Psychology A-Level Paper 2 Revision (Advanced Information) Approaches Exam Questions And Answers
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Course
AQA Psychology A Level 2021 Paper 2 MS
Institution
AQA Psychology A Level 2021 Paper 2 MS
The behaviourist approach - ANS Suggests that all behaviour is learnt as a direct result to our environment and that we are born with a blank slate. Uses classical and operant conditioning.
Behaviourists believe that theories need to be evidenced by empirical data acquired through carefu...
Psychology A-Level Paper 2 Revision
(Advanced Information) Approaches Exam
Questions And Answer
The behaviourist approach - ANS Suggests that all behaviour is learnt as a direct result to
our environment and that we are born with a blank slate. Uses classical and operant
conditioning.
Behaviourists believe that theories need to be evidenced by empirical data acquired through
careful and controlled observation and measurement of behaviour.
Classical conditioning - ANS Learning by association
Pavlov's experiment (1897) - ANS - Dogs presented with a bowl of food (unconditioned
stimulus) producing salivation (unconditioned response).
- A bell (neutral stimulus) is rang and then the dog is presented with the bowl of food.
- The bell becomes a conditioned stimulus so when the dog hears the bell it will now salivate
before seeing the food, which is a conditioned response.
What is acquisition? - ANS The phase of classical conditioning when the CS and the US
are presented together.
What is extinction? - ANS When the conditioned stimulus no longer elicits the conditioned
response.
What is spontaneous recovery? - ANS The reappearance, after a pause, of an
extinguished conditioned response.
Operant conditioning - ANS Learning by reinforcement
Skinner's Box (1938) - ANS - Skinner introduced a hungry rat into the box and inside the
box was a lever that when pressed, would deliver a food pellet. The rat soon learned that
pressing the lever would result in a food pellet (reward).
- Skinner observed that as a consequence of its actions (receiving a pellet of food), the rat
continued to display this new behaviour. The rat's behaviour had been positively reinforced.
, - Punishment: Skinner changed the mechanism so that when the rat placed the lever, instead of
receiving a food pellet it was given an electric shock to its paw. Very quickly the rat stopped
pressing the lever. The shock acted as punishment.
- Negative reinforcement: Skinner showed negative reinforcement by placing a rat into his
skinner box and subjecting it to an unpleasant electric current which caused it some discomfort.
As the rat moved about the box it would accidentally knock the lever. As the lever was knocked
the current switched off. The rats quickly learned to go straight to the lever after a few times of
being put in the box. The consequence of escaping the electric current ensured they would
repeat the action.
Positive reinforcement - ANS Increasing behaviours by presenting positive stimuli, such as
food. A positive reinforcer is any stimulus that, when presented after a response, strengthens
the response.
Negative reinforcement - ANS Increasing behaviours by stopping or reducing negative
stimuli, such as shock. A negative reinforcer is any stimulus that, when removed after a
response, strengthens the response. (Note: negative reinforcement is not punishment.)
Punishment - ANS An event that decreases the behaviour that it follows e.g., an electric
shock following a certain response.
Strengths of the behaviourist approach - ANS There is evidence to support the
behaviourist approach. For example, Watson and Rayner classically conditioned an 11 month
old boy (Little Albert) to fear rats by presenting them with a loud noise. This is a strength
because the fact that Little Albert learned to fear white fluffy animals supports the role of
Classical Conditioning in learning behaviour.
The behaviourist approach has had many useful practical applications. For example, this
approach has allowed Psychologists to develop successful therapies for treating abnormalities
(e.g. flooding) which require individuals to unlearn their disorder using the principals of classical
conditioning. This is a strength because, the fact that flooding is such a successful treatment
shows that if behaviours (e.g. phobias) can be unlearned through classical conditioning then
other behaviours that individuals learned must have developed through classical conditioning.
Weaknesses of the behaviourist approach - ANS The behaviourist approach is
deterministic, claiming that all thought and behaviour is caused by factors outside of our control.
For example, the approach states that we develop behaviours through stimuli-response
associations and through the learning that takes place as we interact with our environment. This
is a weakness because, the Behavioural approach fails to consider the role of free will, it states
that we do not have control over our actions and that the behaviours we develop are governed
by external experiences when surely our actions in some part must be as a result of our own
free choice.
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