Learning

• Classical Conditioning• Classical Conditioning in Real Life• Operant Conditioning• Operant Conditioning in Real Life• Social-Cognitive Learning Theories

Learning

• Learning: A relatively permanent change in behavior (or behavioral potential) due to experience.

• Behaviorism: An approach to psychology that emphasizes the study of observable behavior and the role of the environment as a determinant of behavior.

Classical Conditioning

• New Reflexes from Old• Principles of Classical Conditioning• What is Actually Learned in Classical

Conditioning

Pavlov’s Apparatus

• Ivan Pavlov(1849-1936) researched digestion• Harness and fistula (mouth tube) help keep dog in

a consistent position and gather uncontaminated saliva samples– They do not cause the dog discomfort– Dogs drooled before the food was presented

after having been in laboratory after only a few times

– He called the phenomenon a conditional reflex

New Reflexes From Old

• Classical Conditioning: The process by which a previously neutral stimulus acquires the capacity to elicit a response through association with a stimulus that already elicits a similar or related response.

• Learning occurs when a neutral stimulus is regularly paired with an unconditioned stimulus.

Conditioning Terms• Unconditioned Stimulus:

– A stimulus that elicits a reflexive response in the absence of learning.

• Conditioned Stimulus: – An initially neutral stimulus that comes to elicit

a conditioned response after being associated with an unconditioned stimulus.

• Unconditioned Response: – A reflexive response elicited by a stimulus in

the absence of learning.• Conditioned Response:

– A response that is elicited by a conditioned stimulus; it occurs after the conditioned stimulus is associated with an unconditioned stimulus.

Principles of Classical Conditioning

• Acquisition• Extinction• Higher-Order Conditioning• Stimulus Generalization and

Discrimination

Acquisition

• A neutral stimulus that is consistently followed by an unconditioned stimulus will become a conditioned stimulus.

• To be most effective the stimulus to be conditioned should precede the unconditioned stimulus rather than follow it.

• The conditioned stimulus becomes a signal/predictor for the unconditioned stimulus.

Extinction

• The weakening and eventual disappearance of a learned response; in classical conditioning, it occurs when the conditioned stimulus is no longer paired with the unconditioned stimulus.

Higher Order Conditioning

• A procedure in which a neutral stimulus becomes a conditioned stimulus through association with an already established conditioned stimulus.

Generalization and Discrimination

• Stimulus Generalization: – After conditioning, the tendency to

respond to a stimulus that resembles one involved in the original conditioning.

• Stimulus Discrimination: – The tendency to respond differently to

two or more similar stimuli.

Classical Conditioning in Real Life

• Learning to Like– Advertising– Sales

• Learning to Fear– See next Slide

• Accounting for Taste• Reacting to Medical Treatments

Learning to Fear• An 11-month old boy – named “Albert” – was conditioned

to fear a white laboratory rat– Each time he reached for the rat, Watson made a loud

clanging noise right behind Albert• Albert’s fear generalized to anything white and furry

– Including rabbits and Santa Claus

Counterconditioning

• In classical conditioning, the process of pairing a conditioned stimulus with a stimulus that elicits a response that is incompatible with an unwanted conditioned response.

Operant Conditioning

• The process by which a response becomes more likely to occur or less so, depending on its consequences.

• Behavior becomes more likely or less likely, depending on its consequences

• Also referred to as instrumental conditioning

The Consequences of Behavior

• Reinforcement: – The process by which

a stimulus or event strengthens or increases the probability of the response that it follows.

• Punishment: – The process by which

a stimulus or event weakens or reduces the probability of the response that it follows.

Reinforcement

• Positive Reinforcement:– The response is

followed by presentation of, or increase in intensity of, a reinforcing stimulus.

• Negative Reinforcement:– The response is

followed by removal, delay, or decrease in intensity of, an unpleasant stimulus.

Punishment

• Positive Punishment: – The response is

followed by presentation of, or increase in intensity of, a punishing stimulus.

• Negative Punishment:– The response is

followed by removal, delay, or decrease in intensity of, an pleasant stimulus.

Principles of Operant Conditioning

• Extinction• Stimulus generalization and discrimination• Learning on schedule• Shaping• Biological limits on learning

The “Skinner Box”

• When a rat in a Skinner box presses a bar, a food pellet or drop of water is automatically released.

• Similar boxes exist for pigeons and many other species.

Learning on Schedule

• Continuous Reinforcement: – A reinforcement schedule in which a

particular response is always reinforced.• Intermittent (Partial) Schedule of

Reinforcement: – A reinforcement schedule in which a

particular response is sometimes but not always reinforced.

Skinner: The Man and the Myth

• Burrhus Frederick Skinner, 1904-1990– Better known as B.F.

Skinner• Much misinformation is

circulated about his life and work– e.g., his daughters

grew up normal, despite rumors that they were institutionalized

Operant Conditioningin Real Life

• The Pros and Cons of Punishment• The Problems with Reward

When Punishment Fails

• People often administer punishment inappropriately or mindlessly.

• The recipient often responds with anxiety, fear, or rage.

• The effectiveness can be temporary, and depend on the presence of the person who administers it.

When Punishment Fails

• Most misbehavior is hard to punish immediately.• Punishment conveys little information. • An action intended to punish may instead by

reinforcing because it brings attention.

Why Rewards Can Backfire

• Rewards must be tied to the behavior you are trying to increase

• Extrinsic Reinforcers: – Reinforcers that are not inherently

related to the action being reinforced, such as money, prizes, and praise.

• Intrinsic Reinforcers: – Reinforcers that are inherently related

to the action being reinforced, such as enjoyment of the task and satisfaction of accomplishment.

Turning Play Into Work

• When preschoolers were promised a prize for drawing with felt-tip pens, the behavior increased.

• After they got the prizes, they spent less time with pens than before the study began.

Social-Cognitive Learning Theories

• Learning by Observing• Behavior and the Mind

Learning by Observing

• Observational Learning: – A process in which an individual learns

new responses by observing the behavior or another (a model) rather than through direct experience; sometimes called vicarious conditioning.

Latent Learning

• Rats: one maze trial/day• One group found food every time (red line)• Second group never found food (blue line)• Third group found food on Day 11 (green line)

– Sudden change, day 12• Learning isn’t the same as performance