts some doubt over the assumptions of the learning theory.
• Limitation of learning theory

  • Low external validity which is when an approach does not have the ability for its findings to be generalised to other settings, wider populations or over time. For example, the Skinner box experiment used rats, while Pavlov used dogs to investigate conditioning. Assumptions were then made about human behaviour. Therefore, the research supporting the learning approach can be viewed as problematic as it is difficult to generalise to humans.
• Social Learning Theory


  Suggests that human and animal behaviour can be learned by imitating the behaviour we observe in others, through vicarious reinforcement (indirect reinforcement). A person receives vicarious positive reinforcement by observing behaviour being positively reinforced in a role model. In this way, the person is likely to imitate the model's behaviour in anticipation of a similar level of direct positive reinforcement. This process is called modelling. Once the person successfully reproduces the behaviour, it is likely to be reinforced through operant conditioning.
• Role of Mediational Processes - Bandura

  1. Attention - attention must be paid to role models. Models may be live, such as a parent, teacher or a member of a peer group, or symbolic, such as someone portrayed in the mass media.
  2. Retention - observed behaviours must be memorised.
  3. Motivation - the person will be motivated to reproduce the behaviour through indirect positive reinforcement. However, this is only likely if they judge the rewards of imitation to be greater than the costs.
  4. Reproduction - an observed behaviour is imitates in anticipation of a similar level of direct positive reinforcement.
• Bandura's Bobo Doll procedure


  72 participants with a mean age of 4 years. In condition 1, each child was led into a room and seated with paper and crayons. Minutes later an experimenter entered the room and acted aggressively towards a bobo doll for 10 minutes. In condition 2, the experimenter entered the room but didn't act aggressively. After 10 minutes, the children were led into another room with toys. To cause aggression arousal, the children were not to play with these toys. Finally, after 2 minutes they were led to another room where there was aggressive and non-aggressive toys.
• Bandura's Bobo doll study Findings

  The children who had seen the aggressive role model were more likely to show the same aggressive behaviour to the bobo-doll. In all conditions boys were more aggressive than girls. Imitation was greatest if children had observed a same-sex adult role model behaving aggressively towards the bobo doll.
• Bandura' Bobo doll study Conclusions

  Children imitated the observed aggressive behaviour due to the vicarious positive reinforcement received when watching the adult role model behave in the same way. This was particularly likely if the children identified with the role model (by being of the same gender).
• Strength of social learning theory

  • Culturally universal which is when an approach argues that behaviour is the same across all groups, regardless of culture. This is because all children learn in the same way as they learn from the people around them. Furthermore, they understand their gender role by imitating role models. So regardless of culture it is clear that we do behave in the way SLT predicts.
• Limitation of Social learning theory

  • environmentally determinist which is when a theory suggests that our free choice or personal responsibility is limited by learned, environmental factors. This is because the approach suggests we do not have free choice in the development of behaviour. However, not all people will imitate behaviour that they see in a role model. In Bandura's study, some children chose not to behave aggressively towards the doll. Therefore, this causes us to question validity of social learning as an explanation for behaviour.
• Limitation of Social Learning theory

  Environmentally determinist which is when a theory inappropriately explains behaviour in terms of basic learned, environmental units. This is because whilst the SLT theory makes assumptions that aggressive behaviours are learnt through imitation, it ignores the impact of biological factors on behaviour. For example, boys showing more aggressive behaviours than girls in Bandura's study could be explained by hormones. As this is important, influence is not accounted for in SLT, it causes us to question the validity of SLT as an explanation for behaviour.