Transcript CHAPTER 6: LEARNING

Chapter 6
Section 2: Operant Conditioning
PSYCHOLOGY
PRINCIPLES IN PRACTICE
Punishments
 Punishments are different from negative reinforcers.
 Punishments are unwanted events that, when they are
applied, decrease the frequency of the behavior they
follow.
 To any athlete on the team who does not achieve the
required grades, being removed from the team is a
punishment. Once the student is off the team, the
disappointment of being banned fro participation is a
negative reinforcers.
 Strong punishment can rapidly end undesirable
behavior.
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HOLT, RINEHART
AND
WINSTON
Chapter 6
Section 2: Operant Conditioning
PSYCHOLOGY
PRINCIPLES IN PRACTICE
Punishment
 In many case punishment is not the ideal way to deal with a
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problem.
Several reasons for minimizing the use of punishment.
1. Punishment does not in itself teach alternative acceptable
behavior.
2. Punishment tends to work only when it is guaranteed.
3. Severely punished people may try to leave the situation
rather than change their behavior.
4. Punishment can create anger and hostility.
5. Punishment may have broader effects than desired.
6. Punishment may be imitated as a way of solving problems.
7. Punishment is sometimes accompanied by unseen benefits
that make the behavior more, not less, likely to be repeated.
HOLT, RINEHART
AND
WINSTON
Chapter 6
Section 2: Operant Conditioning
PSYCHOLOGY
PRINCIPLES IN PRACTICE
Schedules of Reinforcement
 Continuous Reinforcement—the reinforcement of a
behavior every time the behavior occurs.
 New behaviors are usually learned most rapidly
through continuous reinforcement.
 Partial Reinforcement—a behavior is not reinforced
every time it occurs.
 Behavior learned through partial reinforcement tend
to last longer after they are no longer being reinforced
at all than do behaviors learned through continuous
reinforcement.
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Chapter 6
Section 2: Operant Conditioning
PSYCHOLOGY
PRINCIPLES IN PRACTICE
Fixed-Ratio Schedule
 A fixed-ratio schedule—reinforcement is
provided after a fixed number of correct
responses have been made.
 Example—a free video rental after payment for 5
rentals
 If the rate is too high it will be less effective
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Chapter 6
Section 2: Operant Conditioning
Variable-ratio schedule
PSYCHOLOGY
PRINCIPLES IN PRACTICE
 Variable-ratio schedule—reinforcement is
provided after a variable number of correct
responses have been made.
 Reinforcement can come at any time
 The unpredictability maintains a high response
rate.
 Example: Slot machines
 Even though players do not know when they will
win, they continue to drop coins into the machine.
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©John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 2007
Huffman: Psychology in Action (8e)
PSYCHOLOGY
PRINCIPLES IN PRACTICE
 If you want to
increase the
overall number of
responses, which
schedule of
reinforcement
should you
choose?
HOLT, RINEHART
AND
WINSTON
Chapter 6
Section 3: Cognitive Factors in Learning
PSYCHOLOGY
PRINCIPLES IN PRACTICE
Cognitive Factors in Learning
 Cognitive psychologists see learning as
purposeful, not mechanical.
 They believe that a person can learn something
simply by thinking about it or by watching
others.
 There are two kinds of learning that involves
cognitive factors are latent learning and
observational learning.
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Chapter 6
Section 3: Cognitive Factors in Learning
PSYCHOLOGY
PRINCIPLES IN PRACTICE
Question: What are the cognitive factors in learning?
 Latent learning – learning that remains hidden
until it is needed
 Example: On your way to school each morning,
you may pass a particular street corner at which
you have never had any reason to stop. But if a
friend wants to meet you at that corner on
Saturday, you will still know how to get there,
even though you may never have stopped there
before.
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©John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 2007
Huffman: Psychology in Action (8e)
PSYCHOLOGY
PRINCIPLES IN PRACTICE
 Kohler’s chimps
demonstrated
insight learning
(sudden understanding
of a problem that
implies the solution).
HOLT, RINEHART
AND
WINSTON
©John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 2007
Huffman: Psychology in Action (8e)
PSYCHOLOGY
PRINCIPLES IN PRACTICE
 Tolman’s rats built a cognitive
map (a mental image of a threedimensional space).
Example: On your way to school
each morning, you may pass a
particular street corner at which
you have never had any reason to
stop. But if a friend wants to
meet you at that corner on
Saturday, you will still know how
to get there, even though you may
never have stopped there before.
HOLT, RINEHART
AND
WINSTON
Chapter 6
PSYCHOLOGY
PRINCIPLES IN PRACTICE
Observational Learning
 Observational learning – acquiring knowledge
and skills by observing and imitating others
 Example: cooking shows on TV
 They are based on the premise that people
learn by watching or being told how others do
things.
 People also learn to predict likely outcomes of
actions by watching others.
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Chapter 6
PSYCHOLOGY
PRINCIPLES IN PRACTICE
Albert Bandura
 We acquire knowledge and skills by observing and
imitating others (observational learning)
 Observational learning accounts form much human
learning.
 Children learn to speak, eat, and play at least partly
by observing their parents and others.
 You learn to pronounce words in your foreign
language class by hearing your teacher pronounce
them.
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Chapter 6
PSYCHOLOGY
PRINCIPLES IN PRACTICE
The Effects of Media Violence
 Most health professionals agree that media violence
contributes to aggression.
 Media violence supplies models of aggressive “skills” which children
may learn by watching
 Children who see a lot of violence are more likely to view violence as
an effective way of settling conflicts.
 Viewing violence can lead to emotional desensitization toward violence
in real life.
 Viewing violence may lead to real life violence
 Television networks have recently made some attempts to
limit the amount of violence in programs intended for
children.
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Chapter 6
PSYCHOLOGY
PRINCIPLES IN PRACTICE
The Effects of Media Violence
 There is a difference between what people
learn and what they do
 If young people consider violence wrong for
them, they will probably not be violent, even if
they know how to be violent. This applies to
other behaviors as well.
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