DOLLARD AND MILLER

DOLLARD AND MILLERSTIMULUS RESPONSE THEORY

JOHN DOLLARDBorn in Menasha, Wisconsin, US on 29th August, 1900MA and PhD in sociology (University of Chicago)Trained in psychoanalysis from Berlin InstituteBecame a member of the Western New England Psychoanalytical SocietyHe integrated his approaches to human behavior with sociology, anthropology and psychologyHe passed away on 8th of October, 1980

Books authored by John DollardCaste and class in a Southern town (1937)Children of Bondage ( 1940) Victory over fear (1942) Fear in Battle (1943)Criteria for the life history (1936)Steps in psychotherapy (1953)Scoring human motives (1959)

NEAL E. MILLERBorn in Milwaukee, Wisconsin on 3rd August, 1909MA (Stanford ) PhD (Yale)Training in Psychoanalysis from Vienna Institute Known for work on acquisition of drives and study of conflict

MATCH THE FOLLOWINGIvan Pavlov1911, 1932American PsychologistBehaviourismJohn Watson1904, 1990Russian PhysiologistOperant ConditioningTrial and Error learningEdward Thorndike1906, 1927American PsychologistClassical Conditioning( US, UR, CS & CR)B.F. Skinner1916, 1925American PsychologistInstrumental Learning- Law of Effect

CORRECT ANSWERIvan Pavlov1906, 1927Russian PhysiologistClassical Conditioning( US, UR, CS & CR)John Watson1904, 1990

American Psychologist

BehaviourismEdward Thorndike1911, 1932

American PsychologistInstrumental Learning- Law of EffectB.F. Skinner1916, 1925American PsychologistOperant ConditioningTrial and Error learning

Laboratory Experiment It is a hypothetical experimentSubject (rat) is place in a square box divided into two partsBuzzer and simultaneously electrical charge is sent through the floorRat has to jump over to the other compartment in order to terminate the shock and buzzerProcedure repeated for 60 minutes- irregular intervalsObserved- time between the onset of the buzzer and shock and subjects response- progressively shorter

Next day Subject is placed for 60 minutes in the shuttle box Buzzer no shockDespite the absence of the shock the subject continues to jump over the hurdle and may also improve performance

Therefore, the process of generalization in learning is observed

Summary of the VIDEO of the laboratory experimentINTRODUCTION AND CONTEXTLabeled a laboratory theoryNot a single Stimulus response theory but a cluster of theoriesDollard and Miller attempted to modify and simplify Hulls reinforcement theory so that it can be used easily and effectively to deal with events of intertest to the clinical psychologistIntegration of Hulls work concept of habit which is a stable S-R patternDraws from psychoanalytic theory and explains the phenomena of displacement, repression, and conflict using the behavioral S-R patternsInstitute of Human Relation at Yale University (1933) directed by Mark May brought together experimental, social anthropology (social aspects of humans in non literate societies) and psychoanalytic theoryLearning is given predominant importanceInnate factors are not ignored but emphasis is on stimulation to which person is exposed and the possible responses to it

Preview of Dollard and Millers Theory

THE LEARNING PROCESSIn order to learn, one must want something, notice something, do something, and get something.drive (want something)cue (notice something)response (do something)Reinforcement/reward (get something)

drivewhat a person wants, which motivates learninghungerthirstsexual driveapproval-seekingDefinition:Examples:

13glossary termcuewhat a person notices, which provides a discriminative stimulus for learningmother callingsight of someone you love

Definition:Examples:

14glossary termresponsewhat a person does, which is learnedcryingasking for helpcriticizing someone

Definition:Examples:

15glossary termresponseinitial hierarchy of responsesdominant responseresultant hierarchy16EXAMPLE OF A RESPONSE HIERARCHY: CHILDR1: cryR2: grab teddy bearR3: hideR4: demand DaddyR5: go quietly to bed

17REWARDwhat a person gets as a result of a response in the learning sequence, which strengthens responses because of its drive-reducing effectfoodapproval

Definition:Examples:

18glossary term

When reinforcement is withheld, the rate of behavior decreases. In this example, if parents ignore a child who cries at bedtime, the child will cry less and less as time goes on.19Figure 10.1, text page 320GRADIENT OF REWARDThe more closely the response is followed by reward, the more it is strengthened.Language can influence this by making a response "close" by talking about it.

20THE STRUCTURE OF PERSONALITYConcepts employed to represent the stable and enduring characteristics of the person HabitsA habit is a link or association between a stimulus (cue) and a responseThis link may be formed not only between external events but also internal onesEmphasis of the entire theory is the conditions under which habits are acquired, extinguished or replacedAcc. to Dollard and Miller habits keep changing due to experienceMany responses are elicited by verbal stimuli and responses too are often verbal in nature

21THE DEVELOPMENT OF PERSONALITYInnate equipment: at birth and shortly afterward the infant displays only a limited array of specific reflexesInnate hierarchies of response: tendencies for certain responses to appear in particular stimulus situations before certain other responsesPrimary drives: internal stimuli of great strength and persistence and usually linked to known physiological processes22THE CRITICAL STAGE OF DEVELOPMENTFeedingCleanliness `TrainingEarly Sex TrainingAnger-Anxiety Conflicts

23THE CRITICAL STAGE OF DEVELOPMENTChild who cries when hungry as is fed learns first manipulation toward drive reductionChild who is left to cry it out learns passive and apathetic reaction to strong drive stimuliDollard and Miller stressed on importance of feeding experiences in the development of mother-child relationshipHarlows experiment with monkeys showed that preference is for the warmth rather than food- contradicting Dollard and Millers views24FOUR TYPES OF CONFLICTapproach-approach approach-avoidanceavoidance-avoidancedouble approach-avoidance25

Avoidance - Avoidance

5 BASIC ASSUMPTIONS

4. Increase in the drive associated with the approach or avoidance will raise the general level of the gradient5. When there are two competing responses the stronger will occurFRUSTRATION AND AGGRESSION

The frustration-aggression hypothesis interference with goal attainmentfrustration leads to aggression

33THE FRUSTRATION-AGGRESSION HYPOTHESIS1. Dollard, Doob, Miller, Mower, and Sears (1939). Frustration, "the state that emerges when circumstances interfere with a goal response," often leads to aggression.

2. In some situations, frustration does augment the likelihood of aggression.

Buss (1963) had college students experience one of three types of frustration (failure to win money, failure to earn a better grade, or failure on a task). All three groups showed more subsequent aggression than a control group that was not frustrated.

3. Research indicates that frustration is more likely to lead to aggression if the aggressive behavior helps to eliminate the frustration.

4. The amount of frustration and subsequent aggression depends on how near the individual is to the goal when they are blocked.

Harris (1974) and her confederates purposely cut in front of people standing in line at movies, grocery stores, etc. If they cut ahead of a person second in line, they were much more likely to elicit verbal aggression than if they cut ahead of someone twelfth in line.

5. Frustration does not inevitably result in aggression. It is important to identify the circumstances under which frustration will end in aggression.

PSYCHOTHERAPYTherapist should be a sympathetic, permissive listener and encourage patient to express all feelings and to free associateteaching behavioral copingUnrealistic fears and guilt get extinguished through expression teaching relaxation (drive reduction)language as mediator of learning

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SUPPRESSION

The White Bear Suppression Inventory is correlated with obsessional thinking, depression, and anxiety.

And, although people can learn to repress unwanted thoughts, they often "rebound" later, occurring with increased frequency.

36REPRESSIONReponses of not thinking about certain event leads to drive reduction and reinforcementCertain thoughts have acquired the capacity to arouse fear and not thinking about them leads to a reduction in fear and thus the process of not thinking about them is reinforcedSex-related thoughts37THANK YOUQUESTIONS??