Essay plans
Approaches
Outline and evaluate behaviourist approach (16 marks)
Classical conditioning- Pavlov
- Learning through association, as we are born as blank slate
- Food unconditioned stimulus, salvation unconditioned response, bell
neutral stimulus
- Rung bell before dogs would get food so would salivate before
- When bell rang dogs salivated after getting no food
- Bell conditioned stimulus, salvation conditioned response
Operant conditioning- Skinner
- Learning through consequences
- Positive reinforcement- put rat in box with lever, if rat touched lever food
would be dispensed, made rat want to touch lever to get food
- Negative reinforcement- floor of box had electric current, if rat touched
lever current would stop, made rat want to touch lever to relive negative
- Positive punishment- receiving something unpleasant for behaviour
- Negative punishment- something pleasant taken away for behaviour
Evaluation
Scientific credibility
- Controlled experiment in lab setting
- Emphasised objectivity and replicability, influential in development of psych
as science
Real life applications
- Use SD to treat phobias, based on classical conditioning very successful
- Greater value due to being able to use to aid others
Support in humans
- Little albert, born without fear of white rats
- After classical conditioning then feared anything small and fluffy
Outline and evaluate social learning theory (16 marks)
Behaviour learned from experience
Vicarious reinforcement- observed someone else get reward for behaviour and
consequences of behaviour, we want reward so to behaviour
Bandura bobo dolls-
- Children watched adult behave aggressive to bobo doll, hit it with hammer
and shout at it
- When these children observed playing with it later, acted more aggressively
, - Another study showed group 1 getting praised for behaviour, group 2 got
punished for behaviour, group 3 had no consequence
- When given doll group 1 acted most aggressively
Mediational processes
- Attention- notice what they’re doing
- Retention- how well behaviour remembered
- Motor reproduction- ability to perform behaviour
- Motivation- will to perform behaviour
Identification- role models look up to and more likely to copy, identify with them
if possess similar characteristics to us
Evaluation
Includes cognitive factors
- Humans use cognitive factors to store info about environment
- SLT provides more comprehensive explanation of learning by recognising role
of meditational processes
Issues with lab studies
- Observations from young children, demand characteristics being in lab
- As purpose was to hit it, could have acted as what was expected from them
Ignores biology
- Finding was boys more aggressive than girls
- Could be due to testosterone and hormone differences
- Important influence on behaviour not explained in SLT
Outline and evaluate psychodynamic approach (16 marks)
The mind
- Conscious mind- can access
- Preconscious mind- most memories kept, can access but not straight away
- Unconscious mind- deepest level, protect from unpleasant memories, anxiety
The personality
- Id- pleasure principle, contains unconscious desires and tries satisfy selfish
wishes
- Ego- reality principle, balance between id and superego, uses defence
mechanisms
- Superego- morality principle, helps form moral code, will feel guilt
Defence mechanisms
- Repression- unpleasant memory pushed into unconscious mind, wont cause
anxiety, no recall of event
- Denial- refuse to accept reality of unpleasant situation, reduce anxiety and
person wont believe situation happened
- Displacement- emotion expressed onto neutral target, tramsfer distressing
emotion onto a substitute target, reduces anxiety
Approaches
Outline and evaluate behaviourist approach (16 marks)
Classical conditioning- Pavlov
- Learning through association, as we are born as blank slate
- Food unconditioned stimulus, salvation unconditioned response, bell
neutral stimulus
- Rung bell before dogs would get food so would salivate before
- When bell rang dogs salivated after getting no food
- Bell conditioned stimulus, salvation conditioned response
Operant conditioning- Skinner
- Learning through consequences
- Positive reinforcement- put rat in box with lever, if rat touched lever food
would be dispensed, made rat want to touch lever to get food
- Negative reinforcement- floor of box had electric current, if rat touched
lever current would stop, made rat want to touch lever to relive negative
- Positive punishment- receiving something unpleasant for behaviour
- Negative punishment- something pleasant taken away for behaviour
Evaluation
Scientific credibility
- Controlled experiment in lab setting
- Emphasised objectivity and replicability, influential in development of psych
as science
Real life applications
- Use SD to treat phobias, based on classical conditioning very successful
- Greater value due to being able to use to aid others
Support in humans
- Little albert, born without fear of white rats
- After classical conditioning then feared anything small and fluffy
Outline and evaluate social learning theory (16 marks)
Behaviour learned from experience
Vicarious reinforcement- observed someone else get reward for behaviour and
consequences of behaviour, we want reward so to behaviour
Bandura bobo dolls-
- Children watched adult behave aggressive to bobo doll, hit it with hammer
and shout at it
- When these children observed playing with it later, acted more aggressively
, - Another study showed group 1 getting praised for behaviour, group 2 got
punished for behaviour, group 3 had no consequence
- When given doll group 1 acted most aggressively
Mediational processes
- Attention- notice what they’re doing
- Retention- how well behaviour remembered
- Motor reproduction- ability to perform behaviour
- Motivation- will to perform behaviour
Identification- role models look up to and more likely to copy, identify with them
if possess similar characteristics to us
Evaluation
Includes cognitive factors
- Humans use cognitive factors to store info about environment
- SLT provides more comprehensive explanation of learning by recognising role
of meditational processes
Issues with lab studies
- Observations from young children, demand characteristics being in lab
- As purpose was to hit it, could have acted as what was expected from them
Ignores biology
- Finding was boys more aggressive than girls
- Could be due to testosterone and hormone differences
- Important influence on behaviour not explained in SLT
Outline and evaluate psychodynamic approach (16 marks)
The mind
- Conscious mind- can access
- Preconscious mind- most memories kept, can access but not straight away
- Unconscious mind- deepest level, protect from unpleasant memories, anxiety
The personality
- Id- pleasure principle, contains unconscious desires and tries satisfy selfish
wishes
- Ego- reality principle, balance between id and superego, uses defence
mechanisms
- Superego- morality principle, helps form moral code, will feel guilt
Defence mechanisms
- Repression- unpleasant memory pushed into unconscious mind, wont cause
anxiety, no recall of event
- Denial- refuse to accept reality of unpleasant situation, reduce anxiety and
person wont believe situation happened
- Displacement- emotion expressed onto neutral target, tramsfer distressing
emotion onto a substitute target, reduces anxiety
