Learning AP Psychology Gloucester High School Mr. Perreault

Learning A lasting change in behavior or mental process as the result of an experience Lasting change- a simple reflexive reaction is not learning Learning regarding mental processes is much harder to observe and study

Learning’s Effects on Behavior Learning has a much larger influence on behavior than instincts Learning represents an evolutionary advance over instincts

Types of Learning Simple and Complex

Simple Learning Habituation: Learning not to respond to the repeated presentation of a stimulus How often does one actually look when a car alarm goes off? Mere Exposure Effect: A learned preference for stimuli to which we have been previously exposed Which do you prefer? Which did your parents drink when you were a kid?

Complex Learning Behavioral Learning: Forms of learning such as Classical and Operant Conditioning which can be described in terms of stimuli and responses Classical conditioning is a more simple learning while Operant conditioning is more complex

Ivan Pavlov and Classical Conditioning Originally studying salivation and digestion Stumbled on Classic Conditioning while experimenting on his dog Classical Conditioning: Form of learning in which a previously neutral stimulus acquires the power to elicit the same innate reflex produced by another stimulus

Pavlov’s Dog Experiment

Classical Conditioning Pavlov’s Dog Unconditioned Stimulus: A stimulus that gets an unconditioned response. Unconditioned Response: A response to a stimulus that needs no conditioning. Neutral Stimulus: A stimulus that gets no response. Conditioned Stimulus: A previously neutral stimulus that gets a response. Conditioned Response: A learned response to a previously neutral stimulus.

Condition Pairing ______________________  ______________________ Unconditioned Stimulus Unconditioned Response ______________________  ______________________ Neutral Stimulus + Unconditioned Response Unconditioned Stimulus ______________________  ______________________ Conditioned Stimulus Conditioned Response

Condition Pairing ________FOOD__________  _________DROOL________ Unconditioned Stimulus Unconditioned Response ____BELL + FOOD_______  _________DROOL________ Neutral Stimulus + Unconditioned Response Unconditioned Stimulus _______ BELL_______ __  __________DROOL_______ Conditioned Stimulus Conditioned Response

Conditioned Pairing Examples Pairing a Neutral Stimulus with an Unconditioned Stimulus to create a Conditioned Stimulus

______________________  ______________________ Unconditioned Stimulus Unconditioned Response ______________________  ______________________ Neutral Stimulus + Unconditioned Response Unconditioned Stimulus ______________________  ______________________ Conditioned Stimulus Conditioned Response

A young girl waits for her father to come home from work. When she hears the sputter of a familiar engine, she run to the door to give him a hug.

Condition Pairing ______________________  ______________________ Unconditioned Stimulus Unconditioned Response ______________________  ______________________ Neutral Stimulus + Unconditioned Response Unconditioned Stimulus ______________________  ______________________ Conditioned Stimulus Conditioned Response

I have a terrible habit of biting my nails, I would like to stop. My friend told me about this polish that goes on my nails. I understand I will dislike the taste so much it will make me stop.

Condition Pairing ______________________  ______________________ Unconditioned Stimulus Unconditioned Response ______________________  ______________________ Neutral Stimulus + Unconditioned Response Unconditioned Stimulus ______________________  ______________________ Conditioned Stimulus Conditioned Response

The Formula ______________________  ______________________ Unconditioned Stimulus Unconditioned Response ______________________  ______________________ Neutral Stimulus + Unconditioned Response Unconditioned Stimulus ______________________  ______________________ Conditioned Stimulus Conditioned Response L1 + ½ L2 _________ ½ L2 + L3  Response will always stay the same As long as you can identify the US the NS and the UR you can do any Condition Pairing

More Terms!!!! Generalization: Responding to a similar stimulus in the same manner without conditioning. Discrimination: Responding to different stimuli in different ways. Extinction: The gradual dying out of a response due to lack of reinforcement.

Spontaneous Recovery Extinction suppresses the conditioned response, and the CR can reappear through SR The response after a period of an extinguished CR Weaker than the original CR

Limitations of Classical Conditioning With CC, one can teach a dog to drool but cannot teach the dog to roll over. Why? Drooling is an involuntary/instinctual reflex Rolling over is a more complex response that we think of as voluntary leading us to...

Operant Conditioning An operant is an observable behavior that an organism uses to ‘operate’ in the environment OC: A form of learning in which the probability of a response is changed by its consequence’s that is, by the stimuli that follows the response Law of Effect: responses that produced desirable results would be learned or “stamped” into the organism Translation: rewarded behavior is likely to recur

B.F. Skinner Famous for his work with behaviorism and his works with rats Then eventually his own child

Reinforcement A condition in which the presentation or removal of a stimulus that occurs after a response (behavior), strengthens that response or makes it more likely to happen again in the future. Big Bang Explanation Positive Reinforcement: a stimulus presented after a response that increases the probability of that response happening again

Positive and Negative Does not mean good or bad Positive: add or apply Negative: subtract or remove Thus Negative Reinforcement: the removal of an unpleasant stimulus that increases the probability of that response happening again Taking aspirin to get rid of a headache Putting on a seatbelt to make the “dinging” stop

Punishment An aversive stimulus which occurs after a behavior, and decreases the probability it will occur again Positive Punishment: An undesirable event that follows a behavior, getting spanked after telling a lie. Negative Punishment: When a desirable event ends or is taken away after a behavior Getting the cell phone taken away for having a poor progress report

Reinforcement/Punishment Matrix The consequences provides something (a spanking) The consequence takes something away (removes headache, timeout Positive Reinforcement Negative Reinforcement The consequences makes the behavior more likely to happen in the future Positive Punishment Negative Punishment The consequence makes the behavior less likely to happen in the future

Reinforcement vs. Punishment Unlike reinforcement, punishment must be administered consistently. Intermittent punishment is far less effective than punishment delivered after every undesirable behavior. Not punishing every misbehavior can have the effects of rewarding the behavior. The learner not the teacher decides if something is reinforcing or punishing

Punishment vs. Negative Reinforcement Punishments and Negative Reinforcement are used to produce opposite effects on behavior. Punishment is used to decrease a behavior or reduce its probability of reoccurring Negative reinforcement always increases a behavior’s probability of happening in the future (by taking away an unwanted stimuli)

Uses and Abuses of Punishment Punishment often produces an immediate change in behavior, which ironically reinforces the punisher Punishment rarely works in the long run because: 1.The power of punishment to suppress behavior usually disapproves when the threat of punishment is gone 2.Punishment triggers escape or aggression 3.Punishment makes the learner apprehensive 4.Punishment is often applied unequally

Making Punishment Work To make punishment work it should (be): Swift Certain-every time Limited in time and intensity Clearly target the behavior, not the person Not give mixed messages The most effective punishment is often omission training-negative punishment

Reinforcement Schedules Continuous Reinforcement: Behavior is reinforced every time it is performed. Partial Reinforcement: Behavior is not reinforced every time it is exhibited. – Reinforcement is given either based on time or number of behaviors. Shaping: A technique where new behavior is produced by reinforcing response that are similar to the desired response

Partial Reinforcement Cont. Fixed: Set Variable: Unknown Ratio: Behaviors Interval: Time Skinner’s Explanation

TypeDescriptionExamplePattern of Behavior ContinuousBehavior is reinforced every time it is performed. Potty Training Encourages the behavior to continue.

TypeDescriptionExamplePattern of Behavior ContinuousBehavior is reinforced every time it is performed. Potty TrainingEncourages the behavior to continue. Variable Ratio Unknown number of behaviors must occur before reward is given. Slot Machine Behavior remains constant hoping for reward.

TypeDescriptionExamplePattern of Behavior ContinuousBehavior is reinforced every time it is performed. Potty TrainingEncourages the behavior to continue. Variable RatioUnknown number of behaviors must occur before reward is given. Slot MachineBehavior remains constant hoping for reward. Fixed Ratio A set number of behaviors must occur before reward is given. Selling Girl Scout Cookies Behavior is strong until reward is given, then Behavior slows until one gets “closer” to next reward.

TypeDescriptionExamplePattern of Behavior ContinuousBehavior is reinforced every time it is performed. Potty TrainingEncourages the behavior to continue. Variable RatioUnknown number of behaviors must occur before reward is given. Slot MachineBehavior remains constant hoping for reward. Fixed RatioA set number of behaviors must occur before reward is given. Selling Girl Scout Cookies Behavior is strong until reward is given, then Behavior slows until one gets “closer” to next reward. Fixed Interval Set amount of time goes by before reinforceme nt is given. Report Cards Behavior is strong only when reinforceme nt is about to be given.

TypeDescriptionExamplePattern of Behavior ContinuousBehavior is reinforced every time it is performed. Potty TrainingEncourages the behavior to continue. Variable RatioUnknown number of behaviors must occur before reward is given. Slot MachineBehavior remains constant hoping for reward. Fixed RatioA set number of behaviors must occur before reward is given. Selling Girl Scout Cookies Behavior is strong until reward is given, then Behavior slows until one gets “closer” to next reward. Fixed IntervalSet amount of time goes by before reinforcement is given. Report CardsBehavior is strong only when reinforcement is about to be given. Variable Interval Unknown amount of time before reinforceme nt is given Catching a Fish Behavior is weak due to sporadic reinforceme nt.

Schedules of Reinforcement Skinner’s lab pigeons produced these response patterns to each Research linked to number of responses produces a higher response rate than reinforcement linked to time ement.png/275px-Schedule_of_reinforcement.png

Primary and Secondary Reinforcers Primary Reinforcer: Something needed for survival (naturally reinforcing): Food, Shelter Love? Secondary Reinforcer: Something learned to be important: Money or Grades

More Reinforcements Token Economy: A therapeutic method based on operant conditioning that where individuals are rewarded with tokens, which act as a secondary reinforcer. The tokens can be redeemed for a variety of rewards. Premack’s Principle: Any activity can be reinforced by a more pleasurable activity.

A Third Type of Learning Sometimes we have “flashes of insight” when dealing with a problem where we have been experiencing trial and error. This type of learning is called cognitive learning, which is explained as changes in mental processes rather than an changes in behavior alone.

Wolfgang Kohler and Sultan Kohler believed that chimps could solve complex problems by combining simpler behaviors they had previously learned separately. Kohler taught Sultan the chimp to stack boxes to get bananas and how to use a stick to get something out of his reach Both were learned in separate situations

Sultan’s Situation Sultan was placed in a situation where even when he stood on the stacked boxes the bananas were still out of reach Frustrated Sultan threw the stick then kicked the wall before sitting down Suddenly he grabbed the stick, climbed the box and used the stick to get the bananas This suggested that animals were not mindless using conditioned behavior but learning by reorganizing their perceptions of problems

Sultan’s Challenge

Cognitive Learning Sultan was not the only animal to demonstrate cognitive learning. When rats were put into a maze with multiple routes to the reinforcer, the rats would repeatedly attempt the shortest route If their preferred route was blocked they would chose the next shortest route to the reward using their: Cognitive Map: a mental representation of a place

Latent Learning In a similar study rats were allowed to wander around a maze without reinforcements for several hours It had been previously thought that reinforcements were essential for learning However, the rats later were able to negotiate the maze for food more quickly than rats that had never seen the maze before Learning that occurs but is not apparent until the learner has an incentive to demonstrate it

Observational Learning Learning in which new responses are acquired after other’s behavior and the consequences of their behavior are observed. After observing adults seeming to enjoy hitting an inflated doll called Bobo, the children later showed similar aggressive behavior toward the doll. Significantly, these children were more aggressive than those in a control condition who did not witness the adults’ violence

Media and Violence Does violence in media including video games have an impact on the learning of children? Correlation evidence from more than 50 studies show that observing violence is associated with violent behavior. Also, experiments show that viewers of media violence show a reduction in emotional arousal and distress when they subsequently observe violent acts-a condition known as psychic numbing.