Science and Human Behaviour Mr. Lema, Isaac Clinical Psychologist 09 th 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 16 November 2015Learning ProcessesforBehavior2

Outline Introduction Human Behavior Significance to Medicine Development of Behavior 16 November 20153Learning ProcessesforBehavior

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 16 November 2015Learning ProcessesforBehavior4

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 16 November 2015Learning ProcessesforBehavior5

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 16 November 2015Learning ProcessesforBehavior6

Significance to Medicine Etiology of medical conditions or diseases Presentation: signs or symptoms Healthy management: prevention, intervention and treatment 16 November 2015Learning ProcessesforBehavior7

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 16 November 2015Learning ProcessesforBehavior8

Behaviorism and Learning Theories Mr. Lema, Isaac Clinical Psychologist 16 th 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 Theory 16 November 2015Learning ProcessesforBehavior10

Outline Introduction What is Learning Unlearned Versus Learned Behavior Learning Theory Cognitive Approaches to Learning Bandura’s Social Cognitive Theory 16 November Learning ProcessesforBehavior

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) 16 November 2015Learning ProcessesforBehavior12

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) 16 November 2015Learning ProcessesforBehavior13

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 16 November 2015Learning ProcessesforBehavior14

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 16 November 2015Learning ProcessesforBehavior15

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 genes 16 November Learning 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 16 November Learning ProcessesforBehavior

Learning Theory Explore the relationship between stimulus and response Involve conditioning which occurs in two basic ways Classical conditioning Operant conditioning 16 November 2015Learning ProcessesforBehavior18

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 16 November 2015Learning ProcessesforBehavior19

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) 16 November 2015Learning ProcessesforBehavior20

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) 16 November Learning ProcessesforBehavior

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 Learning 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 16 November 2015Learning ProcessesforBehavior23

Classical Conditioning... Extinction CS is presented repeatedly in the absence of the UCS, causing the CR to weaken and eventually disappear (tone without food) Spontaneous recovery reappearance of the previously extinguished CR after a rest period and without new learning trials 16 November 2015Learning ProcessesforBehavior24

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 16 November 2015Learning ProcessesforBehavior25

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 16 November 2015Learning ProcessesforBehavior26

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 16 November Learning ProcessesforBehavior

Operant Conditioning … Positive reinforcement Occurs 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 16 November 2015Learning ProcessesforBehavior28

Operant Conditioning … Negative reinforcement A 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 16 November 2015Learning ProcessesforBehavior29

Operant Conditioning … Punishment occurs when a response is weakened by outcomes that follow (rat pressing leaver receives electric shock instead of pellets) 16 November 2015Learning ProcessesforBehavior30

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 16 November 2015Learning ProcessesforBehavior31

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 16 November 2015Learning ProcessesforBehavior32

Bandura’s Social Cognitive Theory The modeling process and self-efficacy Four step process that includes several cognitive factors Attention Retention Reproductive Motivation 16 November Learning ProcessesforBehavior

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 16 November 2015Learning ProcessesforBehavior34

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 2015Learning ProcessesforBehavior35

References Lahey, Benjamin. B (2004), Psychology an Introduction 8 th Edition McGraw Hill Publisher Richard, G (2010) Psychology The Science of Mind and Behavior; 6 th 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 16 November Learning ProcessesforBehavior