Learning – a relatively permanent change in behavior due to experience More than just remembering things for a test

Associative learning– learning by association Associating one stimulus with another

Classical ConditioningClassical Conditioning

After a series of pairings, associations will be created between stimuli Conditioning Almost a way to predict the future?

John Watson – founder of behaviorism Studying only observable responses, not

mental processes By manipulating a stimulus in an environment

you can change a subjects behavior

Classical ConditioningClassical Conditioning

Unconditioned Stimulus (UCS) Stimulus that triggers a response reflexively or

automatically Classical conditioning cannot happen without a UCS

Smelling food

Unconditioned Response (UCR) – The response to the UCS Salivation

Classical Conditioning

Conditioned Stimulus (CS) Originally a neutral stimulus that becomes the

trigger for a response

Conditioned Response (CR) The new response to the CS that gets learned

over time

Classical Conditioning

Process

1. Acquisition Most basic piece Establishing a new learned response Pairing of a neutral stimulus with an UCS over

and over TRIALS

Classical Conditioning

2. Extinction Reversing the learning that has taken place CS loses power to evoke a CR

The boy who cried wolf Habituation

3. Spontaneous Recovery We don’t forget our CR completely You may still remember or have a reaction to

something in the future Easier to extinguish these recovered responses

Higher Order Conditioning

Second order conditioning

Pairing of stimuli

Fear of dog bitesSeeing the dog may cause fearHearing the dog may cause a similar reaction

Often a weaker response

Ivan Pavlov

1904 Nobel Prize winner

What is saliva’s role in digestion?

Measured saliva produced when presented meat powder before actual food presented Dogs started to salivate before meat powder

was even presented Conditioned the dogs to salivate when he

paired a tuning fork with the food

Ivan Pavlov

Learned Helplessness

Dogs constrained and shocked vs dogs that could avoid a shock

Nothing you can do about it, cower in fear and allow it to happen

Avoidance at first, will learn to avoid the shock

There is more to learning than just behavior – there is a cognitive piece that cant be overlooked Biological factors can influence learning too Predisposition

Generalization + Discrimination

Process by which a subject produces the same response to similar stimuli Different colors of light Different tones

Discrimination the learned ability to distinguish between

different stimuli Dogs

Guard dog vs Guide dog

Why was Pavlov important?

Most Psy believe that classical conditioning is the basis of learning

Virtually all animals learn this way to some point

Isolated building blocks of learning, made no judgments, just observed behavior

Applications

John Watson Human emotions and behaviors are a bundle of

conditioned responses

Little Albert

Fired and started working at an Advertising firm

Can emotions be extinguished too? Experiments show that they can be Conquering phobias

Taste Aversion

Garcia Rats stopped drinking from plastic water

bottles in radiation chambers

Used drugs to make rats feel nauseated when eating/drinking from certain things

Stopped eating foods that made them feel sick

Operant Conditioning

Operant Conditioning

Type of learning in which the frequency of behavior depends on the consequence that follows that behavior

Consequences can be positive or negative Positive will get more responses Negative will get less

The Law of Effect

Edward Thorndike

Behaviors with more favorable results are more likely to occur again

Behaviors with less favorable results are less likely to occur

B F Skinner

Reinforcement Any consequence that increases the future

likelihood of a behavior

Punishment Any consequence that decreases the future

likelihood of a behavior

B F Skinner

Skinner Box Operant Chamber A bar or a lever that the participant presses on

to receive a reward

Shaping – every time that a behavior is wanted, give a reward.

Has to start small, but can grow to be total control of behavior

Reinforcement

Positive Reinforcement – When the behavior is followed by a desirable

effect $ for good grades

Negative Reinforcement Removal of something negative or ending an

undesirable event or state Cold Medicine/Tylenol

Strengthens a behavior

Negative Reinforcement

More Examples Mom buying candy for a screaming kid at the store

Kid negatively reinforced the candy buying behavior

Snooze Button Allows you to sleep a little longer and not hear the

alarm

Alcohol/drugs Reduces anxiety or pain

Types of Reinforcers

Primary reinforcers – Unlearned Getting food when hungry

Conditioned reinforcers – Secondary Reinforcers Get their power through learned association

with Primary Turn on a light to get food

Time and Reinforcement

Immediate reinforcement is much more effective than giving it later Many behaviors will present themselves in a

Skinner box Rewarding the behavior that is “wanted”

immediately will result in more of those behaviors

If there is a delay of more than 30 sec. the behavior will not be linked to the reward (rats)

Humans do respond to delayed reinforcers Paychecks, good grades, trophy

Punishment

2 types

Undesirable event AFTER a behavior Touching something hot The burn you get is the punishment

A desirable state or event ENDS following a behavior No more TV No more cell phone Because of something that was done

Problems with punishment

Punishment will probably backfire in the long run Doesn’t end the desire to stop the behavior, just

the undesirable consequences

Can lead to fear, anxiety and low self esteem Run aways

Abusive parents more often than not have abusive children

Punishment is used best when it is used least

Discrimination and Extinction

Discrimination – selecting which stimuli you respond to Fire drill bell vs end of class bell

Extinction Loss of a response when there are no longer

consequences Mom doesn’t cave in and buy candy any more,

no more tantrums

Schedules for reinforcement

Continuous Reinforcement Every correct response gets a reward Most useful for developing new behaviors These behaviors are more easily extinguished

Once the goal is met, behavior often stops

Reinforcement Schedules

Partial Reinforcement Reward only some responses

Fixed interval The first correct response after a certain amount

of time has passed Only the first response after a certain amount of

time

Reinforcement Schedules

Variable interval Different amounts of time before reward is given

Fixed ratio Specific amount of correct responses before

reward

Variable ratio Different number of correct responses

Role of Cognition

Latent Learning Learning that takes places, but doesn’t show itself

until the learner has an incentive to show it

Overjustification Rewarding someone for something they like doing

anyway Takes away the natural reward for doing something

Intrinsic vs. extrinsic motivation

Reading/homework?

Role of Biology

Pigeons Wing flapping to avoid shock Peck for food

That’s how they naturally act Defense mechanism vs. Eating Much easier to learn behaviors related to ones

that are instinctual

Observational Learning

Albert Bandura Observational Learning takes place by

watching others One person MODELS the behavior, the learner

mimics

Bobo the doll experiment Aggression and observational learning Rewards and punishments

Bandura’s Film

Sockeroo 3 different endings

1. Modeled behavior was praised and the aggressive behavior received candy

2. Model was called a bad person and spanked

3. Nothing happens, no reward no punishment

Vicarious Learning

Most aggressive behavior in those who saw the reward

Least aggressive behavior in those who saw the punishment

Learning through the consequences others receive

4 Conditions

This type of learning takes place when all 4 conditions are met

1. Attention – you must be aware of the behaviors of those around you

2. Retention – you must remember the behavior you witnessed

3. Ability to reproduce behavior – skills 4. Motivation – what rewards are there?

More likely to perform behavior if there is a reward

Observational Learning

Happens everyday, practically from birth

Role Models

Antisocial behavior Destructive and negative

Prosocial Behavior Positive, Constructive, helpful

Violence and Media

The average US student has seen 8000 murders and over 100,000 violent acts by the end of elementary school

Research shows the following More aggressive TV leads to more aggrressive

bahvior More expiosure to violence can have long term

consequences Women and minorities as victims increases this

experience in real life