learning and behavior styles Interactive lecture V Dr Jolanta Babiak Winter semester 2017/2018

Assigned reading Gerrig, R. J. (2012). Psychology and Life, New Jersey, Pearson Education, Inc. – chapter 6

learning Organisms learn from their experiences Behavioral change is a consequence of learning Learning cannot be observed directly, but improvement in performance is an outcome of learning Anything that is learned is demonstrated in rather consistent change in behavior Experience is necessary for learning to occur Learning is studied through experimental studies, over time

behaviorism Behaviorism (John Watson) – in his view scientist cannot rely on data drawn from introspection, because it is too subjective. Observable behavior is the answer Radical behaviorism (B.F. Skinner) – behavior is not caused by mental events, such as thinking, memorizing, recalling – these are behaviors that are caused by environmental stimuli Behavior analysis – discovering environmental determinants of learning and behavior

Habituation and sensitization In simplest learning, behavior changes when new stimulus is presented repeatedly When an organism is habituated to a stimulus his reaction decreases as the stimulus is repeatedly presented; habituation is very functional When an organism is sensitized the reaction increases

Classical conditioning The organism learns new association between a stimulus that is initially neutral (CS)– stimulus 1 and A stimulus of some significance to the organism (UCS) – stimulus 2 Behavior (conditioned response - CR) gets induced by a stimulus (conditioned stimulus CS) that has become important to the subject because it’s become associated with biologically significant stimulus (unconditioned stimulus UCS) Ivan Pavlov (1849-1936) had observed that learning may result from two stimuli associated with each other

Classical conditioning Reflex responses e.g. salivation, pupil contraction, eye blinking Unconditioned stimulus (UCS) – one that elicits unconditioned behaviors Unconditioned response (UCR) – behavior elicited by the unconditioned stimulus Conditioned stimulus (CS) – neutral stimulus Conditioned response (CR) – a response resulting from pairing UCS and CS

Conclusions about the basic process of classical conditioning acquisition – conditioned response (CR) is first produced, increases in frequency over repeated trials; Conditioned stimulus (CS) and Unconditioned stimulus stimulus have to co- occur several times in order for conditioned stimulus (CS) elicit conditioned response (CR) In order for the organism to acquire the conditioned response (CR) the pairings of conditioned stimulus (CS) and unconditioned stimulus (UCS) must be systematic The organism perceives the CS and UCS as related if they are presented closely enough in time

Conclusions about the basic process of classical conditioning Extinction – when the conditioned stimulus (CS) no longer precedes unconditioned stimulus (UCS) conditioned response becomes weaker over time and reaches a point when it stops occurring It appears that conditioned responses (CR) are not a permanent aspect of an organism’s behavior Spontaneous recovery - CR will appear in a weak form again if presented with conditioned stimulus Savings – an organism require less time to relearn the reaction if pairs of conditioned and unconditioned stimulus are presented again, that means extinction has only weakened performance and did not wipe it completely

Conclusions about the basic process of classical conditioning Stimulus generalization – the more similar the new stimulus to the original one (CS) the stronger the response will be (child and dog example) Stimulus discrimination – process by which organisms learn to react to stimuli which are similar to the original stimuli only in some dimensions

Robert Rescorla further experiments Tone (CS), shock (UCS): the tone reliably predicted the presence of a shock – additional requirement for classical conditioning to occur Also it CS must be informative in the environment A stimulus is noticed when it stands out: it is intense and contrasts with other stimuli

Real life situations of classical conditioning Classically conditioned responses are built on automatic emotional reactions Fear conditioning – Little Albert experiment by John Watson and Rosalie Rayner; ethical issues – learned fear reaction is difficult to extinguish Traumatic events can condition people to cognitive, emotional and behavioral reactions – even for a lifetime; car accidents, bombings, earthquakes Responses of happiness and joy are also instances of classical conditioning; advertisement

Summary of classical conditioning In classical conditioning learning takes place when stimuli acquire new meaning as they signal more important events Two stimuli are presented together, with no requirement for the learner to do anything

Operant conditioning The consequences of our actions create new behavioral changes Edward L. Thorndike (1898) – cats trying to escape from puzzle box to get food: stimulus – response connection (S-R) through trial and error Law of effect – response that is followed by satisfying consequences becomes more probable (we get to learn it) and a response leading to dissatisfying consequences weakens In Thornadike’s experiments: the rewarding stimulus is presented dependent on the correct response; they act through feeling of pleasure or displeasure

Behavior analyzed experimentally B.F. Skinner Empirical study: collection and evaluation of data within the context of an experiment instead of derivations from theory and predictions about behavior Operant conditioning procedures – operant means having an effect on the environment or operating on it Examples: baby cries – gets attention from an adult – so consequences of behavior have effect on operant behavior

Reinforcement contingencies; positive reinforcement Relations between a response and the changes in the environment that it produces Reinforces – stimulus that increases the probability of desired behavior over time; it has to be made contingent on the behavior Any behavioral consequence that increases the frequency of a desired behavior is called positive reinforcer; Difference between reinforcer and reinforcement; joke telling example

Reinforcement contingencies; negative reinforcement When a behavior is reinforced by the removal of an aversive stimulus, the event is called a negative reinforcer and the process negative reinforcement Escape conditioning: using the umbrella to escape aversive stimulus of getting wet Avoidance conditioning: buckling up to avoid aversive noise in the car If reinforcement is withheld operant extinction occurs

Decreasing a probability of response: punishment Punishment reduces the probability of a response occurring again Reinforcement increases the probability of a response recurring

Shaping process Reinforcing any responses that successively approximate and then match the desired response Rat example: depriving a rat from food – make food pellets available in a food hopper in an operant chamber, then delivery of food happens contingent on rat’s specific patterns of behavior – getting closer to lever and finally pressing the lever Shaping takes place when differential reinforcements are used to refine each step along the way onto a target behavior

Constraints of conditioning biological constraints on learning Instinctual drift: learned behavior drifts towards instinctive behavior i.e. species specific tendencies imposed by an inherited genotype; example circus animals Taste-aversion learning – has great survival value – genetic capacity to sample and learn which foods are safe to eat; permanent after just one experience

Cognitive impact on learning Cognition: mental activity which involves representation and processing of knowledge e.g. thinking, remembering, perceiving, language use Edward Tolman (1886 – 1959) – cognitive map – conditioning involves learning and representing other facets of the total behavior context (rats in a maze)

Observational learning Observational learning – after watching another person exhibiting behavior that was reinforced or punished later an observer behaves in much the same way Observational learning is connected to expectation Learning by observation is extremely useful Albert Bandura experiments Prosocial and antisocial behaviors learning from models (cartoons are models too)