Chapter 5: Learning

1. Chapter 5: Learning

2. What is Learning • Relatively enduring changes in behavior or knowledge that results from experience or practice. • Except, changes resulting from: Illness Injury maturation

3. Learning Processes • Classical Conditioning • Behaviorism • Operant conditioning

4. What is Conditioning • Conditioning is the process of learning associations between environmental stimulus events and behavior responses. • Types of Conditioning processes Classical Conditioning Operant Conditioning

5. Behaviorism • The attempt to understand observable activity in terms of observable stimuli and observable responses • John B. Watson (1913) • B. F. Skinner (1938)

6. Ivan Pavlov (1849–1936)

7. Pavlov’s Dogs • Digestive reflexes and salivation • Psychic secretion

9. Neutral Stimulus—Bell • Does not normally elicit a response or reflex action by itself • a bell ringing • a color • a furry object

10. Unconditioned Stimulus—Food • Always elicits a reflex action: an unconditioned stimulus • food • blast of air • noise

11. Unconditioned Response—Salivation • A response to an unconditioned stimulus—naturally occurring • Salivation at smell of food • Eye blinks at blast of air • Startle reaction in babies

12. Conditioned Stimulus—Bell • The stimulus that was originally neutral becomes conditioned after it has been paired with the unconditioned stimulus • Will eventually elicit the unconditioned response by itself

13. Conditioned Response • The original unconditioned response becomes conditioned after it has been elicited by the neutral stimulus

14. Classical Conditioning Phenomenon • Extinction • Spontaneous recovery • Stimulus generalization • Discrimination training

15. John B. Watson and Little Albert • Conditioned emotional responses • Generalization • Extinction

18. Classical Conditioning of Human Reactions • Vomiting Responses of cancer patients on Chemotherapy • Discuss typical examples.

19. Operant Conditioning • Operant conditioning attempts to explain how we acquire and maintain voluntary behaviors • Classical conditioning explains how we acquire and maintain involuntary or reflexive behaviors

20. Edward L. Thorndike ( 1874–1949)

21. First Trial in Box After Many Trials in Box Scratch at bars Scratch at bars Push at ceiling Push at ceiling Situation: stimuli inside of puzzle box Situation: stimuli inside of puzzle box Dig at floor Dig at floor Howl Howl Etc. Etc. Etc. Etc. Press lever Press lever Early Operant Conditioning • E. L. Thorndike (1898) • Puzzle boxes and cats

22. The Law of Effect by Edward L. Thorndike • Thorndike’s Law of Effects set the stage for operant conditioning

23. The Law of Effect • Responses followed by “satisfying state of affairs” (pleasant effects) are strengthened and are more likely to occur again in the same satuation. • Reponses followed by unpleasant or “annoying state of affairs” are weakened and are less likely to occur again.

24. B. F. Skinner (1904–1990)

25. B. F. Skinner’s Operant Conditioning • Did not like Thorndike’s term “satisfying state of affairs” • Interested in emitted behaviors • Operant—voluntary response that acts on the environment to produce consequences

26. Reinforcement • The occurrence a stimulus or an event following an operant (response) that increases the likelihood that the response will be repeated. • Reinforcement always increases or maintains behavior.

27. Positive Reinforcement • The presentation or addition of a stimulus or an event following an operant response that increases the likelihood that the response will be repeated --Giving a child dessert after she finishes eating dinner. --Receiving $5 for each A on the report card.

28. Negative Reinforcement • The removal of an unpleasant or aversive stimulus from a situation that increases the likelihood that the response will be repeated • 1. Escape behavior—taking two aspirins to “escape” a headache • 2. Avoidance behavior—returning library book on time “avoids” a fine

30. Reinforcers • Primary—a stimulus that is inherently reinforcing for a species (biological necessities) • Conditioned—a stimulus that has acquired reinforcing value by being associated with a primary reinforcer

31. Punishment • The presentation of a stimulus following a behavior that decreases the likelihood that the behavior will repeated • Punishment always decreases behavior

32. Punishment by Application • The presentation of a painful stimulus following a response that results in a decrease the response. • For example, Spanking a child for unwanted behavior.

33. Punishment by Removal • The loss or removal of a reinforcing stimulus following a response that produces a decrease in the response. • For example, Placing a child in Time-Out for engaging is some unwanted behavior.

34. Problems with Punishment • Does not teach or promote alternative, acceptable behavior • May produce undesirable results such as hostility, passivity, fear • Likely to be temporary • May model aggression

36. Operant Conditioning Terms • Shaping • Extinction • Spontaneous recovery • Discriminative stimuli • Schedules of reinforcement

37. Discriminative Stimuli Environmental cues that tell us when a particular response is likely to be reinforced

38. Reinforcement Schedules • Continuous—every correct response is reinforced; good way to get a low-frequency behavior to occur • Partial—only some correct responses are reinforced; good way to make a behavior resistant to extinction

39. Partial Schedules—Ratio • Ratio schedules are based on number of responses emitted • Fixed ratio (FR)—a reinforcer is delivered after a certain (fixed) number of correct responses • Variable ratio (VR)—a reinforcer is delivered after an average number of responses, but varies from trial to trial

41. Partial Schedules—Interval • Interval schedules are based on time. • Fixed interval (FI)—reinforcer is delivered for the first response after a fixed period of time has elapsed • Variable interval (VI)—reinforcer is delivered for the first response after an average time has elapsed, differs between trials

42. Cognitive Aspects of Operant Conditioning • Cognitive map—term for a mental representation of the layout of a familiar environment • Latent learning—learning that occurs in the absence of reinforcement, but is not demonstrated until a reinforcer is available • Learned helplessness—phenomenon in which exposure to inescapable and uncontrollable aversive events produces passive behavior

43. Biological Predispositions • Animal training issues • Instinctive drift—naturally occurring behaviors that interfere with operant responses

44. Classical Conditioning Versus Operant Conditioning

45. Observation Learning • Observation • Modeling • Imitation • Albert Bandura and the Bobo doll study