Learning

• Not learning intellectually but learning behaviors– Remember psychology:

• study of behavior and mental processes

• 3 Ways we acquire behavior– Classical Conditioning (CC) – Pavlov and Watson– Operant Conditioning (OC) - Skinner– Observational Learning – Bandura

– Behaviorists – focus on observable, measurable behavior – very objective

• Height of influence in 1920s• NURTURE - environment

CLASSICAL CONDITIONING

Classical Conditioning

• Turn of the 20th century, Russian Psychologist, Ivan Pavlov discovered CC while studying digestion in dogs

• Classical Conditioning = learning by association - people and animals learn to associate neutral stimuli w/ stimuli that produce reflexive, involuntary responses and will learn to respond similarly to the new stimulus as they did the natural one

CC

• 1. US (unconditioned stimulus)– Original stimulus that elicits natural response

• (ex. Food)• 2. UR (unconditioned response)

– The natural response • (ex. Salivation)

• 3. CS (Conditioned stimulus)– Neutral stimulus paired with US that eventually elicits response

alone • (ex. Bell)

• 4. CR (Conditioned Response)– UCR solicited by CS

• (ex. Salivation)

• Learning has taken place once the animals respond to the CS without the US = Acquisition because animals have acquired a new behavior – CS produces CR without US

Pavlov’s Dogs

Factors that affect acquisition

• 1. Repeated pairings of CS & US ; more times paired = stronger CR

• 2. Order and timing of CS & US affect the strength of conditioning– Most effective = present CS first and then introduce the US

while CS is still evident . . . Called delayed conditioning

(ex. Bell rung, while still ringing food is presented)

A break of time in between CS and US weakens the response• 3. Less effective methods . . .

– a. trace conditioning• Present CS, short break, present US

– b. simultaneous conditioning• CS & US at same time

– c. backward conditioning – worst kind – doesn’t work• US followed by CS

CC – Important Terms

• Acquisition – behavior is learned. CS produces CR without US

• Extinction – behavior is unlearned. CS no longer produces CR

• Spontaneous Recovery – acquisition, extinction and period of no training. CS briefly produces CR but response is weak and will disappear quickly unless repeated training/pairing.

CC – Important Terms

• Generalization – organism responds to stimuli similar to CS. i.e. a buzzer produces the CR

• Discrimination – the organism is trained to ONLY respond to the CS. Bell, food….buzzer, no food.

• Second/Higher Order Conditioning – once CS produces CR. It’s possible to use CS as a US to condition a new stimulus

CC – John Watson

• Baby Albert Experiment – conditioned fear (many phobias are the result of CC)

– US – loud noise– UR – fear/cry– CS – white rat– CR – fear/cry

http://www.learner.org/series/discoveringpsychology/08/e08expand.html

Aversive Conditioning

• Any time in CC that the response is undesirable– Garcia affect – taste aversion

– Can be used to get you to stop an unhealthy behavior (nail biting, shock therapy)

Biology and CC

• Can animals be conditioned to do any response?– Equipotentiality – many behaviorists believed

yes. All organisms have equal potential.– Instinctive Drift – research says

equipotentiality is false. Animals will drift towards their natural instincts and cannot be conditioned to do things that go against their nature.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WfZfMIHwSkU“The Office” CC clip

OPERANT CONDITIONING

Operant Conditioning

• Learning by association – associate a behavior with its consequences

• Edward Thorndike – predecessor– Law of effect – if consequences of a behavior are

pleasant, the stimulus response connection is strengthened and the behavior increases. If consequence is unpleasant, the connection will weaken and behavior will decrease. Thorndike called this instrumental learning – the consequence is instrumental to you learning the behavior

Father of Operant Conditioning…. BF Skinner

Skinner

• Skinner created the Skinner box with pigeons

• Reinforcer = food; reinforcers are always positive consequences

• Punishment is always a negative consequence

• + addition, - subtraction

Reinforcements – makes behavior more likely

• + reinforcement: the addition of a desirable consequence; Johnny gets all As and his parents give him $100

• - reinforcement: the subtraction of something unpleasant as a desirable consequence; Johnny gets all As and his parents say he doesn’t have to do his chores.

Punishments make behavior less likely

• Punishment: the addition of an unpleasant result; Johnny gets an F and gets a spanking or extra chores

• Omission Training: the removal of a pleasant stimulus; Johnny gets an F and loses his car privileges

OC Terms

• Escape Learning – terminating an aversive stimulus. Johnny comes to class and hears there is an exam and he asks to go to the clinic (- reinforcement)

• Avoidance Learning – enables one to avoid unpleasant stimulus all together. Johnny remembers there is a test and he skips school. (- reinforcement)

OC Terms

• Shaping – reinforcing gradual steps of improvement as one gets closer to desired behavior.

• Chaining – reinforcement after subject performs a series of behaviors. Little Johnny cleans his room, brushes his teeth, says his prayers and then gets a bed time story

• Premack Principle – what works as a reinforcer for one person may not work for another. If I don’t like chocolate, than a candy bar will not work as a reinforcer for me

OC Terms

• Acquisition – behavior learned. Rat presses lever to get food

• Extinction – behavior is unlearned. Rat no longer gets good and therefore stops pressing lever

• Generalization – do similar behavior to get reinforcer – rat presses other button hoping for food

• Discrimination – only get reinforcer for specific behavior

Types of Reinforcers

• Primary – innately rewarding – food, water, rest

• Secondary – things we learn to value – praise, games, material objects

• Generalized Reinforcer – can be traded in for something else – money– Token Economy – desired behavior gets

tickets or tokens to be traded for reinforcers (arcade)

Reinforcement Schedules

2 critical questions

• 1.) Do I know EXACTLY when the reinforcer is coming? – Yes = fixed– No = variable

2.) Is the reinforcer contingent on me completing a task?

- Yes = Ration

- No = Interval

4 Schedules

• Fixed Ratio (FR) – I get a water break after running 5 suicides

• Variable Ratio (VR) – I’m going to play the slot machine and hope I win

• Fixed Interval (FI) – spring break is 4 weeks away

• Variable Interval (VI) – my car is in the shop and I am not sure when it will be ready

Variable schedules are more resistant to extinction that fixed schedules. Once an animal becomes accustomed to a fixed schedule, a break in the pattern will quickly lead to extinction

• When learning a behavior, continuous reinforcement is best. Once behavior learned, variable reinforcement is better.

• VR most resistant to extinction – why gambling is addictive

Observational Learning

Social Modeling

Albert Bandura’s Bobo Doll Experiment

Observational Learning

• Modeling has two basic components – – Observation– Imitation– Kids who observed models play violently with

the Bobo doll were more likely to interact violently with the Bobo doll themselves

– We can model prosocial or antisocial behaviors– Do violent TV shows and video games make

people more likely to act in violent ways???

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jWsxfoJEwQQBobo Doll footage

Other Types of learning

• Latent Learning – Edward Tolman – hidden learning Ex: rats and maze – they don’t show knowledge until there is an incentive

• Insight Learning – Wolfgang Kohler – when one suddenly realizes how to solve a problem. The answer comes in a flash or insight. Ex: apes and bananas