approaches

Behaviourist: Basic principles of Behaviourist Approach

• We are all born a blank state

• All our behaviour is shaped through learning through our environment

• States that for an approach to be scientific it should focus on observable behaviour which can be objectively measured - this can be done via lab experiments

Behaviourist: What does ‘observable behaviour which can be objectively measured’ mean?

Behaviour that we can see and which is not open to interpretation

Behaviourist: Name the experimental method used by behaviourist psychologists. Why?

Lab experiments - have high control

Behaviourist: Define classical conditioning + key psychologist

• Learning through association

• Ian Pavlov

Behaviourist: Define operant conditioning + key psychologist

• Learning through reinforcement

• B.F. Skinner

Behaviourist: Outline the process of classical conditioning

1) Unconditioned stimulus —> unconditioned response

Neutral stimulus —> no response

2) Unconditioned stimulus + neutral stimulus —> unconditioned response

(Repeated)

3) Conditioned stimulus —> conditioned response

Behaviourist: Pavlov’s Dog Experiment

1) Pavlov noticed that food causes a dog to salivate + when dogs heard a bell there was no response

2) Pavlov rang a bell at the same time when dogs were given food. He repeated this

3) The sound of the bell then became associated with the food

4) This meant that when he rang the bell, the dogs would salivate even if there was no food present

5) Pavlov was able to show how a neutral stimulus (a bell) can come to elicit a new learned response (conditioned response) through association

Behaviourist: Define unconditioned stimulus

An event that produces an innate, unlearned reflex response

Behaviourist: Define unconditioned response

An innate, unlearned reflex behaviour that an organism produces when exposed to an unconditioned stimulus

Behaviourist: Define conditioned stimulus

An event that produces a learned response

Behaviourist: Define conditioned response

A learned physical reflex behaviour that an organism produces when exposed to a conditioned stimulus

Behaviourist: Define neutral stimulus

An event that does not produce any response

• SLT: Key concepts

• Imitation

• Identification

• Vicarious reinforcement

• Mediational processes

SLT: Define Social Learning Theory

A learning theory which proposed people learn through observation and imitation of others within a social context

SLT: Define imitation

When an individual observes a behaviour from a role model and copies it

SLT: Define identification

• People, especially children, are more likely to imitate the behaviour of people they identify with

• A person becomes a role model if they are seen to have similar characteristics to the observer, are attractive or of high status (e.g. celebrities)

• People usually identify with someone of the same sex

• Role models may not be physically present in the environment

SLT: Define vicarious reinforcement

SLT: What are the mediational processes?

• Attention

  • for a behaviour to be imitated it has to grab our attention

• Retention

  • a memory is formed of the behaviour to be performed later by the observer

• Reproduction

  • capability to reproduce behaviour

• Motivation

  • if the perceived rewards outweigh the perceived costs, the behaviour is more likely to be imitated by the observer

SLT: Acronym to remember the 4 mediational processes

ARRM

SLT: Influence on the media

• Children may identify with a character/person in the media

• SLT demonstrates that children learn from observing and imitating

• Called for censorship, no mature programs before 9pm, age restrictions etc

SLT: Strengths

• Recognises the importance of cognitive factors

  • neither classical or operant conditioning can offer an adequate account of learning on their own

  • Humans and animals store information about the behaviour of others and use this to make judgements about when it is appropriate to perform certain behaviours

• SLT has lots supportive research

  • Fox and Bailenson (2009) found that humans were more likely to imitate computer-generated ‘virtual humans’ who were similar to themselves

  • Bandura’s Bobo Doll study

SLT: Weaknesses

• Both behaviourism and SLT fail to account for biological factors

  • future research has suggested that observational learning may be the result of mirror neurons in the brain which allow us to empathise with and imitate behaviour

• Supporting evidence is based on lab experiments

  • lab experiments have low ecological validity

  • bobo doll - we don’t know whether the children’s aggression was reflective of how they would behave in the real world

SLT: Bandura Bobo Doll aim

To investigate the effect of observed aggression and same-sex modelling on children’s behaviour

SLT: Bandura Bobo Doll sample

• 72 ppts

  • 36 girls, 36 boys

  • aged 3-5 years

  • from Stanford University nursery

SLT: Bandura Bobo Doll method

• Lab experiment

• Matched pairs

SLT: Bandura Bobo Doll procedure

• There were three conditions of the independent variable

  • agressive model - model behaved aggressively towards Bobo doll using pre-determined, standardised behaviours

  • non-aggressive model - behaved in gentle/non-aggressive way towards Bobo doll

  • control group - no model was present

• Each child observed model’s behaviour for 10 minutes

• After, each child was told that they couldn’t play with the toys in the room (aggression arousal phase as baseline)

• Each child taken to room containing Bobo doll, aggressive toys (mallet, toy gun) and non-aggressive toys (farm toys, crayons)

• Participants observed in Bobo doll room using one-way mirror for 20 minutes

SLT: Bandura Bobo Doll results

• Children who had observed aggressive behaviour were more likely to be aggressive towards Bobo doll

• Boys more physically aggressive

• Girls more verbally aggressive

• Children more likely to imitate the behaviour of same-sex role model

SLT: Bandura Bobo Doll conclusions

• Aggression can be learned through mechanisms of social learning theory

• Imitation of aggression can occur after only a single exposure to the aggressive act

• Aggression may be observed in one setting and imitated in a different setting

SLT: Bandura later research

Bandura (1965) introduced vicarious reinforcement

• wanted to investigate whether children would be more likely to imitate a role model they saw being rewarded for their aggressive behaviour