Psychology

Enviromental factors act as a stimuli.

We learn to respond to them.

Example - Positive Reinforcement.

If our response provides something pleasant, then we repeat our response.

This does not take into account genetic make-up.

All learning comes from responding to our enviroment and through our experiences.

We can set up a stimulus and observe and measure the response.

This means that learning theory, with its emphasis on overt behaviour, can be studied scientifically.

This is turn can lead to general laws about behaviour.

Experiments take place in controlled conditions.

[IV] is manipulated to see the effect of the [DV].

From this manipulation, a cause-and-effect relationship can be claimed.

Bandura, Ross & Ross (1961) set up a situation in which children watched adults 'beating' a bobo doll or playing in other ways. Some children watched the aggressive behaviour while others watched adults behaving in a non-aggressive way. The [IV] was whether the adult was aggressive or not. The [DV] was whether the children then imitated the adult's actions when playing with a bobo doll themselves.

Controlling a number of factors such as the age of the child or what they watched, allowed a cause-and-effect relationship to be concluded.

~If young children watch adults behaving aggressively, they are likely to imitate that aggression~