Practise genetic, classical-conditioning and psychodynamic explanations of phobias, using Little Albert, Little Hans and study design to evaluate evidence.
Outline what is meant by 'nurture', including an example from the behavioural explanation of fear-related disorders.
Award 1 mark for outline of nurture.
Award 1 mark for example from behavioural explanation of fear-related disorders.
Example:
Nurture is where behaviour is caused by the environment / is learned. (1) The behaviourist explanation of phobias suggests that a phobia is learned through association of the neutral stimulus with the unconditioned stimulus until it produces a conditioned response of fear. (1)
Other appropriate responses should also be credited.
2
Context - behavioural explanation of fear-related disorders.
Social learning theory is creditworthy as an example e.g. learning a phobia due to copying the phobia of a parent, vicarious reinforcement, role model, observational learning.
Trauma on its own is not creditworthy. Needs to outline that trauma is then associated with the object, situation, etc. that the person becomes phobic to.
Behavioural - phobias can be learned =0 marks.
Just identifying a study e.g. Little Albert or button phobia or identifying 'classical conditioning' on its own =0 marks.
Explain one weakness of the behavioural explanation of fear-related disorders from the nurture side of the nature versus nurture debate.
Award 2 marks for an explanation of the weakness in context.
Award 1 mark for a basic outline of weakness.
Weaknesses might include:
- Ignores biological/psychodynamic explanations of fear-related disorders.
- Impossible to determine if fear-related disorders are due to nurture or nature (or the extent to which the disorder is due to nurture or nature).
- Reductionist explanation suggests the factor causing the fear-related disorder is the environment (pairing of NS and UCS) when some have a fear-related disorder without this experience.
- Suggests that anyone exposed to a negative stimulus will develop a phobia (deterministic) when this is not the case.
Example:
One weakness of the behavioural explanation of phobias from the nurture side of the debate is that it is difficult to determine if the phobia is due to nurture or nature.
(1) There is evidence that phobias may develop due to genetics and evidence from the study on Little Albert that phobias can be learned. (1) It is impossible to know whether a phobia someone has is due to their genetics/environment or a mixture of the two. (1)
Other appropriate responses should also be credited.
2
Context = behavioural explanation of fear-related disorders.
The weakness must be a weakness of behavioural explanation being due to nurture and not a generic weakness of behavioural (e.g. the Little Albert study is unethical).
No credit to just identifying a weakness on its own. (e.g. it is reductionist).