Learning - Shippensburg University
Transcript of Learning - Shippensburg University
LEARNINGMEYERS AND DEWALL
CHAPTER 6
LEARNING OVERVIEW
HOW DO WE LEARN?
CLASSICAL CONDITIONING
OPERANT CONDITIONING
BIOLOGY, COGNITION, AND LEARNING
LEARNING BY OBSERVATION
LEARNING
Learning – the process of acquiring new information or behaviors through experience
Associative Learning - Our brain’s tendency to automatically notice and connect sequential
or co-occurring events
Habits can be acquired behaviors linked to a specific context
Conditioning – process by which we learn associations
ASSOCIATIVE LEARNING – CLASSICAL CONDITIONING
Classical Conditioning (Pavlovian) – learning to associate two or more stimuli
Dr. Ivan Pavlov developed classical conditioning when dogs in his research would drool
before they were given food
Unconditioned Stimulus (US) – a stimulus that automatically triggers a response
Unconditioned Response (UR) – an automatic unlearned reflexive response to a US
ASSOCIATIVE LEARNING – CLASSICAL CONDITIONING
Acquisition Stage – repeatedly pair the US with a neutral stimulus (NS)
Conditioned Stimulus (CS) – a previously neutral stimulus that becomes associated with US
Conditioned Response (CR) – a LEARNED response to a conditioned stimulus
Classical conditioning helps animals learn skills to survive and reproduce
ASSOCIATIVE LEARNING – CLASSICAL CONDITIONING
ASSOCIATIVE LEARNING – CLASSICAL CONDITIONING
Extinction – weakening of conditioned response (CR) when unconditioned stimulus (US)
doesn’t follow the conditioned Stimulus (CS)
Stimulus Generalization – expressing a conditioned response when presented with a similar
CS
Stimulus Discrimination – learning to distinguish between similar condition stimuli
ASSOCIATIVE LEARNING – CLASSICAL CONDITIONING
Pavlov discovered that almost all animals can be classically conditioned and how to study it
objectively
Classical Conditioning in Everyday Life?
John B. Watson’s Little Albert study
ASSOCIATIVE LEARNING – OPERANT CONDITIONING
E.L. Thorndike’s Law of Effect – a behavior followed by a reward is likely to be repeated
Classical conditioning involves automatic behaviors, operant conditioning involves behaviors you control
B.F. Skinner used Thorndike’s law to teach animals skills
Operant Conditioning – learning that occurs when we associate favorable or unfavorable
consequences with our actions
Operant Chamber (Skinner Box) – a box with a mechanism that provides food/water when
pressed
ASSOCIATIVE LEARNING – OPERANT CONDITIONING
How to INCREASE a behavior
Reinforcer – any event that increases/strengthens a preceding response
Shaping – gradually reinforcing behaviors that are close to the desired response “successive
approximations”
Shaping can be used in our everyday interactions
ASSOCIATIVE LEARNING – OPERANT CONDITIONING
Types of Reinforcers
Positive Reinforcement – increasing/strengthening a behavior by PRESENTING a positive stimuli
Negative Reinforcement – increasing/strengthening a behavior by REMOVING a negative stimuli
Primary Reinforcers satisfy basic needs, secondary reinforcers are associated with primary
reinforcers
Humans respond to both immediate and delayed reinforcers
ASSOCIATIVE LEARNING – OPERANT CONDITIONING
Reinforcement Schedules – the frequency/timing of reinforcement can affect behavior
Continuous Reinforcement – a behavior is reinforces after every desired response
ASSOCIATIVE LEARNING – OPERANT CONDITIONING
Partial/Intermittent Reinforcement – responses are sometimes reinforced based on rate or timing
Fixed Ratio Schedule – behavior is reinforced after a set number of responses
Variable-Ratio Schedule – behavior is reinforced after a random/unpredictable number of
responses
Fixed-Interval Schedule – behavior is reinforced only after a set time period/interval
Variable-Interval Schedule – behavior is reinforced after a random/unpredictable period/interval
ASSOCIATIVE LEARNING – OPERANT CONDITIONING
ASSOCIATIVE LEARNING – OPERANT
CONDITIONING
How to DECREASE a Behavior?
Punishment – any consequence that WEAKENS/DECREASES the frequency of a response
Positive Punishment – an undesired stimulus/event that occurs following a behavior
Negative Punishment – removing a desired stimulus/event following a behavior
Physical Punishment – models aggression as a tool, teaches fear, and only suppresses the
response in certain situations
Conditioning QUIZ
BIOLOGY, COGNITION, AND LEARNING
Behaviorism – Skinner and Watson felt that psychology should be limited only to observable
behaviors, not mental processes
What Did They Miss?
Biological Predispositions – organisms are better able to learn responses that help them
survive and reproduce
Cognitive Factors – our thoughts, beliefs, and expectations influence learning
Latent Learning – acquiring knowledge without awareness
Overjustification - rewarding people for doing things they enjoy decreases intrinsic motion
BIOLOGY, COGNITION, AND LEARNING
Observational Learning (Albert Bandura) – learning by observing the behaviors of others and
its consequences
Modeling – process of imitating an observed response
Mirror Neurons – neurons that activate when we engage in behaviors or observe other engaging in
behaviors