Learning Approach

For this section you need to be able to: a Define the learning approach showing understanding that this approach is about the effects of conditioning, reinforcement and social learning on the organism. b Define and use psychological terminology appropriately and accurately including the terms: i classical conditioning (including extinction, spontaneous recovery) ii operant conditioning (including positive and negative reinforcement, primary and secondary reinforcement, punishment) iii social learning (including imitation, modelling, observation, vicarious reinforcement) iv stimulus and response.

The learning approach (which is also known as behavioural psychology) became a driving force within psychology in the early 20th century when it was founded by John Watson. At the time it was very different to other areas of psychology  as it viewed psychology as a science and focused on behaviours we can see, ignoring what couldn’t be seen (such as the mind).

It can also be viewed as a reaction to the psychodynamic approach which focused on the unconscious as a cause of behaviour, Behaviourism sought to challenge the view that the causes of behaviour were unobservable.

This approach assumes it is possible to establish general laws of learning which will allow us to predict and even control behaviour.

The approach is also known as the Behaviourist approach because of its focus on actual behaviour rather than mental processes.  However this was softened to the learning approach with the incorporation of social learning which does include some aspects of cognition   The approach is very firmly on the side of Nurture in the nature nurture debate.

Learning theorists assume all of our behaviour is learnt and therefore a product of our environment. This approach ignores the influence of biology on behaviour.

According to learning theorists, different environmental stimuli will create different responses (stimulus – response learning), which explains how we are all different due to being brought up within varied surroundings.

It is believed that all animals (including humans) learn in the same way and there is a strong emphasis on learning by either the association or reinforcements we receive.

Classical conditioning is learning through association. It was discovered by Russian psychologist Ivan Pavlov, who, whilst working with dogs, discovered they would salivate at the sight of an empty food dish. He concluded that they had learnt to associate the empty dish with being fed. He went on to test his theory by training dogs to salivate to the sound of a bell, and gave scientific names to the experimental procedure.

Classical conditioning assumes learning is passive and is based on reflex behaviours that all organisms have. It involves learning to associate a stimulus which naturally brings about a response with a new stimulus so that it also brings about the same response. For example a puff of air in the eye (stimulus) naturally brings about a blink (response), however a buzzer does not. If we were to pair the buzzer with the puff of air, eventually the buzzer would lead to a blink by itself.  So behaviour is learned and can therefore be unlearned e.g. through extinction where the association just fades away.

These components make up the theory.

Unconditioned Stimulus (UCS) – this refers to anything that naturally has the power to produce a response in an organism, an unconditioned stimulus is one you do not learn to respond to.

Unconditioned Response (UCR) – this is a natural reflex response to an unconditioned stimulus (not learnt).

Neutral Stimulus (NS) – this has no natural potential to cause a reflex response in an organism before it is paired with the unconditioned stimulus.

Conditioned Stimulus (CS) – the neutral stimulus becomes the conditioned stimulus when it acquires the ability to produce a specific response in an organism (it is learned).

Conditioned Response (CR) – this is a learnt response to something that doesn’t naturally have the power to produce a response in an organism.

Operant conditioning is a form of learning due to the consequences of behaviour, through reinforcement and punishment.

Positive reinforcement occurs when a required behaviour is rewarded with something pleasant as a result . This will strengthen behaviour. E.g. This is shown in Skinner’s experiments where he rewarded the animal for pressing the lever with a food pellet.

Primary reinforcers include things such as food and water, anything that fulfils a basic need. However stimuli which are associated with primary reinforcers, such as money, can become reinforcers in their own right– these are known as secondary reinforcers.

Negative reinforcement also strengthens behaviour but this time involves something unpleasant being removed until the required behaviour is shown. For instance Skinner would run a small electrical current along the bottom of the Skinner box, until the lever was pressed, which would turn the shock off

Punishment is an unpleasant consequence which is given after behaviour we wish to stop. Within Skinner’s experiments he used punishment to stop the animal pressing the lever, by sending an electrical current along the bottom of the box whenever they pressed the lever making the animal less likely to press the lever again.

Social learning theory was developed by Albert Bandura

Social learning theory emphasises the role of observation and imitation of role models during learning.

Along with other behaviourist psychologists, the social learning theorists believe that behaviour is learned.

The basic process that underlies social learning involves:
Observation—simply watching the behaviour of others
Modelling– specific behaviour performed by someone of relevance
Imitation– direct copying of the behaviour of the model
Reinforcement– this can be direct i.e. a positive consequence for imitating the model, or indirect, i.e. seeing the model be reinforced for their behaviour (vicarious reinforcement)

Stimulus response learning is the type of learning described by behaviourists as they view learning as simple associations between an external stimulus and a behavioural response.  This approach to learning denies any cognitive or mental processing.