Outline what is meant by the 'learning approach' in psychology. Include examples from the study by Saavedra and Silverman (button phobia) in your answer.

Mark scheme

Marking points from the official mark scheme (May/June 2022). The mark or mark type is shown in brackets.

1. [4] Up to two marks for outlining the learning approach (through an assumption or description). Up to two marks for examples from Saavedra and Silverman only.
2. e.g. learning approach We learn through conditioning;
3. This may be through rewards and punishment / operant conditioning;
4. We can also learn through observation and imitation / social learning;
5. We can also learn by association / classical conditioning.
6. e.g. examples The boy may have been scared because of the incident in the classroom with the bowl of buttons;
7. He was rewarded at times when he showed progress of not being scared by his mother.
8. There are other creditworthy responses.