Learning Theories | Edexcel A-Level Psychology (9PS0)

Learning Theories

327 questions
25 subtopics
Paper 1: foundations in psychology, all compulsory
Paper 1 and Paper 3

The fourth Paper 1 topic.

It covers classical and operant conditioning, social learning theory and the Bobo doll experiments, how phobias are acquired and treated, and the observational, animal and analytical methods that behaviourist research rests on.

Sample questions from Learning Theories

Answer each one closed book first, then open the answer.

The main features of classical conditioning

What is a conditioned response (CR)?

Show the answer
A learned response to a previously neutral stimulus that has become a conditioned stimulus.
Properties and schedules of reinforcement

How does money become a secondary reinforcer?

Show the answer
It acquires reinforcing properties through association with primary reinforcers.
The four stages of social learning

What is the function of motivation in Bandura's model of observational learning?

Show the answer
Motivation determines whether the observer chooses to perform the learned behaviour, based on expected rewards or punishments (vicarious reinforcement).
How learning theories explain phobias

What is vicarious experience in the context of phobia acquisition through social learning?

Show the answer
The observer indirectly experiences the emotional fear response by watching the model, without direct personal experience of the feared stimulus.
Developmental psychology in learning theories

How does social learning theory explain the acquisition of gender roles?

Show the answer
Children observe same-sex models, are reinforced for gender-typical behaviour and punished for departures from it, so the role is learned rather than unfolding.
Chi-squared and levels of measurement

Give two examples of nominal data.

Show the answer
Gender and eye colour (or any categories with no inherent order).
Classic study: Watson and Rayner (1920) Little Albert

In conditioning terms, what was the neutral stimulus?

Show the answer
The white rat.
Contemporary study: Capafons et al. (1998)

How was fear of flying measured?

Show the answer
By self-report scales and by physiological measures such as heart rate while viewing a flight-related video.

The 25 subtopics

One subtopic is one session. Work down the list.

Subtopic	What it covers	Questions
The main features of classical conditioning	Recall questions on the UCS, UCR, NS and CS, acquisition, extinction, spontaneous recovery and stimulus generalisation.	22
Pavlov's experiment with salivation in dogs	Recall questions on the food, salivation and bell as unconditioned stimulus, unconditioned response and neutral then conditioned stimulus in Pavlov's experiment, how salivation was measured, how many pairings were needed, and the limits of extending it to humans.	12
The main features of operant conditioning	Recall questions on positive and negative reinforcement, positive and negative punishment, and the difference between negative reinforcement and punishment.	9
Properties and schedules of reinforcement	Recall questions on primary reinforcers such as food and warmth, secondary reinforcers such as money, praise, tokens and grades, schedules of reinforcement, and the response patterns of variable ratio, fixed ratio and fixed interval schedules.	13
Behaviour modification and shaping	Recall questions on shaping by successive approximation, token economies, where they are used, and the ethical objections to them.	10
The main features of social learning theory	Recall questions on learning through observation, imitation and modelling, and on the attention, retention and reproduction stages and the motivation that decides whether an observed behaviour is performed.	11
The four stages of social learning	Recall questions on attention, retention, reproduction and motivation, and what can prevent an observed behaviour being performed.	14
Bandura's original Bobo doll experiments	Recall questions on the 72 children, the three conditions, the mild frustration procedure, the imitation found, and the effect of model sex.	10
Bandura (1965) and vicarious reinforcement	Recall questions on vicarious against direct reinforcement, the model-rewarded, model-punished and no-consequences conditions of Bandura's 1965 study, the reduced imitation after punishment, and the distinction between learning and performance.	12
How learning theories explain phobias	Recall questions on acquiring a phobia by classical conditioning, avoidance as negative reinforcement, vicarious experience and observational learning of fear, why people with similar experiences differ, and Mowrer's two-process model.	8
Systematic desensitisation and flooding	Recall questions on reciprocal inhibition, the three stages of desensitisation, how flooding differs, and which suits which phobia.	12
Individual differences in learning theories	Recall questions on biological preparedness, trait anxiety, personality and conditionability, and why not everyone imitates the same model.	10
Developmental psychology in learning theories	Recall questions on development as continuous rather than staged, gender role acquisition, media models, and how this differs from Piaget.	10
Observational research with humans	Recall questions on qualitative and quantitative observational data, event and time sampling, non-participant, structured and naturalistic observation, overt and covert, participant and non-participant observation, and content analysis.	18
Animal research and its ethics	Recall questions on why animals are used, what generalises to humans, the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986, and the three Rs.	17
Chi-squared and levels of measurement	Recall questions on when chi-squared is chosen, nominal data and contingency tables, degrees of freedom, and comparing observed with critical values.	30
Thematic analysis in learning research	Recall questions on the six stages of thematic analysis from familiarisation to the report, what codes and themes are, and the difference between inductive and deductive approaches.	12
The scientific status of psychology	Recall questions on replicability, reliability and validity, reductionism, falsification, empiricism and the hypothetico-deductive method.	19
Classic study: Watson and Rayner (1920) Little Albert	Recall questions on the conditioning procedure, generalisation to other furry objects, the ethical criticisms, and what the case can and cannot show.	14
Contemporary study: Becker et al. (2002)	Recall questions on the Fijian adolescent girls, the arrival of television, the change in eating attitudes, and the social learning explanation.	13
Contemporary study: Bastian et al. (2011)	Recall questions on the violent game manipulation, dehumanisation of self and opponent, and how it links observation to aggression.	10
Contemporary study: Capafons et al. (1998)	Recall questions on the treatment of fear of flying, the self-report and physiological measures, the outcome, and the waiting-list control.	10
Key question in learning theories	Recall questions on whether celebrity bodies help cause eating disorders, how social learning, role-model characteristics, Becker et al. and operant conditioning explain it, how the understanding can be applied, and violent media and aggression as a further key question.	10
Practical investigation in learning theories	Recall questions on designing two observations, defining behaviour categories, establishing reliability, and reporting the analysis.	11
Issues and debates in learning theories	Recall questions on environmental reductionism, determinism, the ethics of Little Albert and the Bobo doll work, and psychology as a science.	10

Learning Theories is 327 of the 2,738 questions in the guide.Get the guide, £8

How the guide is worked

Answering a question from memory stores it far better than reading the answer again. The guide runs that as a fixed procedure on one subtopic at a time, about twenty minutes a session.

Step 1 · Closed book
Cover the answers. Work through one subtopic and write down what you can. Leave blanks where you have nothing.
Step 2 · Open book
Go back to the top. Read each printed answer and write it out in full, including the ones you had right.
Step 3 · Closed book again
Same questions, same order, from memory. The gap between pass one and pass three is the session result.

Read the full method, the return schedule and the research behind it.