1. Learning Chapter 8

2. Definition
Learning is a relatively permanent change in an organism’s behavior due to experience. Learning is more flexible in comparison to the genetically-programmed behaviors of Chinooks, for example.

3. How Do We Learn?
We learn by association. Our minds naturally connect events that occur in sequence years ago, Aristotle suggested this law of association. Then 200 years ago Locke and Hume reiterated this law.
OBJECTIVE 1| Define learning, and identify two forms of learning.

4. Define Stimulus-Stimulus Learning?
Reading question:
Define Stimulus-Stimulus Learning?
OBJECTIVE 1| Define learning, and identify two forms of learning.

5. Stimulus-Stimulus Learning
Learning to associate one stimulus
with another.

6. Stimulus-Stimulus Learning
Learning to associate one stimulus
with another.

7. Define Response-Consequence Learning?
Reading question:
Define Response-Consequence Learning?
OBJECTIVE 1| Define learning, and identify two forms of learning.

8. Response-Consequence Learning
Learning to associate a response
with a consequence.

9. Classical Conditioning
Ideas of classical conditioning originated from old philosophical theories. However, it was the Russian physiologist Ivan Pavlov who expounded upon classical conditioning. His work provided a basis for later behaviorists like John Watson and B. F. Skinner.
Sovfoto
Ivan Pavlov ( )

10. Pavlov’s Experiments
Before conditioning, food (Unconditioned Stimulus, US) produces salivation (Unconditioned Response, UR). However, the tone (neutral stimulus) does not. Remember, US’s and UR’s are a product of nature not nurture.
OBJECTIVE 2| Explain how an unconditioned stimulus (US)

11. Pavlov’s Experiments
During conditioning, the neutral stimulus (tone) and the US (food) are paired, resulting in salivation (UR). After conditioning, the neutral stimulus (now Conditioned Stimulus, CS) elicits salivation (now Conditioned Response, CR) Remember, CS’s and CR’s are a product of nurture not nature (because they are taught).
Unconditioned Stimulus (UCS): A stimulus that automatically and naturally triggers a response. Unconditioned Response (UCR): A unlearned, naturally occurring response to the unconditioned stimulus, like salivation in the dog when food is in the mouth. Conditioned Stimulus (CS): Originally a neutral stimulus that, after association with an unconditioned stimulus, comes to trigger a conditioned response. Conditioned Response (CR): A learned response to a previously neutral conditioned stimulus.

12. Acquisition
Acquisition is the initial stage in classical conditioning in which an association between a neutral stimulus and an unconditioned stimulus takes place.
In most cases, for conditioning to occur, the neutral stimulus needs to come before the unconditioned stimulus.
The time in between the two stimuli should be about half a second.
OBJECTIVE 3| Describe the timing requirements for the initial learning of a stimulus-response relationship.

13. Extinction
When the US (food) does not follow the CS (tone), CR (salivation) begins to decrease and eventually causes extinction.
OBJECTIVE 4| Summarize the processes of extinction, spontaneous recovery, generalization, and discrimination.

14. Spontaneous Recovery
After a rest period, an extinguished CR (salivation) spontaneously recovers, but if the CS (tone) persists alone, the CR becomes extinct again.

15. Applications of Classical Conditioning
Alcoholics may be conditioned (aversively) by reversing their positive-associations with alcohol.
Through classical conditioning, a drug (plus its taste) that affects the immune response may cause the taste of the drug to invoke the immune response.

16. Applications of Classical Conditioning
What are other examples of classical conditioning?

17. Operant & Classical Conditioning
1. Classical conditioning forms associations between stimuli (CS and US). Operant conditioning, on the other hand, forms an association between behaviors and the resulting events.
OBJECTIVE 10| Identify the two major characteristics that distinguish classical conditioning from operant conditioning.

18. Distinguish between Respondent behavior and Operant behavior.
Reading question:
Distinguish between Respondent behavior and Operant behavior.
OBJECTIVE 1| Define learning, and identify two forms of learning.

19. Operant & Classical Conditioning
Classical conditioning involves respondent behavior that occurs as an automatic response to a certain stimulus. Operant conditioning involves operant behavior, a behavior that operates on the environment, producing rewarding or punishing stimuli.

20. Shaping
Shaping is the operant conditioning procedure in which reinforcers guide behavior towards the desired target behavior through successive approximations.
OBJECTIVE 12| Describe the shaping procedure, and how it can increase our understanding of what animals and babies can discriminate.
Khamis Ramadhan/ Panapress/ Getty Images
Fred Bavendam/ Peter Arnold, Inc.
A rat shaped to sniff mines. A manatee shaped to discriminate
objects of different shapes, colors and sizes.

21. How do parents/teachers/coaches use “shaping” in our everyday lives?
OBJECTIVE 12| Describe the shaping procedure, and how it can increase our understanding of what animals and babies can discriminate.

22. Types of Reinforcers
Any event that strengthens the behavior it follows. A heat lamp positively reinforces a meerkat’s behavior in the cold.
OBJECTIVE 13| Compare positive and negative reinforcement, and give one example each of a primary reinforcer, a conditioned, an immediate, and a delayed reinforcer.
Reuters/ Corbis

23. Primary & Secondary Reinforcers
Primary Reinforcer: An innately reinforcing stimulus like food or drink.
Conditioned Reinforcer: A learned reinforcer that gets its reinforcing power through association with the primary reinforcer.
What is a examples of a conditioned reinforcer?

24. Immediate & Delayed Reinforcers
Immediate Reinforcer: A reinforcer that occurs instantly after a behavior. A rat gets a food pellet for a bar press.
Delayed Reinforcer: A reinforcer that is delayed in time for a certain behavior. A paycheck that comes at the end of a week.
We may be inclined to engage in small immediate reinforcers (watching TV) rather than large delayed reinforcers (getting an A in a course) which require consistent study.

25. Reinforcement Schedules
Continuous Reinforcement: Reinforces the desired response each time it occurs.
Partial Reinforcement: Reinforces a response only part of the time. Though this results in slower acquisition in the beginning, it shows greater resistance to extinction later on.
OBJECTIVE 14| Discuss the strengths and weaknesses of continuous and partial reinforcement schedules, and identify four schedules of partial reinforcements.

26. Ratio Schedules
Fixed-ratio schedule: Reinforces a response only after a specified number of responses. e.g., Jobs that pay based on units delivered.
Variable-ratio schedule: Reinforces a response after an unpredictable number of responses. This is hard to extinguish because of the unpredictability. (e.g., behaviors like gambling, fishing.)

27. Interval Schedules
Fixed-interval schedule: Reinforces a response only after a specified time has elapsed. (e.g., preparing for an exam only when the exam draws close.)
Variable-interval schedule: Reinforces a response at unpredictable time intervals, which produces slow, steady responses. (e.g., pop quiz.)

28. An aversive event that decreases the behavior it follows.
Punishment
An aversive event that decreases the behavior it follows.
OBJECTIVE 15| Discuss the ways negative punishment, positive punishment, and negative reinforcement differ, and list some drawbacks of punishment as a behavior-control technique.

29. Cognition & Operant Conditioning
Evidence of cognitive processes during operant learning comes from rats during a maze exploration in which they navigate the maze without an obvious reward. Rats seem to develop cognitive maps, or mental representations, of the layout of the maze (environment).
OBJECTIVE 16| Explain how latent learning and the effect of external rewards demonstrate that cognitive processing is an important part of learning

30. Latent Learning
Such cognitive maps are based on latent learning, which becomes apparent when an incentive is given (Tolman & Honzik, 1930).
For example, rats will explore a maze without apparent reward or punishment and will remember the information they obtain; later, when rewards are presented, those rats will perform better at finding their way through the maze than rats with no exploratory experience.

31. Motivation
Intrinsic Motivation: The desire to perform a behavior for its own sake.
Extrinsic Motivation: The desire to perform a behavior due to promised rewards or threats of punishments.

32. Biological Predisposition
Biological constraints predispose organisms to learn associations that are naturally adaptive.
Breland and Breland (1961) showed that animals drift towards their biologically predisposed instinctive behaviors.
OBJECTIVE 17| Explain how biological predisposition place limits on what can be achieved through operant conditioning.
Photo: Bob Bailey
Marian Breland Bailey

33. Learning by Observation
Higher animals, especially humans, learn through observing and imitating others.
The monkey on the right imitates the monkey on the left in touching the pictures in a certain order to obtain a reward. (i.e. monkey see, monkey do)
© Herb Terrace
OBJECTIVE 21| Describe the process of observational learning, and explain the importance of the discovery of mirror neurons.
©Herb Terrace

34. Mirror Neurons
Neuroscientists discovered mirror neurons in the brains of animals and humans that are active during observational learning.
Reprinted with permission from the American
Association for the Advancement of Science,
Subiaul et al., Science 305: (2004)
© 2004 AAAS.

35. Imitation Onset
Learning by observation begins early in life. This 14-month-old child imitates the adult on TV in pulling a toy apart.
Child Development, Photos Courtesy of A.N. Meltzoff and M. Hanuk.
Meltzoff, A.N. (1998). Imitation of televised models by infants.

36. Courtesy of Albert Bandura, Stanford University
Bandura's Experiments
Bandura's Bobo doll study (1961) indicated that individuals (children) learn through imitating others who receive rewards and punishments.
OBJECTIVE 22| Describe Bandura's findings on what determines whether we will imitate a model.
Courtesy of Albert Bandura, Stanford University

37. Applications of Observational Learning
Unfortunately, Bandura’s studies show that antisocial models (family, neighborhood or TV) may have antisocial effects.

38. Observational Learning
Does television imitate life or does life imitate television? How would you support your argument?

39. Positive Observational Learning
Fortunately, prosocial (positive, helpful) models may have prosocial effects.
OBJECTIVE 23| Discuss the impact of prosocial modeling.
Bob Daemmrich/ The Image Works

40. Television and Observational Learning
Gentile et al., (2004) shows that children in elementary school who are exposed to violent television, videos, and video games express increased aggression.
Ron Chapple/ Taxi/ Getty Images

41. Modeling Violence
Research shows that viewing media violence leads to an increased expression of aggression.
Bob Daemmrich/ The Image Works
Glassman/ The Image Works
Children modeling after pro wrestlers