Chapter 4 - Learning Theory Perspectives

Question 1

classical conditioning

Answer 1

can account for learning in humans, can also explain many of our emotions
> unconditioned stimulus & unconditioned response
> neutral stimulus
> conditioned stimulus and conditioned response

> generalizing
extinction

Question 2

Behaviorist perspective on classical conditioning
(regarding psychopathology)

Answer 2

psychopathology as a learnt, maladaptive response to a situation that may have been generalized to other situations / similar stimuli –> abnormal development resulted from acquiring maladaptive response

Question 3

Operant Conditioning (Skinner)

Answer 3

classical conditioning too simplistic, rather consequences of the response are crucial, as it affects the probability of the response being repeated
> positive reinforcement
> negative reinforcement
> random or partial reinforcement schedules
> shaping

Question 4

Positive reinforcement

Answer 4

consequence of a behavior is to encourage the repetition of that behavior

Question 5

negative reinforcement

Answer 5

consequences that discourage repetition of behavior

Question 6

random/ partial reinforcement schedules

Answer 6

produce behavior very resistant to change

Question 7

shaping

Answer 7

Through the process of successive approximation, behaviors that are getting closer to a target behavior are progressively rewarded with positive reinforcement

Question 8

Stimulus-response Model (Dollard & Miller)

Answer 8

• Attempt to integrate Freud‘s psychoanalytic approach with learning theory
• Behaviour is not only a response to environmental stimuli BUT can also be response to inner stimuli (cues) -> Role of cognitive processing in learning theory

Question 9

habit

Answer 9

association between stimulus and response
> can be positive or negative

Question 10

primary drives
(Stimulus-repsone Model, Dollard + Miller)

Answer 10

innate drives, psychological drives associated with ensuring survival for the individual
> reduction of these drives: most powerful reinforcement (automatically + unconscious),
> rarely directly observed

> Primary reinforcers: food, water, sleep

Question 11

Secondary drives

Answer 11

mainly learnt to help us cope with the primary drives
> secondary reinforcers: items or events that were originally neutral but have acquired a value as a reinforcer through being associated with primary drive reduction

Question 12

Learning of habits (Stimulus-Response Model)

Answer 12

1. initial drive
2. cues to act (guidance on how to act)
3. response to act (if response not satisfying: extinction)
4. reinforcement

Question 13

conflict situations
(Stimulus reponse theory)

Answer 13

• approach-approach conflict: two equally desirable goals
• avoidance - avoidance conflict: two equally undesirable alternatives
• approach -avoidance conflict: one goal with desirable and undesirable aspects
• double approach avoidance: multiple goals, some desirable, some undesirable

Question 14

Dollard + Miller account of human developement

Answer 14

deterministic: behavior is motivated by the need to reduce our primary and secondary drives –> learning behavior in the process

Question 15

Dollard + Miller Approach to mental health disorders

Answer 15

• psychopathology as learnt, unproductive and unhelpful habits or responses
  > aim of treatment: remove ineffective habits and replace them with new/ more effective habits
  1. Talking phase
  2. Performance phase

Question 16

Albert Bandura and Social Learning theory

Answer 16

• individual as an active player responding to both inner stimuli and the external environment, moving back and forward in a dynamic system
  > reciprocal determinism

Question 17

Reciprocal Determinism

Answer 17

• processes that drive behavior - individual as being influenced by personal factors, behavior and environmental factors
  = reciprocal causation

Question 18

Personal agency (Bandura)

Answer 18

belief that you can change things to make them better for yourself /others

Question 19

Proxy agency (Bandura)

Answer 19

Individuals turn to other people to change some of the factors that influence their lives
- downside: people might help people who don’t have their best at heart

Question 20

collective agency (Bandura)

Answer 20

group of individuals come together believing that they can make a difference to their own / and other’s life circumstances (better than proxy agency)

Question 21

Learning with Bandura’s model

Answer 21

• for learning to be effective: have to be aware of consequences (forethought)–> affects how we choose to behave

Question 22

Observational learning model (Bandura)

Answer 22

learning occurs by watching and following what other people do and imitating their behavior
(modeling);
> knowledge acquirement (what we learned) vs. performance (what we can do)

Question 23

3 factors of the model (observational learning)

Answer 23

1. characteristics of the model
2. attributes of the observer
3. consequences of imitating a behavior

Question 24

Personality Development in Social Learning Theory

Answer 24

“Social” = about how we learn from other individuals;
> maintaining motivation as an important part
> internal self-regulatory processes (more = more motivation)

Question 25

Self-efficacy

Answer 25

> your believe that if you perform some behavior it will get you a desired positive outcome > self-regulatory process

Question 26

vicarious experience

Answer 26

seeing someone with the same fears/ anxiety perform the task --> more positive cognition

Question 27

participant modeling

Answer 27

person with lower self-efficacy shadows person with higher self-efficacy (imitating)

Question 28

Locus of Control

Answer 28

degree to which people believe they, as opposed to external forces (beyond their influence). have control over the outcome of events in their lives

Question 29

behavior potential

Answer 29

likelihood of a specific behavior occurring in a particular situation --> response you choose will be the one with the strongest behavior potential > behavior potential = reinforcement value x expectancy

Question 30

Type 1 behavioral consistency (Mischel)

Answer 30

represents trait ratings describing what individuals are generally like

Question 31

Type 2 consistency (Mischel)

Answer 31

behavioral signatures of personality which show distinctive patterns of behavior across similar situations (if...then propositions)

Question 32

Cognitive Processing System (CAPS)

Answer 32

aim to demonstrate how the CAPS model can predict type 1 and 2 consistencies > composed of cognitive affective units (CAUs)

Question 33

Cognitive affective Units (CAUs)

Answer 33

include the individual's representation of self, others, situations, expectations, beliefs, , ... ^

Question 34

Internal Self-regulatory processes (social learning Theory)

Answer 34

include self-criticism, self-praise, valuation of own personal standards, re-evaluation of own personal standards, self-persuasion, self-efficacy