the behaviourist approach, including classical conditioning and Pavlov's research, operant conditioning, types of reinforcement and Skinner's research; social learning theory- imitation, identification, modelling, vicarious r, mediational processes + bda

Briefly outline the main points of the behavioural approach

When we are born, we are a blank slate and have no genetic influences our behaviour.
Behaviourists measure and observe behaviour scientifically and ignore the role of mental processes.
All behaviour is learnt from the environment.

Define classical conditioning

A neutral stimulus (something which does not naturally provoke a response) becomes associated with the unconditioned stimulus (something that does naturally provoke a response ).

Who is credited with classical conditioning?

Pavlov, 1927.

Outline the process of classical conditioning

UCS (food) > UCR (salivation)

NS (bell) ^ paired consistently with the food > all bells (Conditioned stimulus) > salivation (conditioned response)

What are other important features?

Timing, extinction, spontaneous reovery and stimulus generalisation.

Define operant conditioning

Learning through reinforcement or punishment. If a behaviour is followed by desirable consequences, it is more likely to be repeated again

Who is credited with operant conditioning?

Skinner, 1938.

What does operant conditioning state?

Operant conditioning states that organisms simultaneously produce different behaviours that can be positive or negative and that we only repeat behaviour which we have learnt bring us positive rewards.

Describe Skinner's special caage experiment

Skinner developed a special cage called Skinner's box in order to investigate operant conditioning in rats.
The rat moves around the cage and when it accidently presses the lever a food pellet (the reinforcer) falls into the cage
The rat then beings to press the lever in order to obtain food.
When the food pellets stop, the rat presses the lever a few more times and then abandons it (extinction)

Define reinforcement

It refers to anything that strengthens a response and increases the likelihood that a particular behaviour will occur again.

Define positive reinforcement

occurs when a behaviour produces a consequence that is satisfying or pleasant for the organism, for example, giving praise to a child who does their chores.

What are negative reinforcers?

work because they remove something unpleasant and so restore the organism back to its pre-aversive state.

What are other key features of operant conditioning?

Schedules of reinforcement- a continuous reinforcement schedule is more effective in establishing a particular response however a partial reinforcement schedule such as every third lever is better in order to maintain the response and avoid extinction.
Punishment- decreases the likelihood of a behaviour occurring.
- can be positive such as adding something to stop that behaviour or can be negative such as removing something to stop that behaviour.

AO3 for classical conditioning (strength)

P- Classical conditioning has led to the development of treatments which reduce the anxiety associated with various phobias.
E- Systematic desensitisation is a therapy based on classical conditioning, it works by eliminating the learned anxious response that is associated with a particular object or event and replaces it with a learned response of relaxation so that the person is no longer anxious when in the presence of the object or the situation.
E- This approach has been found to effective for a range of phobias such as arachnophobia (fear of spiders).

AO3 for classical conditioning (weakness)

P- Different species have different challenges to survive and so have different capabilities of learning through CC.
E- As a result the relationship between the NS and the UCS can be hard to establish if it is not related to their need to survive.
E- Seligman (1970) proposed the concept of preparedness to explain this. Animals are prepared to learn associations that are significant in terms of their survival needs e.g a dog will quickly learn to associate the smell of meat with the presence of food yet unprepared to learn associations that are not significant.

AO3 for operant conditioning (strength)

P- A particular strength of Skinner's research was his reliance on the experimental method which uses controlled conditions to discover a causal relationship between two or more variables.
E- By manipulating the consequences of behaviour (independent variable), he was able to accurately measure the effects on the rat's behaviour (dependent variable).
E- This allowed him to establish a cause and effect relationship between the consequences of behaviour and the future frequency of its occurrence.

AO3 for operant conditioning (weakness).

P- Skinner's research has been criticised because his experiments involved the study of non-human animals rather than humans.
E- Critics claim that his reliance on rats and pigeons means that Skinner's studies can tell us little about human behaviour.
E- They claim that human beings have free will rather than having their behaviour determined by positive and negative reinforcement. Skinner argued that free will is an illusion and what we believe are behaviours chosen through free will are actually the product of external influences that guide our behaviour on a daily basis.

Define social learning theory

Learning through observing others and imitating behaviour.

Define Imitation

the action of using someone or something as a model and copying their behaviour

What are the key determinants for imitation?

The key determinants for imitation include: the characteristics of the model, the observer's perceived ability to perform that behaviour and the observed consequences of the behaviour

Define identification

A form of influence whereby an individual adopts an attitude or behaviour in order to identify with a particular person or group.

what enables someone to identify with a model?

In order to identify with a model, the observer must feel that they are similar enough to the model that they would be likely to experience the same outcomes in the situation.
Identification with a model means imitation is more likely to occur.

Define modelling

A form of learning where individuals learn a particular behaviour by observing another individual performing that behaviour

Define vicarious reinforcement

Individuals learn about the likely consequences of an action and readjust their behaviour accordingly.

Explain the concept of vicarious reinforcement

The concept of VI suggests that individuals do not need to experience punishment directly in order to learn, instead they can observe the consequences experienced by the model and then made a judgement on the likelihood of them experiencing the same outcome.

Define meditional processes

the role of mediational processes- refer to the internal processes that exist between environmental stimuli and the response made by an individual to that stimuli

What did Bandura find concerning mediational processes?

Bandura (1986) claimed that in order for social learning to take place, the observer must form mental representations of the behaviour displayed the model and the probable consequences of that behaviour in terms of future outcomes.

Bandura's research (1961)- method

Bandura et al carried out an experiment involving children who observed aggressive or nonaggressive adult models and were then tested for imitative learning in the absence of the models.
Half the children were exposed to adult models interacting aggressively with a life-sized bobo doll and half exposed to non-aggressive models.
The aggressive model displayed distinctive physically aggressive acts towards the doll e.g striking it with a mallet, yelling 'pow'
Children were frustrated by being shown attractive toys which they were not allowed to play with.
They were then taken to a room where among the other toys was a bobo doll

Bandura's research (1961)- findings

-Children who observed the aggressive model reproduced a good deal of physical and verbally aggressive behaviour resembling that of the model.
- Children who observed the non-aggressive model exhibited virtually no aggression towards the Bobo doll.
- In the follow up to this study, Bandura and Walters found that children who saw the model being rewarded for aggressive acts were more likely to show a high level of aggression in their own play.

AO3 strengths of SLT

P- Social learning theory has useful applications in psychology.
E- The principles of social learning theory have been usefully applied to increase our understanding of many areas of human behaviour. For example, Akers (1998) suggests that the probability of someone engaging in criminal behaviour increases when they are exposed to model who commit criminal behaviour, identify with these models and develop the expectation of positive consequences for their own criminal behaviour.

P- There has been research support for identification.
E- According to social learning theory, observing a model similar to the self should lead to more learning than observing a dissimilar model.
E- Fox and Bailenson (2009) found evidence for this using computer generated 'virtual' humans engaging in exercise or merely loitering. The models looked either similar or dissimilar to the individual participants. Participants who viewed their model exercising were more likely to engage in more exercise in the 24 hours following the experiment than participants who viewed their virtual model merely loitering or a dissimilar model exercising.

AO3 limitations of SLT

P- There is a problem of causality.
E- Social learning theory explanations of deviant behaviour relates to increased associations with deviant peers increases the likelihood that an individual will adopt the same values and behaviours.
E- The problem with this is causality, the cause of delinquency may not be exposure to deviant role models but the possession of deviant attitudes prior to contact with deviant peers.

P- Social learning theory ignores the influence of other behaviour.
E- For example, in explaining the development of gender role behaviour, social learning theory would emphasise the importance of gender-specific modelling. In real life, however, a child is exposed to many different influences, all of them interacting in complex ways. These include genetic predispositions, media portrayals, locus of control and so on. If all these can present an influence on behaviour then it would be hard to attribute it to just one.