PSYCHOLOGY A-LEVEL PAPER 2 REVISION
(ADVANCED INFORMATION) APPROACHES
QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS 2024 – 2025
The,behaviourist,approach,,ANS,-
,,Suggests,that,all,behaviour,is,learnt,as,a,direct,result,to,our,environment,and,that,we,are,born,with,a,bla
nk,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,respo
nse).
-,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,salivate,before,seein
g,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,del
iver,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,dis
play,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,an
d,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,e
scaping,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,t
hat,,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,a
ny,stimulus,that,,when,removed,after,a,response,,strengthens,the,response.,(Note:,negative,reinforceme
nt,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,con
ditioned,an,11,month,old,boy,(Little,Albert),to,fear,rats,by,presenting,them,with,a,loud,noise.,This,is,a,str
ength,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,all
owed,Psychologists,to,develop,successful,therapies,for,treating,abnormalities,(e.g.,flooding),which,requir
