1. Behavioral Learning Theory
Aws Khasawneh, MD.

2. Learning is: The acquisition of new behavior patterns.
A persisting change in human performance or performance potential . (brought) about as a result of the learner’s interaction with the environment.
the relatively permanent change in a person’s knowledge or behavior due to experience.

3. Behaviorists say that a person’s behavior is determined by adaptive and maladaptive learning.
Learning methods are the basis of behavioral treatment techniques.

4. Learning Mechanisms:
A) Simple forms: - Habituation: Repeated stimulation results in a decreased response(a child who receives weekly allergy injections cries less and less with each injection) - Sensitization: Repeated stimulation results in an increased response(a child who is afraid of spiders feels more anxiety each time he encounters spider) B) Complex forms: - Classical Conditioning. - Operant Conditioning.

5. Classical Conditioning

6. CLASSICAL CONDITIONING
Principles
In classical conditioning, a natural or reflexive response (behavior) is elicited by a learned stimulus (a cue from an internal or external event). This type of learning is called associative learning.

7. Key Definitions
Unconditioned Stimulus (US) - stimulus naturally triggers a response
Unconditioned Response (UR) - unlearned (natural), reflexive response (behavior) to the UCS
Conditioned Stimulus (CS) – stimulus that produce a response following learning ( initially neutral)
Conditioned Response (CR) – is a behavior (response) that is learned by an association between a conditioned stimulus and unconditioned stimulus.

8. Ivan Pavlov Russian physiologist studying the digestive system
Focusing on what substance helped to break food down
One notable substance studied was saliva
Developed method to measure saliva production

9. Salivary Conditioning Apparatus

10. Process of Pavlov’s Saliva Research
Dog given food and salivation was recorded while the dog ate
Key finding: Experienced dogs salivated before the food was presented
Pavlov’s Theory: Some stimulus (e.g. experimenter; apparatus) that proceeded food presentation had acquired capacity to elicit the response of salivation
What was happening? Dogs were exhibiting a type of learning
This type of learning is the foundation of Classical Conditioning

11. Paradigm of Classical Conditioning
1st: Select a stimulus that reliably elicits a characteristic response
Stimulus – Unconditioned stimulus (US)
Response -- Unconditioned response (UR)
Unconditioned - Signifies the US - UR connection is unlearned (innate)
2nd: Select a Stimulus for Conditioning (CS)
CS – Can be any reasonable stimulus that does not initially evoke the UR
Conditioned – Signifies that CS will only elicit desired response after conditioning take place

12. Pavlov’s Dogs Before Conditioning During Conditioning
US (Food)  UR (Salivation)
CS (Bell)  No CR; Dog may turn head (orienting response)
During Conditioning
CS paired/presented consistently before US
Time                
CS (Bell)  US (Food)  UR (Salivation)
As presentations continue:
CS (Bell)  CR (Salivation)  US (Food) UR (Salivation)
After Conditioning
CS (Bell)  CR (Salivation)

16. Extinction
The CR decreases if the CS is never again paired with the US.
Passage of time does not cause animals to “forget” to produce the CR in presence of CS
Repeatedly present CS without the US, will eventually lose CR

17. Spontaneous Recovery
Even though no CRs present after one day of extinction trials, CR is present the following day
Time is key factor
More time between 1st and 2nd extinction session, more spontaneous recovery observed

18. Rapid Reacquisition
Acquisition phase  extinction phase  acquisition phase (i.e. reacquisition phase)
Rate of learning is faster
Repeated Cycles continues to get faster

19. Generalization and Discrimination
Generalization: Transfer of effects of conditioning to similar stimuli
In general, the more similar a stimulus is to training stimulus, the greater its capacity to elicit a CR
Discrimination: Subject learns to respond to one stimulus, but not to a similar stimulus

20. J.B. Watson: “suggested…that human emotions might profitably be thought of as glandular and muscular reflexes which, like salivation, easily become conditioned”
With Little Albert, Watson was able to demonstrate that the acquisition of a phobia (an exaggerated, seemingly illogical fear of a particular object or class of objects) could be explained by classical conditioning

21. Little Albert
[Little] Albert, eleven months of age, was an infant, afraid of nothing “under the sun” except a loud sound made by striking a steel bar. This made him cry. By striking the bar at the same time that Albert touched a white rat, the fear transferred to the white rat. After seven combined stimulations, rat and sound, Albert not only became greatly disturbed at the sight of a rat, but this fear had spread to include a white rabbit, cotton, wool, a fur coat, [a dog, a Santa Claus mask, and the experimenter’s hair. It did not transfer to his wooden blocks and other objects very dissimilar to the rat.

22. Applications in Behavioral Therapy
1- Systematic Desensitization for Phobia
is a treatment for phobias in which the individual is trained to relax while being exposed to progressively more anxiety-provoking stimuli.
Phobia: Excessive and irrational fear of an object, place, or situation,Example: Spiders, Closed-Spaces, and Crowds
2- Aversion therapy: is a type of behavior therapy designed to encourage individuals to give up undesirable habits by causing them to associate the habit with an unpleasant effect.
3- Flooding: is a form of desensitization that uses repeated exposure to highly distressing stimuli until the lack of reinforcement of the anxiety response causes its extinction. 

23. A grade school principal has 1 week to try out a new fire-alarm system for the school. He decides to test the system three times during the week. The first time the alarm is sounded, all of the students leave the school within 5 minutes. The second time, it takes the students 15 minutes to leave the school. The third time the alarm is sounded, the students ignore it. The students' response to the fire alarm the third time it is sounded is most likely to have been learned by
A. sensitization
B. habituation
C. classical conditioning

24. Operant Conditioning

25. OPERANT CONDITIONING A. Principles The Skinner experiment
For an individual, behavior is determined by its consequences. The consequence (re-enforcement or punishment) occurs immediately following a behavior.
The Skinner experiment

26. Operant Conditioning Theorist Original research B. F. Skinner
Rats in Skinner boxes 2

27. Skinner Box

28. Differences between Classical Conditioning and Operant Conditioning
Simple/Reflex Behavior
Focuses on ANTECEDENTS: Events which take place BEFORE the target response
Learning takes place when there is an association made between two unrelated stimuli (before the desired / target response)
Operant Conditioning
Complex/Voluntary Behavior
Focuses On CONSEQUENCES: Events which take place AFTER the target response
Learning takes place when a desired (target) response is affected by its consequences (after the desired/target response)

29. Operant Conditioning Concepts
Positive reinforcement (reward)
Strengthening (increasing) a behavior by presenting a positive stimulus immediately after the behavior has occurred
Negative reinforcement ( escape, avoidance)
Strengthening (increasing) a behavior by removing a negative stimulus immediately after the behavior has occurred

30. Operant Conditioning Concepts
punishment: the introduction of aversive stimulus after behavior aimed at reduced the rate of that behavior.

31. Operant Conditioning Concepts
Extinction
When a previously reinforced behavior decreases in frequency and eventually ceases altogether because reinforcement is withheld
Spontaneous recovery
When an extinguished behavior reappears without having been reinforced

32. Feature Effect on behavior Example Comment
Example: A mother would like her 8-year-old son to stop hitting his 6-year-old brother. She can achieve this goal by using one of the following features of operant conditioning:
Feature
Effect on behavior
Example
Comment
Positive reinforcement
Behavior is increased by reward
Child increases his kind behavior toward his younger brother to get a praise from his mother
Reward or reinforcement
(praise) increases desired behavior (kindness toward brother)
A reward can be praise or attention as well as a tangible reward like money
Negative reinforcement
Behavior is increased by avoidance or escape
Child increases his kind behavior toward his younger brother to avoid being scolded
Active avoidance of an
aversive stimulus (being
scolded) increases desired behavior (kindness toward brother)
Punishment
Behavior is decreased by suppression
Child decreases his hitting behavior after mother scolds him
Delivery of an aversive
stimulus (scolding)
decreases unwanted
behavior (hitting brother)
rapidly but not permanently
Extinction
Behavior is eliminated by non reinforcement
Child stops his hitting behavior when the behavior is ignored by his mother
Extinction is more effective
than punishment for
long-term reduction in
unwanted behavior
There may be an initial
increase in hitting behavior
before it disappears

33. Operant Conditioning Concepts
Shaping
Reducing complex behaviors into several more simple behaviors
Reinforcing successive approximations to the complex behavior
Modeling: type of observational learning in which individual behaves in a manner similar to that of someone she/he admires

34. Schedules of Reinforcement
Continuous: Reinforcement presented after every response.( rapidly learned but has little resistance to extinction/ disappears rapidly.)
E.g. A teenager receives a candy bar each time she puts a dollar into a vending machine. One time she puts a dollar in and nothing comes out. She never buys candy from the machine again.
Fixed interval schedule
Reinforcement occurs after a specific amount of time.( the response rate increases toward the end of each interval)
. E.g. A student has an anatomy quiz every Friday. He studies for 10 minutes on Wednesday nights, and for 2 hours on Thursday nights.
Fixed ratio schedule
Reinforcement occurs after a specific number of responses.( fast response rate)
E.g. - A man is paid $10 for every five hats he makes. He makes as many hats as he can during his shift.

35. Variable interval schedule
Reinforcement occurs after a random amount of time.( it is highly resistant to extinction.)
. E.g. After 5 minutes of fishing in a lake a man catches a large fish. He then spends 4 hours waiting for another bite.
Variable ratio schedule
Reinforcement occurs after a random number of responses. (highly resistant to extinction)
. E.g. - After a slot machine pays off $5 for a single quarter, a woman plays $50 in quarters despite the fact that she receives no further payoffs.
Of all the reinforcement schedules, variable schedules are the most resistant to extinction.

36. Applications of Operant Principles
Behavior modification
Shaping
Token economies
Contingency contracts
Extinction, time-out, and response cost
Punishment