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Learning
www.ablongman.com/lefton9e
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Learning• A relatively permanent change in an
organism
– The result of experience
– Exhibited in behavior
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LearningI. Classical Conditioning
II. Operant Conditioning
III. Cognitive Learning
IV. Biological Basis for Learning
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Classical Conditioning
– Conditioning
• A systematic procedure through which associations and responses to specific stimuli are learned
• One of the simplest forms of learning
– Reflexes
• automatic behavior
• occur without prior learning
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Basics of Classical Conditioning
• Conditioning versus reflexes– Conditioning does require learning
• Learned association between a neutral stimulus and a stimulus that evokes a reflex
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Classical ConditioningIvan Pavlov (1849 – 1936)
– Studied digestion in dogs
– Discovered Classical (or Pavlovian) Conditioning
– An originally neutral stimulus,
through repeated pairings with a stimulus that naturally produces a response,
comes to elicit a similar or identical response
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Classical ConditioningTerms and Procedures
1. Unconditioned Stimulus
• The stimulus that automatically produces a response
• Unlearned
• E.g., Food
2. Unconditioned Response
• Automatic, involuntary response to the unconditioned stimulus
• E.g., Salivation
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Terms and Procedures• Procedure
– Present a neutral stimulus immediately before an unconditioned stimulus
Neutral Stimulus:
BELL
Unconditioned Stimulus:
FOOD
Unconditioned Response:
SALIVATION
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Terms and Procedures• Procedure
– Repeat many, many times– Remove the unconditioned stimulus:
Stimulus: BELL
Response: SALIVATION
– Original stimulus no longer neutral!
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Terms and ProceduresConditioned Stimulus
– A previously neutral stimulus that,
through repeated association with an unconditioned stimulus,
becomes capable of eliciting a response– E.g., Bell
Conditioned Response– The response to the Conditioned Stimulus– E.g., Salivating
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Classical Conditioning• Conditioning does not occur immediately
– Occurs gradually over many repeated pairings
– This process through which the conditioned stimulus becomes associated with a learned response is called an acquisition process
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Classical Conditioning in Humans
• Many types of responses can be conditioned in humans
• Conditioning can occur – Without our awareness– For pleasant and unpleasant reactions
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Classical Conditioning in Humans
• Little Albert– John Watson and Rosalie Raynor (1920)
Frightening, loud noise
White Rat
– After many pairings:
White Rat
Fear
Fear
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Classical Conditioning in Humans
• Little Albert– This type of learning is probably the source for
most fear and anxiety in children
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Higher-Order Conditioning• The process by which a neutral stimulus
takes on conditioned properties through pairing with a conditioned stimulus
• Permits increasingly remote associations
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Key Variables in Classical Conditioning
Strength, timing and frequency
a. Strength of the unconditioned stimulus
b. Timing of the unconditioned stimulus
c. Frequency of Pairings
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Key Variables in Classical Conditioning
Extinction and Spontaneous Recoverya. Extinction
• Process by which the conditioned stimulus no longer elicits the unconditioned response
b. Spontaneous Recovery• When an extinguished conditioned
response reappears
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Key Variables in Classical Conditioning
Stimulus Generalization and Discriminationa. Stimulus Generalization
• When a conditioned response occurs in response to a stimulus similar to the conditioned stimulus
• Probably explains how some phobias develop
b. Stimulus Discrimination• An organism learns to respond only to the
specific conditioned stimulus
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Classical Conditioning in Daily Life
The Garcia Effect– John Garcia (Garcia & Koelling, 1971)
• Conditioned taste aversion– Two startling findings
• Could occur even if nausea was induced several hours after food or drink was consumed
• Not all stimuli were equally easily associated
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The Garcia Effect
• Conditioned taste aversion can occur after only one pairing– Survival value of quickly learning to avoid
foods that make us sick
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The Garcia Effect• Practical applications
– Preventing appetite loss with chemotherapy patients
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Classical Conditioning in Daily Life
Learning and chemotherapy– Nausea can be conditioned to occur
Unconditioned Stimulus:
CHEMO-THERAPY
Unconditioned
Response:NAUSEA
Conditioned Response:NAUSEA
Conditioned stimulus:
FOOD
Conditioned stimulus:
FOOD
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Pavlov’s Understanding Reinterpreted
• Pavlov thought in terms of simple associations between paired stimuli
• Today’s researchers are considering how imagined stimuli (such as thoughts) can evoke a response
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Operant Conditioning• Differences from classical conditioning
– Conditioned behavior is voluntary, not reflexive
– Consequence follows, rather than coexists with or precedes a behavior
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Operant ConditioningThe Pioneers
1. E. L. Thorndike (1874 – 1949)
• Instrumental conditioning
2. B. F. Skinner (1904 – 1990)– Three types of consequences
• Behavior is ignored• Behavior is rewarded (reinforced)• Behavior is punished
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Operant ConditioningReinforcement
Reinforcers
• A reinforcer is any event that increases the likelihood of a behavior
Reinforcement Strategies
a. Positive Reinforcement– The presentation of a stimulus after a
behavior that increases the likelihood that response will recur
– Example: Receiving a dollar for cleaning your room
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Reinforcement StrategiesNegative Reinforcement
– The removal of a stimulus after a particular response to increase the likelihood the response will recur
– The stimulus removed is usually unpleasant– Example: Taking an aspirin to get rid of
a headache
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Negative Reinforcement• Another example:
– Apologizing after being sent to time-out• Apologizing removes being confined to
your room• This is also an example of escape
conditioning• May lead to avoidance conditioning
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ReinforcementThe Nature of Reinforcers
– Two types of reinforcers
a. Primary Reinforcer – Examples: Food, water, pain avoidance
b. Secondary Reinforcer– Examples: Money, good grades
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Operant ConditioningThe Skinner Box and Shaping
– Skinner box
• Animal randomly emits behaviors
• Target behaviors are reinforced
– Shaping• The selective reinforcement of behaviors
that gradually approach (approximate) a desired response
• Sometimes called the method of successive approximations
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Operant ConditioningPunishment
– Types of Punishment
a. Positive punishment– A stimulus is presented in order to
decrease the likelihood that the behavior will be repeated
– Example: Getting yelled at for hitting your sister
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Types of PunishmentNegative Punishment
– A stimulus is removed in order to decrease the likelihood that the behavior will be repeated
– Example: Losing your car after getting into a wreck
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Punishment
The Nature of Punishers– Two types of punishers:
a. Primary punisher– Example: Pain
b. Secondary punisher– Example: Losing your driver’s license
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PunishmentLimitations of Punishment
– Only suppresses behavior
– Has social consequences– May not control behavior in the long run
– Physical punishments can lead to aggression
– Inconsistent punishment can lead to learned helplessness
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Key variables in Operant Conditioning
Stimulus Generalization
Stimulus Discrimination
Extinction
Spontaneous Recovery
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Operant Conditioning in Daily Life
1. Superstitious Behaviors
2. Intrinsically Motivated Behavior
– May actually decrease if they are externally reinforced
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Cognitive LearningObservational Learning
The Power of Modeling
• Albert Bandura – Social learning theory
– Showed that children played more aggressively after observing films with aggressive content
• Observational learning can occur without being reinforced
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Observational Learning
a. Gender role development
b. Cultural values
Observational Learning in Daily Life
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Cognitive LearningOther Types of Cognitive Learning
Insight – the “aha” experience
Latent Learning– Shows us a distinction between
learning and performance
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Biological Basis for LearningElectrical Brain Stimulation and Reinforcement
– James Olds (1955, 1960)• Found that rats find electrical stimulation
of specific brain areas in the hypothalamus to be rewarding
– This brain region involves the neurotransmitter dopamine