Psychology A exam/questions with complete solutions

Psychology A-Level Paper 2 Revision
(Advanced Information) Approaches
questions with correct answers



The behaviourist approach - answer-Suggests that all behaviour is learnt as a direct
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result to our environment and that we are born with a blank slate. Uses classical and
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operant conditioning.
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Behaviourists believe that theories need to be evidenced by empirical data acquired
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through careful and controlled observation and measurement of behaviour.
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Classical conditioning - answer-Learning by association
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Pavlov's experiment (1897) - answer-- Dogs presented with a bowl of food
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v(unconditioned stimulus) producing salivation (unconditioned response).
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- A bell (neutral stimulus) is rang and then the dog is presented with the bowl of food.
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- The bell becomes a conditioned stimulus so when the dog hears the bell it will now
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vsalivate before seeing the food, which is a conditioned response.
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What is acquisition? - answer-The phase of classical conditioning when the CS and the
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US are presented together.
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What is extinction? - answer-When the conditioned stimulus no longer elicits the
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conditioned response.
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What is spontaneous recovery? - answer-The reappearance, after a pause, of an
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extinguished conditioned response.
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Operant conditioning - answer-Learning by reinforcement
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Skinner's Box (1938) - answer-- Skinner introduced a hungry rat into the box and inside
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vthe box was a lever that when pressed, would deliver a food pellet. The rat soon learned
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vthat pressing the lever would result in a food pellet (reward).
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- Skinner observed that as a consequence of its actions (receiving a pellet of food), the
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vrat continued to display this new behaviour. The rat's behaviour had been positively
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vreinforced.

, - Punishment: Skinner changed the mechanism so that when the rat placed the lever,
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vinstead of receiving a food pellet it was given an electric shock to its paw. Very quickly
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vthe rat stopped pressing the lever. The shock acted as punishment.
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- Negative reinforcement: Skinner showed negative reinforcement by placing a rat into
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vhis skinner box and subjecting it to an unpleasant electric current which caused it some
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vdiscomfort. As the rat moved about the box it would accidentally knock the lever. As the
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vlever was knocked the current switched off. The rats quickly learned to go straight to the
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vlever after a few times of being put in the box. The consequence of escaping the electric
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vcurrent ensured they would repeat the action.
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Positive reinforcement - answer-Increasing behaviours by presenting positive stimuli,
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such as food. A positive reinforcer is any stimulus that, when presented after a
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response, strengthens the response.
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Negative reinforcement - answer-Increasing behaviours by stopping or reducing
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negative stimuli, such as shock. A negative reinforcer is any stimulus that, when
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removed after a response, strengthens the response. (Note: negative reinforcement is
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not punishment.)
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Punishment - answer-An event that decreases the behaviour that it follows e.g., an
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electric shock following a certain response.
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Strengths of the behaviourist approach - answer-There is evidence to support the
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behaviourist approach. For example, Watson and Rayner classically conditioned an 11
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month old boy (Little Albert) to fear rats by presenting them with a loud noise. This is a
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strength because the fact that Little Albert learned to fear white fluffy animals supports
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the role of Classical Conditioning in learning behaviour.
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The behaviourist approach has had many useful practical applications. For example, this
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approach has allowed Psychologists to develop successful therapies for treating
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abnormalities (e.g. flooding) which require individuals to unlearn their disorder using the
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principals of classical conditioning. This is a strength because, the fact that flooding is
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such a successful treatment shows that if behaviours (e.g. phobias) can be unlearned
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through classical conditioning then other behaviours that individuals learned must have
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developed through classical conditioning.
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Weaknesses of the behaviourist approach - answer-The behaviourist approach is
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vdeterministic, claiming that all thought and behaviour is caused by factors outside of our
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vcontrol. For example, the approach states that we develop behaviours through stimuli-
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response associations and through the learning that takes place as we interact with our
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venvironment. This is a weakness because, the Behavioural approach fails to consider
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vthe role of free will, it states that we do not have control over our actions and that the
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vbehaviours we develop are governed by external experiences when surely our actions
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vin some part must be as a result of our own free choice.
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