Learning Theories

Edexcel Syllabus

Contemporary Study: Capafóns et al. (1998)

Aim:

1. Effectiveness of SD in treatment of fear of flying

2. Whether fear of flying reduced spontaneously without treatment.

Procedure:

I.V. - SD Treatment/No SD treatment

D.V. - Fear of flying scale and scales of expectations of danger & anxiety.

Physiological - Muscle tension & HR in response to videotape of flying

Participants - 41 adults (24 females, 17 males). Sex, age and anxiety levels differed slightly.

• Each participant had 12-15 one hour sessions (2 per week)

• Relaxation and breathing techniques

• Anxiety hierarchy

Findings:

1. Control group had no significant decreases in anxiety between 1st and 2nd session

2. After treatment, highly significant reductions in anxiety & physiological measures for 90% of participants

Conclusion:

1. SD is a highly effective treatment for curing fear of flying phobia

Classic Study: Watson and Rayner (1920)

Aim:

1. Demonstrate simple emotional responses like fear can be acquired by classical conditioning

Procedure:

I.V. - Presence/Absence of loud noise paired with rat

D.V. - Albert’s response

Participant - Little Albert

NS - rat - CS

UCS - loud noise

UCR - Fear, crying - CR

No fear response to any of the tested objects - baseline emotional test. Conducted over 5 sessions

Findings:

1. Startled and lips trembled at loud noise

2. Session 1 - 11 months and 3 days old when steel bar was struck loudly with hammer when he reached for the rat. Cried at loud noise

3. Session 2 - 1 week later, exposed 5 times, more cautious

4. Session 3 - 5 days later, cried to white furry objects and mid fear to dogs

5. Session 4 - 5 days later, new environment and after time so CR was less extreme

6. Session 5 - 1 month later, new environment and after time so CR was less extreme

Conclusion:

1. Easy to condition emotional response to NS

2. 2 sessions of pairing UCS with NS were enough to produce CR towards rats and white furry objects (stimulus generalisation)

STRENGTHS OF CLASSICAL CONDITIONING

Brom et al. (2014) - Research Evidence

Concluded that human sexual responses can be explained by classical conditioning

CS is Supported by many studies:

Watson and Rayner (1920) - Little Albert (Human)

Pavlov (1927) - Dog (Animals)

Competing Argument → Pavlov believed that the essential factor linking NS to UCS was contiguity. Rescorla (1968) found evidence that contiguity is less important than contingency.

Application to aversion therapy:

• Treating people with an unwanted behaviour

• An alcoholic may be treated with a drug called Antabuse which reacts with alcohol in the blood stream; the drug causes the drinker to feel violent nausea. Although alcohol is a UCS that normally produces a pleasant UCR (getting drunk), if it is paired with Antabuse it becomes a CS instead and leads to a CR (feeling sick at the sight or thought of alcohol).

• Kraft & Kraft (2005) found aversive imagery to be effective in curing addictions, including a nail biter, a cannabis smoker, an over-eater, a cigarette smoker, a chocoholic and an alcoholic.

Example:

UCS - painful electric shock

NS - Child photograph - CS

UCR - Discomfort - CR

Pavlov (1927)

Aim:

1. Salivation reflex → Classically conditioned responses

Process of Classical Conditioning in dogs:

NS - Buzzer

UCS - Food

Paired 20 times

D.V. - Collecting saliva from salivary glands of an immobilised dog. Volume or number of drops in a cannula.

Soundproof chamber to reduce effects of extraneous variables like other noises

Findings:

1. Initially only UCS initiated a response

2. After 20 pairings, 45 drops of saliva was collected 9 seconds after buzzer

3. Only effective if dog was alert and focused

4. Extinction - salivary volume decreased when CS (bell) was repeated without UCS

Conclusion:

1. Signalisation → survival value in preparing organisms

STRENGTHS OF PAVLOV CC EXPERIMENT

Good experimental controls:

• Soundproof chamber - reduced external sounds distracting the dogs

• Cannula - accurate collection of saliva

• NS tested to ensure it did not elicit a salivation response

Jansen et al. (2003) - Application to eating problems

OBESITY - Suggested overweight children have developed very strong associations between cues predicting arrival of food and salivation response.

B.F. Skinner (1948)

The Skinner Box:

1. Operant conditioning in animals

2. Tested rats in an operant chamber which contained a supply of food pellets that could be released as a positive reinforcer when animal learned something like operating a lever

3. Electrified floors to punish behaviors, causing animals to learn target behaviors.

4. The consequence was contiguous (the food was dispensed instantly) and contingent (the light coming on alerted the rat to what it had done). Rats quickly learned to press the lever to get food.

Superstition in Pigeons:

• Eight pigeons were starved to make them hungry then put in a cage. At regular intervals every 15 seconds, a food dispenser would swing into the cage for 5 seconds then swing out again. When the food was due to appear, the pigeons started showing strange behaviours, such as turning anti-clockwise who making swaying motions.

• Skinner concluded the pigeons were repeating whatever behaviour they had been in the middle of doing when the reinforcement was first offered to them. Because the food kept reappearing, this senseless behaviour was strengthened.

STRENGTHS OF OPERANT CONDITIONING

Chase et al. (2015) - Research

Testing reward systems - 37 healthy control participants underwent fMRI scans while performing a reward-related guessing task on 2 occasions, one week apart. Positive Correlation between brain areas and reinforcement.

Application to education and childcare:

• Reinforcement of desirable behaviour

Ford et al. (2017)

Behaviour Modification:

Improving technique and reducing dangerous behavior by assessing head-impact using helmet sensors in American football and individual mentoring to high risk players.

STRENGTHS OF OC: REINFORCEMENT AND MODIFICATION

Latham & Dossett (1978) - Research Evidence

Mountain beaver trappers received $4 for a trapped animal if they also correctly guessed the color of a marble instead of $1 per animal. Responded better to variable-ratio pay.

Application to treating inappropriate behaviour:

• Lovaas therapy involves intensive reinforcement including shaping to normalise aspects of behaviour with ASD children.

Application:

• Phobias can be explained by Operant Conditioning in a number of ways. If the feared thing is removed when you scream and cry, then fearful behaviour is negatively reinforced (it removes something unpleasant). If other people show concern, share their own fears or even just pay attention, then fear is positively reinforced too (it adds something pleasant).

• This idea of shaping also appears in systematic desensitisation. If someone has a phobia of spiders, you might reward them at first for looking at pictures of spiders, then at a spider in the same room but far away, and eventually for handling a spider. This is why systematic desensitisation uses Classical AND Operant Conditioning.

• Token Economy Programmes: They involve rewarding (and perhaps punishing) people by awarding or deducting tokens. The tokens may be vouchers or plastic chips. Tokens are only secondary reinforcers; when there are enough of them, they can be ‘cashed in’ for a positive reinforcer, like gifts, luxuries or privileges.

• TEPs are often used in schools (“House Points”) but are also successful in prisons and workplaces. They are used in a clinical setting to help people overcome addictions or resist antisocial behaviour.

• For a TEP to be effective, there must be a well-known list of what behaviours are rewarded and how many tokens they are worth. In a clinical setting, the patient might help design this list; in a prison or school, it might be chosen by the authorities to bring about the behaviour they desire. There also needs to be a well-known ‘exchange rate’ of what can be bought with tokens. Finally, staff need to be trained to award the tokens consistently and fairly.

Bandura (1977)

Social-Learning/Cognitive Theory: Learning by observation occurs both directly through classical & operant conditioning and indirectly through vicarious reinforcement.

1. The behaviour must be modelled which means it must be carried out by a role model like a parent, friend or celebrity.

2. The observer must identify with the role model – normally because they are similar in appearance, gender, interests, etc

4 cognitive processes mediate whether observation of a model will lead to imitation of behavior.

1. Attention to model behaviour

2. Retention of observed behaviour (memory)

3. Reproduction in an appropriate situation

4. Motivation to repeat behaviour from vicarious reinforcement

Characteristics that make someone a role model:

• They are similar to the observer. This is perceived similarity – it might exist only in the observer’s imagination. Similarity in gender seems particularly important but there can be similarity in age, race, ability, social identity, interests, etc.

• They have status in the eyes of the observer. Again, this is perceived status; a naughty child in a lesson might have status in the eyes of his classmates for clowning around, but not to the teacher.

• Their behaviour is rewarded. This is called Vicarious Reinforcement. It can result in modelling (when the observer imitates the behaviour), facilitation (when the observer repeats the behaviour a bit differently), disinhibition (when someone becomes more likely to do something they used to think was wrong) and inhibition (when someone becomes less likely to do something they used to think was OK because the role model was punished).

WEAKNESSES OF SLT

Kendler et al. (2015) - Research evidence against SLT

Showed identical twins have more similar aggression levels than non-identical twins. Individual differences in social behaviour are also genetically influenced and not simply a product of different modelled behaviours. SLT is not a complete explanation.

Competing Argument → Bandura did not ignore biological factors and claimed that behaviours are learned from the way it is expressed.

Case Study: Bandura et al. (1961)

Aim:

1. Whether aggressive behavior could be acquired through observation of aggressive models.

2. Whether participants selectively imitated same sex models and if boys were more prone to acquiring aggressive behavior.

Procedure:

36 boys, 36 girls, 3-6 years old, Stanford University Nursery California

Randomly allocated 3 boys + 3 girls to one of 3 conditions:

1. Aggressive model punching, kicking & shouting at inflatable Bobo doll

2. Model assembling mechanical toys

3. No model

Behavior: Imitative, partially imitative or non-imitative

Process:

1. Children brought to room with observation window and allowed to play with toys

2. Children taken to another room, made frustrated by being shown shiny, new toys then being told it was other children

3. Children taken to playroom with many toys and inflatable Bobo doll. Behavior observed by male model with one-way mirror and second observer for inter-rater reliability.

Findings:

1. Children witnessing aggressive model were more likely to completely or partially imitate aggression whereas other 2 groups were much less aggressive.

2. Boys were more likely to imitate aggression of same-sex models and to be physically instead of verbally aggressive.

Conclusion:

Aggression can be acquired by imitation of models and is more likely with same sex.

Case Study: Bandura et al. (1963)

Aim:

1. If film-mediated aggressive models would have the same effect as live model on children’s aggression.

2. Whether cartoon aggression would have a similar impact to realistic filmed aggression

Procedure:

I.V. - Aggression condition

D.V. - Level of aggression

Participants: 48 boys and 48 girls, aged 39-52 months old from Stanford University Nursery

Same process

Conditions:

1. Live aggression

2. Filmed realistic aggression

3. Cartoon aggression

4. Control

Findings:

1. All groups showed increased aggression towards Bobo doll except control

83 - Live

92 - Realistic filmed

99 - Cartoon

Conclusion: Exposure to live or filmed aggression increases likelihood of aggression in response to frustration

Rescorla (1968)

Found evidence to contradict Pavlov’s belief. Stated that contingency (reinforcement/punishment) was more important than contiguity (sequential proximity of stimulus and response to cause association)

Kay & Morrison (2004)

Men traditionally display less visible fear than women, so sons are less likely to acquire phobias.

Case Study: Bandura et al. (1965)

Aim: Influence of models’ reinforcement

1. Whether punishment or reinforcement of an aggressive model would influence aggression displayed by children in response to frustration

Procedure:

I.V. - Observed consequences of model

D.V. - Level of aggression displayed

Participants - 33 boys, 33 girls, 42-71 months old from Stanford University Nursery

• All 3 groups were later offered attractive rewards to aggress towards Bobo doll

Conditions:

1. Model rewarded → drink + chocolate

2. Model punished → scolded then spanked with rolled up magazine

3. No consequence

4. Two observers observed the children’s behavior for 10 minutes in a different room playing with the Bobo doll.

Findings:

1. Children in model punished condition were significantly less aggressive

2. Reward significantly increased aggression scores for all groups

3. Reinforcement has stronger influence than vicarious punishment

Conclusion: Children from model rewarded displayed the most aggression towards Bobo doll but attractive reward increased aggressive scores for all groups.

Skinner - Operant Conditioning

Positive reinforcement - Occurs when something pleasant follows a behavior (something tangible like food or intangible but nice like a smile)

Negative reinforcement - Occurs when something unpleasant (pain) is removed following a behaviour, leading to a desirable consequence.

There’s also primary reinforcement, which is when the reward is something we want naturally – a basic need such as food, warmth or affection. Secondary reinforcement is a reward we have learned to value – like money.

Punishment is when undesirable behaviour produces unpleasant consequences. Again, there is positive punishment, which punishes the undesirable behaviour by adding something unpleasant(a shock, a criticism, copying out lines), and negative punishment, which punishes by removing something pleasant(being 'grounded', deducting money, removing the Xbox).

WEAKNESSES OF CLASSICAL CONDITIONING

An incomplete explanation of learning:

• CC only explains simple reflex responses like anxiety, salivation and sexual arousal but not complex behaviour.

• Only a partial explanation - does not account for maintenance of behaviours

WEAKNESSES OF PAVLOV CC EXPERIMENT

Generalisability to humans:

• Humans have a more complex brain structure - humans have a larger cerebral cortex so a more complex cognitive processing and conscious choice

Competing Argument → Little Albert supported how it is very difficult to overcome conditioned reflexes

WEAKNESSES OF OPERANT CONDITIONING

Incomplete explanation of learning:

• Only explains how existing behaviours are strengthened or weakened and not where they originate (new).

• Operant Conditioning is only a partial explanation of learnt behaviour.

WEAKNESSES OF OC: REINFORCEMENT AND MODIFICATION

Fails to account for intrinsic motivation:

• Humans are motivated by both extrinsic and intrinsic factors. Intrinsic motives like enjoyment and interest are not taken into account.

STRENGTHS OF SLT

Empirical Support - Humans & Animals

• Bandura’s studies showed that children would imitate an aggressive model who was aggressive against a Bobo doll, especially if they were the same sex and vicariously reinforced.

• Nicol and Pope (1999) - showed chickens would selectively imitate high-status same-sex models in pecking a pad for food.

Supports Bandura’s claims that behaviour can be acquired by observation and imitation.

Application to violent behaviour:

• Explains the alleged effect of media violence on aggression, particular in children.

• Children may imitate aggressive behaviour modelled in violent television and video games.

• Demonstrates how SLT shapes society’s thoughts and behaviours.

Strengths of Case Study: Bandura et al. (1961)

Clever experiment design that reduced impact of extraneous variables and enhanced the internal validity:

• Children were matched for aggression, reducing individual differences.

• Non-aggressive conditions allowed researchers to control for spontaneous aggression

• Observing children one at a time controlled for conformity effects

Application to learning aggressive behaviour:

• Findings from this study can be applied to explain how children can imitate aggressive behaviour from parents. Boys at risk of copying fathers.

Weaknesses of Case Study: Bandura et al. (1961)

Artificial Environment:

• Strictly-controlled lab conditions

• Lacks external validity

• playing with a doll to measure aggression does not depict real life

Strengths of Case Study: Bandura et al. (1963, 1965)

Control of extraneous variables:

• Children were matched for aggression, reducing individual differences.

• Non-aggressive conditions allowed researchers to control for spontaneous aggression

• Observing children one at a time controlled for conformity effects

Competing Argument → Only showed short-term effects of aggression towards a doll.

Bandura and Sabido (2017) - Application to Sabido Method

• Telenovelas (soap operas) to tackle specific social problems in countries. Viewers identify popular characters as role models so this is highly effective in prompting beneficial behavior.

Weaknesses of Case Study: Bandura et al. (1963, 1965)

Noble (1975) - Risk of demand characteristics:

• Lacked internal validity - children may have expected how to behave as Bobo dolls are meant to be hit and to please experimenter.

• Lacks mundane realism - Does not represent aggression in daily life.

• Reduced generalisability of findings

Strengths of Phobias

Evidence from human and animal studies:

• Little Albert

• Mowrer (1960)

  Suggested phobias are acquired through classical conditioning then maintained by operant conditioning

• Cook & Mineka (1989)

  Observational learning can lead to acquiring phobias. Infant rhesus monkeys watched adult monkeys display fear to toy snakes and crocodiles so they developed similar fears.

Application to treating phobias:

• Systemic desensitisations → helps clients learn new responses to the phobic stimulus

• Flooding → extinction of learned fear responses

Weaknesses of Phobias

Does not explain all aspects of phobias:

• Phobias can be acquired for survival as fear of snakes may have been necessary in the evolutionary past.

• Some people acquire phobias without conditioning experiences or modelling.

Strengths of Phobia Treatments

SD:

Gilroy et al. (2003) - Effective:

• Followed up 42 patients treated in 3 sessions for arachnophobia

  • Progress compared to control group of 50 patients who learnt only relaxation techniques

  • Supported SD as effective treatment for phobias by unlearning a response and making a new association for survival

  • Reduction in symptoms of SD group at 3 and 33 months

  • Measured by spider questionnaire and observation

  • Suitable for many patients with learning difficulties

  • Low refusal or attrition rates

If systematic desensitisation is done properly, the patient decides on the stimulus hierarchy and only moves on to the next stage of the hierarchy when they feel ready. This respects the patient's autonomy and helps them feel less anxious.

Flooding:

Ougrin (2011) - Cost - Effective:

• Flooding - Cheap and quicker to treat phobias

The main advantage of flooding is that it is fast, realistic and relatively ethical.

• Exposure therapy can have immediate results: the alarm stage only lasts about 10-15 minutes and the fear response can be extinguished within an hour. Flooding takes longer, with the first session lasting several hours but later ones getting shorter.

• Exposure therapy and flooding present the sufferer with unavoidable exposure and this is what often happens in real life.

Joseph Wolpe (1970) took a girl who was scared of cars and drove her around for 4 hours. At first, the girl was hysterical but she calmed down when she realised that she was in no danger. Afterwards, her phobia disappeared: she learned to enjoy car rides.

Keane et al. (1989) studied 24 Vietnam veterans with PTSD. The soldiers received 14 to 16 sessions of flooding therapy and they were tested before, after and 6 months later for symptoms of PTSD. Compared to a control group who didn't receive therapy, the flooding group had fewer terrifying flashbacks as well as less anxiety and depression. The other symptoms of PTSD ("numbing" and social avoidance) didn't change. This study supports the idea that flooding can extinguish phobias.

Weaknesses of Phobia Treatments

SD:

Not suitable for all cases:

• Clients with multiple phobias or other symptoms linked to a history of trauma (CSA) may benefit from different therapies that also allow them to alter their thought patterns besides behaviour.

• The benefits of the therapy might not generalise to real life situations.

Another weakness is that systematic desensitisation works best for phobias of objects or animals.

Flooding:

Not effective for all phobias:

• Not effective for social phobias because it involves cognitive aspects like unpleasant thoughts

• Flooding only tackles behavioural responses.

Wolpe (1969) reported the case of a client who had to be hospitalised because flooding made her so anxious.

A danger of spontaneous recovery - this is because the flooding sessions aren't very long and the therapy doesn't replace the fear-response with a different response, it just replaces it with no response. The long-term effect is also not measured.

Strengths of Watson & Rayner Classic Study (1920)

Good Experimental Controls:

• Little Albert was selected for his emotional stability - reduced impact of individual differences

• well-controlled room

• responses to wooden blocks were checked to ensure reaction to phobic objects was not simply a general increase in anxiety

Competing Argument → not well-controlled aspects: rabbit was suddenly placed in front of Albert and the reluctant dog was pushed towards him which triggered fear responses.

Application to acquiring phobias:

• Psychologists have a good understanding of how phobias can be acquired.

Weaknesses of Watson & Rayner Classic Study (1920)

Poor Generalisability:

• Lacks representation of the general population

• Due to privacy, we are not aware of Little Albert’s identity as his behaviour might have been different from many babies.

Strengths of Capafóns et al. Contemporary Study (1998)

Good range of anxiety measures:

• Psychological (Fear of Flying Scale and Scales of Expectations of Danger and Anxiety) and Physiological measures (heart rate and muscle tension)

• Sosa et al. (1995) - Fear of Flying scale had +.85 test-retest scores

• Controlled conditions

Application to treating fear of flying:

• Clinical psychologists using evidence-based treatments: Capafóns showed that imagination and watching videos was helpful in curing the phobias of flying.

Weaknesses of Capafóns et al. Contemporary Study (1998)

Short-term measures of improvement:

• Measures of anxiety were only taken shortly after the treatment

• Unsure how long the benefits lasted

Krijn et al. (2007) compared CBT and SD along with a third treatment approach of reading self-help manuals and found both CBT and SD had similar high success rates but CBT led to greater symptom reduction. This has implications that SD may not be as effective as newer alternatives so results may give us a false position impression on SD’s effectiveness in reducing fear of flying.

Key Question: IS THE INFLUENCE OF ROLE MODELS AND CELEBRITIES SOMETHING THAT CAUSES ANOREXIA?

A01:

Anorexia nervosa is an eating disorder that may affect up to 5% of girls and young women in the UK. It is a form of intentional self-starving that begins as dieting but goes to extremes.

Symptoms of anorexia include:

• Extreme weight loss for no discernable medical reason

• Ritualistic food habits, such as excessive chewing

• Denying hunger and exercising excessively

• A person with anorexia may be excessively thin but still sees themselves as overweight.

The average age for onset of the illness is 16, although the age range of anorexia is between 10 and 40. Around 90% of cases are female. Most have no history of being overweight.

Photo Manipulation involves altering photographs after they have been taken. This has been made  digital photography and software like Photoshop. There is concern that the fashion industry uses photo manipulation to make models and celebrities look thinner than they are.

A02:

• Anorexia could be explained by Operant Conditioning. When people lose weight, they are complimented (positive reinforcement) and this conditions them into losing more and more weight. If people gain weight, they are criticised (punishment) or the compliments stop; by losing weight again, they end the criticisms (negative reinforcement).

• This might explain why anorexia is less common in some ethnic minorities. If there are different views about body shape and beauty in other cultures, girls might receive fewer compliments for losing weight or fewer criticisms for gaining it. For example, the Contemporary Study by Becker et al. (2002) looks at Fiji, where girls are complimented for gaining weight.

• However, many anorexics get so thin they are no longer considered attractive by other people and they get criticism instead of compliments, so another explanation may be needed to explain why they persevere with extreme weight loss. Cognitive Psychology suggests these people may perceive their bodies differently from healthy people. This mental disorder is called body dysmorphism.

• If people believe photoshopped images are real, then Social Learning Theory says they will try to imitate a standard of beauty that is impossible even for celebrities and professional models – a standard that is only possible with “creative re-touching”. This may well lead to eating disorders like anorexia.

• Classical Conditioning suggests that men and women may come to associate thinness (which ought to be a Neutral Stimulus) with glamour and beauty (an Unconditioned Stimulus); this happens because both get the same approval and admiration (the Unconditioned Response). Phoroshopping may make extreme thinness a Conditioned Stimulus and attraction to it a Conditioned Response; this may also encourage anorexia.

• Celebrities who expose photoshopping with their own images may be role models for healthier types of beauty. However, most of these celebrities are very slim anyway and appear on a lot of adverts and magazine covers, so the negative effects probably outweigh the positives.

WEAKNESSES OF CLASSICAL CONDITIONING

Barlow (1966) carried out a series of procedures in the USA to ‘cure’ homosexuals of their same-sex attraction.

• The process involved using stomach-churning descriptions and images to produce an urge to vomit – this is the UCS producing a UCR.

• Then images of attractive same-sex partners (NS) were paired with the disgusting imagery. This associating of UCS and NS produced a CS instead;  a sense of nausea and disgust (CR) was felt whenever the men were presented with a same-sex partner (CS). Stimulus generalisation meant this CR was generalised to any same-sex partner. Up to 50% of the young men treated in this way seemed to change their sexual orientation.

Seligman (1993) - Most of the men who stopped their homosexual activities after the treatment were bisexuals; among men with exclusive homosexual orientation, the results showed very little success. However, many patients reported feeling traumatised and violated by the treatment, especially when other researchers used electric shocks instead of disgusting imagery as their UCS.

EVALUATING CLASSICAL CONDITIONING (AO3)

Supporting Research:

• Pavlov (1927) + Watson & Rayner (1920)

• Moreover, a lot of this research is strictly scientific, being carried out on animals in lab conditions or using brain imaging techniques like MRI. Because the theory only looks at behaviours (rather than cognitions), every step in the conditioning process is observable.

Opposing Research:

• Although research on dogs and other animals shows conditioning taking place, generalising the conclusions to human learning is not so clear-cut. For one thing, there are other learning theories – Operant Conditioning and Social Learning Theory (Bandura) – and it is usually difficult to tell whether one or the other is largely responsible when something is learned.

• The theory also focuses entirely on behaviours and ignores cognitions. Cognitions are thought-processes and include things like personality, willpower and motivation. Sigmund Freud argued that a lot of self-destructive behaviour comes from hidden thought-processes in the unconscious mind and are not learned and cannot be un-learned so easily.

Different Theory:

• Social Learning Theory is quite different from Classical Conditioning. For one thing, it includes cognitions as well as behaviours. Classical Conditioning only looks at how behaviours get paired and associated. SLT looks at how we draw conclusions from seeing role models in action (Vicarious reinforcement) so there’s a big role played by thought-processes. This makes SLT rather less scientific than Classical Conditioning, but it is better at explaining how we learn complicated behaviours like talking in “chunks” by observing and imitating, rather than having to make associating and generalise, which is a much slower and more uncertain process.

Application:

• Aversion therapy works by associating a dysfunctional behaviour (like drinking) with a UCR (like vomiting) to produce a new CS. If successful, the CS will produce a nauseous CR whenever drink is present. This sort of therapy works best when the patient is willing and wants the therapy to succeed. Many of Barlow’s gay men where in prison, because their homosexuality was then a crime, and they were forced to undergo the treatment.

• Systematic desensitisation works by associating a troubling CR (like a phobia) with the CS (like a spider) in a relaxing, safe environment. Gradually, the patient stops associating fear with the spider. The spider goes back to being a NS, producing no reaction. This is extinction.

APPLYING SOCIAL LEARNING (AO2)

• Phobias can be explained by SLT if the phobia is modelled. For example, young girls might see phobias of mice or spiders modelled by the mothers, with whom they identify, whereas boys do not imitate this behaviour. 9/10 women express a fear of spiders, but only 1/10 men do.

• The “watershed” is an application of Social Learning Theory. It is based on the idea that children might observe antisocial or inappropriate behaviour on TV, then imitate it in real life. This isn’t just aggression; it includes smoking, drug-taking, obscene language or sexual behaviour.

• There is a similar concern that Size Zero models on magazine covers and adverts function as role models and encourage young girls to imitate their extreme skinniness. One application of this has been for many fashion shows to ban Size Zero models.

EVALUATING SOCIAL LEARNING (AO3)

Supporting Research:

• There’s a lot of research in support of the SLT, including the three studies led by Bandura (1961, 1963, 1965) into imitation of aggression.

• Cook & Mineka (1990) had monkeys watch a video of another monkey reacting with fear to a snake. When the observer-monkeys had a chance to get food, they would not if it involved approaching a snake or a snake-like object (toy snakes).

• Moreover, a lot of this research is strictly scientific, being carried out in lab conditions and using one-way mirrors and multiple observers for inter-rater reliability.

• SLT explains things that Behaviourism cannot. Behaviourism was a school of Psychology that focused on Classical and Operant Conditioning. This struggled to explain how humans learn complex behaviour so quickly. SLT proposes that huge “chunks” of behaviour can be learned “in one go” through observation and imitation.

Opposing Research:

• There may be a problem generalising findings from children or animals to adult humans. They may not be representative samples.

• A deeper problem with SLT is that is involves bringing in cognitions – thought processes, which are unobservable. The old Behaviourist school of psychology only studied observable behaviour and focussed on Classical and Operant Conditioning. By including cognitions, Bandura is moving SLT away from behaviourism and into a less scientific, more subjective territory.

• SLT also ignores the nature side of the nature/nurture debate. It may be that some people are born with predispositions to certain behaviours (like aggression) and don’t need role models. In fact, these people might seek out role models rather than just waiting for them to appear.

Different Theory:

• SLT is quite different from Operant and Classical Conditioning. For one thing, it includes cognitions as well as behaviours. SLT explains a child learning to talk by watching and imitating adults, whereas conditioning suggests the child needs to have each word or phrase rewarded with praise or attention; SLT seems more realistic, because children learn to speak quickly and their parents don’t pay attention to everything they say.

• However, Operant Conditioning and SLT overlap in vicarious learning. This is where a person sees a role model being reinforced for their behaviour; you are MUCH more likely to imitate behaviour you see being reinforced. This combines observational learning (SLT) and reinforcement (Operant Conditioning).

Application:

SLT is often used alongside other therapies such as Systematic Desensitisation or Token Economies.

BECKER ET AL. (2002)

THE CONTEMPORARY STUDY: TELEVISION & EATING DISORDERS IN FIJI

• Dr Becker concludes that the characters on Western TV shows act as role models for Fijian girls. The girls feel pressure to imitate the slim appearances of actors and models, even if this means going against the Fijian culture that traditionally emphasises a fuller and more muscular figure.

• The Fijian schoolgirls have family members modelling healthy eating and larger body shapes. Normally, they would observe their parents eating habits and appearances and imitate them. This is because they identify with their parents and their paents have status.

• However, the arrival of television brings with it a new set of Western role models who look very different from the girls' parents. These role models also have status (they are celebrities) and the girls identify with them too (many are youthful women who embody what the girls want to grow up to be).

Skinner - SCHEDULES OF REINFORCEMENT

• Fixed interval: The reward turns up at a regular time. Desirable behaviour increases in the run-up to the reward. Learning & extinction is medium.

• Variable Interval: The reward turns up but you can’t be sure exactly when. An example might be the audience applauding a performer or cheering an athlete. Desirable behaviour increases more slowly but stays at a steady rate. Learning is fast but extinction is slow.

• Fixed Ratio: The reward turns up every time the desired behaviour is carried out so often.

• Variable Ratio: The reward is dispensed randomly, after a changing number of behaviours, such as feeding the rat after one lever-press, then after 5, then after 3.

EVALUATING OPERANT CONDITIONING (AO3)

Supporting Research:

• Hobbs & Holt (1976) showed that TEPs work to reduce antisocial behaviour in a juvenile detention centre.

• Moreover, a lot of this research is strictly scientific, being carried out on animals in lab conditions or using brain imaging techniques like MRI. Because the theory only looks at behaviours (rather than cognitions), every step in the conditioning process is observable.

Opposing Research:

• The theory focuses entirely on the nurture side of the nature/nurture debate. It is possible some people are born with predispositions towards behaviours, rather than learning them through conditioning. This might explain why some people turn to crime or develop musical talent without being reinforced.

Different Theory:

• However, Operant Conditioning and SLT overlap in vicarious learning. This is where a person sees a role model being reinforced for their behaviour; you are MUCH more likely to imitate behaviour you see being reinforced. This combines imitation (SLT) and reinforcement (Operant Conditioning).

Application:

• Systematic desensitisation works by positively reinforcing early behaviours in the direction of the feared object, then gradually shaping behaviour through positive reinforcement. Eventually, the patient will be able to handle something they used to have a phobia about.

• Token Economy Programmes (TEPs) use positive reinforcement to modify behaviour in a closed setting like a school, hospital or prison.

• Mestel & Concar (1994) reported a successful programme to reward cocaine addicts who stayed ‘clean’ with vouchers for local shops.

Uses Of Phobia Treatments

How you treat a phobia depends on what you think is causing it:

• If you think phobias are caused by a fault in the brain's amygdala (fear centre in the limbic system), then some sort of drug therapy might be in order

• If you think instead that phobias have an unconscious cause, rooted in some childhood trauma, then Freud's psychoanalysis would work better

• If it seems more likely that phobias are faulty thought processes that can be challenged, cognitive therapy (counseling) might be the best solution

• However, if phobias are really behavioural problems (rather like bad habits), then behavioural therapy will work best

Systematic Desensitisation:

• Works by helping the sufferer to learn a relaxation response that competes with the fear response. The idea is that you cannot be relaxed and terrified at the same time.

Based on classical conditioning and has two components:

1. Counter-conditioning: this involves learning to associate the thing you fear with something relaxing or pleasant

2. Graduated exposure: this involves introducing you to the thing you fear in stages, starting with brief and remote encounters (a photograph, at a distance, for a second) and building up to longer, closer and more immediate encounters

Sometimes there's a third component:

• Bernstein (1979) - Participant modelling: a role model demonstrates being relaxed and calm in the presence of the feared object

Flooding:

• Works by confronting the sufferer with the feared object. The idea is that you cannot remain in a state of alarm (fight or flight response) for very long and once you calm down you will learn to associate the feared object with calmness instead of fear.

1. Unavoidable exposure: this involves introducing you to the thing you fear in the most immediate and unavoidable way.

2. Extinction: this involves learning to associate the thing you fear with something neutral

• Menzies & Clarke (1993) found that in vivo (physical ) techniques are more effective than in vitro ones (imaginary).

Evaluating Phobia Treatments (A03)

Supporting Research:

• Behavioural therapies like systematic desensitisation and flooding are based on classical conditioning, which is a well-established psychological theory supported by a huge amount of research (eg Pavlov's dogs, Baby Albert). All of this research suggests that fear-responses can be learned and un-learned.

Opposing Research:

• Behavioural therapies ignore cognitions. Cognitions include the feelings of fear that make up the phobia and if you ignore this you are missing out on the emotional side of the phobia and what it is about the feared object that the sufferer finds so distressing.

• Sometimes phobia-sufferers have false beliefs about the object of their fear (for example, aerophobes usually exaggerate the risks of flying in their own minds). These false beliefs can and should be challenged and re-educated, but behavioural therapies don't do this.

Different Theories:

• Cognitive Therapy encourages the sufferer to understand that their phobia is irrational. This sort of therapy helps the sufferer to look at the feared object differently, perhaps see it in a more positive light, and develop coping strategies to overcome the anxiety and stress.

• Psychoanalysis goes deeper than this, looking for the original cause of the phobia, which is usually a childhood trauma.

Application:

• Rothbaum et al. (1995) created a virtual-reality helmet worn by the patient which displays a phobic situation which is controlled  by the therapist. The scene might be one of driving a car over a high bridge. The pulse rate is monitored by the therapist. When the pulse rate gets too high, the scene is frozen in frame. The therapist then uses counter-conditioning to replace the fear with relaxation techniques.

• Prof. Öst uses exposure therapy to overcome Mariam's fear of snakes, but he also challenges Mariam's false beliefs about what the snake will do when it is released. HIs approach also uses some elements of systematic desensitisation because Mariam is gradually exposed to the snake (although much faster than in SD and with less control on her part). This shows how the different therapies blend together.