What are the learning approaches?
Behaviourism and social learning theory
What does behaviourism and social learning theory have in common?
assume all our behaviour is learnt and we are born a blank slate
Describe behaviourism and state which side it takes for different comparisons
Describe classical conditioning
Describe operant conditioning
Skinner case study ( behaviourism)
Evaluation:
- Controlled conditions so scientific
- Based on animals so may not be applicable to humans
- Application to real life – we use punishment frequently to stop bad behaviour (prisons and schools)
- Ignores our thought processes
- Determinist – ignores free will
Describe social learning theory and state what it sides for for each comparison
What are the mediational processes involved in the social learning theory
Bandura case study (social learning theory)
RESULTS:
- Children who observed the aggressive model made far more imitative aggressive responses than those who were in the non-aggressive or control groups.
- The girls in the aggressive model condition also showed more physically aggressive responses if the model was male, but more verbally aggressive responses if the model was female. However, the exception to this general pattern was the observation of how often they punched Bobo, and in this case the effects of gender
- The group with an aggressive role model showed aggressive behaviour to the Bobo doll
- overall boys displayed more aggression to the Bobo doll
- found that children imitate adults
Evaluation:
- The boys were more aggressive than the girls so observation can’t be the only reason for aggression
- The social learning theory takes thought processes into account so it’s less simplistic than the behaviourist approach
- Successfully explains lots of behaviours e.g. smoking, role of the media on weight loss
- Application to real life e.g. the restrictions of cigarette and alcohol adverts
Describe the cognitive approach and state what it sides with for each comparison
theoretical and computer models:
– Information flows through the cognitive system in a sequence (imput, processing, output)
- Computer models assume the mind is similar to a computer
- the brain is a central processing unit and information is coded into a usable format
Describe schemas
Bugelski and alampay case study (cognitive approach)
Evaluation:
– approach is less determinist than other approaches
– it has improved our understanding of a number of psychological abnormalities
– it has contributed to therapies such as CBT which have helped many people
- Machine reductionism – there are similarities between a human mind and a thinking machine (e.g. inputs, outputs, storage systems, The use of essential processor) BUT. Machine reductionism ignores the influence of human emotion and motivation and how this affects information processing e.g. when human memory can be affected by anxiety, especially in eyewitness testimony

What are the different comparisons of the approaches
Describe the biological approach and state what are sides for for each comparison
How many chromosomes are we born with
23
Genotype definition
A persons genetic make up
This is also determined by an individuals environment
Phenotype definition
The way the genotypes are expressed through characteristics
Nestdadt et al study (biological approach)
EVALUATION
– monozygotic twins shared more of the behaviours observed and also share the same genes so the study supports the biological approach as it proves that genes cause certain behaviours
- but it can’t be generalised as there are other factors present proven by the fact concordance rates for mono zygotic twins were not 100% although the jeans are 100% similar
Dash also monozygotic twins are treated the same as they look the same and all the same gender but dizygotic twins or not e.g. different genders may cause different levels of cleanliness
-Technology means we can accurately measure processes making the data reliable
– drug treatments target the biological bases of disorders and are very effective
– is very reductionist
- it is determinist because if it were true, The criminal system would be based on biological factors and people would not be blamed for committing crimes
Describe the psychodynamic approach and state what side it is on for each comparison
– Our behaviour reflects the interactions between the conscious and subconscious mind
- emphasis on early childhood
- our personality is made up of three elements: The id, The ego, the superego – this is called the tripartite psyche
- to protect ourselves when there is a conflict between these elements, we use ego defence mechanisms – repression, displacement, denial
– we go through different stages of psychosexual development, if we are deprived or over gratified during a particular stage it can affect us in adulthood
– both nature and nurture because they’re in eight drives (Id), but parenting style affects formation of other elements of personality
– holistic as it sees us as complex driven by a number of unconscious forces
- deterministic because behaviour is controlled by an “conscious forces over which we have no control
- both nomothetic, because we all have innate drives, and idiographic, because of our unique child affects on behaviour
- very unscientific
Describe the three parts of the tri-party psyche Stated in the psychodynamic approach
Describe the ego defence mechanisms implied in the psychodynamic approach
What are the different psychosexual stages as shown in the psychodynamic approach
Little Hans (psychodynamic approach)
EVALUATION
– Unrepresentative – just one person and fathers memory is subjective
– Influential – dominant approach for the first half of the 20th century
- largely based on case studies of middle-class women
– impossible to test using scientific methods
– practical application as psychoanalysis has helped a number of patients
Describe the humanistic approach and state what it states for each comparison