psych 101 chapter 6 1 prologue to chapter 6: basic principles of learning how do we learn anything?...

Psych 101 Chapter 6 1

Prologue to Chapter 6: Basic Principles of LearningPrologue to Chapter 6: Basic Principles of Learning How do we learn anything? How do we come to be productive

members of society and some do not? What influence does our environment have

on our behavior? What are the basic principles of learning? What tools exist in the psychologist’s tool

box?


Definition of LearningDefinition of Learning

Learning is “any relatively permanent change in behavior brought about through experience.”

Learning involves experience that will change your behavior

This chapter is the “psychologist’s tool box” Psychology has gone to great lengths to develop

the tools which we’ll now examine


Tools: Classical ConditioningTools: Classical Conditioning

Classical condition is learning by association it is sometimes called “reflexive learning” it is sometimes called respondent conditioning

The Russian physiologist, Ivan Pavlov, and his dogs circa 1905 discovered classical conditioning by serendipity received the Nobel Prize in science for discovery



Association: the KEY element in classical conditioning Pavlov considered classical conditioning to be a form

of learning through association, in time, of a neutral stimulus and a stimulus that incites a response.

Any stimulus can be paired with another to make an association if it is done in the correct way (following the classical conditioning paradigm)



Terminology of Classical Conditioning Unconditioned Stimulus (UCS): any stimulus that

will always and naturally ELICIT a response Unconditioned Response (UCR): any response that

always and naturally occurs at the presentation of the UCS

Neutral Stimulus (NS): any stimulus that does not naturally elicit a response associated with the UCR



Terminology of Classical Conditioning (continued)

Conditioned Stimulus (CS): any stimulus that will, after association with an UCS, cause a conditioned response (CR) when present to a subject by itself

Conditioned Response (CR): any response that occurs upon the presentation of the CS



The Classical Conditioning “paradigm” “paradigm” is a scientific word similar to

using the word “recipe” in a kitchen, I.e., this is how you do it

UCS--------------------->UCR NS------------->UCS--------------------->UCR CS------------------------------------------>CR That’s all there is to it. I’ll show you a

fleshed-out example on the next slide



Here’s a fleshed out example: UCS----------------->UCR

(food powder) --------------> (salvating)

NS--------------->UCS----------------->UCR (bell)--->(food powder) -------------> (salvating)

CS---------------------------------------->CR (bell)------------------------------------> (salvating)



Here’s another example: UCS------------------>UCR

(onion juice) -----------------> (crying)

NS --------------> UCS ----------------->UCR (whistle)-->(onion juice)---------------> (crying)

CS ---------------------------------------->CR (whistle)----------------------------------> (crying)


Importance of Classical ConditioningImportance of Classical Conditioning Classical conditioning is involved in many of our

behaviors wherever stimuli are paired together over time we

come to react to one of them as if the other were present

a particular song is played and you immediately think of a particular romantic partner

a particular cologne is smelled and you immediately think of a romantic partner


Classical Conditioning in Abnormal BehaviorClassical Conditioning in Abnormal Behavior Phobias and classical conditioning

phobias are an unnaturally intense fear of an object not really warranting such fear

there are over 750 identified phobias phobias can be intensely debilitating and

result in a person’s total incapacitation all phobias are originally begun by means of

classical conditioning (typically by accident)


Abnormal behavior and CCAbnormal behavior and CC

The mechanism of establishing a phobia is as follows:

UCS -------------------> UCR (intense pain) -----------------> (fear)

NS ----------> UCS -------------------> UCR (dog) ------> (bite) ----------------------> (fear)

CS --------------------------------------> CR (dog) --------------------------------------> (fear)



Using classical conditioning, it is possible to make a person have a phobia of just about anything

Phobias, unreasonable fears of objects that should not be feared, are treatable by psychological intervention

Objects of fear may include:


CatsCats FelinaphobiaFelinaphobia


SpidersSpiders ArachnaphobiaArachnaphobia



Phobias can all be treated using “systematic desensitization” involves pairing relaxation with the object

that produces the fear done first in the imagination successfully and

then followed by experiencing the stimulus progressively in the real world

there is no reason why anyone should have a debilitating fear; treatment is possible



Philias and classical conditioning philias (or manias) are extreme pleasures

derived from stimuli usually not likely to produce this intense pleasure

philias can be relatively harmless, e.g., frottage or podophilia

philias can be extremely dangerous, e.g., pedophilia and necrophilia

others include kleptomania, pyromania, etc.



All philias are established in the same way: UCS ---------------> UCR

(sexual stimulation) -----> (pleasure)

NS ---------------> UCS ---------------> UCR (toes) ----> (sexual stimulation) ----> (pleasure)

CS ---------------------------------------> CR (toes) -----------------------------------> (pleasure)


PyromaniaPyromania



Philias can all be treated with some success using a technique called “aversive counter-conditioning” a painful stimulus is paired with the object

that formerly brought pleasure this must be done carefully to avoid making

the individual become masochistic the movie “Clockwork Orange” demonstrates

aversive counter-conditioning quite well



Research has shown that the body’s immune system can be trained to become either more or less effective by classical conditioning rat experiments conducted where rats were

irradiated (weakening immune system) and this irradiation was presaged by exposure to given stimuli; later rats shown stimuli and immune system functions decreased



Some pointers on effective conditioning NS and UCS pairings must not be more than

about 1/2 second apart for best results Repeated NS/UCS pairings are called

“training trials” Presentations of CS without UCS pairings are

called “extinction trials” Intensity of UCS effects how many training

trials are necessary for conditioning to occur


The Other Side of the Tool BoxThe Other Side of the Tool BoxOperant ConditioningOperant Conditioning


Tools: Operant ConditioningTools: Operant Conditioning

Operant conditioning is simply learning from the consequences of your behavior the “other side” of the psychologist’s tool

box, operant conditioning is a form of learning in which the consequences of behavior lead to changes in the probability of a behavior’s occurrence.



The Operant Conditioning paradigm: SD ------> Response ------> Consequence

where “SD” is the “discriminative stimulus” where “Response” is the subject’s behavior where “Consequence” is what happens to the

subject after EMITTING the response What consequences can follow a subject’s

response?



Consequences to behavior can be: nothing happens: extinction something happens

the “something” can be pleasant the “something” can be aversive

Consequences include positive and negative reinforcement, time out, and punishment. We’ll examine each of these now.


Positive ReinforcementPositive Reinforcement

What is a reinforcer? Definition: a reinforcer is any stimulus which,

when delivered to a subject, increases the probability that a subject will emit a response.

Primary reinforcers, e.g., food Secondary reinforcers, e.g., praise One can only know if a stimulus is a reinforcer

based on the increased probability of occurrence of a subject’s behavior


Money: a secondary reinforcerMoney: a secondary reinforcer



What is positive reinforcement? a procedure where a pleasant stimulus is

delivered to a subject contingent upon the subject’s emitting a desired behavior

Schedules of reinforcement reinforcement schedules may be used to

decrease the probability that a response pattern in a subject will extinguish



Schedules of reinforcement there are 4 types of reinforcement schedules

fixed ratio schedule of reinforcement fixed interval schedule of reinforcement variable ratio schedule of reinforcement variable interval schedule of reinforcement

each of these schedules will produce different response patterns in subjects; the variable ratio schedule best for most resistant to extinction



Shaping behaviors the use of positive reinforcement in the differential

reinforcement of successive approximations is called “shaping”

shaping can be used to create a new response pattern in a subject

shaping must be done carefully and one must rely on the differential reinforcement of successive approximations to the target behavior


Negative ReinforcementNegative Reinforcement

Negative reinforcement a procedure where an aversive stimulus is

removed from a subject contingent upon the subject’s emitting a desired behavior

the reinforcing consequence is the removal or avoidance of an aversive stimulus Escape conditioning: the behavior is reinforced

because it stops an aversive stimlus Avoidance conditioning: behavior reinforced

because aversive stimulus is prevented


Negative ReinforcementNegative Reinforcement

Examples of negative reinforcement in the real world include: taking out the trash to avoid your mother

yelling at you taking an aspirin to get rid of a headache using a condom to avoid contracting a fatal

disease paying your car insurance on time to prevent

cancellation of your policy


Time OutTime Out

Time Out (from positive reinforcement) a procedure where a pleasant stimulus is

removed from a subject contingent upon the subject’s emitting an UNDERSIRED response

both positive and negative reinforcement build behaviors while time out and punishment are used to destroy behaviors

Grounding, toys being taken away, sitting on a stool for 5 minutes are examples of time out


PunishmentPunishment



Punishment defined a procedure where an aversive stimulus is

presented to a subject contingent upon the subject emitting an undesired behavior.

punishment should be used as a last resort in behavior engineering; positive reinforcement should be used first

examples include spanking, verbal abuse, electrical shock, etc.



Dangers in use of punishment punishment is often reinforcing to a punisher

(resulting in the making of an abuser) punishment often has a generalized inhibiting

effect on the punished individual (they stop doing ANY behavior at all)

we learn to dislike the punisher (a result of classical conditioning)



Dangers in use of punishment what the punisher thinks is punishment may,

in fact, be a reinforcer to the “punished” individual

punishment does not teach more appropriate behavior; it merely stops a behavior from occurring

punishment can cause emotional damage in the punished individual (antisocial behavior)



Dangers in use of punishment punishment only stops the behavior from

occurring in the presence of the punisher; when the punisher is not present then the behavior will often reappear and with a vengeance

the best tool for engineering behavior is positive reinforcement



Guidelines for the effective use of punishment use the least painful stimulus possible; if you spank

your child, do it on the child’s bottom with an open hand never more than twice and NEVER so hard as to leave any marks on your child. That would be classified as child abuse.

reinforce the appropriate behavior to take the place of the inappropriate behavior



Guidelines make it clear to the individual which behavior you

are punishing and remove all threat of punishment immediately as soon as the undesired behavior stops.

do not give punishment mixed with rewards for a given behavior; be consistent!

once you have begun to administer punishment do not back out but use punishment wisely


Special issues in learningSpecial issues in learning......


Contrasting Classical and Operant ConditioningContrasting Classical and Operant Conditioning Classical conditioning usually involves

reflexive behavior (eliciting a response) whereas operant condition involves instrumental behavior (emitting a response)

Classical conditioning elicits a response whereas operant conditioning manipulates the probability that a given response will be emitted by the subject.


Stimulus DiscriminationStimulus Discrimination

Stimulus discrimination refers to the fact that most responses are more likely to occur in the presence of some stimuli than in the presence of other stimuli

What is this letter? A Why did you say “A” here? The “A” is a

discriminative stimulus for saying (responding) with the saying of the letter A


Stimulus DiscriminationStimulus Discrimination

Learning anything is an accrual of discriminative stimuli

Sd’s, Sp’s, and S-deltas Sd’s: stimuli which indicate that if you emit the

appropriate response now you will be rewarded Sp’s: stimuli which indicate that if you emit the

inappropriate response now you will be punished S-deltas: stimuli indicating no consequences


Stimulus generalizationStimulus generalization

Stimulus generalization refers to the fact that the more similar two stimuli are, the more likely the individual is to respond to them as if they were the same stimulus

Stimulus generalization has implications for both classical and operant conditioning classical: e.g., agoraphobia operant: e.g., “B” vs “P”


Extinction: the process of unlearningExtinction: the process of unlearning Extinction is the process of unlearning a learned

response because of a change on the part of the environment (reinforcement or punishment or stimulus pairing contingencies)

Removing the source of learning in CC, not pairing the NS with the UCS will result in

extinction in OC, not providing consequences causes ext.


Spontaneous recovery and external disinhibitionSpontaneous recovery and external disinhibition Spontaneous recovery: a temporary increase in

the strength of a response; this increase is likely to occur during extinction after the passage of time and if there has been a single repeat in association made either actually or in the subject’s own perception

External disinhibition: temporary increase of extinguished response because of intense, but unrelated, external stimulus event


What is learning?What is learning?


Theoretical Interpretations of LearningTheoretical Interpretations of Learning Cognition or connection? Is learning the

result of a change in the neural connections in an individual’s nervous system or is it a change in how the individual thinks? Is learning a physical change in the system? Is learning a cognitive change in how an

individual processes information? What is learning?


Tolman’s Place vs Response LearningTolman’s Place vs Response Learning Tolman’s “Place vs Response” learning

experiments rats sought food in mazes did rats learn to find food by a series of right-left

turns or did they know that the food was “over there?”

Tolman concluded that rats had a “cognitive map” of where the food was and that it was “over there” (not just a series of right-left responses)


Tolman’s latent learningTolman’s latent learning

rats who were not reinforced for making correct choices would, when necessary, go through the maze correctly when food was available at the end

Tolman interpreted that rats learned mazes but did not display their learning until it was prudent to do so, I.e., latent learning

Learning is a very complex phenomenon


Kohler’s insight experimentsKohler’s insight experiments

Kohler’s observations of sudden insight in his chimp experiment provides evidence that learning has a “cognitive” part to it and is not just a series of correctly sequenced and reinforced behavior

Kohler’s work supports Tolman’s views of the cognitive aspects involved in learning

We are “response learners” and also “thinkers” in learning


Modeling: Learning while watching othersModeling: Learning while watching others Albert Bandura’s modeling research using

the Bobo dolls with children to study how aggression is learned

Implications for modern media and violence in our society? The average teen has observed 17,000

murders on television programming Heavy metal and rap music: violence

preached?


Teaching Violence?Teaching Violence?


Biological factors in learningBiological factors in learning

Ability to learn is influenced by biological factors, e.g., research shows that some people are more

biologically prepared to learn some fears more readily than others

diets for improving learning? Brain food? can you “supercharge” your learning

potential? learning in the future, a possibility?


Application of psychologyApplication of psychology


Application of psychology: Learning the wrong thingsApplication of psychology: Learning the wrong things What is superstitious behavior?

non-contingent reinforcement examples of superstitions

Learned helplessness the cessation of all behavior as a result of

intense punishment dog’s behavior in electrified cage wife’s behavior in an abusive marriage


Questions?Questions?

Any questions over chapter 6?

psych 101 chapter 6 1 prologue to chapter 6: basic principles of learning how do we learn anything?...

Documents

classical conditioning

classical conditioning

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ucr slide

respondent conditioning

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salvating slide

ucr cs