Transcript Learning - Gordon State College

Chapter 6
Learning
Classical or Pavlovian
Conditioning
 Ivan
Pavlov
1849-1936
 Russian physician/
neurophysiologist
 Nobel Prize, 1904
 studied digestive
secretions

Classical or Pavlovian
Conditioning
 Pavlov’s
device
for recording
salivation
Pavlov’s Apparatus for Studying
Classical Conditioning in Dogs
Classical or Pavlovian Conditioning:
Respondent Behavior

Unconditioned Stimulus (UCS)


stimulus that unconditionally- naturally and
automatically - triggers a response
Unconditioned Response (UCR)

unlearned, naturally occurring response to
the unconditioned stimulus

salivation when food is in the mouth
Classical Conditioning: Respondent
Behavior

learning in which a neutral stimulus acquires the
capacity to elicit a response after being paired
with another stimulus that naturally elicits that
response
 Unconditioned response (UCR): automatic
response to a stimulus
 Unconditioned stimulus (UCS): naturally and
automatically elicits a response
 Conditioned response (CR): learned response
to a previously neutral stimulus
 Conditioned stimulus (CS): after repeated
pairings with UCS, elicits the same response
Classical or Pavlovian Conditioning:
Respondent Behavior

Conditioned Stimulus (CS)


originally neutral stimulus that, after
association with an unconditioned stimulus,
comes to trigger a conditioned response
Conditioned Response (CR)

learned response to a previously neutral
conditioned stimulus
Pavlov’s Classic Experiment
Before Conditioning
UCS (food
in mouth)
UCR
(salivation)
During Conditioning
Neutral
stimulus
(tone)
No
salivation
After Conditioning
UCS (food
in mouth)
Neutral
stimulus
(tone)
UCR
(salivation)
CS
(tone)
CR (salivation)
Classical or Pavlovian
Conditioning
UCS
(passionate
kiss)
CS
(onion
breath)
CS
(onion
breath)
UCR
(sexual
arousal)
UCS
(passionate
Kiss)
CR
(sexual
arousal)
UCR
(sexual
arousal)
Classical Conditioning
Classic Conditioning Allows Animals to
Learn to Predict Events


Learning theorists once believed that the
learning in classical conditioning is
unintentional and automatic (classic
behaviorism).
Most contemporary learning theorists now
believe classical conditioning involves quite a
bit of “mindfulness” because, (through the
conditioning process) humans and other
animals are learning to reliably predict
upcoming events.
Classic Conditioning Allows Animals to
Learn to Predict Events


Psychologists once believed that the key to
acquiring a conditioned response was the
sheer number of CS-UCS pairings.
However, the order and timing of CS-UCS
pairings is also very important because it
provides valuable information about the
upcoming occurrence of the unconditioned
stimulus.
Utility of classical responding: Avoiding a
Predator’s Attack through Classical
Conditioning—Step 1
Avoiding a Predator’s Attack through
Classical Conditioning—Step 2
Avoiding a Predator’s Attack through
Classical Conditioning—Step 3
Stages in Classical (Pavlovian)
Conditioning

Acquisition


the initial stage of learning, during which a
response is established and gradually
strengthened
the phase associating a neutral stimulus with
an unconditioned stimulus
Stages in Classical (Pavlovian)
Conditioning


Extinction: gradual weakening and
disappearance of the conditioned
response
Spontaneous recovery:
reappearance of an extinguished
response after a period of
nonexposure to the conditioned
stimulus
After Acquisition, Other Stimuli Can
Produce the Conditioned Response

Stimulus generalization: tendency for a
conditioned response to be elicited by
stimuli similar to the conditioned
stimulus
Generalization
Drops of saliva
60
in 30 seconds
50
40
30
20
10
Hind
0
Pelvis
Shoulder
paw
Front
paw
Thigh
Trunk
Foreleg
Part of body stimulated
After Acquisition, Other Stimuli Can
Produce the Conditioned Response

Higher-order conditioning: neutral
stimulus becomes a conditioned
stimulus after being paired with an
existing conditioned stimulus
Animals Differ in What Responses Can Be
Classically Conditioned

Early learning theorists assumed that the
principles of conditioning were similar across
all species, but subsequent research indicates
that this assumption is incorrect.
 Animals often differ in what responses can
be conditioned.
 In some animals, some responses can be
conditioned much more readily to certain
stimuli than to others.
 An animal’s biology steers it toward
certain kinds of conditioning.
Taste aversion study by Garcia and Koelling
Rats learned to avoid a light-noise combination
when it was paired with electric shock, but not
when it was followed by X rays that made them
nauseous.
In contrast, rats quickly learned to avoid flavored
water when it was followed by X rays, but they
did not readily acquire an aversion to this same
water when it was followed by shock.
It is also adaptive that in taste aversion, strong
conditioning develops despite the long delay
between the CS (the taste) and the UCS (the
nausea).
Biological Constraints on Taste
Aversion in Rats
Animals Differ in What Responses Can
Be Classically Conditioned
Phobias: exaggerated and irrational fears of
objects or situations
Such intense fear reactions often develop through
classical conditioning.
We can develop a phobia toward anything, but
some objects (snakes) or situations elicit phobic
reactions more easily than others.
Nausea Conditioning among
Cancer Patients
UCS
(drug)
UCR
(nausea)
CS
(waiting
room)
UCS
(drug)
UCR
(nausea)
CS
(waiting
room)
CR
(nausea)
Little Albert’s Fear
Conditioning
UCS
(loud noise)
CS
(rat)
CS
(rat)
Stimulus similar
to rat (such as
rabbit)
UCR
(fear)
UCS
(loud noise)
CR
(fear)
Conditioned fear
(generalization)
UCR
(fear)
Operant Conditioning
 B.F.
Skinner (19041990)
elaborated
Thorndike’s Law of
Effect
 developed
behavioral
technology

Operant Behavior Is Voluntary & Directed
by Consequences

Edward Thorndike ‘s Law of Effect:

the relationship between behavior and its
consequences

So named because behavior becomes more
or less likely based on the effect it has in
producing desirable or undesirable
consequences.
Thorndike’s Law of
Effect
Rewarded
behavior is
likely to recur
E. L. Thorndike

Operant Behavior Is Voluntary & Directed
by Consequences

B. F. Skinner made the law of effect the
cornerstone for his influential theory of
learning, called operant conditioning.


According to Skinner, the organism’s behavior is
“operating” on the environment to achieve some
desired goal.
Operant conditioning: learning in which
behavior is strengthened if followed by
reinforcement and weakened if followed by
punishment
Operant Conditioning

Operant Chamber
(“Skinner Box”)


soundproof chamber
with a bar or key
that an animal can
manipulate to obtain
a food or water
reinforcer
contains a device to
record responses
Skinner Box
Shaping Reinforces Closer
Approximations to Desired Behavior

Shaping (or the method of successive
approximations): teaching a new
behavior by reinforcing closer and closer
approximations to the desired behavior
A Reinforcer Increases the Probability
of the Behavior It Follows



The fundamental principle of
behaviorism is that rewarded behavior is
likely to be repeated.
This is known as reinforcement in
operant conditioning.
It also states the positive side of
Thorndike’s Law of Effect.
A Reinforcer Increases the Probability
of the Behavior It Follows



Primary versus secondary reinforcers
Primary reinforcers: innately
reinforcing—satisfy biological needs.
Secondary reinforcers: learned and
become reinforcing when associated
with a primary reinforcer
A Reinforcer Increases the Probability
of the Behavior It Follows
Positive and negative reinforcers
Positive reinforcers: strengthen a response by
presenting a positive stimulus after a
response
Negative reinforcer: strengthens a response
by removing an aversive stimulus after a
response
Positive and Negative Reinforcement,
Positive and Negative Punishment
Different Reinforcement Schedules Lead to Different
Learning and Performance Rates


Continuous reinforcement leads to the
fastest learning.
The biggest problem with continuous
reinforcement is that when it ends,
extinction occurs rapidly.
Different Reinforcement Schedules Lead to Different
Learning and Performance Rates

Partial reinforcement has an important
effect on your continued performance
because being reinforced only once in a
while keeps you responding vigorously
for longer periods of time than does
continuous reinforcement.
Different Reinforcement Schedules Lead to
Different Learning and Performance Rates
Fixed-interval schedules: reinforce the first
response after a fixed-time interval has elapsed



Fixed-ratio schedules: reinforce a response after
a specified number of nonreinforced responses
Variable-interval schedules: reinforce the first
response after a variable-time interval has
elapsed
Variable-ratio schedules: reinforce a response
after a variable number of nonreinforced
responses
Schedules of Reinforcement
Accidental Reinforcement Can Cause
Superstitious Behavior


Superstitious behavior: learned because it happened to be
followed by a reinforcer, even though this behavior was not
the cause of the reinforcer.
Skinner trained superstitious behavior in hungry
pigeons.
He reasoned that when reinforcement occurred, it
would be paired with whatever response the pigeons
had just performed.
Instances of accidental reinforcement triggering
superstitious behavior is common among people.
Punishment Should Be Used Only
under Certain Circumstances

Punishment: The process by which a
consequence decreases the probability of
the behavior that it follows.
Punishment Should Be Used Only
under Certain Circumstances

To be effective in reducing unwanted
behaviors:




The punishment must be prompt,
It must be relatively strong, and
It must be consistently applied.
Alternative to punishment of undesirable
behavior:

Allow undesirable actions to continue without
either positive or negative consequences until
they are extinguished
Criticism of Operant Conditioning Theory is that it
Overlooks Genetic Predispositions

Biological constraints on learning


As with classical conditioning, an animal’s
biology can restrict its capacity for operant
conditioning.
Species-specific behavior patterns can
interfere with operant conditioning, a genetic
constraint called instinctive drift.
Criticism of Operant Conditioning Theory is that it
Overlooks Cognitive Processes


Latent learning: learning that occurs without
apparent reinforcement and is not
demonstrated until sufficient reinforcement is
provided
Learning can occur without any reinforcement,
something that the theory of operant
conditioning assumed was not possible.
Latent Learning
Operant Conditioning Theory Overlooks Cognitive
Processes

Learned helplessness: the passive resignation
produced by repeated exposure to aversive
events that cannot be avoided

Here again, in contradiction to behaviorist
theory, research demonstrated that mental
processes play a significant role in learning.
Applications of Operant Conditioning



Structure and feedback in learning
– immediate reinforcement
Defined performance goals and
immediate reinforcement at work
Parenting – reward good behavior,
ignore whining, time-out
Observational Learning

learning by observing and imitating
the behavior of others


The others whom we observe and imitate
are called models.
Observational learning helps children
learn how to behave in their families and
in their cultures.Yet, what about the
learning that occurs without direct
experience?
Social Learning Theory-Albert Bandura


Social learning theory says that people
learn social behaviors mainly through
observation and cognitive processing of
information, rather than through direct
experience.
Learning the consequences of an action
by observing its consequences for
someone else is known as vicarious
conditioning.
Children Can Learn Aggressive
Behavior through Observation


Bobo doll studies: the first set of
experiments demonstrating the power
of observational learning in eliciting
aggression.
Research demonstrates that children
are less likely to imitate the actions of
punished aggressors.
Children Can Learn Aggressive
Behavior through Observation

Bandura believes children observe and learn
aggression through many avenues, but the
three principal ones are:



Families: where adults use violence
Communities: where aggression is considered to
be a sign of manhood, especially among males
Media: principally television and the movies
Children Can Learn Aggressive
Behavior through Observation
Research
indicates that
aggressive behavior in children is
significantly reduced when they
spend less time watching violent
television shows and playing
violent video games.