Learning and Behavior

Conditioning Conditioning- the way in which events (stimuli) and behavior become associated with one another 2 Types of Conditioning: Classical and Operant

Learning Learning- process that results in a change in behavior (or behavioral potential) and is based on experience The group of psychologists that study this subject are behaviorists

Behaviorists 1. John Watson (founder of behaviorism) argues that introspection is not good because it is subjective So how can scientists verify accuracy of private experiences? Through observable behavior

Behaviorists Watson’s chief goal of psychology was the prediction and control of behavior

Behaviorists 2. BF Skinner argued that all behavior could be understood as the product of simple forms of learning Thinking and imagining do not cause behavior, rather, they are caused by environmental stimuli

Behaviorists Example- Pigeon deprived of food – animal’s behavior is explained by the deprivation of food (environmental stimuli) – hunger cannot be directly observed or measured – hunger is not the cause of the behavior, instead it’s a result of the deprivation

Behaviorists Behavior Analysis- area of psych focusing on environmental determinants of learning and behavior - task of analysis is to discover regularities in learning that are universal in different species in comparable situations

Classical Conditioning Classical Conditioning- where one stimulus/event predicts the occurrence of another stimulus/event Allows us to learn a new association between the 2 stimuli

Classical Conditioning Ex- baby learns when it cries/makes noise it gets attention (picked up/food)

Classical Conditioning Ivan Pavlov’s Experiment- research of digestion in dogs He discovered the dogs began to salivate at the mere sight of food, and his research assistants Classical Conditioning aka Pavlovian Conditioning

Classical Conditioning As he discovered the conditions necessary for a dog to salivate, he began to present a stimulus to the dogs (a tone) and dogs were given food after the stimulus. The dogs began to salivate after only hearing the tone The dogs began to salivate after only hearing the tone

Classical Conditioning Reflex- unlearned response, elicited by specific stimuli that is relevant Unconditioned Stimulus (UCS)- any stimulus that elicits reflexive behavior (food) Unconditioned Response (UCR)- the response to an UCS w/o prior training/learning (salivating)

Classical Conditioning When a neutral stimulus is paired with a UCS (tone + food) = conditioned stimulus (CS) After many trials, the CS will produce a response called a conditioned response (CR) CS+ UCS = CR

Classical Conditioning CR and UCR are the same in this case (salivating), BUT stemming from different causes Acquisition- the process by which CR is first elicited and gradually increases in frequency over repeated trials

Classical Conditioning The timing is key in acquisition CS and UCS must be presented closely enough (1/2 second) to be received as related Delayed conditioning is most common (CS prior to and stays until UCS is presented)

Classical Conditioning When the CR no longer appears in the presence of the CS  extinction, thus it’s not necessarily permanent Spontaneous Recovery- CR appears again when CS + UCS are presented after a rest period

Acquisition, Extinction, Spontaneous Recovery

Stimulus Generalization Stimulus Generalization- automatic extension of responding to stimuli that have never been paired with the original UCS Ex.- child bitten by a large dog will respond with fear to very small dogs or other small animals

Stimulus Generalization The more similar the new stimulus is to the original CS the stronger the response will be

Stimulus Discrimination Stimulus Discrimination- organism learns to respond differently to stimuli that are distinct from the CS on some dimension Ex.- Cell phone tone, dismissal bell

Blocking Blocking- a phenomenon in which an organism will not learn a new stimulus that signals an UCS, because the new stimulus is presented simultaneously with a stimulus that is already effective as a signal

Classical Conditioning Applied Is this a product of classical conditioning? 1.Are you willing to eat a piece of fudge that was formed into the shape of dog feces? 2.Would you drink a sugar-water solution that came from a bottle labeled “POISON”? 3.Drink apple juice that a sterilized cock- roach had been dipped into?

Classical Conditioning Applied Phobias & Advertising Pairing a popular song together with the products in advertisements to generate positive feelings and liking towards the products Christmas music played in store may trigger the sweet memories and the habits of giving and sharing in a consumer's mind and thus will persuade he or she to enter the store Political candidates try to appear in TV with patriotic background music to elicit the patriotic feelings of the voters Consistently advertising a product on exciting game shows may result in the product itself generating an excitement response. Whenever you see a scary movie, you will always eat a box of thin mints. Now you will find that just seeing thin mints makes you feel scared. If you met a new person who is an excellent cook, after a few superb meals you will find yourself liking that person very much.

Classical Conditioning Fear Conditioning- John Watson - fear responses could be understood as the pairing of a neutral stimulus with something that naturally produced fear - highly resistant to extiction

Applied Conditioning: Fear and Aggression Bobo Doll Experiment- Aggression Little Albert Experiment- Fear

Operant Conditioning Edward Thorndike Learning in which the probability of a response is modified by a change in consequences from that response Learning is an association between stimuli in the situation and a response that an organism learned to make

Operant Conditioning Operant- any behavior emitted by an organism, characterized in terms of observable effects it has on the environment Example: Baby cries- prompts desirable behavior by parents  baby will cry more in the future

Operant Conditioning Operant conditioning modifies the probability of different types of operant behavior as a function of the environmental consequences they produce

Operant Conditioning Cats- learned to produce a response that in the stimulus circumstance led to desired outcome Thorndike Puzzle Box Experiment

Operant Conditioning The stimulus-response (S-R) connection occurs gradually as the animal experiences consequences through trial and error

Operant Conditioning Law of Effect- a response followed by a satisfying consequence becomes more probable; a response followed by a dissatisfying consequence becomes less probable

Operant Conditioning Skinner’s Operant Chamber - allowed Skinner to manipulate consequences of behavior

Operant Conditioning Skinner’s ABC’s of Behavior: A- Antecedents or Stimuli presented before a behavior occurs B- Behavior the organism emits C- Consequences that follow the behavior

Reinforcement Reinforcement contingency- a consistent relationship between a response and the changes in the environment that it produces Ex- Pigeon pecking a disk (response) followed by grain presented (change in environment) Ex- Pigeon pecking a disk (response) followed by grain presented (change in environment)

Reinforcement Reinforcer- any stimulus that increases the probability of that behavior over time Three classes of stimuli: 1. Neutral 2. Those you have an “appetite” for 3. Those you find aversive (avoid)

Reinforcement Positive Reinforcement- when behavior is followed by a positive/appetitive stimulus Negative Reinforcement- when behavior is followed by the removal of a negative/aversive stimulus BOTH increase the probability of the behavior in the future

Punishment Punishment is the delivery of a punisher (stimulus that decreases probability of the behavior) following a behavior

Punishment Positive Punishment- when behavior is followed by delivery of an aversive stimulus (something is added to the situation) Negative Punishment- when behavior is followed by removal of an appetitive stimulus (something is subtracted from the situation)

Operant Conditioning Punishment REDUCES probability of behavior occurring again Reinforcement INCREASES probability of behavior occurring again **Recommendation: Use positive reinforcement to change a behavior

Conditioned Reinforcers Conditioned Reinforcers are formally neutral stimuli that become reinforcers for operant behaviors. Ex- $, grades, smiles, gold stars  influence behavior in school setting

Schedule of Reinforcement Schedules of Reinforcement are the schedules of delivering or withholding reinforcement 1.Fixed-Ratio: reinforcer is delivered for the first response made after a fixed # of responses (sales people)

Schedule of Reinforcement 2. Variable-Ratio: reinforcer is delivered for the first response made after a variable # of responses (gambling) *generate the highest rate of responding and greatest resistance to extinction

Schedules of Reinforcement 3. Fixed-Interval: reinforcer is delivered for the first response made after a fixed period of time (monthly paycheck) 4. Variable-Interval: reinforcer is delivered for the first response made after a variable period of time (pop quizzes)