1. PSYCHOLOGY Chapter 8 Learning

2.  Learning  relatively permanent change in an organism’s behavior due to experience

3. Association  We learn by association  Our minds naturally connect events that occur in sequence  Aristotle 2000 years ago  John Locke and David Hume 200 years ago  Associative Learning  learning that two events occur together  two stimuli  a response and its consequences

4. Association  Learning to associate two events Event 1Event 2 Sea snail associates splash with a tail shock Seal learns to expect a snack for its showy antics

5. Classical or Pavlovian Conditioning  We learn to associate two stimuli

6. Operant Conditioning  We learn to associate a response and its consequence

7. Classical Conditioning: video clip  Ivan Pavlov  1849-1936  Russian physician/ neurophysiologist  Nobel Prize in 1904  studied digestive secretions

8. Pavlov’s Classic Experiment Before Conditioning During ConditioningAfter Conditioning UCS (food in mouth) Neutral stimulus (tone) No salivation UCR (salivation) Neutral stimulus (tone) UCS (food in mouth) UCR (salivation) CS (tone) CR (salivation)

9. Classical Conditioning  Pavlov’s device for recording salivation

10. Classical Conditioning  Classical Conditioning  organism comes to associate two stimuli  a neutral stimulus that signals an unconditioned stimulus begins to produce a response that anticipates and prepares for the unconditioned stimulus

11. Classical Conditioning  Unconditioned Stimulus (UCS)  stimulus that unconditionally--automatically and naturally--triggers a response  Unconditioned Response (UCR)  unlearned, naturally occurring response to the unconditioned stimulus  salivation when food is in the mouth

12. Classical Conditioning  Conditioned Stimulus (CS)  originally irrelevant stimulus that, after association with an unconditioned stimulus, comes to trigger a conditioned response  Conditioned Response (CR)  learned response to a previously neutral conditioned stimulus

13. Classical Conditioning  Acquisition  the initial stage in classical conditioning  the phase associating a neutral stimulus with an unconditioned stimulus so that the neutral stimulus comes to elicit a conditioned response  in operant conditioning, the strengthening of a reinforced response

14. Classical Conditioning UCS (passionate kiss) UCR (sexual arousal) CS (onion breath) CS (onion breath) CR (sexual arousal) UCS (passionate Kiss) UCR (sexual arousal)

15. Classical Conditioning  Extinction  diminishing of a CR  in classical conditioning, when a UCS does not follow a CS  in operant conditioning, when a response is no longer reinforced

16. Classical Conditioning  Spontaneous Recovery  reappearance, after a rest period, of an extinguished CR  Stimulus Generalization  tendency for stimuli similar to CS to elicit similar responses

17. Classical Conditioning  Stimulus Discrimination  in classical conditioning, the learned ability to distinguish between a CS and other stimuli that do not signal a UCS

18. Nausea Conditioning in Cancer Patients UCS (drug) UCR (nausea) CS (waiting room) CS (waiting room) CR (nausea) UCS (drug) UCR (nausea)

19. Behaviorism  John B. Watson  viewed psychology as objective science  generally agreed-upon consensus today  recommended study of behavior without reference to unobservable mental processes  not universally accepted by all schools of thought today

20. Behaviorism: John B. Watson continued….  Stimulus-Response Behavior  Watson argued that psychology should study only stimulus-response relationships  Watson on Sigmund Freud  Watson was not pleased with the growing acceptance of Freud’s psychoanalytic viewpoint  Watson believed Freud’s approach relied too heavily on the unconscious mind as a means to explain behavior

21. Behaviorism: John B. Watson continued….  Watson on phobias  phobias are disruptive, irrational fears  Freud said these phobias were unconscious fears left over from childhood  Watson believed these fears were created by classical conditioning

22. Behaviorism: John B. Watson & Rosalie Rayner  Little Albert  Watson intentionally established a fear of rats in an 11-month-old boy now known as Little Albert  Albert was not afraid of rats at first  Watson and his assistant Rayner were able to change this by sneaking up behind Albert when he was in the presence of the rat  They would bang a steel bar behind his head to make a startling noise

23. Behaviorism: John B. Watson & Rosalie Rayner  Little Albert continued….  The banging of the steel bar was the UCS which produced the UCR of fear in the form of crying  Because the UCS was paired with the rat, the rat became the CS which produced the same fear response in the form of crying which became the CR

24. Behaviorism: John B. Watson & Rosalie Rayner  Little Albert continued….  Watson and Rayner were able to prove that Little Albert’s fear was a predictable outcome of an environmental condition  In this case, it was proven that his response did not represent some sort of repressed, unconscious conflict (Freudian)

25. Law of Effect: video clips  Edward Thorndike  Law of Effect  Thorndike’s principle that behaviors followed by favorable consequences become more likely, and behaviors followed by unfavorable consequences become less likely

26. Operant Conditioning  Operant Conditioning  type of learning in which behavior is strengthened if followed by reinforcement or diminished if followed by punishment

27. Operant Conditioning  Operant Behavior  operates (acts) on environment  produces consequences  Respondent Behavior  occurs as an automatic response to stimulus  behavior learned through classical conditioning

28. Operant Conditioning  B.F. Skinner (1904-1990)  elaborated Thorndike’s Law of Effect  developed behavioral technology

29. Operant Chamber  Skinner Box  chamber with a bar or key that an animal manipulates to obtain a food or water reinforcer  contains devices to record responses

30. Operant Conditioning  Reinforcer  any event that strengthens the behavior it follows  Shaping through successive approximations  operant conditioning procedure in which reinforcers guide behavior toward closer approximations of a desired goal

31. Operant Conditioning

32. Principles of Reinforcement  Primary Reinforcer  innately reinforcing stimulus  i.e., satisfies a biological need- food  Conditioned Reinforcer  stimulus that gains its reinforcing power through its association with primary reinforcer  secondary reinforcer- money

33. Schedules of Reinforcement  Continuous Reinforcement  reinforcing the desired response each time it occurs  Partial (Intermitent) Reinforcement  reinforcing a response only part of the time  results in slower acquisition  greater resistance to extinction

34. Schedules of Reinforcement  Fixed Ratio (FR)  reinforces a response only after a specified number of responses  faster you respond the more rewards you get  different ratios  very high rate of responding  like piecework pay in which people get paid based on the number of items they produce and not by the amount of time that they are at work

35. Schedules of Reinforcement  Variable Ratio (VR)  reinforces a response after an unpredictable number of responses  average ratios  like gambling, fishing  very hard to extinguish because of unpredictability

36. Schedules of Reinforcement  Fixed Interval (FI)  reinforces a response only after a specified time has elapsed  response occurs more frequently as the anticipated time for reward draws near  like people checking more frequently as the “normal” time for their mail delivery approaches  like people checking to see if the JELLO is ready to eat because the time stated on the box has almost elapsed

37. Schedules of Reinforcement  Variable Interval (VI)  reinforces a response at unpredictable time intervals  produces slow steady responding  like a pop quiz  like checking for an email  like checking for a text message

38. Schedules of Reinforcement Variable Interval Number of responses 1000 750 500 250 0 10203040506070 Time (minutes) Fixed Ratio Variable Ratio Fixed Interval Steady responding Rapid responding near time for reinforcement 80

39. Punishment  Punishment  aversive event that decreases the behavior that it follows  powerful controller of unwanted behavior

40. Punishment  An undesirable event following the behavior  a toddler puts his hand on a painfully hot stove burner  the behavior of touching the burner is punished, because it leads to an undesirable event: getting burned

41. Punishment  A desirable state or event ENDS following the behavior  traffic fines are another example of punishment  a revoked driver’s license is another example of punishment

42. Problems with Punishment  Many learning experts oppose the use of punishment  These experts feel that punishment is likely to back fire in the long run

43. Problems with Punishment  Punishment does not end the desire to engage in the behavior  Children punished for using bad language often continue to use bad language- just not in the presence of the one who punished them for it  Punishment can lead to fear, anxiety, and lower self-esteem  Frequently punished children or animals may learn to engage in avoidance behaviors:  Run away from home  Drop out of school

44. Problems with Punishment  Punishment is aggressive behavior  when adult role models use aggression to solve their problems, children learn to model that aggressive behavior is a problem-solving strategy  This may help explain why abusive parents tend to come from abusive families  Although, most abused children do not go on to be abusive parents

45. How Punishment is effective  Punishment can effectively control certain behaviors  Punishment can effectively certain behaviors especially if the punisher’s goal is to protect a child from a dangerous situation  For example, if a toddler has developed the bad habit of running into the street, a harsh reprimand or a smack on the hand may be appropriate  A young child needs to develop some fear and avoidance of the street

46. Cognition and Operant Conditioning  Cognitive Map  mental representation of the layout of one’s environment  Example: after exploring a maze, rats act as if they have learned a cognitive map of it  Latent Learning  learning that occurs, but is not apparent until there is an incentive to demonstrate it

47. Cognition and Operant Conditioning  Intrinsic Motivation  Desire to perform a behavior for its own sake and to be effective  Extrinsic Motivation  Desire to perform a behavior due to promised rewards or threats of punishments

48. Cognition and Operant Conditioning  Overjustification Effect  the effect of promising a reward for doing what one already likes to do  the person may now see the reward, rather than intrinsic interest, as the motivation for performing the task

49. Observational Learning  Observational Learning  learning by observing others  Albert Bandura conducted the now famous Bobo doll experiment  children observed adults acting aggressively toward the Bobo doll and imitated that behavior when provided with their own Bobo doll  Modeling  process of observing and imitating a specific behavior

50. Observational Learning  Prosocial Behavior  positive, constructive, helpful behavior  opposite of antisocial behavior  Mahatma Gandhi & Martin Luther King, Jr. drew on the power of modeling  they made nonviolent action a powerful force for social change by modeling the actions of previous historical figures who had also acted nonviolently

51. Observational Learning  Mirror Neurons  Neuroscientists have discovered these mirror neurons  frontal lobe neurons that fire when performing certain actions or when observing another doing so  may enable imitation, language learning, and empathy

52. Observational Learning  Mirror Neurons  When a monkey performs a task such as grasping, holding, or tearing, these neurons fire  But they also fire when the monkey observes another monkey performing the same task  Thus the phrase, “Monkey see, monkey do.”

53. Observational Learning  Mirror Neurons examples……  Mimicry  yawning  sticking out your tongue  Laughter smiling  Language development- mirror neurons help children learn by observation how to mimic lip and tongue movements when forming new words  Empathy- brain activity related to actual pain is mirrored in the brain of an observing loved one; you can emapthize with them and “feel their pain”