1. What is ‘learning’?

2. What are the things that need to be in place for learning to occur? Learning involves adapting to changing conditions in a lifetime.Learning involves adapting to changing conditions in a lifetime. The mechanisms of learning are evolutionary adaptations of the nervous system.The mechanisms of learning are evolutionary adaptations of the nervous system. Theories of learning reflect trends in psychological thinking.Theories of learning reflect trends in psychological thinking.

3. Are there different ‘types’ of learning? Perceptual –Sensitization Stimulus – Response –Habituation –Classical Conditioning –Operant Conditioning Procedural (Motor) –Classical (reflex) conditioning Associative (Relational) –Declarative learning Spatial –Cognitive maps Episodic –Events over time Observational –Imitation and mimicry

4. Psychological perspectives on learning Biological – nervous systemBiological – nervous system Behaviorist – Stimulus-Response (S-R)Behaviorist – Stimulus-Response (S-R) Cognitive – Stimulus-Stimulus (S-S)Cognitive – Stimulus-Stimulus (S-S) Social – interactionsSocial – interactions Developmental – changes in a lifetimeDevelopmental – changes in a lifetime Evolutionary – changes in speciesEvolutionary – changes in species Raphael – The School of Athens (1510)

7. Classical Conditioning Pavlov with an assistant and a subject (the dog). Association formed between involuntary (reflex) response and a stimulus not related to the learned response initially. USUR Pairing CSCR

8. Classical conditioning dynamics

9. Timing and contingency are both important in classical conditioning The effectiveness of conditioning depends on when the stimuli are presented … … but also on how much the CS predicts that the US will occur.

10. What can be classically conditioned? Reflexes (Pavlov, 1927) Emotional responses (Watson & Raynor, 1920) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pzni66fyt3o http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pzni66fyt3o Drug reactions (Siegel et al., 1988)

12. Operant Conditioning The Law of Effect (Thorndike, 1898) Responses that produce a satisfying effect in a particular situation become more likely to occur again in that situation, and responses that produce a discomforting effect become less likely to occur again in that situation. A critical difference between classical conditioning and operant conditioning … … Operant conditioning requires the subject to form a response voluntarily … Classical conditioning involves an involuntary (reflexive) response

13. The modern Skinner box used in operant learning

14. Operant conditioning involves reinforcement and punishment

15. Schedules of reinforcement lead to different patterns of responding

17. What traits contribute to your ability to learn?

18. The Biology of Learning Hebbian Learning –Hebb’s Postulate Long-term Potentiation Long-term Depression