What is classical conditioning?
Learning through associations
What is the unconditioned response and unconditioned stimulus in Pavlov’s research before conditioning?
UCR= The salivation of the dog
UCS= The food
What is the conditioned stimulus and the conditioned response in Pavlov’s research after conditioning?
CS=The bell sound
CR= salivation from the dog
What is the neutral stimulus in Pavlov’s research before conditioning?
The bell sound
Describe Pavlov’s research on the behaviourist approach
He repeatedly rang a bell when the dog was eing presented with the food. He called these the conditioning process. After several pairings of the bell and food, the bell alone would cause the dog to begin to salivate. The dog had learned to associate the bell with the presentation of the food.
What is operant conditioning?
Learning through reinforcement
What is positive reinforcement?
When a behaviour is rewarded which makes the behaviour more likely to reoccur in the future
What is negative reinforcement?
When a behaviour means the person avoids a negative consequence, which makes the behaviour more likely to reoccur in the future
What is punishment?
When a behaviour is met with a negative consequence, which makes the behaviour less likely to occur in the future
Describe Skinner’s research into positive reinforcement?
The rat/pigeon is placed in the box and accidentally it presses a lever within the box. Each time the lever is pressed a pellet of food appears,the food acts as a reward. The rat/pigeon continued to press the lever in order to recieve the food. The more that the reward and the lever are paired the greater the likelihood of the behavior being repeated.
Describe Skinner’s research into negative reinforcment
The animal moves around the box to avoid the shock, it accidentally presses the lever within the box, which causes the electricity to stop. Occasionally the animal would quickly repeat the lever pressing behavior, showing how the behaviour has been strengthened.
Describe Skinner’s research into punishment
This time the rat accidentlally presses against the lever they recieve an lectric shock. The rats were less likely to press the lever again and remained on the opposite side of the box.
What are two positives of the behaviourist approach?
It takes a very scientific approach to studying human behaviour. They study observable and measurable behaviours and generally use laboratory methods. As a result, it is easier to draw conclusions.
It views all behaviour as learned, it therefore assumes behaviours can also be unlearned by the same processes. As a result, it provides application in modifying behaviour.
What are two negatives of the behaviourist approach?
It claims our behaviours are determined by our environment, or from learning the consequences of are actions. However, people often demonstrate unique or spontaneous behaviours.
It is conducted on non-human animls. However, critics argue that humans are much more complex, due to the influence of our emotions on our behaviour.
What are the assumptions of the behaviourist approach?
We are born a blank slate and all behaviour is learned from experience.
Only behaviours which are directly observable and can be scientifically measured should be studied (use empirical methods).
What is the assumption of the social learning theory?
Behaviour is learned from the environment indirectly by observing others, their behavior and it’s consequences.
What did Bandura claim about the social learnig theory?
That we watch peple significant to us that we can identify to, which are called role odels. If the role model’s behaviour is positively reinforced, then this acts as vicarious (indirect) reinforcement for the observer. The observer learns the potential conseuqences and is likely to then imitate the behaviour. Likewise, if the model’s behaviour is punished then it acts as a vicarious punishment, which the obsever is less likely to imitate.
What are the four mediational processes in the social learning theory?
Attention- the extent to which we notice certain behaviour
Retention- how well the behaviuor is remembered
Motor repoduction- the ability of the observer to perorm the behaviuor
Motivtion- the will to perform the behaviour, which is often detemined by whether the behaviour was rewarded or punished
Describe bandura’s research into the social learning behaviour
The participants were 4 year old children-36 boys and 36 girls. They either watched an adult behaving aggressively towards a bobo doll by punching and hitting it with a hammer, or a non-aggressive model. The children were taken to a room which contained brand new toys and were told that they weren’t allowedto play with these ( to create frustration). They were then moved to another room with other toys, including a hammer and a bobo doll.
What were the findings of Bandura’s research into the social learning theory?
Aggressive model condition- children reproduced physical and verbal aggressive acts resembling that of the model.
Non-aggressive model- no aggression towards bobo doll
Boys and girls were more likely to imitate the model if they were the same gender as them
Boys showed higher levels of aggression than the girls
Describe Bandura+Walters (1963) research into the social learning theory?
The children were shown videos of an adult behaving aggressively towards a bobo doll. There were 3 conditions:
- The adult got no consequences
- The model was ositively reinforced by being told well done
- The model was punished by being warned to not be aggressive in the future
What were the findings in Bandura+Walters research into the social learning theory?
Children exposed to the model positively reinforced were most likey to imitate the aggresssive acts, followed by the no consequences condition. Th children in the model punished condition were least likely to imitate the aggressive behaviour.
What are two positives of the social learning theory?
Children’s aggressive behaviour can be initiated and modifed through the processes of modelling and vicarious reinforcment.
It helps us to understand why there are cultural variations in human behaviour. This means that cultural norms are continued within societies through the continuous observation and imitation of models
Wht are the negatives of the social learning theory?
Boys were overall more aggressive than girls. This could be explained by hormonal inflences on aggresion. The SLT’s focus on the influence of the environment/social context overlooks key biological influenes.
It was controlled by laboatory research. Children may have showed the aggressive behaviour because that was what they thought they were supposed to do.
