Zusammenfassung der Ressource
Psychology
Learning approach
- Key assumptions
Watson.
- The Blank slate: That we
all enter the world with a
'blank slate'. Meaning that
we all have the same
capacity to learn things.
- We learn from our
environment and
experiences.
- We each have unique
ways of learning because
of our experiences.
- Focus on behaviour:
Believed that every
Psychologist should use
scientific methods and
study only directly
observable things.
- Such as
conditions/
environment and
behaviour.
- Universal laws: Learning Psychologists
think that we can study people and
animals and generate theories that apply
to all. (Not Watson's theory).
- Conditioning: Watson believed that
the main ( if not only) process of
how people learn is by conditioning.
This is the type of learning where
two things are associated.
- Idea originated from Ivan Pavlov.
- Classical Conditioning.
- Stimulus and response.
- Natural Stimulus:
Something in the
environment that
doesn't produce a
response.
- UnConditioned Stimulus:
A stimulus that produces
a natural, unlearnt
response.
- UnConditioned
Response: A response
that occurs naturally
without learning
- Conditioned Stimulus: A
stimulus that has been
associated with a UCS so that it
now produces the same
response as the UCS on its own.
- Conditioned Response: A learnt
behaviour that is shown in
response to a learnt
conditioned stimulus.
- Example: Pavlov conditioned
his dogs to salvate at the
sound of a bell. This was
because the dog associated
the sound of the bell with the
presentation of food.
- Stimulus Generalization: The
tendency for the conditioned
stimulus to evoke similar responses
after the response has been
conditioned.
- For example Pavlov's dogs began
to salivate when they saw
something that closely
resembled the conditioned
stimulus.
- The sight of an
oval made them
salivate as it
looks like a circle.
- Stimulus discrimination: This
when we learn to respond
only to the original stimulus,
and not to other similar
stimuli.
- Extinction: refers to the gradual
weakening of a conditioned
response that results in the
behavior decreasing or
disappearing.
- Little Albert
- Albert was tested for his
response to several stimuli.
- Because Albert was afraid of the hammer
hitting the pole it was used to condition him to
fear the white rat.
- The rat was presented to
Albert and when he reached
for the rat the hammer hit the
pole making him jump
- This happened several times over
seven weeks. By now the rat
presented on its created fear in
Albert and he began to cry and try to
crawl away.
- The CR generalized to the rabbit, the dog, a
sealskin fur coat, cotton wool, Watson's hair
and a Santa Claus mask.
- Months after his conditioning Albert
fear was still present towards the white
rabbit.
- However before the conditioning done on
Albert could be reversed he was removed from
the study.
- Spontaneous recovery:
When an extinct
response happens
spontaneously.
- Treating phobias
- Phobia: Exaggerated
fear of an object or
situation.
- Flooding: When the person with the phobia is put in
a room with the phobia. This is because the body
can't maintain it's feelings of fear for prolonged
periods of time, this makes the person stop reacting
to the fear over a period of time.
- Systematic desensitisation.
- Phase 1-Functional analysis:
The client and the therapist
create a hierarchy of fearful
situations.
- Phase 2-Relaxation training: The
client is then trained in methods of
relaxation.
- Phase 3-Graduated exposure:
The client is gradually exposed to
the phobia, following the
hierarchy that was established.
When exposed the client uses
the previously learnt relaxation
techniques to calm themselves
down at the sight of the
stimulus. When the client is fully
relaxed they can be exposed to
more intense exposure.
- Operant conditioning.
- Reinforcement
- Positive
- A reward of something good is given because
of the behaviour. The bahaviour is then
repeated.
- Takes longer than
negative
reinforcement.
- Negative
- Is faster than
positive
reinforcement.
- A reward in terms of the removal of
something unpleasant id given
because of the desired behaviour
being shown. The behaviour is then
repeated.
- Primary reinforcer: Used to
satisfy a basic need, for
example food.
- Secondary reinforcer: Only useful because
they are associated with the primary
reinforcer, for example food.
- Variable schedule: When you don't reinforce
the behaviour everytime.
- Fixed ratio: A fixed ratio
schedule that refers to applying
the reinforcement after a specific
numbers of behaviours have
been done.
- Fixed interval: Applying the reinforcer
after a specific amount of time is referred
to as a fixed interval schedule.
- Variable ratio: This
refers to applying a
reinforcer after a
variable number of
responses.
- Variable interval: Reinforcing someone after a
variable amount of time is the final schedule. If
you have a boss that checks your work
periodically you are more likely to only work
hard when you know when they are coming
around. Compared to a boss who checks your
randomly as you are more likely to work hard
all the time.
- Punishment
- Something unpleasant happens
because of the behaviour. The
behaviour isn't repeated.
- Behaviour shaping
- The principles of operant conditioning
can be used to develop complex
behaviours that wouldn't usually be
shown naturally.
- This is done by reinforcing
behaviours that closely link
to the desired target
baehaviour.
- Reinforcement then gradually becomes more
selective by reinforcing more and more closely
so that closely related behaviours until the
targeted behaviour is produced.
- This is called behaviour shaping because
reinforcements are being given for
successive approximations until the
desired target response achieved.