Aqa Gcse Psychology Unit 2 - Learning

Front 1

What is Learning?

Back 1

A relatively permanent change in behaviour due to experience

Front 2

What is Classical Conditioning?

Back 2

A procedure during which an animal or person learns to associate a reflex response with a new stimulus.

Front 3

What is a Classical Conditioning Schedule?

Back 3

The steps in the procedure to condition a new response

Front 4

What is the Unconditioned Stimulus (UCS)?

Back 4

The stimulus that produces a reflex response, i.e. the food for Pavlov's Dog.

Front 5

What is the Unconditioned Response (UCR)?

Back 5

The reflex response to an unconditioned stimulus, i.e. Pavlov's Dog's salivation.

Front 6

What is the Conditioned Stimulus?

Back 6

A new stimulus presented with the UCS, i.e. the bell in Pavlov's experiment.

Front 7

What is the Conditioned Response?

Back 7

A new response that is learnt; it now occurs when the CS is presented, i.e. Pavlov's dog's salivation.

Front 8

What is Extinction?

Back 8

When a conditioned response dies out.

Front 9

What is Spontaneous Recovery?

Back 9

A conditioned response that has disappeared suddenly appears again.

Front 10

What is Generalisation (with reference to conditioning)?

Back 10

The conditioned response is produced when a similar stimulus to the original conditioned stimulus is presented.

Front 11

What is Discrimination (with reference to conditioning)?

Back 11

The conditioned response is only produced when a specific stimulus is presented.

Front 12

Aim and Method of Watson and Rayner?(Albert & his rat)

Back 12

Aim: To see if the response of fear can be conditioned in a human being.

Method: 11m.o. Albert liked a white lab rat and had no fear of white furry objects. In the conditioning trials, the rat was shown to Albert and as he reached for it, a metal bar was hit hard with a hammer behind Albert. This happened several times.

Front 13

Results and Conclusion of Watson and Rayner (Albert and his rat)

Back 13

Results: After 7 times, when the rat was shown again, Albert screamed and tried to get away, even if the bar was not hit and there was no loud noise. Albert also screamed at a Santa mask and fur coat.

Conclusion: Fear can be learnt and even very young children can learn with classical conditioning.

Front 14

Evaluate Watson and Rayner

Back 14

-Unethical, as they scared a small child.

-Only involved one child, therefore we may need more evidence that fear can be learnt.

Front 15

Practical Applications of Classical Conditioning

Back 15

Advertising agencies use CC to build up a favourable association between the advert and product.

They want the audience to associate the 'attractive/nice' person with the brand.

Front 16

What is Operant Conditioning?

Back 16

Learning due to the consequences of behaviour, through positive or negative reinforcement.

Front 17

What did Thorndike investigate?

Back 17

He designed a puzzle box for a cat to escape out of, with a loop of string attached to a latch, which let him out. Firstly, the cat pulled the string by accident, until after 20 trials, the cat escaped quickly. The cat learned to escape through trial and error learning. The pleasant consequence of escape encouraged the cat.

Front 18

What was Thorndike's hypothesis?

Back 18

'If a certain response has pleasant consequences, it is more likely than other responses to occur in the same circumstances.'

This became known as The Law of Effect.

Front 19

What is the Law of Effect?

Back 19

Behaviours that are followed by rewards are usually repeated; those that are punished are not usually repeated.

Front 20

What is Punishment?

Back 20

A stimulus that weakens behaviour because it is unpleasant and we try to avoid it.

Front 21

What is Reinforcement?

Back 21

A consequence of behaviour that encourages or strengthens a behaviour. This might be seen as a reward.

Front 22

What is Positive Reinforcement?

Back 22

A reward or pleasant consequence that increases the likelihood of a behaviour/ action being repeated.

Front 23

What is Negative Reinforcement?

Back 23

When an unpleasant experience is removed after a behaviour/action has been made. This increases likelihood of this being repeated.

Front 24

Explain the Skinner Box.

Back 24

He would place a hungry rat in the box, which would sniff, explore and groom, until accidentally pressing a lever and a pellet of food would drop. The 'lever pressing' behaviour was reinforced by a food pellet.

Front 25

What is Behaviour Shaping?

Back 25

Changing behaviour in small steps.

Front 26

Using behaviour shaping, how would you get a pigeon to play ping-pong?

Back 26

First, reinforce moving towards the ball, then touching the ball, hitting the ball, then towards another pigeon. By the end, the whole sequence is produced for one reward.

Front 27

What is a Phobia?

Back 27

A persistent and irrational fear of an object, activity or situation. The typical symptoms are intense feelings of anxiety to avoid the object, activity or situation.

Front 28

What are the two Treatments of Phobias?

Back 28

-Flooding

-Systematic Desensitisation.

Front 29

What is Flooding?

Back 29

A treatment for phobias that involves the immediate exposure of the person to the feared object, activity or event, until there is no fear response.

Front 30

Ethical Implications of Flooding.

Back 30

-You cannot withdraw from flooding. This is unethical.

-It is a very stressful procedure.

-Difficult to protect and avoid harming someone who is being flooded.

Front 31

What is Systematic Desensitisation?

Back 31

A treatment for phobias in which the person is taught to relax and then is gradually exposed to the feared object, activity or event.

1st, taught to relax. 2nd, hierarchy of fears constructed. 3rd, relaxes and slowly works up hierarchy of fears relaxing at each level before moving on.

Front 32

What is a hierarchy of fears?

Back 32

A series of feared events ranked from least frightening to most frightening.

Front 33

Ethical Implications of SD

Back 33

-Used when flooding is too stressful, i.e. children.

-Person takes active role in therapy and can withdraw, v. ethical.

-No deception, patient always knows wagwan.

-Takes longer than flooding.

-Can cost more.

-Preferred, as less anxiety and stress.

Front 34

What is Aversion Therapy?

Back 34

A treatment for addictions, which makes the addict have an extremely negative reaction to the addictive substance.

Front 35

Give one example of Aversion Therapy.

Back 35

Patient takes emetic (UCS), throws up (UCR), then drinks alcohol and takes emetic (UCS + CS), throws up (UCR), then eventually just alcohol (CS), throws up (CR).

Front 36

Evaluate Aversion Therapy.

Back 36

-Extremely unpleasant

-Ethical issues balanced, as therapy=v bad, but benefits=v good.

-Likely to go back to addiction once treatment stops. Especially younger addicts.

Front 37

What is a Token Economy Programme?

Back 37

Rewards socially acceptable behaviour in people who have stopped looking after themselves properly in hospitals, psychiatric wards, prisons, etc. Appropriate behaviour=token, token=fun activities!

Front 38

What is a Primary Reinforcer?

Back 38

A reward, such as food or water, that the animal or person needs in order to survive.

Front 39

What is a Secondary Reinforcer?

Back 39

A reward, such as money or a token, that the animal or person can exchange for a primary reinforcer.

Front 40

Evaluate Token Economy Programmes.

Back 40

-Produced improvements in behaviour, etc. of patients-Patients may focus on reward more than behaviour, so won't do the behaviour once the token is not rewarded.-Ethical issues, as patients could miss fave TV programme due to lack of tokens.