The Learning Approach

Introduction

Originally came from America in the early part of the twentieth century, largely done by psychologists Pavlov, Skinner and Watson

These three psychologists rejected some of the ideas surrounding psychology at the time and instead focused on Environmental determinism, this means they saw the environment as the main influence on all our behaviour

Assumptions

• All behaviour is learnt and all we have at birth is the capacity to learn

• A person is the product of their environment and born a blank slate

• This puts this approach at the extreme ‘nurture’ side of the nature nurture debate

• Argued that in order for psychology to be scientific it should focus on observable behaviour which can be objectively measured, rather then cognitive processes that can only be inferred

Classical conditioning (CC)

Pavlov’s research: Ivan Pavlov carried out research to see if his laboratory dogs could learn to salivate to a bell

Pavlov- started from the idea that there are some things that a dog does not need to learn, for example dogs don’t need to learn to salivate as this instinct is hardwired into them

Before conditioning: Unconditioned stimulus (Food)= Unconditioned stimulus (Salivation)

During conditioning: Neutral stimulus (Bell) + Unconditioned stimulus (Food)= Unconditioned response (Salivation)

After conditioning: Conditioned stimulus (Bell)= Conditioned response (Salivation)

Extinction

If the conditioned stimulus is continually presented without the unconditioned stimulus then the conditioned response gradually dies out or extinguished

Spontaneous recovery

If a conditioned response is not reinforced, it becomes extinguished but after a period of rest the response may suddenly reappear

Discrimination

The conditioned response is only produced by presentation of the original stimulus, it does not extend to similar stimuli

Generalisation

Extension of the conditioned response from the original stimulus to a similar stimuli

One trial learning

When conditioning occurs immediately, after one trial only

Operant conditioning (OC)

Skinner’s research: Called learning from consequences operant conditioning, this theory is that the likelihood of future behaviour is determined by the consequences of past behaviour

Like Watson, Skinner didn’t think it was necessary to speculate on what went on in peoples minds, Through his research he used something called ‘Skinner’s boxes’ with pigeons and rats

Skinner’s box

Animals are placed in a box with a lever or other mechanism they can manipulate, when the animal performs a specific action (e.g press the lever) they recieve a reinforcer (food) or a punisher (electric shock)

Primary reinforcers

Anything that fulfills a basic biological need (e.g food, water etc)

Secondary reinforcers

Only becomes a reinforcer when associated with a primary reinforcer (caregiver gives the food that fulfills the hunger)

Continuous reinforcement

Desired behaviour is reinforced every single time they occur (e.g rat gets a food pellet every time it presses the lever

Partial reinforcement

Desired behaviour is reinforced only part of the time, can be a fixed radio schedule

(e.g rat gets food pellet after 5 lever presses), or a variable ratio schedule (rat gets a food pellet after a changing number of lever presses

Positive reinforcement

Increasing the frequency of a desired behaviour by giving a pleasant consequence

In skinner’s research this was demonstrated by putting a rat in a cage with a lever that dispenses food, the rat will then (after a few more situations involving the lever) correlate the lever with the food and will continue to hit the lever

Negative reinforcement

Increasing the frequency of a desired behaviour by removing something unpleasant

In Skinner’s research this was demonstrated with a rat cage with an electric current that could be stopped with the lever, the rat will probably bounce around when the current hits and will accidently hit the lever turning off the current, eventually the rat will learn to hit the lever when the current immediately starts

Punishment

Decreasing the frequency of desired behaviour by giving an unpleasant consequence

Skinner changes the mechanism so that when the rat hits the lever instead of getting a pellet they’ll get a shock, very quickly the rat will stop hitting the lever

Research +

• There’s lots of credible evidence to support the behaviourist approach

• Little Albert was conditioned to fear rats, through pairing rats (NS) with an unpleasant stimulus of a loud bang (UCS), after 7 pairings Albert showed a fear response to the rat, Watson and Rayner used CC to teach/condition a fear response

• This demonstrates that the behaviourist approach can create cause and effect as through the loud bang and association with rats, Albert gained a fear response. This demonstrates the validity of the approach as Little Albert wasn’t originally scared of rats, showing that fear is developed as well as other emotions and associations

• This means the approach is able to validate its claims, and can be seen as falsifiable

Scientific +

• The behaviourist approach is praised for being extremely scientific

• The approach uses both objective and falsifiable methods to study only observable behaviours that underline stimulus to response links. Focusing on just the behavioural responses of spider phobias in response to phobias rather then internal cognitions or counting the increased frequency of levers being pressed by skinner’s rats when they have been rewarded

• Phobias would be an example of negative reinforcement as, when avoiding the cause of their fears (e.g spiders) anxiety is reduced and the flight or fight fear response is dissolved this demonstrates how conditioning and reinforcement is seen in everyday life

• This means the behaviourist approach is likely to be trustworthy and reliable, deserving of respect and government funding

Social Learning theory

• Albert Bandura refined ideas of the learning approach to incorporate social learning

• This type of conditioning still uses concepts like reinforcement and punishment but stated that we learn by imitation of others in social context

Imitation

Refers to copying the behaviour we have observed in a role model, which may or may not have gained a reward

Identification

Occurs when we see ourselves as being similar to a particular individual and wish to be like them, so we are influenced by their behaviour and are more likely to imitate them

Modelling

Refers to copying the behaviour of an individual we views as a role model

1. Live model

2. Verbal instructional model

3. Symbolic model

Vicarious Reinforcement

This occurs when an individual observes a role model being rewarded for a behaviour, they are then motivated to imitate this behaviour in the hope of receiving a similar rewarding consequence

Vicarious Punishment

Occurs when the tendency to engage in a behaviour is weakened after having observed the negative consequences for another engaging in that behaviour

Within SLT for behaviour to be imitated there are 4 mediational processes that need to take place

• Attention: observer has to concentrate on the models behaviour if it’s to be imitated, identification with the role model is important

• Retention: the behaviour has to be remembered and stored if it’s going to be imitated later

• Reproduction: the observer must be capable of imitating/reproducing the behaviour that they have observed

• Motivation: the observer must have a good reason and want to imitate the behaviour that has been observed

Bandura’s Research

• Bandura (1961) set out to see how just watching people influences our behaviour, specifically aggression

• Sample was 72 children (36 boys and 36 girls) aged 3-5

• Bandura put an adult in a room with a child and some toys including a bobo doll, the child watched the adult okay with toys (either aggressively or softly) they were then put in a room with more attractive looking toys and were told they couldn’t play with them as they were for special kids, the children were then taken back to the original toys and left on their own to see how they would interact with the toys

• Children who watched the aggressive model copied the behaviour they had seen and a closest imitation was when the child and adult were the same sex