Science and Human Behaviour

Mr. Lema, IsaacClinical Psychologist 09th November 2015

Learning Objectives Grasp basic knowledge about behavioral

science Have a better understanding of human

behavior Appreciate the value of behavioral sciences in

medical setting

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Outline Introduction Human Behavior Significance to Medicine Development of Behavior

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Introduction Behavioral science - scientific study of human

behavior Behavior: an action or response that animal does

voluntary or involuntary; any thing we do or act Covert or overt ; nature or nurture

It involve observation and explanation of human behaviour to an individual or in a group

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Human Behavior Human beings are biological creature Every person is different, yet much the same People can be understood fully only in the

context of their culture, ethnic identity and gender identity

Human lives are a continuous process of change

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Human Behavior … Behavior is motivated Behavior has multiple causes Humans are social animals People play an active part in creating their

experiences Behavior can be adaptive or maladaptive

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Significance to Medicine Etiology of medical conditions or diseases

Presentation: signs or symptoms

Healthy management: prevention, intervention and treatment

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Development of Behavior

Through the interaction of Hereditary dispositions Environmental influences An organism behave in a certain way for

various reason: Its structures (sense organs, nervous system,

muscles, and skeletal makeup) are conducive to certain kinds of behavior

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Behaviorism and Learning Theories

Mr. Lema, IsaacClinical Psychologist

16th November 2015

Learning Objectives Understand the meaning of learning in

behavioral science

Introduce variety of learning influencing human behavior

Classic condition Operant condition Social Cognitive Theory16 November 2015 Learning ProcessesforBehavior 10

Outline Introduction What is Learning Unlearned Versus Learned Behavior Learning Theory Cognitive Approaches to Learning Bandura’s Social Cognitive Theory

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Introduction Behaviorism is the study of behavior based on

observable actions and reactions

It focuses on analysis of relationship between behavior and environment and on the way that stimuli provoke responses

It begins with the work of John B. Watson (1878 – 1958)

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What is Learning? Learning theories come from behaviorism

Refers to changes in behavior overtime as the result of experience Learning as the end product (deliberate) How it takes place (learning process)

Learning is a hypothetical construct (Sims & Hume, 1984)

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What is Learning? … Cannot be directly observed, but only inferred

from observable behavior

Permanently change in personal’s behavioral performance Permanent change behavior can also result out of

learning i.e. effects of brain damage on behavior or changes associated with puberty or maturation process

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What is Learning? …

Learning is a relatively permanent change in behavior due to

past experience (Richard, 2010)

is the process by which relatively permanent changes occur in behavioral potential as a result of experience (Santrock, 2006)

Learning behavioral potential; Performance actual behavior

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Unlearned Vs Learned Behavior Do not require specific training for their first

appearance Refers as innate, native or congenital

Some develop before birth and others later i.e. sexual responses await the delayed

developmental certain developmental structures, particularly the sex glands

Pattern is determined by the racial genes16 November 2015 16Learning ProcessesforBehavior

Unlearned Vs Learned Behavior Depends on model of learning as practice,

training and observation of similar behavior in others

Behavior produced by structural changes which depend upon specific environmental influences

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Learning Theory Explore the relationship between stimulus and

response

Involve conditioning which occurs in two basic ways Classical conditioning Operant conditioning

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Classical Conditioning Involves learning a new association between a

neutral stimulus and a stimulus that reliably elicits a reflexive response

Organism learns to associate two stimuli, such that one stimulus comes to elicit a response that originally was elicited only by the other stimulus

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Classical Conditioning … Ivan Pavlov psychologist interested in the

process of digestion in dogs Notice dogs would often start salivating

before they were given any food when they looked at the food or saw the feeding

bucket or heard footsteps of a person coming to feed them

Led to classical conditioning (Richard, 2010)

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Classical Conditioning ...Why dogs drool over bells? Unconditional Stimulus (UCS)

A stimulus that reflexively and reliably evokes a response (the UCR)

Unconditional Response (UCR)A response that reflexively reliably is evoked by a stimulus (the UCS)

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Classical Conditioning ...Neutral Stimulus No Response

(a tone) (no salivation)UCS UCR (food) (salivation)

Neutral Stimulus + UCS UCR (a tone) (food)

(salivation)CS CR (food) (salivation)16 November 2015 22Learning ProcessesforBehavior

Classical Conditioning ...

Generalization CR transferred spontaneously to stimulus

similar to, but different from the original CS

Discrimination CR such as an alarm reaction occurs to one

stimuli but no to others

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Classical Conditioning ...

ExtinctionCS is presented repeatedly in the absence of

the UCS, causing the CR to weaken and eventually disappear (tone without food)

Spontaneous recoveryreappearance of the previously extinguished

CR after a rest period and without new learning trials

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Classical Conditioning ... Classical conditioning is usually strongest

when 1. there are repeated CS-UCS pairings 2. the UCS is more intense 3. the sequences involves forward pairing 4. the time interval between CS and UCS is

short

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Operant Conditioning A spontaneously emitted behavior is followed

by an outcome that changes the probability that the behavior will occur again Outcomes that increase the occurrence of a

behavior - reinforces That decrease its occurrence – punishments

Behavior is affected by the consequences that follows it

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Operant Conditioning … With reinforcement a response is

strengthened (increased in frequency) by an outcome that follows it

The outcome (stimulus or event) that increases the frequency of a response is called a reinforcer

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Operant Conditioning …

Positive reinforcementOccurs when a response is strengthened by

the subsequent presentation of stimulus i.e. a rat receives a pellet of food when it presses a

lever and eventually begins to press the level more often

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Operant Conditioning …

Negative reinforcementA response is strengthened by the subsequent

removal (or avoidance) of an adversive stimulus (taking aspiring relieves headache) increases the rate of response that precedes their removal or termination

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Operant Conditioning …

Punishmentoccurs when a response is weakened by

outcomes that follow (rat pressing leaver receives electric shock instead of pellets)

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Cognitive Approaches to Learning

Cognitive theorist emphasize that organisms develop awareness, or expectancy of the relationship between their responses and possible consequences

Emphasise changes that occur within an organism’s system of cognition – its mental representation of its self and the world

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Cognitive Approaches to Learning ...

Learning by insight: the sudden perception of a useful relationship that helps solve a problem (S-O-R) model of learning

Notion of cognitive maps (mental representation of the spatial layout)

Expectancy model: not the repeated pairing but how well the CS predicts the UCS

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Bandura’s Social Cognitive Theory

The modeling process and self-efficacy

Four step process that includes several cognitive factors Attention Retention Reproductive Motivation

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Bandura’s Social Cognitive Theory…

According to Bandura, self-efficacy which represents people’s belief that they have the capability to perform behaviors that will produce the desired effect

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Conclusion Learning as a process Each organism must learn: a) which events are important (or not) to its

survival and well being b) which stimuli signal that an event is about to

occur and c) whether its response will produce positive or

negative consequences 16 November 2015 Learning ProcessesforBehavior 35

References

Lahey, Benjamin. B (2004), Psychology an Introduction 8th Edition

McGraw Hill Publisher

Richard, G (2010) Psychology The Science of Mind and Behavior; 6th Edition. Hodder education

Santrock John W. (2006) Educational Psychology; second edition. Mc Graw Hill Publisher

  Sims, ACP & Hume, WI (1984) Lecture Notes on Behavioral Sciences

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