Basic Principles of Learning How do we learn anything? What are the basic principles of learning?

Definition of Learning Learning is “any relatively permanent change in behavior brought about through experience.” Learning involves experience that will change your behavior This is the “psychologist’s tool box” Psychology has gone to great lengths to develop the tools which we’ll now examine

Learning We are products of association We become what our environment forces us to be Problem:  It takes away free will (No Choice) Key Psychologists:  Ivan Pavlov  B.F. Skinner  John Watson  Albert Bandura

Black Box Theory This theory focuses on what is observable, not mental processes

There are 3 types of Learning 1. Classical 2. Operant (Instrumental) 3. Observational

1. Introduction to Classical Conditioning

Classical Conditioning Learning a response after a stimulus that does not normally bring about a response **Involuntary/ Automatic DO IT AUTOMATICALLY WITHOUT THINKING

Key Question of Classical Conditioning… How are conditioned reflexes aquired?

Terms to understand Reflex: must be involved in CC. Stimulus: causes an organism to react or respond Response: The reaction to a stimulus

Key Definitions Neutral Stimulus (NS) - before conditioning, has no effect Unconditioned Stimulus (US) - stimulus naturally triggers a response Unconditioned Response (UR) - unlearned, natural response to the UCS Conditioned Stimulus (CS) - previously neutral stimulus triggers a response Conditioned Response (CR) - learned response to a neutral stimulus

The Classical Conditioning “paradigm”  UCS >UCR  NS >UCS >UCR  CS >CR

Ivan Pavlov and Pavlov’s Dogs Russian physiologist studying the digestive system Focusing on what substance helped to break food down One notable substance studied was saliva Developed method to measure saliva production Nobel Prize winner (1904)

Ivan Pavlov and Pavlov’s Dogs

Pavlov’s Dogs  UCS-(Meat/food)----->UCR (Saliva)  NS(Footsteps/bell)->UCS-(Meat/Food)-->UCR (Saliva)  CS- (Footsteps/bell) > CR (Saliva)

Process of Pavlov’s Saliva Research Dog given food and salivation was recorded while the dog ate Key finding: Experienced dogs salivated before the food was presented What was happening? Dogs were exhibiting simple type of learning This type of learning is the foundation of Classical Conditioning

Salivary Conditioning Apparatus

Example of Classical Conditioning How do coaches get their team members to learn their sports?  Coaches have teams practice plays over and over again so the teams will perform the learned behavior naturally during a game.  Players will associate the names of plays with the behaviors, so they don’t have to think about it during the game. Other examples?

John Watson and Baby Albert John B. Watson was the first person to study human emotions systematically Watson & Rayner (1920 & 1921) began their research by testing Baby Albert to see their reactions to stimuli thought to be innately frightening

John Watson and Baby Albert Watson & Rayner (1920) found that a loud noise did elicit a fear reaction They then did the famous Little Albert study where they paired a white lab rat (CS) with striking a steel bar with a hammer behind Albert’s head (UCS) Little Albert began to show fear to the white lab rat fairly quickly

Baby Albert Rat (NS) Loud Sound (UCS) ---- Fear (UCR) Rat (CS) --- Fear (CR) Removal of Fear.

Modern CC Example Dwight CC Altoid Theory

Classical Conditioning Terms Generalization: produces the same response to similar stimuli  Example: Dog trained to sit (CR) when given the command to “sit” (CS). Dog begins to sit on words like “hit,” “bit,” and “kick” Discrimination: producing different responses to similar stimuli  Example: Pavlov’s dogs salivate at tone that brings meat powder but not other pitches

Classical Conditioning Terms Extinction: The diminishing of a learned response (When a UCS does not follow a CS) Spontaneous Recovery: The reappearance of an extinguished conditioned response.