Unit 3: Learning, Memory, & Intelligence Teacher: N. Dhalla

Unit 3: Learning, Memory, & Intelligence Teacher: N. Dhalla

PSYCHOLOGY: LEARNING Learningcan be defined as the process leading to relatively permanent behavioral change or potential behavioral change.

Types of Learning Classical conditioning: learning to link two stimuli in a way that helps us anticipate an event to which we have a reaction Operant conditioning: changing behavior choices in response to consequences Cognitive learning: acquiring new behaviors and information through observation and information, rather than by direct experience

Associative Learning: Classical Conditioning Stimulus 1: See lightning How it works: after repeated exposure to two stimuli occurring in sequence, we associate those stimuli with each other. Result: our natural response to one stimulus now can be triggered by the new, predictive stimulus. Stimulus 2: Hear thunder • Here, our response to thunder becomes associated with lightning. After Repetition Stimulus: See lightning Response: Cover ears to avoid sound

Associative Learning: Operant Conditioning • Child associates his “response” (behavior) with consequences. • Child learns to repeat behaviors (saying “please”) which were followed by desirable results (cookie). • Child learns to avoid behaviors (yelling “gimme!”) which were followed by undesirable results (scolding or loss of dessert).

Cognitive Learning Cognitive learning refers to acquiring new behaviors and information mentally, rather than by direct experience. Cognitive learning occurs: by observing events and the behavior of others. by using language to acquire information about events experienced by others.

Classical Conditioning Ivan Pavlov’s method of conditioning in which associations are made between a natural stimulus and a learned, neutral stimulus. Pavlov's Dogs

Before Conditioning Neutral stimulus: a stimulus which does not trigger a response Neutral stimulus (NS) No response

Before Conditioning Unconditioned stimulus and response: a stimulus which triggers a response naturally, before/without any conditioning Unconditioned response (UR): dog salivates Unconditioned stimulus (US): yummy dog food

During Conditioning Unconditioned response (UR): dog salivates Neutral stimulus (NS) Unconditioned stimulus (US) The bell/tone (N.S.) is repeatedly presented with the food (U.S.).

After Conditioning • Did you follow the changes? • The UR and the CR are the same response, triggered by different events. • The difference is whether conditioning was necessary for the response to happen. • The NS and the CS are the same stimulus. • The difference is whether the stimulus triggers the conditioned response. Conditioned response: dog salivates Conditioned (formerly neutral) stimulus The dog begins to salivate upon hearing the tone (neutral stimulus becomes conditioned stimulus).

Key Terms • Unconditioned Stimulus (UCS or US) • Biologically relevant stimulus, that without prior learning elicits an…. • Unconditioned Response (UR or UCR) • Conditioned Stimulus (CS) • Neutral stimulus that with many CS – US pairing elicits a • Conditioned Response (CR) • Neutral, Conditioned and Unconditioned Response

Find the US, UR, NS, CS, CR in the following: Your romantic partner always uses the same shampoo. Soon, the smell of that shampoo makes you feel happy. The door to your house squeaks loudly when you open it. Soon, your dog begins wagging its tail when the door squeaks. The nurse says, “This won’t hurt a bit,” just before stabbing you with a needle. The next time you hear “This won’t hurt,” you cringe in fear. You have a meal at a fast food restaurant that causes food poisoning. The next time you see a sign for that restaurant, you feel nauseated.

Identify N, UCS, CS, UCR, and CR in the examples below: College Student Altoids Chocolate

Higher-Order Conditioning • If the dog becomes conditioned to salivate at the sound of a bell, can the dog be conditioned to salivate when a light flashes…by associating it with the BELL instead of with food? • Yes! The conditioned response can be transferred from the US to a CS, then from there to another CS. • This is higher-order conditioning: turning a NS into a CS by associating it with another CS. A man who was conditioned to associate joy with coffee, could then learn to associate joy with a restaurant if he was served coffee there every time he walked in to the restaurant.

Acquisition Acquisition refers to the initial stage of learning/conditioning. What gets “acquired”?  The association between a neutral stimulus (NS) and an unconditioned stimulus (US). How can we tell that acquisition has occurred?  The UR now gets triggered by a CS (drooling now gets triggered by a bell). Timing For the association to be acquired, the neutral stimulus (NS) needs to repeatedly appear before the unconditioned stimulus (US)…about a half-second before, in most cases. The bell must come right before the food.

Acquisition and Extinction • The strength of a CR grows with conditioning. • Extinction refers to the diminishing of a conditioned response. If the US (food) stops appearing with the CS (bell), the CR decreases.

Extinctionthe gradual loss of an association over time. The conditioned response (CR) will gradually die out

Spontaneous Recovery [Return of the CR] After a CR (salivation) has been conditioned and then extinguished: • following a rest period, presenting the tone alone might lead to a spontaneous recovery (a return of the conditioned response despite a lack of further conditioning). • if the CS (tone) is again presented repeatedly without the US, the CR becomes extinct again.

Generalization and Discrimination Please notice the narrow, psychological definition . Ivan Pavlov conditioned dogs to drool when rubbed; they then also drooled when scratched. Ivan Pavlov conditioned dogs to drool at bells of a certain pitch; slightly different pitches did not trigger drooling. Discrimination refers to the learned ability to only respond to a specific stimuli, preventing generalization. Generalization refers to the tendency to have conditioned responses triggered by related stimuli. MORE stuff makes you drool. LESS stuff makes you drool.

Stimulus generalizationoccurs when a response spreads from one specific stimulus to other stimuli that resemble the original (responding to any bell sound, no matter what pitch)

Discriminationis the ability to respond differently to distinct stimuli. (only responding to one type of bell)

Extinction, Spontaneous Recovery, and Generalization

Little Albert experiment conducted by John Watson proved that conditioning of emotions to neutral objects is possible Little Albert Experiment

Little Albert Experiment Before Conditioning No fear NS: rat UCS: steel bar hit with hammer Natural reflex: fear

Little Albert Experiment UCS: steel bar hit with hammer NS: rat Natural reflex: fear During Conditioning

Little Albert Experiment NS: rat Conditioned reflex: fear After Conditioning

CLASSICAL CONDITIONING AND ADVERTISING • Ways in which classical conditioning helps sell… • Pairing popular music together with products in ads to generate positive feelings • Consistently advertising a product on an exciting game show may result in the product itself generating excitement • Christmas music played in a story may trigger happy memories in a consumer’s mind persuading them to enter the store. Before we have heard of a product, it is Neutral. If we associate the product (N) with pleasant images (UCS), which produce pleasant feelings (UCR), the product (CS) will later create pleasant feelings (CR).

Let’s say you have a beverage commercial that includes barely clothed models drinking the product. Conditioning is taking place. Neutral: beverage product UCS: barely clothed models UCR: pleasant feelings CS: the product CR: pleasant feelings

Food and Classical Conditioning Taste-aversion - associating a (smell, taste, sound, or sight) with getting sick and thereafter avoiding that particular (smell, taste, sound, or sight) in the future. • Helps rats learn not to eat poison.

Food and Classical Conditioning • John Garcia’s Points of Taste-aversion • Can develop after a single experience • Results may last months or even years • It is usually associated with a particular sensory cue – such as smell or taste

Systematic Desensitization • Developed by Joseph Wolpe • Based on classical conditioning • Helps treat people with phobias • Replaces fear and anxiety with relaxation • A person imagines fearful or anxiety-evoking stimuli and then immediately uses deep relaxation

OPERANT CONDITIONING Learning in which a certain action is reinforced or punished, resulting in behavioral change

B.F. Skinner is best known for his work with the operant conditioning theory. Believed that how we turn out is a direct result of what we learn from all of the operations (operant) that we make over the years Skinner Box

Reinforcementis something that follows a response and strengthens the tendency to repeat that response PRIMARY & SECONDARY REINFORCERS Primary reinforcementis something that is necessary for survival. Ex: food or water Secondary reinforcementis a stimulus that we have learned to value (linked to a primary reinforcer)

Schedules of Reinforcement Reinforcement is more successful when it DOES NOT follow every desired behavior INTERVAL SCHEDULES deal with the amount of TIME that elapses RATIO SCHEDULES deal with BEHAVIORS or a certain # OF CORRECT RESPONSES

Variable ratios scheduleis when an unpredictable number of responses are required before reinforcement can be obtained. Ex. slot machines.

Fixed ratio schedulea specific number of correct responses is required before reinforcement can be obtained. Ex. Buy 10 haircuts get 1 free.

Variable interval scheduleis when the reinforcement occurs after varying amounts of time. Ex. Fishing and catching a fish after varying amounts of time

Fixed interval scheduleis when the reinforcement is received after a fixed amount of time has passed. Ex. You get allowance every other Friday.

Shapingis the process of gradually refining a response by successively reinforcing closer versions of it. (teach animals tricks)(learn a new skill)

Negative reinforcementis when something that is unpleasant is stopped or taken away when something is done Headache stops when you take Tylenol so you strengthened the behavior of taking Tylenol Reinforcement always strengthens a response, rather than weakening it.

Punishment involves decreasing the frequency of a behavior. Punishment always weakens a response, rather than strengthening it.

Social Learning The process of altering behavior by observing and imitating others. Includes cognitive learning & Modeling • Cognitive Learning – involves mental process and may involve observation and imitation • Cognitive Map – mental picture of a place

Modeling– learning by imitating/copying Bobo-Doll Experiment Bandura demonstrated that children learn aggressive behaviors by watching an adult’s aggressive behaviors. Bobo-Doll

Bandura’s Four Processes Of Cognitive Learning • Attention:Observer must pay attention to model • Memory:Observer stores information about what the model did • Imitation:Observer uses remembered info to guide own actions • Motivation:Observer must have incentive to imitate model’s behavior

TOKEN ECONOMY Desirable behavior is reinforced with valueless objects, which can be accumulated and exchanged for valued rewards

Unit 3: Learning, Memory, & Intelligence Teacher: N. Dhalla