Unit 5: Learning

Ch. 3

Unit 5: LearningClassical ConditioningOperant ConditioningCognitive LearningObservational Learning

1LEARNING IS DEFINED BY:An experience in environment, which causes a..change in an organism that isrelatively permanent

HabituationDecreased response to a stimulus judged to be of little or no importanceWe engage in this type of learning so we can tune out unimportant stimuli and focus on what matters

SensitizationIncreased response to a stimulus when we are anticipating an important stimulusWe engage in this type of learning so we are prepared for dangerous situations

A Return to BehaviorismBehaviorism states that:learning and experience determine behavior. Babies are tabula rasas Psychology should focus purely on observable behaviors and not unobservable thoughtsAssociative LearningLearning that two things go togetherConditioning: A simple form of learning in which a specific pattern of behaviors is learned in the presence of well-defined stimuliClassical conditioning aka Pavlonian conditioningAn involuntary behavior is determined by what comes before it i.e. Baby Albert and the loud belli.e. Seeing the dentists office and feeling anxietyOperant conditioning aka instrumental aka SkinnerianInvolves rewards and punishmentA voluntary behavior is determined by the anticipation of something that follows iti.e. studying on a test for obtaining good gradesi.e. fastening your seat belt to avoid the obnoxious beeping

Which is which?1. A child is attacked by a dog. The child now fears all dogs.2. You do your homework every night to get good grades and avoid punishment.

Classical involuntary, stimulus precedes behaviorOperant voluntary, stimulus follows behaviorClassical Conditioning - Definition and HistoryLearning in which a response naturally caused by one stimulus comes to be elicited by a different, formerly neutral stimulus Ivan PavlovAccidentally discovered classical conditioningHis experiments on digestion in dogs turned into research on learning

Elements of Classical ConditioningUnconditioned stimulus (US)A stimulus that automatically causes a specific response in an organismAnd example of a US would be foodUnconditioned response (UR)The response caused by a USThe UR is automatic and unlearnedAn example of a UR is salivation in response to foodElements of Classical ConditioningConditioned stimulus (CS)A formerly neutral stimulus (NS) that is paired with a US and eventually causes the desired response all by itselfAn example of a CS is the bell in Pavlovs studiesConditioned response (CR)The learned response to the CSAn example is salivation in response to the bellClassical ConditioningInvolves a few central concepts:Unconditioned = UnlearnedUnconditioned StimulusUnconditioned ResponseConditioned = learnedConditioned StimulusConditioned Response

Identifying PartsUnconditioned Stimulus (UCS)Meat powderUnconditioned Response (UCR)SalivationConditioned Stimulus (CS)BellConditioned Response (CR)Salivation* Hint: replace conditioned with learned to make it more intuitive.

Little Albert: Remember!?John Watson Little Albert 11 month old orphanShowed him a white rat. No fear.Made a loud noise. Albert cried.Showed him a white rat and made a loud noise. Albert cried. Repeated several times.Eventually Albert cried at white rat alone.

Give me a dozen healthy infants, well-formed, and my own specified world to bring them up and Ill guarantee to take any one at random and train him to become any type of specialist I might selectdoctor, lawyer, merchant-chief, and yes, ever beggarman and thief, regardless of his talents, penchants, tendencies, abilities, vocations, and race of his ancestors. (1930)

Examples of Classical Conditioning In Humans

UCS = Loud NoiseUCR = Fear of NoiseNS = RatCS = RatCR = Fear of RatThe Little Albert experiment demonstrated a classically conditioned fear of white fluffy things

14DefinitionsAcquisition initial learning of the stimulus-response relationship (learning that bell means meat powder)Extinction diminished response to the conditioned stimulus when it is no longer coupled with UCS. (stop giving meat powder with bell and dog will stop salivating to bell)Spontaneous recovery reappearance of an extinguished CR after a rest. Generalization the tendency to respond to any stimuli similar to the CS (Dog salivates to other noises)Discrimination the ability to distinguish between the CS and similar stimuli (Dog only salivates to specific tone)Application to Little AlbertIf Little Albert generalized, what would we expect to happen? He might cry at the sight of similar objects (he did rabbit, dog, sealskin coat, some rumors Santas beard)How could we teach Little Albert to discriminate? Continually expose him to stimuli similar to the rat, but only make the loud noise when exposing him to the ratHow could Little Alberts conditioning be extinguished? Continually expose him to a white rat without making the loud noise (unfortunately, this was never done because Little Albert was adopted soon after the original experiments (he would be 83 now if he is still alive probably scared of rats!)If Little Albert is still alive, his fear of white rats is likely to have been extinguished (no loud noise when he sees a rat). However, occasionally, when he sees a rat, he may find that his heart races for a second or two. What is this called? Spontaneous recoveryA friend has learned to associate the sound of a dentists drill to a fearful reaction because of a painful experience she had getting a root canal. In this example, what is the:UCS? Pain from the drillUCR? FearCS? Sound of the drillCR? Fear

Using the example in question 4, give an example of how each of the following may occur:

Extinction: if the pain does not result when the drill is used, the CS (fear) will diminish.Spontaneous recovery: the child returns for a visit the next day and the sound of the drill elicits fear again.Generalization: the child becomes fearful of the sound of any motorDiscrimination: the child learns that only the high pitched dentist drill is associated with pain and not a low pitch hum of the vacuum cleaner.A BMW commercial has lots of pretty people in it. People who watch the commercial find the people pleasing to look at. With repeated viewing, they begin to associate the car with the pleasant feeling.

UCS?Pretty peopleUCR? Feeling goodCS? Sight of BMWCR? Feeling good

You get in a car accident and find you are afraid to get in a car.

UCS? Pain of the accidentUCR? Fear CS? Presence of carCR?Fear

You go to a fancy restaurant and decide to try an appetizer youve never tried before escargot. After dinner, you go to a concert and get violently ill (from a stomach virus thats been going around). From then on, you cant even look at snails without feeling sick.

UCS? Stomach virusUCR? Feeling sickCS?Sight of snailsCR? Feeling sick

You are cruising on 440 at 75 mph when you see flashing police lights behind you. You pull over and the policeman gives you a ticket. You get in insane amounts of trouble from your parents. The next time you see flashing police lights, your heart rate speeds up.

UCS? Getting in trouble from parentsUCR? Increased heart rateCS? Flashing lightsCR? Increased heart rate

Classical Conditioning in Humans:Class DemonstrationLick your finger and dip it into your cup of lemonade powder, but DO NOT EAT IT.When you hear the tone, immediately eat the powder on your finger, and then dip your finger back into the cup to prepare for the next trial.You must eat some of the powder immediately after each tone, but not any other time.After several learning trials, you will be instructed to simply listen to the tone without eating the powder.What happens? Label the UCS, UCR, NS, CS and CR in your notes based on the demo.New Learning Based on Old:Higher Order ConditioningOnce a neutral stimulus becomes a conditioned stimulus, it may function as an unconditioned stimulus to elicit new learning.For instance, in Pavlovs experiment, once the bell produced the salivation response in the dogs, it could be paired with a new neutral stimulus, such as a red light, until the dogs learned to salivate to the red light.

Classical Conditioning:Key VariablesIn order for Classical Conditioning to work the following variables must exist:

STRENGTH - Stimuli (UCS, NS) must be noticeable enough to provoke a response.

TIMING - UCS and NS must be paired close together so that an association is made between the two.

FREQUENCY - UCS and NS must be paired together many times so that an association is made between the two and the NS can come to elicit the same response as the UCS.Classical Conditioning:Extinction and Spontaneous RecoveryExtinction After a period of time passes when CS is not paired with UCS, CS returns to being an NSe.g. Baby Albert would eventually cease to be afraid of white fluffy things after they were not paired with a horrible and frightening noise.Spontaneous Recovery Just because extinction occurs, does it mean that the learning is gone completely? No!After extinction, it is not unusual to see the recurrence of the conditioned responseThis proves the learning never disappeared; it was just obscured by new learning - like interferenceClassical Conditioning:Generalization and DiscriminationGeneralization An organism may learn to respond not only to the CS, but also to other stimuli that are similar to the CS.e.g. Baby Albert was conditioned to fear a white rat, but also feared cotton balls, rabbits, white sweaters, etc.Discrimination Organisms can also learn to decipher between similar stimuli when only particular stimuli are paired with a UCS.

Classical Conditioning in the Real WorldTaste Aversion and the Garcia EffectSome learning mechanisms are so powerful they do not require frequency of pairings.Taste Aversion Occurs when organism becomes ill following consumption of a particular food.Organism may never be able to eat the food again.WHY? Garcia Effect Using principles of taste aversion, John Garcia put this phenomenon to good useSprinkled carcass of sheep with a chemical that caused illness in coyotesCoyotes did not attack the livestock following this experience

Biological PredispositionsIt was once believed that conditioning occurred the same in all animals (and therefore you could study human behavior by studying any animal) and that you could associate any neutral stimulus with a response. Not so. Animals have biological predispositions to associating certain stimuli over others

Example You eat a novel food and later get sick. You will be conditioned to associate the taste of the FOOD with getting sick (and thus avoid that food in the future), but NOT the music playing in the restaurant, the plate it was served on, or the perfume your neighbor was wearing.

It is much easier to condition someone to have a fear of snake than of flowers.

Birds hunt by sight and will more quickly become conditioned to the SIGHT of tainted food

Classical Conditioning in the Real World:Preparedness and ContrapreparednessSome conditioned responses come naturally, others do not.PreparednessConditioned behaviors that work well with organisms instinctive behaviors and are easy to traine.g. phobia of snakes or spidersContrapreparednessOther conditioned behaviors go against the organisms instinctive behaviors and are difficult or impossible to train.e.g. phobia of chairs or tables?Classical Conditioning in the Real World:Treating PhobiasMany phobias are learned responses and can be unlearnedThis can be done gradually or all at onceSystematic DesensitizationTherapist and client generate fear hierarchy of situations that are increasingly threateningClient then learns relaxation techniquesClient experiences en vivo therapy to directly experience each item on fear hierarchy to gradually unlearn his/her fearFloodingClient faces worst-case-scenario involving fearIf they can survive this, they have no reason so be fearful every dayName one practical application of classical conditioning.

Stop drug or alcohol addiction by pairing a nausea-producing drug with the drug of addiction.

Extinguish a drug addiction by administering a drug that blocks the pleasant feeling normally elicited by the drug.

If a child is afraid of rabbits because one bit him when he was young, you can expose the child to rabbits in safe environments repeatedly until the behavior is extinguished

Cognitive ProcessesIt was once thought that cognitive processes werent involved in classical conditioning. Now we know better. For example, therapists give alcoholics drink containing a nausea-producing drug to condition them to avoid alcohol. Because clients KNOW that the drug is what is actually causing the nausea, it doesnt work so well.

Operant ConditioningOperant ConditioningLearning in which an organism engages in a spontaneous behavior which is followed by a consequence - a reward or punishmentOrganism learns to perform behavior in order to gain a reward or avoid a punishment

Law of EffectIf a behavior is reinforced, it is MORE likely to occurIf a behavior is punished, it is LESS likely to occur

History of Operant Conditioning

E.L. ThorndikeResearched cats in a puzzle boxCats learned to escape from box to attain a reinforcement of foodB.F. SkinnerCreated a device called a Skinner Box to train organisms using operant conditioningAlso did research on superstition (pigeons) and connected it to the principles of operant conditioningElements of Operant ConditioningReinforcerA stimulus or event that follows a behavior and makes that behavior more likely to occur againPunisherA stimulus or event that follows a behavior and makes that behavior less likely to occur again38Types of ReinforcementPositive reinforcer (+)Adds something rewarding following a behavior, making that behavior more likely to occur againGiving a dog a treat for fetching a ball is an exampleNegative reinforcer (-)Removes something unpleasant from the environment following a behavior, making that behavior more likely to occur againTaking an aspirin to relieve a headache is an example39Types of ReinforcementPrimary reinforcer Adds something intrinsically valuable to the organismGiving a dog a food for shaking handsSecondary reinforcer Adds something with assigned value to the organismGiving a person $100 for each A on their report card40Types of PunishmentPositive Punishment (+)Adds something undesirable to decrease a behaviorSpanking a child for swearingNegative Punishment (-) Removes something desirable to decrease a behaviorTaking a childs toy away for swearingAlso called omission training41Types of PunishmentPrimary PunishmentMethod of decreasing behavior is directly threatening to organisms survivalBeating a prisoner for trying to escapeSecondary Punishment Method of decreasing behavior is undesirable, but not life-threateningTaking away a prisoners recreational privileges for trying to escape42Complex Behaviors and ShapingSome behaviors are too complex to occur spontaneouslyFor these behaviors, shaping must be usedShaping reinforces successive approximations to the desired behaviorOrganism eventually learns what the desired behavior is in small stepsSimilar to playing hot and coldOur class demonstration?Preparedness and Contrapreparedness in Operant ConditioningSome changes in behavior are easily trainedPreparednessConditioned behaviors that work well with organisms instinctive behaviors and are easy to traine.g. Brelands Dancing ChickenContrapreparednessOther conditioned behaviors go against the organisms instinctive behaviors and are difficult or impossible to train.e.g. Brelands raccoon Reinforcement vs. Punishment?Punishment not as effective as reinforcementDoes not teach proper behavior, only suppresses undesirable behaviorCauses upset feelings that can impede learningMay give impression that inflicting pain is acceptableEffective Punishment?Effective punishment must beSWIFTShould occur as soon as possible after the behaviorCERTAINShould occur every time the behavior doesSUFFICIENTShould be strong enough to be a deterrentCONSISTENTShould apply to all individuals the same wayImpact of PunishmentWhen punishment is given haphazardly, learned helplessness can result.Learned Helplessness occurs when NO MATTER WHAT THE ORGANISM DOES, it cannot change the consequences of behavior.Martin Seligmans experiment with dogs showed that dogs given a series of inescapable shocks stopped trying to escape the shocks even when given the opportunity to escape later. Another example would be finding that whether or not you study for your calculus tests, you fail, so you stop trying altogether.

Alternatives to PunishmentAn alternative to punishment if known as AVOIDANCE TRAININGthe organism is given a warning before punishment occurs so it may change its behavior in order to avoid an unpleasant consequence like a punishment.ex/Counting to three before punishment is delivered to provoke a child to stop misbehaving.

Behavioral Change Using BiofeedbackBiofeedback is an operant technique that teaches people to gain voluntary control over bodily processes like heart rate and blood pressureWhen used to control brain activity it is called neurofeedbackSchedules of ReinforcementInterval schedulesReinforcement depends on the passing of timeFixed-interval scheduleReinforcement follows the first behavior after a fixed amount of time has passedAn example would be receiving a paycheck every two weeksVariable-interval scheduleReinforcement follows the first behavior after a variable amount of time has passedAn example would be pop quizzesSchedules of ReinforcementRatio schedulesReinforcement depends on the number of responses madeFixed-ratio scheduleReinforcement follows a fixed number of behaviorsFor example, being paid on a piecework basisVariable-ratio scheduleReinforcement follows a variable number of behaviorsAn example would be playing slot machinesResponse Patterns to Schedules of ReinforcementWhich schedule yields the fastest response rate?What happened in our class demonstration?

Cognitive LearningCognitive LearningSometimes learning involves more than simply reacting to stimuli it involves THINKING!Cognitive LearningLearning that depends on mental activity that is not directly observableInvolves such processes as attention, expectation, thinking, and memoryWhile behaviorists typically focus on learning that is based on reactions, cognitive psychologists explain learning in terms of additional mental processes.54Generative Learning and InsightGenerative learningUsing what you know to figure out something you dontE.g. realizing a new song is by a favorite group of yoursInsightAfter thinking about a problem for a bit, you suddenly figure it outE.g. Kohlers chimpsLatent Learning and Cognitive MapsLatent learning learning that takes place before the subject realizes it and is not immediately reflected in behaviorTaking a test on material learned over the course of a few weeksCognitive mapping latent learning stored as a mental imageSlideshow experimentInsight and Learning SetsLearning sets/Learning to Learnrefers to increasing effectiveness at problem solving through experienceorganisms learn how to learnFiguring out how to study bestTrial and Error LearningLearn by your mistakesClass demonstration - Blind Maze - what happened?Learning by ObservingSocial learning theory or Observational Learning theory focuses on what we learn from observing other peopleAlbert Banduras Bobo Doll experimentChildren imitated adult role model - adult models behavior and child imitatesVicarious reinforcement or vicarious punishment affects the willingness of people to perform behaviors they learned by watching others58Cognitive Learning in NonhumansNonhumans are capable of classical and operant conditioningNonhumans are also capable of latent learningResearch has also demonstrated that animals are capable of observational learning59Do Now:1. Stand stayed out past his curfew. His parents demanded that he surrender his car keys for two weeks. Stand has not broken curfew since.2. Jane decided to draw a picture on her bedroom wall with crayons. Her mom beat her with a wooden spoon. She no longer draws on the walls.3. Alex got all As on his report card, so his mother relieves him of having to go Christmas shopping with her.4. When the kindergarteners in Ms. Tragers class behave well, she takes them outside to play on the playground.5. Rachel found out that her boyfriend Bert lied to all their friends about how they met, claiming that she wanted him first. Now Rachel refuses to hold Berts hand. Bert doesnt lie about their relationship anymore.How to ... Motivate YouthBy VICTORIA GOLDMAN

OW do you get that 16-year-old to hunker down? Ethell Geller, a behavioral psychologist, has worked with adolescents for 30 years in her Manhattan practice. Borrowing from B.F. Skinner and Pavlov, she explains motivation as a connection between expectations and consequences. Q. Where does motivation come from? A. Ideally, one goes from a very primitive type of motivation, satisfying basic drives, to an externalized form, or bribery, to the most sophisticated form, which is inherent -- working for its own sake. Human beings must develop all three types of motivation to be fully functioning, satisfied, motivated adults.Q. Why are some children stuck at Phase 2? A. Volumes have been written on the topic of motivation and social learning theory. But simply put, the extent to which children feel that their efforts lead to meaningful rewards will determine how motivated they feel. If rewards come with little effort, the child becomes spoiled. On the other extreme, if effort meets with continuous failure, the child will experience helplessness and give up. Q. What strategy do you recommend? A. First, find out why a child isn't motivated. Ask, does she really not care? Or is she afraid of something else? Or is she involved in an immediate reward system, like TV or friends, that she considers more meaningful? Or is it a self-esteem issue or another type of disability? Once the source of the problem has been identified, either therapy or behavioral management of the current reward system, or a combination of both, must be put in place. Q. Like, fewer bribes? A. Research shows that one of the best ways to motivate a child is to avoid punishment and exhibit parental approval as a reward. But what I often do when faced with children who have low self-esteem or are unmotivated is ask them to make a list of the people and their qualities that they most admire. After they come up with their lists, show them that if they work toward the salient features on that list, they can come to respect themselves and be more motivated. Reassure them that normal people who work hard can accomplish what their heroes have.