As Edexcel Psychology Unit 2: The Learning Approach

Front 1

What is the learning explanation for gender development and who focused on this approach?

Back 1

Social Learning Theory by Bandura.

Front 2

What does the Social Learning Theory emphasise?

Back 2

It emphasises on the role of observation and imitation of role models during learning.

Front 3

How does someone develop their gender through Social Learning Theory?

Back 3

1) Observation: simply watching the behaviour of others, e.g. a girl watching another girl put on make-up.
2) Modelling: specific behaviour performed by someone of relevance, e.g. a girl watching her mother put on make-up.
3) Imitation: direct copying of the behaviour of the model, e.g. a girl copying her mother who puts on make-up.
4) Direct/Indirect Reinforcement/Punishment: rewarding or punishing the imitator for a specific behaviour, e.g. the mother rewarding/punishing the girl for putting on make-up, or the girl observes the mother being rewarded/punished for putting on make-up (vicarious reinforcement).

Front 4

When are children more likely to imitate role models, according to Bandura?

Back 4

Bandura suggests that role models are more likely to be imitated by children if they are the same sex, have similar personalities or are caring/nurturing like parents. Those role models who are rewarded for their behaviour are also more likely to be imitated.

Front 5

What is a piece of supporting evidence for Social Learning Theory?

Back 5

Cramer and Skidd (1992) found that pre-school aged boys and girls made reference to gender stereotypes and behaviours, suggesting that children are encouraged to act in masculine or feminine ways from a very early age.

Front 6

Is the Social Learning Theory reductionist in any way?

Back 6

Social Learning Theory ignores biological differences between males and female and there is much evidence to suggest that chromosomes, hormones and brain differences play a large part in the development of gender.

Front 7

Can Social Learning Theory be refuted?

Back 7

Lytton and Romney (1991) found that while parents did reinforce sex-typed behaviour in their children they also found that there were many similarities between how boys and girls are socialised and concluded that differences in behaviour are unlikely to be solely caused by reinforcement.

Front 8

What was the aim of Bandura, Ross and Ross' study in 1961?

Back 8

To demonstrate that if children were witnesses to an aggressive display they would imitate this aggressive behaviour when given the opportunity.

Front 9

How many participants were in Bandura's study?

Back 9

They tested 36 boys and 36 girls aged between 37 and 69 months, who were matched on their pre-existing aggressiveness. The role models were one male and one female adult.

Front 10

What were the three conditions in Bandura's study?

Back 10

Aggressive, non-aggressive, and the control group. These were further divided by sex, and the sex of the role model they were assigned to.

Front 11

What happened in stage one of Bandura's study?

Back 11

The child was allowed to play with toys in one corner of the room, and the model was seated with a mallet and a Bobo doll in the other corner. In the aggressive condition, the model was aggressive to to the doll in a distinct and stylised way. In the non-aggressive condition, the model ignored the doll and played with the toys in a gentle manner.

Front 12

What happened in stage two of Bandura's study?

Back 12

The child was able to play with the toys but was told he/she had to be careful with them (this was mild aggression arousal).

Front 13

What happened in stage three of Bandura's study?

Back 13

The child could play with any of the toys - these were aggressive and non-aggressive toys. The behaviour was observed for 20 minutes.

Front 14

Which types of children were the most aggressive in Bandura's study?

Back 14

Those children in the aggressive condition made more aggressive responses than those in the non-aggressive condition - with boys being more aggressive than girls. These boys tended to model a male rather than a female for aggressive responses. The girls in the aggressive condition showed more physical aggression if the model was male and verbal aggression if female (5.5 acts if female model and 7.2 acts if male model).

Front 15

How has the Bandura study been criticised?

Back 15

It has been criticised for interpreting the behaviour towards the doll as aggression, when perhaps the children interpreted their own behaviour as play. The study demonstrations were measured immediately and we may not be able to discover if such a single exposure of aggression can have long term effects on the child.

Front 16

What was the aim of Watson and Raynor's study in 1920 of Little Albert?

Back 16

To demonstrate that the principles of classical conditioning can be used to explain how humans acquire phobic behaviours and to show that a fear response can be created within a young child to a stimulus which does not naturally produce that response.

Front 17

What did the sample of Watson and Raynor's study consist of?

Back 17

One healthy male infant whose mother worked at the hospital Watson and Raynor were at - Little Albert.

Front 18

What happened in the pre-conditioning testing in Watson and Raynor's study?

Back 18

Little Albert's responses to stimuli were recorded at 9 months old when exposed to a white rat and a steel bar being struck behind his head. Albert showed a fear response to the loud noise making this an unconditioned stimulus.

Front 19

What happened in the conditioning trials in Watson and Raynor's study?

Back 19

At 11 months old, when Albert reached for the rat the bell struck behind his head. This was repeated 5 times the next week and twice more two weeks later - this was the conditioning process.

Front 20

What happened in the post conditioning test in Watson and Raynor's study?

Back 20

Afterwards the effects were tested by showing Albert the rat alone and monitoring his reaction - he showed a fear response to the rat.

Front 21

What did happened as a result of Little Albert's conditioning in Watson and Raynor's study?

Back 21

Albert showed no fear to the rat in the pre conditioning tests, but after the first trial he showed some distress and eventually led to crying after the third trial. 7 weeks later he cried at furry stimuli including the fur of his mother's coat (generalisation).

Front 22

What did Watson and Raynor conclude about Albert's reaction to the rat?

Back 22

They believed it was possible to produce a fear response (phobia) in a human using the process of classical conditioning.

Front 23

What is classical conditioning?

Back 23

Classical conditioning can be defined as learning through association. It assumes learning is passive and is based on reflex behaviours that all organisms have. It involves learning to associate a stimulus which naturally brings about a response with a new stimulus so that it also brings about the same response.

Front 24

What are the terms associated with classical conditioning?

Back 24

Unconditioned stimulus (UCS): This is a stimulus which produces an automatic response which does not have to be learned.

Conditioned stimulus (CS): This is a stimulus which elicits a response as a result of repeated association with an unconditioned stimulus.

Unconditioned response (UCR): This is a response which occurs automatically to a particular stimulus and does not have to be learned.

Conditioned response (CR): This is a response which occurs when the conditioned stimulus is presented. After a number of pairings the neutral stimulus will elicit the response on its own and we can now refer to the response as a conditioned response.

Front 25

What is extinction, spontaneous recovery, generalisation and discrimination in classical conditioning?

Back 25

Extinction: If the conditioned stimulus is no longer associated with the presentation of the unconditioned stimulus then the conditioned response no longer occurs.

Spontaneous Recovery: This occurs after extinction and is a brief return of the conditioned response, although this does appear in a weakened form it does mean that reconditioning is much easier.

Generalisation: This is when the learner shows the conditioned response to similar stimuli to the conditioned stimulus.

Discrimination: This occurs when the learner only shows the conditioned response to one particular stimulus.

Front 26

What did Ivan Pavlov do which highlights classical conditioning?

Back 26

Whilst experimenting on dogs, he noticed that if a buzzer/bell was played at the same time as the dogs were fed, they would salivate merely at the sound of a buzzer/bell. He paired the neutral stimulus - a buzzer (called the conditioned stimulus) with food (this is called the unconditioned stimulus). The buzzer was played at the same time as the food was presented. Eventually the presentation of the buzzer on its own came to produce the same response (salivation) that food had elicited.

Front 27

What is operant conditioning?

Back 27

Operant conditioning is a form of learning due to the consequences of behaviour, through reinforcement and punishment. Operations that have positive consequences will be repeated and operations that have unpleasant consequences will not be repeated. BY controlling the consequences of behaviour it is possible to control what is learned and therefore control future behaviour.

Front 28

What are the terms associated with operant conditioning?

Back 28

Positive reinforcement: This occurs when a required behaviour is rewarded with something pleasant. This reinforcement will strengthen behaviour.

Primary reinforcers: These include theings such as food and water which fulfil a basic need and strengthen behaviour.

Secondary reinforcers: This refers to something which reinforces behaviour because it has been previously associated with a primary reinforcer, such as money.

Negative reinforcement: This also strengthens behaviour but this time involves something unpleasant being removed.

Punishment: This is an unpleasant consequence which is given after a behaviour we wish to stop.

Front 29

What did Skinner do which highlights operant conditioning?

Back 29

Skinner developed the principles of operant conditioning through his experiments involving animals. Skinner believed that animals and humans learn in the same way and went on to apply his findings to explain aspects of human behaviour - such as reinforcing a pigeon when it presses a lever for food.

Front 30

What is aversion therapy?

Back 30

Aversion therapy is a behavioural therapy which is based upon the principles of classical conditioning. An aversive stimulus is paired with an undesirable behaviour in order to reduce or eliminate that behaviour (such as alcohol misuse).

Front 31

What can alcohol be paired with in order to eliminate alcohol misuse?

Back 31

Alcohol can be paired with an emetic drug (which involves vomiting) so that the patient associates alcohol with vomiting and it becomes a conditioned response. Disulfiram is an example of an emetic drug which causes sickness when taken alongside alcohol.

Front 32

What supporting evidence is there to suggest that aversion therapy is effective?

Back 32

Frawley and Smith found that 81% of alcohol abusers abstained at 6 months following treatment and 71.3% abstained for 20 months. They suggested that it is also effective with other therapies such as Cognitive Behavioural Therapy and the support of family and friends, suggesting that aversion therapy is effective in the short term.

Front 33

Why has aversion therapy been criticised?

Back 33

It has been criticised for being a form of social control to change behaviour that society finds undesirable, for example in the 1970's it was used to try and condition homosexual men to become heterosexual.

Front 34

What are observational studies?

Back 34

They are investigations where the researcher observes a situation and records what happens but does not manipulate an independent variable.

Front 35

What is a key issue of the Learning Approach?

Back 35

A key issue could be: 'Is anorexia influenced by role models?'