THE LEARNING APPROACH

How ‘nurture’ shapes us

Today’s session

You will learn how to... You will learn about...

Describe the assumptions of psychological approaches and compare with biological

Behaviourism-its basic assumptions and concepts

“Give me a dozen healthy infants, well-formed, and my own specified world to bring them up in and I'll guarantee to take any one at random and train him to become any type of specialist I might select – doctor, lawyer, artist, merchant-chief and, yes, even beggar-man and thief, regardless of his talents, penchants, tendencies, abilities, vocations, and race of his ancestors.”

John B. Watson (1919)

•What claim is Watson making about human nature?

Tabula Rasa

• To what extent do you agree with this statement?

We are shaped into the person we are by our social world

What is it all about?What is it all about?

All behaviour is learned from the environment

We are born as “blank slates” (tabula rasa) All we have at birth is the

capacity to learn

Focus of the approach: observable behaviour

Classical conditioning

Extinction

Spontaneous recovery

Stimulus and ResponseKEY WORDS

Operant conditioning

(+) (-) reinforcement

Punishment

Primary and

secondary

reinforcement

Social learningImitationModellingObservationVicarious reinforcement

2 KEY ASSUMPTIONS

1. BLANK SLATE• We are shaped by our environment by means of

reinforcements and punishments

2. SEEING IS BELIEVING• The only way to explain behaviour is by measuring what

you can observe.• Data must be scientifically gathered using scientific

principles

3 Types of LEARNING

• OC – behaviour is voluntary and considers punishments and rewards.– Stickers, token economy,

detention

CC – stimulus and

response of reflexes

–Eye blink, knee-jerk,

breathing.

–Good at explaining

phobias

SLT – we learn through watching and copying others especially role models and people we look up to

Methodology and PRACTICAL

• Observations (definition and strengths & weaknesses)

– Naturalistic, structured– Non- Participant and participant, – Covert and overt

• Chi Squared• Lab experiments

KEY WORDS TO LEARN• Inter-observer reliability•Tallying•Ecological validity•Time sampling

STUDIES IN DETAIL

SOCIAL LEARNING• BANDURA (1961) study of how aggressive models might be copied by children

CLASSICAL

CONDITIONING

• WATSON & RAYNOR

(1920) Little Albert

KEY ISSUE – you choose!

The

influence of

role

models on

anorexia

The influence of advertising on people’s behaviour

The increase

in female

violence to

changing role

models

CONTENT

• The main features of CC,OC, SLT• One therapy • How OC and SLT explain gender development

and behaviour• Comparison with biological and

psychodynamic

What is it all about?What is it all about?

All behaviour is learned from the environment

We are born as “blank slates” (tabula rasa) All we have at birth is the

capacity to learn

Focus of the approach: observable behaviour

Some definitions....

Stimulus : Any change in the environment that an organism registers.

Response : Any behaviour that the organism emits as a consequence of a stimulus.

Reflex: A consistent connection between a stimulus and a response.

Classical conditioningClassical conditioning

Learning by association

That’s a reflex

Dog hears the lab technician

What’s going on?

Bell: Neutral stimulus (NS)

Salivation: unconditioned Response (UCR)

Bell: Conditioned stimulus (CS)

Salivation: Conditioned response (CR)

Food: unconditioned stimulus (UCS)

Before conditioning

During conditioning

After conditioning

PairingBell: Neutral stimulus (NS)Food: unconditioned stimulus (UCS)Salivation: unconditioned Response (UCR)

How does it work?How does it work?

Inducing a phobia: Little Albert

Little Albert, Watson and Rayner 1920

• Aim: to explore how classical conditioning could be used to create a phobia in humans using CC principles.

• Method: Experiment• Procedure: 11-month baby Albert, placid and emotionally stable. Banged metal bar to startle

Albert and then linked noise to Albert playing with pet rat. The NS in Watson and Rayner’s experiment was a white rat. Trials before the experiment had shown that Albert did not mind the rat and certainly did not object to it. The UCS in the experiment was the noise made by hitting an iron bar with a hammer just behind Albert. This produced a loud noise that Albert found very upsetting. On a series of occasions, Watson and Rayner presented Albert with the rat and, when he noticed it, struck the metal bar behind his head. Predictably, this caused Albert to become quite upset. After a few trials, they presented the rat on its own. Even without the noise, Albert started crying. He had learned to associate the rat with the noise, and this had produced a conditioned reflex:

• Noise (UCS) = Anxiety (UCR)• Noise(UCS) + Rat (NS) = Anxiety (UCR)• Rat (CS) = Anxiety (CR)

Results and Conclusions• Results: After a few trails Albert agitated on seeing rat. it became clear

that it wasn’t just rats that made Albert upset. His anxiety response had generalised to some other objects – white furry ones – that were similar to the white rat.

• Conclusion: Watson & Rayner concluded that they had succeeded in conditioning in an infant fear of an animal the child would not ordinarily be frightened of. Stimulus generalisation also was shown in that Albert transferred the fear to other similar stimuli. From the fact that the conditioned response was still present after 31 days, Watson & Rayner concluded it might last a lifetime. Ivan Pavlov had shown that Classical Conditioning occurs in dogs but Watson & Rayner were the first to demonstrate it occurred in humans too.

Evaluation: • Supported Pavlov’s findings, good controls, The study was carefully

documented; witnesses helped to record the data and there were strict controls. Only one variable was changed at a time. The extensive documentation meant the study could have been replicated and, therefore, tested for reliability but low ecological validity because it was carried out in a lab.

• Ethical issues – Albert frightened. Albert’s mother appears not to have given fully-informed consent - though there clearly was some degree of consent and an understanding of when he would be taken back by his mother

• The researchers deliberately exposed Albert to psychological harm - causing him distress. They allowed him to rest in between exposures to frightening stimuli but continued even when it was clear he was distressed. Hard to generalize to others.

•

Operant conditioningOperant conditioning

Learning by consequencesLearning by consequences

RatatouilleRatatouilleRatatouille is hungry and perform various exploratory behaviours

By chance he presses the lever

A pellet of food appears!

I’ll do that again

Some definitions....

Reinforcement :Anything which has the effect of increasing the likelihood of the behaviour being repeated

Positive reinforcement :

Anything which has the effect of increasing the likelihood of the behaviour being repeated by using consequences that are pleasant when they happen i.e. food for Ratatouille

Negative reinforcement :

Anything which has the effect of increasing the likelihood of the behaviour being repeated by using consequences that are pleasant when they stop

Punishment : Anything which has the effect of decreasing the likelihood of the behaviour being repeated by using consequences that are unpleasant when happen

Schedules of reinforcementSchedules of reinforcement• When and how often we reinforce a

behaviour can have a significant impact on the strength and rate of the response.

2 types of schedules• Continuous reinforcement: the desired behaviour is

reinforced every single time it occurs.• Partial reinforcement: the response is reinforced

only part of the time.

1. Fixed ratio schedules: the response is reinforced only after a specified number of responses.

2. Variable-ratio schedules occur when a response is reinforced after an unpredictable number of responses.

3. Fixed-interval schedules the first response is rewarded only after a specified amount of time has elapsed

4. Variable-interval schedules occur when a response is rewarded after an unpredictable amount of time has passed.

Which schedule of reinforcement produces the fastest learning?

Negative reinforcement• Crying.• John and Michelle decide to go to a party with their son Adam. Adam doesn’t want to be there so when

they get to the party he starts to cry loudly. John and Michelle don’t like to see their son upset and so make the decision to leave the party and go home. His parents are noticing that he has started to cry every time he is in a situation he doesn’t want to be in and they have been allowing him to leave.

• Getting out of an aversive situation by crying is an example of negative reinforcement.•

Why is this negative reinforcement? Adam didn’t want to be at the party – it was an aversive situation for him. He began crying and got to leave the party. As his parents are noticing this behaviour has been happening more frequently when he wants to leave situations it can be said that negative reinforcement is occurring.

• Before: aversive situation.• Behaviour: cries.• After: aversive situation is gone.• Future behaviour: Adam will cry when he doesn’t want to be in an aversive situation.

What is the ‘negative reinforcer’ in each scenario?

• Before heading out for a day at the beach, you slather on sunscreen in order to avoid getting sunburned.

•You decide to clean up your mess in the kitchen in order to avoid getting in a fight with your roommate.

•On Monday morning, you leave the house early in order to avoid getting stuck in traffic and being late for class.

Operant conditioning is a theory from the Learning Approach. Define the following terms:

Positive reinforcement. 2

•Max 1 mark for an elaborated example. •E.g. •• Showing the desired behaviour gains a reward/eq; •• A desired behaviour is rewarded with something pleasant/eq; •• So the desired behaviour is likely to be repeated/eq; •• The child gets something they like for behaving in the desired way/eq; •• E.g. a child tidies their room and gets some extra pocket money/eq;

•Look for other reasonable ways of expressing this answer. (AO1)

Negative reinforcement. 2 •

• Max 1 mark for an elaborated example. • e.g. • • Something unpleasant is taken away for the desired behaviour/eq; • • So they are more likely to repeat the behaviour/eq; • • When a child behaves something they dislike is removed/eq; • • E.g. if they tidy their bedroom they are no longer grounded/eq;

• Look for other reasonable ways of expressing this answer.

Punishment. 2

• Max 1 mark for an elaborated example. • e.g. • • This is when something pleasant is taken away because someone has

shown undesired behaviour/eq; • • Therefore, they are less likely to repeat the behaviour/eq; • • It can be when a child is given something unpleasant for bad

behaviour/eq; • • E.g. A child bites their little sister so they are not allowed to stay up

late/eq;

• Look for other reasonable ways of expressing this answer.

• Sally has just started school. Her teacher is concerned about her behaviour. Sally finds it hard to sit still and concentrate on her work, and she is constantly shouting out and wanting the teacher’s attention all the time.

• Using the principles of operant conditioning, explain how the teacher could change Sally’s behaviour. (4)

• If the scenario is not referred to explicitly at least once max 3 marks. • e.g. • • The teacher should try and ignore Sally’s attention seeking behaviour if

it is possible/eq; • • Sally could have a star system where she gets a star for not shouting

out/for concentrating on her work/eq; • • At the end of the week she could have a small prize depending on the

number of stars she has collected/eq; • • If Sally is attention seeking she could be made to stand outside the

classroom where she will not get any attention/eq; • • To avoid this Sally will realise she has to behave and wait her turn/eq; • • If a child is punished for bad behaviour they are less likely to repeat that

behaviour/eq; • • The teacher should praise Sally for sitting quietly for a minute, and

gradually build up the amount of time before she gets praise (positive reinforcement)/eq;

• Look for other reasonable ways to express this answer.

Evaluation

• Objective measurements• Careful controls-scientific• Can be used in therapy so has real-life applications• Mainly involves animals so hard to generalise to

humans• Lack validity because the studies are experiments so

the concepts might not be valid if they apply only to small parts of behaviour

Social learningSocial learningLearning by andobservation imitation

Bandura (1977) believed that four criteria need too be met for imitation

to occur

1. Attention to the role model

2. Retention of the observed behaviour

3. Reproduction of the target behaviour4. Motivation to imitate the observed behaviour

Who makes an effective role model?Who makes an effective role model?

Same gender Same age

Higher status

Admired or/and respected

Why do we imitate?

W?!!!!!?

Observe behaviour being reinforced in

other people

Vicarious reinforcements

Conditioning review

• Define the following terms:• classical conditioning, unconditioned stimulus

(UCS), unconditioned response (UCR), conditioned stimulus (CS), conditioned response (CR), extinction and spontaneous recovery,

• operant conditioning, positive and negative reinforcement, punishment, primary and secondary reinforcement.

Negative reinforcement• Crying.• John and Michelle decide to go to a party with their son Adam. Adam doesn’t want to be there so when

they get to the party he starts to cry loudly. John and Michelle don’t like to see their son upset and so make the decision to leave the party and go home. His parents are noticing that he has started to cry every time he is in a situation he doesn’t want to be in and they have been allowing him to leave.

• Getting out of an aversive situation by crying is an example of negative reinforcement.•

Why is this negative reinforcement? Adam didn’t want to be at the party – it was an aversive situation for him. He began crying and got to leave the party. As his parents are noticing this behaviour has been happening more frequently when he wants to leave situations it can be said that negative reinforcement is occurring.

• Before: aversive situation.• Behaviour: cries.• After: aversive situation is gone.• Future behaviour: Adam will cry when he doesn’t want to be in an aversive situation.

•

Punishment or Negative Reinforcement?

• Timmy is supposed to clean his room every Saturday morning. Last weekend, he went out to play with his friend without cleaning his room. As a result, his father made him spend the rest of the weekend doing other chores like cleaning out the garage, mowing the lawn and weeding the garden, in addition to cleaning his room.

Social Learning Theory (SLT)

• Social learning is learning through observation.

• http://youtu.be/7d4gmdl3zNQ

SLT

• Read page 339-341 in Edexcel AS Psychology and complete the gap fill sheet Social Learning Theory.

• Go over key terms – attention, retention, reproduction, motivation, observation, imitation and role models.

SLT Homework• Complete the sheet on SLT• Ensure you can identify two strengths and two

weaknesses of SLT.• Read pages 342-344. Answer the following exam

question:Use social learning theory to explain why girls might play ‘house’ and boys might prefer to play with cars.Hint: Use the principles of social learning theory to explain gender development and include imitation, modelling, observational learning, vicarious reinforcement and other concepts.

Treatments/therapy used in the learning approach

• Summarise each of the three concepts discussed. (Aversion therapy, systematic desensitisation and token economy).

Aversion Therapy

• Based on…• Used to…• Paired with…• E.g.• Evaluation…(does it

work?)• Ethical issues…• Application to real life…• Covert sensitisation…

Systematic desensitisation

• Based on…

• Reciprocal inhibition…

• Hierarchy of fears…

• Success?...

Token economy• Based on…

• Tokens are…

• Exchangeable for…

• Used…

• Success?

• Problems?

Bandura (1961)

APRCGRAVE

And now lets think!

• Does this account for the way you learn?• Does this explain gender development?• Can this be applied to everyday life? • Other points of evaluation?

Exam Questions

• Explain 2 ways in which the learning approach differs from– Biological approach (4 marks)Explain the assumptions behind the learning

approach (4 marks)

Describe the three mechanisms of learning that the Learning approach puts forward (6 Marks)

Independent Learning

• Classical Conditioning• Operant Conditioning• Social Learning Theory• Bandura (1961)• Little Albert (1920)• Observations

Prepare a 5 minute presentation on your theory, study or area of methodology for next lesson