Transcript Today’s Objectives - Windsor C

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Today’s Objectives
Distinguish Cognitive Learning from
CC and OC
Distinguish Tolman’s experiment as
compared to Pavlov and Thorndike
Apply “cognitive maps” to your life
Apply the social learning theory to
your life
Apply vicarious reinforcement to
your life.
3. Cognitive Learning
• Learning that depends on mental
processes that are not directly
observable (the wheels of the brain
turning)
– EX: Your teacher has Crohn’s disease. As a
result, you hear her speak of it occasionally.
10 years from now, a friend of yours is
diagnosed w/ Crohn’s and is surprised at
how much you already know about it. There
was no CC or OC used that caused your
understanding of Crohn’s.
3. Edward Tolman
• Father of cognitive learning theory
• Disagreed w/ Thorndike, saying many
people learn w/o conditioning just
because they have an interest
• Said even w/ reinforcement, learning
occurs before the goal is given (You have
to know your stuff before you get an A on
the test)
–Latent learning: learning that’s not
observable
3. Tolman’s Experiment
• Sends 2 groups of rats through a maze
– 1 group has food at the end, the other does
not
– The group of rats that first went through the
maze w/ no food at the end does not ever
seem to escape the maze
• When a treat is added to the maze this
group of rats finds it much more quickly
than the group of rats who initially ran the
maze w/ food at the end.
–This shows that the rats who did not
have a reward actually learned the maze!
3. Tolman’s “Cognitive Map”
• T. believes that as you learn, you see
possible solutions and outcomes to
your problem in your head. You can
solve a problem based on these
mental images
– Ex: A short person has to change a light bulb. There is
no ladder, but she sees a desk and a tall stool. The desk
looks safest, but you can tell it won’t be tall enough. The
stool look tall enough but not safe. You decide to push a
desk near the stool, step from the desk to the stool and if
you start to fall from the stool, you’ll have the desk to
step back onto.
3. Learning by Observing
• This is a branch of cognitive theory.
–Social learning theory: says you
can learn w/o any kind of
conditioning.
–By observing we pick up behaviors
and sometimes act them out
–This means a child in a violent
home is much more likely to
become violent themselves
3. Vicarious Reinforcement
• People not only learn behaviors from
what they see, but they learn possible
consequences of their behavior by
observing the consequences of the
people they watch
–EX: Your sister cusses and your
mom washes her mouth out with
soap. You know not to cuss in front
of mom!
Teen Brain Article
Important Points
1. The 2 stages in which the brain is most
receptive to learning new info are infancy
and teenage years
2. Teens act impulsively due to the ongoing
process of brain pruning during these teen
years
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Exit Ticket
Describe how cognitive learning is
different from cc and oc.
Summarize Tolman’s experiment.
Describe your “cognitive map” when
solving a tough math problem
Describe a time you learned by the
“social learning theory”
Describe a time you learned by
vicarious reinforcement.