Psychologists investigating theoretical models of cognitive processing study human cognitive
processing. They sometimes give participants problems to solve then ask them about the experience
afterwards. Typical participant responses are as follows:
Response A: ‘There were too many things to think about at the same time.’
Response B: ‘I had to do one task at a time, then do the next task, and so on.’
Briefly suggest how each of these responses might inform psychologists investigating models of
human cognitive processing.
- A: processing is limited capacity (when performing demanding / novel tasks)
- B: processing is sequential (when performing demanding / novel tasks)
A behaviourist researcher studying reinforcement carried out a laboratory experiment. He put a cat in
a puzzle box. The cat was able to escape from the puzzle box by pulling on a string which opened the
door. Each time the cat escaped it was given a food treat. At first, the cat escaped quite slowly, but
with each attempt the escape time decreased. Explain which type of conditioning is being investigated
in this experiment?
- Operant conditioning
- Explanation of how this is operant conditioning, ie performance of desired response, pulling
strings, results in a positive consequence, escape and treat
The data from the laboratory experiment are shown in the table below, which shows the time taken for
the cat to escape from the puzzle box.
Calculate the mean time taken for the cat to escape from the puzzle box. Show your calculations.
- 30.75
- Workings: 246 (total time) divided by number of trials
The researcher compared the time taken for the cat to escape at the first attempt, with the time taken
for the eighth attempt. He found that after learning had taken place the cat’s escape time was: Shade
one box only.
- A 9 times faster than it was at the start.
- B 11 times faster than it was at the start.
- C 15 times faster than it was at the start.
- D 21 times faster than it was at the start.
- Answer: D
,A psychologist carried out a study of social learning. As part of the procedure, he showed children
aged 4-5 years a film of a 4 year-old boy stroking a puppy. Whilst the children watched the film, the
psychologist commented on how kind the boy was. After the children had watched the film, the
psychologist brought a puppy into the room and watched to see how the children behaved with the
puppy. Outline what is meant by social learning theory and explain how social learning might have
occurred in the procedure described above.
- Content - outline
- learning that involves observation, imitation / copying / modelling, identification and
vicarious reinforcement
- acknowledges the role of cognition in learning, eg attention, motivation etc.
- Possible applications
- in the procedure children observed the actions of the boy in the film
- the psychologist exposed the children to a role model, the boy
- using role model / boy of the same age encouraged identification
- after exposure the children would model / imitate the boy’s behaviour, stroking the
puppy
- the psychologist’s comments acted as vicarious reinforcement making learning more
likely
- the learning might not be outwardly demonstrated but could still have been
internalised (because this is social learning and therefore need not be overtly
demonstrated at the time)
Discuss two limitations of social learning theory.
- difficulty demonstrating cause and effect – although Bandura research controlled variables
and demonstrated behaviour was imitated it is difficult to show cause and effect in real life
- sees behaviour as environmentally determined whereas some behaviours may be innate
- mediating cognitive factors have to be inferred so cannot measure extent of their influence
- SLT does not explain cognitive processes, leaving this to cognitive psychologists
- can explain learning of outward behaviours, SLT is not so able to explain the learning of
abstract notions, e.g. fairness, justice etc which cannot be observed directly
- comparison with other theories where presented in terms of a limitation
A cognitive psychologist investigating how memory works gave participants the same word list to
recall in one of two conditions. All the words were of equal difficulty.
Condition 1: Ten participants recalled the words in the same room in which they had learned the
words.
Condition 2: Ten different participants recalled the words in a room that was not the same room as
that in which they had learned the words.
The following results were obtained:
Mean values and standard deviations for Condition 1 and Condition 2 in a memory experiment.
Why are the standard deviation values found in the study above useful descriptive statistics for the
cognitive psychologist?
- Useful to inform about the spread of scores
, - Indicates participant variables - as a group the people in Condition 1 are quite different/ are
more variable than those in Condition 2
Outline one problem of studying internal mental processes like memory ability by conducting
experiments such as that described in question above.
- Direct observation of memory is not possible and must be inferred from the results /
behaviour of the participants – this inference could be mistaken
- The task given is rarely how normal memory functioning occurs because it is specifically
designed to make measurement possible – the researcher therefore collects data that is only
related to memory processing under experimental conditions
Rita and Holly are identical twins who were separated at birth. When they finally met each other at
the age of 35, they were surprised at how different their personalities were. Rita is much more social
and out-going than Holly. Use your knowledge of genotype and phenotype to explain this difference
in their personalities.
- Holly and Rita have identical genotype as they are MZ twins
- They have the predisposition to develop the same personalities as each other unless another
factor(s) intervenes
- For them to have developed different personalities over time, this must have been influenced
by being in different environments
- Their phenotypes – personalities achieved – are different, presumably because Rita was
encouraged to be sociable and lively and Holly was not
Outline and evaluate the social learning theory approach. Refer to evidence in your answer.
- A01
- Learning takes place in a social context
- 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.
- 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
- A03
- Use of evidence to support social learning theory
- 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
processing. They sometimes give participants problems to solve then ask them about the experience
afterwards. Typical participant responses are as follows:
Response A: ‘There were too many things to think about at the same time.’
Response B: ‘I had to do one task at a time, then do the next task, and so on.’
Briefly suggest how each of these responses might inform psychologists investigating models of
human cognitive processing.
- A: processing is limited capacity (when performing demanding / novel tasks)
- B: processing is sequential (when performing demanding / novel tasks)
A behaviourist researcher studying reinforcement carried out a laboratory experiment. He put a cat in
a puzzle box. The cat was able to escape from the puzzle box by pulling on a string which opened the
door. Each time the cat escaped it was given a food treat. At first, the cat escaped quite slowly, but
with each attempt the escape time decreased. Explain which type of conditioning is being investigated
in this experiment?
- Operant conditioning
- Explanation of how this is operant conditioning, ie performance of desired response, pulling
strings, results in a positive consequence, escape and treat
The data from the laboratory experiment are shown in the table below, which shows the time taken for
the cat to escape from the puzzle box.
Calculate the mean time taken for the cat to escape from the puzzle box. Show your calculations.
- 30.75
- Workings: 246 (total time) divided by number of trials
The researcher compared the time taken for the cat to escape at the first attempt, with the time taken
for the eighth attempt. He found that after learning had taken place the cat’s escape time was: Shade
one box only.
- A 9 times faster than it was at the start.
- B 11 times faster than it was at the start.
- C 15 times faster than it was at the start.
- D 21 times faster than it was at the start.
- Answer: D
,A psychologist carried out a study of social learning. As part of the procedure, he showed children
aged 4-5 years a film of a 4 year-old boy stroking a puppy. Whilst the children watched the film, the
psychologist commented on how kind the boy was. After the children had watched the film, the
psychologist brought a puppy into the room and watched to see how the children behaved with the
puppy. Outline what is meant by social learning theory and explain how social learning might have
occurred in the procedure described above.
- Content - outline
- learning that involves observation, imitation / copying / modelling, identification and
vicarious reinforcement
- acknowledges the role of cognition in learning, eg attention, motivation etc.
- Possible applications
- in the procedure children observed the actions of the boy in the film
- the psychologist exposed the children to a role model, the boy
- using role model / boy of the same age encouraged identification
- after exposure the children would model / imitate the boy’s behaviour, stroking the
puppy
- the psychologist’s comments acted as vicarious reinforcement making learning more
likely
- the learning might not be outwardly demonstrated but could still have been
internalised (because this is social learning and therefore need not be overtly
demonstrated at the time)
Discuss two limitations of social learning theory.
- difficulty demonstrating cause and effect – although Bandura research controlled variables
and demonstrated behaviour was imitated it is difficult to show cause and effect in real life
- sees behaviour as environmentally determined whereas some behaviours may be innate
- mediating cognitive factors have to be inferred so cannot measure extent of their influence
- SLT does not explain cognitive processes, leaving this to cognitive psychologists
- can explain learning of outward behaviours, SLT is not so able to explain the learning of
abstract notions, e.g. fairness, justice etc which cannot be observed directly
- comparison with other theories where presented in terms of a limitation
A cognitive psychologist investigating how memory works gave participants the same word list to
recall in one of two conditions. All the words were of equal difficulty.
Condition 1: Ten participants recalled the words in the same room in which they had learned the
words.
Condition 2: Ten different participants recalled the words in a room that was not the same room as
that in which they had learned the words.
The following results were obtained:
Mean values and standard deviations for Condition 1 and Condition 2 in a memory experiment.
Why are the standard deviation values found in the study above useful descriptive statistics for the
cognitive psychologist?
- Useful to inform about the spread of scores
, - Indicates participant variables - as a group the people in Condition 1 are quite different/ are
more variable than those in Condition 2
Outline one problem of studying internal mental processes like memory ability by conducting
experiments such as that described in question above.
- Direct observation of memory is not possible and must be inferred from the results /
behaviour of the participants – this inference could be mistaken
- The task given is rarely how normal memory functioning occurs because it is specifically
designed to make measurement possible – the researcher therefore collects data that is only
related to memory processing under experimental conditions
Rita and Holly are identical twins who were separated at birth. When they finally met each other at
the age of 35, they were surprised at how different their personalities were. Rita is much more social
and out-going than Holly. Use your knowledge of genotype and phenotype to explain this difference
in their personalities.
- Holly and Rita have identical genotype as they are MZ twins
- They have the predisposition to develop the same personalities as each other unless another
factor(s) intervenes
- For them to have developed different personalities over time, this must have been influenced
by being in different environments
- Their phenotypes – personalities achieved – are different, presumably because Rita was
encouraged to be sociable and lively and Holly was not
Outline and evaluate the social learning theory approach. Refer to evidence in your answer.
- A01
- Learning takes place in a social context
- 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.
- 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
- A03
- Use of evidence to support social learning theory
- 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
