Learning Approach to Psychology

The Learning Approach to Psychology focuses on how we learn and change our behaviour through experience. It's like figuring out how your brain gets programmed to do things, and how you can re-program it if you want to change! There are two main ideas within this approach:

1. Classical Conditioning:

This is like learning by association. You learn to associate two things together, even if they weren't originally connected.

• Example: Imagine you're walking down the street and suddenly hear a loud bang. You jump and feel scared. Now, every time you hear a similar sound, you might feel a bit scared, even if there's no danger. You've learned to associate the sound with fear.
• Pavlov's Dogs: This famous experiment shows how classical conditioning works. Pavlov's dogs learned to associate the sound of a bell with food, and started salivating just at the sound of the bell, even if there was no food present!

2. Operant Conditioning:

This is about learning through rewards and punishments. You learn to repeat actions that get you pleasant results, and avoid actions that lead to unpleasant results.

• Example: You study hard for a test and get a good grade. You're likely to study hard again for the next test, because you've been rewarded with a good grade. On the other hand, if you skip studying and fail the test, you're less likely to skip studying again.
• Skinner's Box: This is a famous experiment that demonstrates operant conditioning. Rats learned to press a lever to receive food. The more they pressed the lever, the more food they got!

Real World Examples:

• Phobias: People with phobias often avoid things they are afraid of, which makes their fear worse. Therapists can use classical conditioning techniques to help people overcome their phobias. For example, a therapist might gradually expose someone with a fear of spiders to spiders, while teaching them relaxation techniques. This helps them to learn to associate spiders with calm, instead of fear.
• Addiction: Addiction is often fueled by positive reinforcement. The feeling of pleasure from drugs or alcohol can make people want to repeat the behaviour. Therapists can use operant conditioning techniques to help people break addiction. For example, they might give people rewards for staying drug-free.
• Learning at School: Teachers use a variety of operant conditioning techniques to help students learn. For example, they might give students praise or stickers for good work, or use detention as a consequence for bad behaviour.

Key People in Learning Approach:

• Ivan Pavlov: Developed the theory of classical conditioning.
• B.F. Skinner: Developed the theory of operant conditioning.

Strengths of the Learning Approach:

• It provides a clear and testable explanation of how learning occurs.
• It has practical applications in many areas, including education, therapy, and marketing.

Limitations of the Learning Approach:

• It can be criticized for being too simplistic, as it doesn't fully account for the role of cognitive processes (thinking and reasoning) in learning.
• It can be difficult to apply learning theory to complex human behaviour.

The Learning Approach is a powerful tool for understanding how we learn and change our behaviour. It reminds us that our experiences shape who we are, and that we have the power to change our own behaviour.