The Learning Approach BEHAVIOURISM SOCIAL LEANING THEORY Starter

The Learning Approach BEHAVIOURISM & SOCIAL LEANING THEORY

Starter Questions Answer in pairs on MWBS: 1. Which two theories come under the heading of Behaviourism? 2. In what way does social learning theory differ from behaviourist theories? 3. What does the term ‘tabula rasa’ mean, and how does it relate to theory? 4. Do behaviourists believe that animal studies are worthwhile? Give a reason for your answer 5. According to behaviourism, what does behaviour have to be in order for it to be studied scientifically? 6. Give a definition of the term ‘negative reinforcement’ 7. Which theory can be described as learning through association? 8. Which theory can be described as learning through consequences? 9. What is ‘positive punishment’? 10. What four processes does learning through observation (social learning theory) involve? 11. What does the term ‘vicarious reinforcement’ mean? 12. What does the term ‘mediational processes’ mean?

Starter Questions: Answers 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. Which two theories come under the heading of Behaviourism? 1. 2. Classical conditioning, operant conditioning Social learning theory takes cognition (thought processes into In what way does social learning theory differ from behaviourist theories? account What does the term ‘tabula rasa’ mean, and how does it relate to 3. It means ‘blank slate’ and it relates to the behaviourist belief that theory? humans are born a blank slate and that behaviour is entirely a Do behaviourists believe that animal studies are worthwhile? product of experiences in the environment Give a reason for your answer 4. Yes they do, because the believe that learning processes are According to behaviourism, what does behaviour have to be in the same in animals as they are in humans (due to their belief order for it to be studied scientifically? that cognition plays no role) Give a definition of the term ‘negative reinforcement’ 5. Observable Which theory can be described as learning through association? 6. Where a behaviour is performed in order to remove an unpleasant stimulus Which theory can be described as learning through 7. Classical conditioning consequences? 8. Operant conditioning What is ‘positive punishment’? 9. A punishment that involves something unpleasant being added, What four processes does learning through observation (social rather than something pleasant being taken away learning theory) involve? 10. Modelling, imitation, identification, vicarious reinforcement What does the term ‘vicarious reinforcement’ mean? 11. Behaviour being strengthened by observing a third party being What does the term ‘mediational processes’ mean? rewarded for it 12. Thought process

Applying what you know… When Billy was 16 he started dating a girl called Mathilda. Billy was very physically attracted to Mathilda always wore the same perfume, Calvin Klein’s Obsession. Billy and Mathilda dated for six months, but then the relationship broke up when Mathilda family moved out of the area. A few months later, another girl called Astrid began to show an interest in Billy was not attracted to the way Astrid looked, but when she stood close to him he started to feel an attraction to her. Astrid also wore Calvin Klein’s Obsession. Explain Billy’s experience in terms of classical conditioning theory. Use the terms UCS, UCR, NS, CS and CR in your answer

Applying what you know… Carly, Matthew, Ali and Volka all attend the same school. Yesterday Carly came in late to school and so her teacher did not let her attend lunch-time club, which she really enjoys. Today she made sure she got in on time. Matthew hit another child and was made to stay back after school and do extra work. He has not hit another child since. Ali was talking to his friend when he should have been working and so the teacher started shouting at him. He immediately stopped talking. Volka helped the teacher carry the paints back to the art room. His teacher was really grateful and said he was a lovely helpful boy. Today Volka asked the teacher if there was anything he could help her with Explain the behaviour of Carly, Matthew, ali and Volka in terms of what you know about operant conditioning. Use the terms positive reinforcement, negative reinforcement, positive punishment and negative punishment in your answer

Applying what you know… Robbie has a big brother called Ethan likes to steal things from shops. When Robbie is out with Ethan he watches how he slips a packet of sweets into his pocket without being noticed. When they get outside the shop, Ethan is very excited and happy that he got away with theft. He takes the sweets home to eat. The next week, Robbie is out with his friend. They go into a toy shop. While his friend is at the till, Robbie sees a small toy that he likes, and he slips it into his pocket without the shopkeeper noticing. When Robbie gets home he spends all evening playing with his new toy. He feels very pleased with himself. The next day, he goes to the sweetshop and the end of the road and steals some sweets. The following day, Robbie is out with Ethan again when he is caught trying to steal an expensive watch from a jewellery store. The police are called and Ethan is taken to the police custody centre. He is charged with theft and receives a criminal record. Their mother grounds him for a month. Robbie has not stolen anything from a shop since. Explain Robbie’s behaviour using what you know about Social Learning Theory. Use the terms attention, retention, motor reproduction, direct reinforcement and vicarious reinforcement in your answer

Exam Practice Answer the following question individually. You have 6 minutes Read the following descriptions of behaviour: A Sarah is terrified of lifts because she was trapped in one for 5 hours. She cannot go in a lift now. B Jerry watches as his brother James is given sweets for cleaning their pet hamster’s cage. The next day, Jerry’s mum finds Jerry cleaning out the hamster cage. How can the behaviours described in A and B above be explained by learning theories? (6 marks) Now swap with the person sitting next to you and award a mark according to the guidance on the next slide

Exam Practice: Model Answer Sarah’s fear of lifts could be explained through classical conditioning (1 mark). This is where a previously neutral stimulus, in this case the lift (1 mark) becomes associated with an unconditional sti(mulus (being trapped) that naturally elicits a fear response (1 mark) Jerry’s behaviour can be explained through social learning theory/observational learning (1 mark). This is because if a child sees a role model being rewarded (vicarious reinforcement), they are likely to copy the behaviour (1 mark). In this case, Jerry sees James being rewarded for cleaning the hamster cage as he is given sweets, and therefore he imitates the behaviour (1 mark)

The Research Studies: Classical Conditioning • Split your group into two • On MWBs, one half draw out the diagram for Pavlov’s original classical conditioning experiment • The other half draw out the diagram for Watson & Rayner’s study of Little Albert • Make sure you use the correct terminology in your diagrams Now swap boards. Have the other half of the group got it right? Give them advice on anything you think they’ve missed out

The Research Studies: Operant Conditioning Answer in pairs on MWBs without looking at your notes: How did Skinner condition rats/pigeons to press a lever using the principles of positive reinforcement? Use the following words/phrases in your answer: Trial and error / random behaviour / hungry / accidentally / skinner box / Let’s now food pellet/ reinforced see this in action

The Research Studies: Operant Conditioning Now, in pairs on MWBs: Can you design an experiment for the rat in the Skinner Box that would teach it to press the lever, but this time through the process of negative reinforcement? You have five minutes to come up with an idea

The Research Studies: Operant Conditioning Did you get something like this? • The rats were subjected to an unpleasant electric shock which was delivered through the bars at the bottom of the box • When the rat pressed the lever, the shock would stop Add this f the o n o i t a i r va nt to experime s your note • The rats quickly learned to press the leaver as soon as they were put into the box • Skinner also taught the rats to press the lever when a light shone in the box to be able to avoid the shock completely

The Research Studies: Social Learning Theory A reminder of Bandura’s research: Now, individually, answer the following question. You have 5 minutes: Outline the procedures and findings of one study into the role of observational learning (4 marks) Now swap over and peer mark the answer you have in front of you using the guidance on the following slide

The Research Studies: Social Learning Theory Procedure 72 Children split into three groups of 24 (12 boys, 12 girls) (1 mark) In condition 1 children observed an adult (role model) attack a five foot inflatable doll, whereas in the nonaggressive condition, children observed an adult assembling a toy and showing no aggression (1 mark) In the aggressive condition, the doll was kicked and punched and the attacker used aggressive statements such as “Punch him on the nose” (1 mark) In condition 2, the children observed an adult assembling a toy showing no aggression (1 mark) In condition three, the control condition, no adult model was observed (1 mark) After this first stage each child was taken to a second room filled with toys and a bobo doll. The child was filmed playing with the toys for twenty minutes (1 mark) Findings Bandura et al found that the children displayed imitative aggression, partial imitation and non-imitative aggression (1 mark) The children who had observed the aggressive model (condition one) displayed higher levels of aggressive behaviour to the doll than those in either of the other two conditions (1 mark) Children were more likely to directly imitate same sex role models. In later replications of the study children observed films where models dressed as fantasy characters and findings showed the same level of imitation (1 mark) To get full marks, you must give both procedures and findings. If the answer only contained one and not the other, give it 2 marks maximum

Evaluation Skills: How do we evaluate an approach? In pairs on MWBs, write down ways in which we might evaluate an approach Research Support Application Debates Issues Comparison Anything missing Limitations with the methods Copy down this acronym for your notes Did you get…

Learning Theory Evaluation: Behaviourism Complete the following tasks in pairs on MWBs Using what you learnt in the introduction to approaches lesson, explain why behaviourism may be considered a more scientifically valid approach than introspection Did you get these? The methods used are objective as they involve the study of observable behaviour that can be agreed on by different researchers A cause and effect relationship can be determined as variables are tightly controlled, therefore internal validity is high Research is easily replicable, and so reliability can be checked

Learning Theory Evaluation: Behaviourism Complete the following tasks in pairs on MWBs Did you get. . Dave stole a can of coke from his local convenience store. He didn’t get caught and he was really thirsty so he really enjoyed the drink. • Raj stole a can of coke from his local convenience store. Like Dave, he didn’t get caught and he was really thirsty, so enjoyed the drink. The next week, Dave went and stole another can of coke. Raj thought about his actions of the previous week and decided that he was wrong to steal because his behaviour was unfair on the shopkeeper. He resolved never to steal anything from a shop again What problem does the case of Dave and Raj highlight about the behaviourist approach? • • Behaviourism doesn’t take thought processes into account. It over-simplifies behaviour as it only accounts for environmental influences. This means it is poor at being able to explain individual differences The use of animals in behaviourist research links to this point. Behaviourists believe there is sufficient similarity between animals and humans to make animal research worthwhile, but animals are not capable of complex cognition, which may affect human behaviour It is environmentally determinist, suggesting that the individual has no free will over their behaviour

Learning Theory Evaluation: Behaviourism Complete the following tasks on pairs in MWBs Did you get. . Behaviourism has had many practical applications. Write down an example of a practical application of both classical conditioning and operant conditioning • • Systematic desensitisation Flooding therapy Behaviour modification Token economies

Learning Theory Evaluation: Social Learning Theory Complete the following task in pairs on MWBs Are the following statements true or false? You should be able to elaborate on your answers False! Like the behaviourist approach, social learning theory take Thfails e socto ial le arning a p proach does account of cognition ta ke account of m ediational process, me aning it is a more holistic explanation of behaviour

Learning Theory Evaluation: Social Learning Theory Complete the following task in pairs on MWBs Are the following statements true or false? You should be able to True! elaborate on your answers This is beca u se it accoun ts for observationa l learning an d modelling, s o explains h ow Social learning theory is able to explain cultural differences behaviour cultural norin ms would be passed dow n from gene ration to generatio n

Learning Theory Evaluation: Social Learning Theory Complete the following task in pairs on MWBs True! This is bebe Are the following statements true or false? You should to cauable se theor y believes tha elaborate on your answers t beh aviour is acquired thr ough nurture , but it can’t expla in why in B a n d Social learning theory downplays the role of biologicalufactors How might ra’s Bo. Bon that o doll experiments finding be , boys were behaviour more a g g r essive than explained by girls in all of th e conditions the biological approach?

Essay snap plan Complete a plan for the following essay individually on paper Outline and evaluate the social learning theory approach. Refer to evidence in your answer (16 marks)

Essay snap plan: Possible content AO 3 AO 1 Learning takes place in a social context. Use of evidence to support social learning theory. Learning occurs via observation of the behaviour of others and the rewards or punishments received for the behaviour. Other people act as models and the characteristics of models influence the likelihood of imitation of the behaviour. Benefits of the experimental approach to investigate learning and issues with experimental evidence that might affect the validity of the results and therefore the conclusions drawn. Focus on human traits of consciousness and rationality which cannot be demonstrated with animal research, addresses the influence of mediational processes on learning – neglected by behaviourists. Provides explanations that relate to behaviours such as aggression and intellectual development. Does not pay much attention to the impact of biological, heredity or maturational factors on behaviour, evidence from these areas of research does show they do have an impact. Learning and performance are not the same activity. Mediational processes affect production of behaviour reciprocal determinism and the concept of free will. Relevant research eg Bobo doll study, Bandura. Concepts of identification and vicarious reinforcement. the Note that of inclusion can be in evidence O 3 AO 1, or A