Learning approaches

Describe how Skinner investigated the effect of reinforcement on behaviour.

Outline how behaviourists explain learning through the process of operant conditioning.

Compare operant conditioning with social learning.

Steph and Georgie are both working mothers.

Steph enjoys being challenged at work. Steph’s daughter listens to her mother’s colleagues praising and admiring Steph’s work and sees the awards she has been presented with in recognition of her effort. Steph’s daughter is an enthusiastic student who is keen to be challenged at school.

Georgie hates her job. Her daughter has heard her boss shout at her down the phone for missing deadlines and sees how tired Georgie is after staying up late working. Georgie’s daughter feels anxious when she is given difficult work and does not want to go to school.

How might vicarious reinforcement explain the different attitudes of Steph’s and Georgie’s daughters to their schoolwork?

Explain one strength and one limitation of using social learning theory to explain the different attitudes of Steph’s and Georgie’s daughters.

At a local school, teachers took part in Active Lifestyle Week to encourage students to become more active. The week involved daily staff netball matches during breaktimes and a step count challenge.

Two of the teachers were talking at the end of the week. Miss Honey said, “That was such a great week! I felt proud to win the staff step count challenge and receive the medal in assembly and demonstrate the joy of sport. My students loved watching us compete, I really think it will inspire them to be more active themselves!”

Mrs Wilson replied, “It’s alright for you, you’re young and the students like you. My students were so embarrassed to see me tripping over in netball. I think I may have put them off sport forever!”

Apart from mediational processes, use your knowledge of social learning theory to explain Miss Honey’s and Mrs Wilson’s comments.

Whether or not students learn to be more active could depend on mediational processes.

Explain how mediational processes might be involved in the students becoming more active.

Outline the way in which Pavlov studied classical conditioning.

Lily and Jemima have a pet rat, which usually hides in a corner when they try to take it out of its cage. They have tried different ways to stop the rat hiding, but so far without success.

Use your knowledge of two types of reinforcement to suggest how Lily and Jemima could train their rat to come to the cage door when they open it.

Alison is a Psychology teacher who is keen to reduce plastic waste in her school. She puts a sticker showing an ocean full of plastic waste on each plastic bottle of water sold in the canteen.

Alison asks canteen staff to increase the price of bottled water by 20 pence and offer free refills of water to any student taking in their own bottle.

Finally, Alison sets up a bottle return desk, where students can get 20 pence back for any plastic bottle they hand in for recycling.

Describe and evaluate operant conditioning as a way of explaining people’s behaviour. Refer to Alison’s approach to reducing plastic waste in your answer.

According to operant conditioning, which of the following statements is TRUE ?

Shade one circle only.

A television advert for a new cleaning spray, called ‘Tiger’, shows an England rugby player vigorously scrubbing a stain on the carpet.

The rugby player gets exhausted and gives up. A small boy says, ‘Only Tiger power will get that out’ and hands the rugby player a bottle of Tiger. The rugby player draws tiger stripes on his own face, roars and the little boy laughs. The rugby player easily wipes the stain from the carpet using Tiger.

The boy claps and the advert ends with the text, ‘Anyone can battle stains with a Tiger on their side.’

Explain how the Tiger advert might influence viewers’ mediational processes.

The company paid the rugby player a lot of money to be in the advert.

Use your knowledge of social learning theory to explain why the company wanted to use a famous rugby player in the advert.

Using your knowledge of social learning theory, suggest how the advert could be modified to increase the sales of Tiger to female customers.

Outline the behaviourist approach. Compare the behaviourist approach with the biological approach.