How the environment influences our behavior. Ch 5 learning
Feb 06, 2016
How the environment influences our behavior.
Ch 5 learning
learningMore than just picking up knowledge or a skill:
A semi-permanent change in behavior brought by experience or practice
The four pillars of learningClassical Conditioning – gaining automatic
connectionsOperant Conditioning – repeating what works,
avoiding what doesn’tSocial Learning – being influenced by those we
admire
Classical Conditioning
Learning to make an involuntary (reflex) respond to a stimulus other than the original natural stimulusReflex- involuntary responseUnconditioned stimulus UCS- a naturally occurring stimulus that leads to a reflex
Unconditioned response UCR- an involuntary (reflex) response to a naturally occurring or UCS
Classical Conditioning Neutral Stimulus NS- Stimulus that has no affect
on the desired responseConditioned Stimulus CS- Stimulus that becomes
able to produce a learned reflex response paired with the original unconditioned stimulus
Conditioned Response CR-Learned reflex response to a conditioned stimulus
backgroundIt all started with Ivan Pavlov and his study
of the digestive systemResearch based on work with animalsStudied the automatic connection between
food (meat) in the mouth and the flow of digestive juices
UCS (meat in mouth) > UCR (saliva)
The big ideaStart with an unconditioned reflex – an
automatic connection between a stimulus and a response (meat>saliva)
Big idea part 2Develop new automatic responses by
repetitively pairing an originally neutral stimulus with an UCS
Let’s say that a different wayAn air puff in the eye (UCS) will always make us blink (UCR)
Flashing a red card won’t
But if we repetitively flash the red card, shortly followed by the air puff, eventually,
Just flashing the red card will make us blink !
examplesThat particular corner at your high schoolThe torturer’s black shoesThe whistling of a V1 “shrieker”The song from that certain summer that
reminds you of …..Smell of food your grandma made
Stimulus GeneralizationOther stimuli that is similar can lead to the
same responseStimulus Discrimination
When a person/animal is able to learn to respond different stimuli in different ways
Extinction and RecoveryWhen the response “Dies Out”
Remove the reinforcement CS and the CR will weaken and disappear
Spontaneous RecoveryThe CR can briefly reappear when the
original CS returnsWill be weak and short lived
Unraveling the connectionIn CC, extinction takes place when we
repeatedly present the CS without the UCS following it
More perspectivesCC prepares us for significant events by
identifying events that commonly predict them
Gives us advance warning of upcoming threats and opportunities
The more unfamiliar the CS or the more powerful the UCS the faster the CR takes
Other aspectsThe process that establishes or strengthens a CR is called acquisition
A CS can even be a thought
All together nowFirst we build the CS>CR connection through acquisition,
Then we unravel it through extinction,
If we then stop presenting the CS for a while, once we resume its use,
The CR will return, but not for long, unless it is again paired with the UCS
Extending the connectionThe CR can occur even without
presentation of the exact CS which formed it, if the new CS is similar enough
Stimulus generalization – the extension or broadening of a CR from the original CS to another, similar stimulus
The more similar the entire setting is, the more likely the new connection will form
Narrowing connectionsIf differing stimuli, although quite similar to the CS, are never, or rarely, followed by the UCS, then the CR will not emerge
Stimulus discrimination – differing responses to differing stimuli that have been followed by differing events
Is it just timing?The concept of blocking
If a CS/CR link has been established, pairing a new CS will not work no matter how hard you may try
Conditioned taste aversion
The power of predictionIt’s reliability that counts, the CS’ ability to accurately and consistently predict the UCS.
The UCS must be more likely to occur after the CS.
The big pictureCC involves visceral reactions involving the sympathetic nervous system – you feel it in your gut.
It prepares us for important challenges and threats.
But it does not tell us what to do.
The next stepFor how we learn voluntary, planned behaviors, we turn to operant conditioning.