GCSE PSYCHOLOGY - LEARNING

GCSE PSYCHOLOGY - LEARNING

1. Classical conditioning

   • Classical conditioning is a procedure during which an animal or person learns to associate a reflex response with a new stimulus
   • Unconditioned stimulus (UCS)
     • The stimulus that produces a reflex response, such as the food for Pavlov's dog.
   • Unconditioned response (UCR)
     • The relfex response to a US such as pavlov's dog's salivation
   • Neutral stimulus (NS)
     • A stimulus that initially produces no specific response
   • Conditioned stimulus (CS)
     • A new stimulus presented with the UCS, such as the bell in Pavlov's experiment
   • Conditioned Response (CR)
     • The response that is learnt; it now occurs when the CS is presented e.g. the bell in Pavlov's exp.
   • Extinction
     • A conditioned response dies out
   • Spontaneous Recovery
     • A conditioned response that disappeared, suddenly appears again.
   • Generalisation
     • The conditioned response is produced when a similar stimulus to the original CS is presented.

2. Operant conditioning

   • Learning due to the consequences of behaviour, through positive or negative reinforcement.
   • Positive reinforcement
     • Encourages a behaviour by producing a reward or pleasant stimulus.
   • Negative reinforcement
     • A response or behaviour is strengthened by stopping or removing a negative stimulus.
   • Practical application
     • Training dogs using rewards to help people who need it, e.g. guide dogs
   • Punishment
     • Stops the behaviour, as it is a stimulus that is unpleasant and we try to avoid it.

3. Phobias

   • A phobia is an irrational fear of something, the usual symptoms are intense feelings of fear and anxiety to avoid the thing they have a phobia of.
   • TREATMENTS
     • Flooding
     • Systematic desensitiasation
     • Aversion Therapy
     • Token economy