Outline for Question 1: UPDATED VERSION

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Learning Perspective: Perspective Essay Question
Outline

“Theories challenging traditional learning theory make the assumption that learning is more than a series of stimulus-response associations.”

With reference to this statement, assess the extent to which cognitive and/or biological factors contribute to explanations of behavioral change within the learning perspective.

I. Introduction
· Social-Cognitive learning theorists make the assumption that learning is more than a series of stimulus-response associations by emphasizing how behavior is learned though the interaction of an organism’s cognitive processes (observations, expectations, perceptions, and motivations), and its environment, thereby being able to explain a broader range of behaviors that continue to occur without reinforcements or in the face of punishment. Latent learning, cognitive maps, observational learning, and motivating beliefs are three phenomena that are difficult to explain through traditional learning theory, or radical behaviorism, but are of particular interest to, and more fully explained by social cognitive theorists given their emphasis on cognition. An example from psychology that spans both the traditional/behaviorism and social-cognitive learning theory is the acquisition of gender roles – how they are learned via operant conditioning, observational learning, and through the formation of expectations and beliefs about what it means to be male or female.

II. The challenge to Traditional Learning Theory: beyond behaviorism (stimulus – response):
· There is more to learning than classical and operant conditioning: a cognitive mediator between the stimulus and response (topic sentence)
· These cognitive extensions don’t deny behaviorism but simply add/extend our understanding of behavior
· Core assumption which spans the perspective (behaviorism and social-cognitive) – environmental determinism

III. What is behaviorism: Classical and Operant conditioning and their limitations
1. Watson – Classical Conditioning
· Parsimony
2. Skinner – Operant
· Law of Effect
· Example: gender roles

III. Transition - Traditional Learning Theory - Social-Cognitive Learning Theory
· Do organisms fail to learn in the absence of reinforcement of punishment?

IV. Latent Learning and Cognitive Maps
· Define latent learning and explain how it demonstrates learning beyond behaviorism
· Toleman, 1948
· How he demonstrated learning beyond behaviorism: Two hypotheses
1. Learning is more than stimulus response – there are cognitive factors such as latent learning and cognitive maps
2. Mental events can be indirectly observed in an objective manor
· Summarize study

VI. Transition: Learning beyond the self: learning from Observation
· Cognition and observational learning – learning from observing implies a cognitive processor that perceives and interprets what is observed and followed by a behavior

VII. Vicarious/Observational Learning
· Define observational learning and explain how it demonstrates learning beyond behaviorism
· Aggression: Bandura’s Bobo doll
· How it Bandura demonstrates learning beyond behaviorism
o Experimentation and observation
· How Bandura’s findings are not extending behavioral views
· Gender differences

IX. Gender Roles
· Define and explain how they are learned beyond behaviorism – expectations
· Biological differences in gender
· Cross-Cultural differences

XI. Conclusion
· Review how our understanding of learning has been extended
· Strengths and limitations
o Contrast to biological perspective