LEARNING

I. LearningA. Relatively permanent change in a

behavior that occurs as a result of experience– Changes can’t be explained by

• Native response tendencies• Maturation, or • Temporary states (e.g. fatigue, drugs,

etc)

B. How do we learn?1. Associative learning – learning certain

events occur together• Ex: Seeing salt will trigger the thought of

pepper2. Habituation- an organism’s decreasing

response to a stimulus with repeated exposure to it

• Ex: Tuning out traffic sounds if you live on a busy street

3. Observational Learninga. New behaviors are acquired by

watching the behaviors of othersb. Use of prosocial models – positive,

helpfulc. Albert Bandura Bobo doll experimentd. Implications:

– Violence on TV– Providing kids w/appropriate role models

II. Classical Conditioning

A.Learning that takes place when an originally neutral stimulus comes to produce a conditioned response because of its association with an unconditioned response

B.Studied by Ivan Pavlov

C. Unconditioned stimulus (US) - naturally and automatically triggers an unconditioned response– Meat

D. Unconditioned response (UR) - unlearned, naturally occurring response to the US– Salivation (in response to meat)– To test if a behavior is a UR, ask yourself if

every member of the species would exhibit that reflexive behavior from birth

E. Conditioned stimulus (CS) - originally irrelevant; comes to trigger a conditioned response– Tone

F. Conditioned response (CR) - learned response to a previously neutral stimulus– Salivation (in response to tone)– The UR and CR are typically the same but

occur in response to different stimuli

Identify the US, UR, CS and CR1. People undergoing chemotherapy

often vomit during or shortly after the procedure. After several chemo sessions, people begin to feel sick at the sight of the treatment.

2. In the spring, the pollen from the flowers cause you to sneeze. Soon you are sneezing every time you see a flower.

G. Acquisition - initial stage when one links a neutral stimulus and a UR so the neutral stimulus begins triggering the CR

– Moment when the tone began to cause salivationH. Higher-order conditioning – the conditioned

stimulus in one conditioning experience is paired with a new neutral stimulus, creating a second (often weaker) conditioned stimulus

– Dog may learn a light predicts a tone and being to respond to the light alone

I. Extinction – gradual weakening and eventual disappearance of a conditioned response

– Occurs when the CS is repeatedly presented without the US

– Ex: A dog normally salivates at the sound of a can opener. If the sound of the can opener is repeatedly presented w/out food, eventually the dog would stop salivating to the sound of the can opener

J. Spontaneous recovery - reappearance of a weakened CR after a rest period

– Can only occur after extinction

K. Generalization - tendency for stimuli similar to the CS to elicit similar responses– Dog salivates to doorbell

L. Discrimination - learned ability to distinguish between a CS and stimuli that don’t signal a UR– Dog salivates to doorbell but not to alarm clock– Becomes more difficult the more similar the

stimuli are to the CS • Discriminating a circle from a square is easier than

discriminating a circle from an ellipse

M.Applications of classical conditioning

1. Advertising 2. Taste aversions

• Little Albert

Dwight and Jim• What is the US, UR, CS and CR?• How will the behavior become

extinct?• What is spontaneous recovery as it

relates to this example?• What else might result in the same

conditioned response from Dwight? What is the term for this?

III.Instrumental Learning

A. An organism’s behavior is instrumental in producing an environmental change that in turn affects the organism’s behavior

A. Primarily based on the type of consequences that occur after the behavior

B. Based on the work of Edward Thorndike– Law of Effect – behaviors are encouraged when

followed by satisfying consequences and discouraged when followed by annoying consequences

IV.Operant Conditioning

A. Type of learning in which behavior is strengthened if followed by a reinforcer or weakened if followed by a punisher

B. Studied by B.F. Skinner

C. Shaping – technique in which successive approximations of a behavior are reinforced

– Behaviors that come closer and closer to the final target are reinforced during training

– Makes it possible to condition behaviors that aren’t likely to happen otherwise

– Reinforcing a child for writing a letter of the alphabet and then only when they can write it neatly

• Rats playing basketball

• Sheldon Conditions Penny

D. Discriminative stimulus – stimulus that elicits a response after association with reinforcement

E. Reinforcer – any event that strengthens a preceding response

F. Positive reinforcement - increasing behaviors by presenting positive stimulus

– Makes the behavior more likely to occur– Ex: Getting money for good grades

G. Negative reinforcement – a behavior prevents or removes an aversive (undesired) stimulus

– Ex: changing a baby’s diaper (behavior) to stop it from crying (aversive stimulus)

– Ex: Buckling seat belt to remove dinging

Identify the aversive stimulus and the behavior being strengthened by

its removal1. Taking aspirin to relieve a headache.2. Hurrying home in the winter to get out of the

cold.3. Giving in to an argument or to a dog’s begging.4. Fanning oneself to escape the heat.5. Leaving a movie theater if the movie is bad.6. Smoking in order to relieve anxiety.7. Following prison rules in order to be released

from confinement.8. Feigning a stomachache in order to avoid school.9. Turning down the volume of a very loud radio.10.Putting up an umbrella to escape the rain.

H.Reinforcement Schedules

1. Continuous reinforcement - reinforcement every time a behavior occurs– Quickest way to train new behavior– Ex: When training a dog to sit, reinforce the

behavior w/a treat every time the dog sits2. Partial (intermittent) reinforcement -

reinforcement only part of the time– Most effective in maintaining behaviors that

have already been learned– Examples follow

3. Fixed-ratio schedule – there must be a fixed (unchanging) number of target responses before a reinforcement is given– Produces a high rate or responding

following brief pauses by the organism after obtaining reinforcement

– Ex: Every 100 coins in Super Mario World results in an extra life

4. Variable-ratio schedules – the number of target responses required for reinforcement varies, and the organism never knows exactly how many responses are required for the next reinforcement– Produces a consistent, high rate of

response very resistant to extinction– Ex: Slot machines, lottery tickets

5. Fixed-interval schedules - reinforces a response after a specified amount of time has passed– Responses increase toward the end of the

interval– Ex: Monthly paycheck

6. Variable-interval schedules - reinforces a response at unpredictable time intervals– Responses tend to be steady and at a moderate

rate– Ex: Checking e-mail

G.Punishment1. An event that decreases the behavior

that it follows– Makes a behavior less likely to occur

2. Positive Punishment - application of an aversive stimulus after a behavior– Ex: Touching a hot stove (behavior=

touching stove, stimulus = heat) will make you less likely to touch the stove next time

3. Negative Punishment - removal of a reinforcer after a behavior– Ex: Parents taking away car keys after

coming home late from curfew4. Punishment vs. Negative

Reinforcement:– Punishment decreases behavior– Negative reinforcement increases behavior

6. Problems of Punishment

a. Power disappears when threat of punishment is removed– Following the speed limit

b. Punishment may trigger aggression and/or fear

c. Often applied unequally and inconsistently

7. Proper Punishmenta. Swift and certainb. Limited in time and intensityc. Target behavior, not characterd. No mixed messagese. Most effective = negative

punishment

H. Operant Conditioning and

Cognition1. Latent learning – learning that

occurs but isn’t apparent until there is an incentive to demonstrate it

– Child learns how to make a sandwich from observing his parents, but doesn’t demonstrate this until later

2. Motivationa. Intrinsic motivation - desire to

perform a behavior effectively for its own sake

b. Extrinsic motivation - desire to perform a behavior to receive a reward or avoid punishment

― Can lead to overjustification effect – external rewards undermine the intrinsic satisfaction of performing a behavior

I. Applications of operant conditioning

1. Use of pop quizzes to increase student preparation

2. Behavior modification techniques– Combining punishment and reinforcement to

prevent bad habits– Ex: Painting fingernails with a bitter-tasting chemical

paired with a free manicure– Use of behavior therapy for psychological

disorders– Reinforcing weigh gain for patients with eating

disorders