Learning & Motivation Dr Jacqui McKechnie

Learning is a relatively permanent change of behaviour or knowledge that occurs as a result of experience. Learning

Pavlov (1927) Pavlov was interested in how creatures made associations between events. He produced salivation from dogs as a response to the sound of a bell. Classical Conditioning

food Neutral Stimulus: bell Reflex: salivation Before conditioning (Part 1) No response bell sounded sec before food salivation During conditioning (Part 2) Evidence of conditioning (Part 3) Rings bell (conditioned stimulus) salivation

Unconditioned Stimulus (UCS) a stimulus that has the ability to produce a specified response without conditioning (FOOD) Unconditioned Response (UCR) automatic unlearned reaction produced by the UCS (SALIVATION PRODUCED BY FOOD) Conditioned Stimulus (CS) an initially neutral stimulus that comes to produce a new response because it is associated with the UCS (BELL) Conditioned Response (CR) the response that results due to the association formed between the UCS & the CS (SALIVATION PRODUCED BY BELL)

Repeatedly presenting the CS without the UCS leads to extinction of the response. Extinction Stimulus Generalisation Stimulus can be varied and still elicit the response. Significance of Stimulus If highly significant for safety of individual - very long time to extinguish. Second Order Conditioning Occurs when a CS is paired with a NS

Overcoming Phobias (systematic desensitisation) Aversion Therapy E.g Antabuse Fighting Disease Increases and decreases in immune responses can be classically conditioned Olness and Alder (1992) Buske-Kirschbaum (1994) Placebo (NS) + Drug (UCS) -> Beneficial Effects (CR) Some Applications of Classical Conditioning

Skinner (1938) Skinner was interested in how the consequences of a behaviour affected its repetition Operant Conditioning

Operant - small action which can have an effect on the surrounding environment. A reinforcer will increase the probability that the operant behaviour will recur. Using a reward that doesn’t satisfy a primary need e.g. money. Token Economy Programme (Ayllon and Azrin, 1968) Secondary reinforcement Primary reinforcement Using a reward which satisfies a primary need such as food or sex.

Positive Reinforcement Both types of reinforcers INCREASE certain behaviours. Negative Reinforcement avoiding something unpleasant such as pain getting a reward such as food or praise These REDUCE or suppress behaviour. Punishment getting something unpleasant such as a smack Cost Response removing something pleasant such as a fine

Reward each successive approximation until the desired behaviour is demonstrated. Discriminative Stimulus Amount of change a stimulus can undergo and still elicit the response. Learned Helplessness Control is important in conditioning. Shaping

Reinforcement Schedules How often the reward is given for demonstrating the desired behaviour. Continuous reinforcement - easy to extinguish Partial reinforcement - difficult Fixed RatioE.g. Reward every 10 bar presses Fixed IntervalE.g. Reward every five minutes Variable RatioE.g. Reward a variable number of bar presses Variable IntervalE.g Reward a variable interval of time

Social Learning Observational or social learning- process of learning by watching others. Bobo Doll Study Bandura, Ross and Ross (1963)

Vicarious Conditioning Being influenced by seeing or hearing about the consequences of others’ behaviour Ability to reproduce the behaviour Attention ie - if the behaviour is seen to be rewarded then it is more likely to be copied. RetentionMotivation What influences whether behaviour is modelled or not?

Motivation refers to the influences that govern the initiation, direction, intensity and persistence of behaviour. Motivation

Instinct Theory McDougall (1908) Lorenz (1937) Freud (1938) biological factors behaviours present at birth which are important for survival Theories of Motivation Drive Reduction Theory Cannon (1932)Hull (1943) biological factors based on homeostasis and equilibrium

Cognitive Consistency Theory Festinger (1957) If a person has two thoughts which are inconsistent -> discomfort - cognitive dissonance carry out behaviour to reduce this discomfort Arousal Theory Geen (1984) maintain optimal level of arousal differs from person to person People perform best with a moderate level of arousal.

Optimal Level Efficiency of Performance Level of Arousal Increasing alertness Increasing anxiety Yerkes-Dodson Law (Hebb, 1955)