LEARNING: BEHAVIORISM

1. LEARNING: BEHAVIORISM DEFN of Learning: a PERMANENTCHANGE in behavior due to EXPERIENCE or practice (that it’s permanent, that there is a change, and it’s due to experience are key)

2. What is Behaviorism? Major perspective - studies scientifically observable behaviors, not unconscious drives. Names: Pavlov, Watson, Skinner, Bandura Includes classical conditioning, operant conditioning, and observational learning Nurture not nature

3. Behaviorism Basic Premise: A+ A A- B+ F Behavior is motivated EXTERNALLY from OUTSIDE – not internally (opposes psychodynamic and humanistic schools of thought)

4. Classical Conditioning It all started with: Ivan Pavlov

5. Ivan Pavlov and his Drooling Dogs Russian scientist, studying saliva and digestion – father of CLASSICAL CONDITIONING

7. Basic Defns: STIMULI: a change in environment that affects a sense organ or gland RESPONSE: a change in a muscle or gland

8. What is classical conditioning? • When your brain and nervous system make an association between 2 stimuli (things). • Example: food and a bell (Ivan Pavlov)

9. Unconditioned Stimulus (UCS):(the meat) a stimulus that naturally and automatically triggers a response. Unconditioned Response (UCR):(drooling to meat) the unlearned, naturally occurring response to the UCS.

10. Conditioned Stimulus (CS):(the bell) an originally irrelevant stimulus that, after association with the UCS, comes to trigger a response. Conditioned Response (CR):(drooling to the bell) the learned response to a previously neutral stimulus.

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13. 1. Sara is watching a storm. A bolt of lightening is followed immediately by a huge crash of thunder and makes her jump. This happens several more times. The storm starts to move away and there is a gap between the lightening bolt and the sound of thunder, yet Sara jumps at the lightening bolt. • What is the: • UCS • UCR • CS • CR

14. 2. Steve's mouth waters whenever he eats anything with lemon in it. One day, while seeing an advertisement showing lemons, his mouth begins to water. • What is the: • UCS • UCR • CS • CR

15. Pavlov spent the rest of his life outlining his ideas. He came up with 5 critical terms that together make up classical conditioning. • Acquisition • Extinction • Spontaneous Recovery • Generalization • Discrimination

16. Acquisition (pairing food with bell) • The initial stage of learning. • The phase where the neutral stimulus is associated with the UCS so that the neutral stimulus comes to elicit the CR (thus becoming the CS). Does timing matter? • The CS should come before the UCS • They should be very close together in timing.

17. Extinction • The diminishing of a conditioned response. • Will eventually happen when the UCS does not follow the CS. • Dog stops drooling to bell Is extinction permanent?

18. Spontaneous Recovery • The reappearance. After a rest period, of an extinguished conditioned response. • Dog drools to bell again

19. Generalization • We fear things similar to the original stimulus

21. Discrimination • The learned ability to distinguish between a CS and other stimuli that does not signal UCS. Dog drools to a bell, but not a gong

22. Garfield

23. John B. Watson “Give me a dozen healthy infants, well-formed, and my own special world to bring them up in, and I’ll guarantee to take any one at random and train him to become any type of specialist I might select – doctor, lawyer, merchant-chief, and yes, beggar man or thief, regardless of his talents, penchants, tendencies, abilities, vocations, and race of his ancestors.”

24. What is the Little Albert experiment? • John Watson classically conditioned a baby to fear a white rat. Then the baby feared all furry things.

26. Stimulus Generalization The Baby was given the rat while Watson sounded a loud, scary clank. Now the baby is afraid of all furry things.

27. Cognitive Processes • Early behaviorists believed that learned behaviors of various animals could be reduced to mindless mechanisms. • However, later behaviorists suggested that animals learn the predictability of a stimulus, meaning they learn expectancy or awareness

28. Biological Predispositions • Pavlov and Watson believed that laws of learning were similar for all animals. Therefore, a pigeon and a person do not differ in their learning. • However, behaviorists later suggested that learning is constrained by an animal’s biology.

29. Conditioned Taste Aversions • Can you think of a food that you once had a bad experience with that still produces a feeling of nausea when you encounter it? • Can you think of a benefit to food aversions?

30. John Garcia • Garcia showed that the time duration between the CS and the US may be long (hours), but yet result in conditioning. • Rats avoid drinking or eating from containers that made them sick. • They associated flavored water with illness.

31. How can we apply classical conditioning?

32. Applications of Taste Aversion • treating alcoholism, using the drug Antabuse • causes nausea and violent vomiting when combined with alcohol • attempts to create a taste aversion to alcohol • Problem: alcoholics tend to stop taking Antabuse so they can drink again • but when used properly, Antabuse does reduce total amount of alcohol consumed

33. Applications of Taste Aversion • humane methods of controlling predators, agricultural pests? • coyotes & wolves ate sheep carcasses laced with nausea-inducing poison; developed aversion to sheep meat • wolves penned with sheep later seemed to fear it!

34. Pavlov’s Legacy • Pavlov’s greatest contribution to psychology is isolating elementary behaviors from more complex ones through objective scientific procedures.

35. Applications of Classical Conditioning • Watson used classical conditioning procedures to develop advertising campaigns for a number of organizations, including Maxwell House, making the “coffee break” an American custom.

37. What is operant conditioning? • Behaviors are a result of reinforcements and punishments. • B.F. Skinner is the famous guy.

38. Edward Thorndike • Law of Effect: rewarded behavior is likely to recur. • Cat in box

39. Thorndike’s Puzzle Box • Edward Thorndike (1874-1949): created a puzzle box: cage with latched door that could only be opened by pressing lever inside • cats became quicker and quicker to press lever once they figured it out • Law of Effect: rewarded behaviors are more likely to be repeated

40. B.F. Skinner

41. B.F. Skinner • Most influential behaviorist • Envisioned a utopian society based upon his theories • Skinner Box • Ping-pong playing and figure 8 walking pigeons • Shaping – training with rewards

42. Skinner Box

43. How are these similar?

44. What is Shaping? • Gradually reinforcing a behavior until perfect. (ex: feed pigeon for turning 30 deg, then 60 deg, eventually full circle)

46. Reinforcement – increasing desired behavior • Positive Reinforcement – giving something to increase a behavior (example?) • Negative Reinforcement – taking away something bad to increase a behavior (example?)

47. Punishment – reducing behavior • - positive punishment giving something bad to reduce a behavior (example?) spanking = aversive stimulus • - negative punishment – (omission training) taking away something good to reduce a behavior (example?)

48. The following are examples of what??? Answer choices are: positive punishment negative punishment positive reinforcement negative reinforcement

49. Spanking a child for using markers to draw on your bedroom wall. Positive Punishment

50. Giving candy for correct answers. Positive Reinforcement