1. Learning is the modification through experience of pre-existing
behavior and understanding.
Chapter 6 “learning”

2. Learning About stimuli
Habituation is considered a simple form of adaptive learning.
Organisms stop paying attention to stimuli that are often repeated and that don’t signal any important environmental events.

3. Opponent Process Theory
A-Process
B-process
The A-Process is an almost reflexive increase or decrease in some response.
The B-Process causes an opposite or opposing response.
Opponent Process Theory

4. Classical conditioning: learning signals and associations.
Ivan Pavlov’s experiment was the first demonstration of classical conditioning.
Pavlov’s experiment had three phases:
Phase One: A natural reflex and a neutral stimulus were established.
Phase Two: The neutral stimulus and the stimulus causing the natural reflex were repeatedly paired.
Third Phase: The neutral stimulus alone caused some form of the natural reflex to occur.

5. Classical Conditioning
In classical conditioning, a neutral stimulus is paired with a stimulus that elicits a reflex or other response until the formerly neutral stimulus elicits a similar response.
Elements
UCS
UCR CS CR

6. Conditioned response over time: extinction
The CS will continue to elicit a CR only if the UCS continues to appear at least some of the time.
If the CS and UCS are unpaired (that is, the CS is not followed by the UCS), the CR gets weaker and weaker and undergoes extinction.

7. Spontaneous Recovery
However, the learned relationship between the CS and UCS isn’t completely forgotten.
Reconditioning—the relationship between the CS and UCS is relearned as the stimuli are paired once again. This time the CS will elicit the CR much more rapidly.
Spontaneous Recovery—occurs when, after no presentation of either the CS or the UCS for a period of time, a single presentation of the CS elicits the CR.

8. Stimulus Generalization
Stimulus generalization occurs when a stimulus similar but not identical to the original stimulus also elicits the response.

9. Stimulus Discrimination
Stimulus discrimination is a complementary process through which organism learn to differentiate between stimuli that are similar but not identical to the CS.

10. Signaling of Significant Events
In classical condition, the CS acts as a signal that the UCS is about to appear.
Situations that highlight and strengthen the CS-UCS relationship will produce stronger CRs.

11. Timing
Classical Conditioning produces the strongest CRs when the CS precedes the UCS by no more than a few seconds.

12. Predictability
A strong CR will be developed if a very noticeable CS is reliably followed by the UCS.

13. Signal Strength
The relationship between the CS and the UCS is learned faster as the salience or intensity of the CS and UCS increases.

14. Attention
Often more than one CS is associated with a UCS. The Cs that is most attended to will be the best predictor of the UCS.

15. Second-Order Conditioning
Second-Order Conditioning, occurs when a second conditioned stimulus predicts the presence of the first conditioned stimulus, which predicts the presence of the UCS.

16. Biopreparedness
Humans and animals may be innately likely or biologically “prepared” to learn certain adaptive associations.
Nausea is likely to be a conditioned response to an internal stimulus such as taste (conditioned taste aversion), and pain is likely to be a conditioned response to an external stimulus such as noise.

17. Some Applications of Classical Conditioning:
Learned Immune Responses. Immune responses can be classically conditioned by pairing a neutral stimulus (CS) with a drug (UCS) that, for example, prevents or reduces an allergy attack or increases circulating natural killer cells.
After conditioning, the CS alone will elicit a conditioned immune response.

18. Phobias
Phobias are fears of objects or situations that are not harmful. Classical conditioning can both produce (via stimulus generalization) and eliminate (through systematic desensitization) phobias.

19. Predator Control
Some Ranchers have set out mutton laced with lithium for wolves and coyotes.
The dizziness and severe nausea (UCR) caused by the lithium becomes associated with the taste and smell of mutton (CS) thus making sheep an undesirable meal.

20. Operant Conditioning: Learning the consequences of behavior
People learn more than just an association between neutral and unconditioned stimuli.
For many behaviors, the stimuli that follow an action are important.
In other words, people learn to respond in a way that brings about positive consequences.

21. From the Puzzle box to the skinner box.
According to the law of effects, if a response made in the presence of a particular stimulus is followed by a reward, that response is more likely to be made the next time the stimulus is encountered.

22. Instrumental
Responses that are “instrumental” meaning they help produce some rewarding or desired effect, are learned; therefore, Thorndike called this learning instrumental conditioning.
Skinner’s emphasis on how an organism learns to “operate on” its environment to produce a positive effect led him to rename instrumental conditioning to operant conditioning.

23. Basic components of Operant conditioning
Operants and Reinforcers.
Escape and Avoidance Conditioning
Punishment
Discriminative Stimuli
Stimulus Control

24. Operants and Reinforcers:
An operant is a behavioral response that has some effect on an organism’s environment.
In operant conditioning people learn the relationship between the operants and their consequences.
A reinforcer is a consequence that increases the probability that a behavioral response will occur again.

25. Two Types of Reinforcers
Positive Reinforcers—are positive stimuli that act like rewards.
Negative Reinforcers—are negative stimuli that, once removed, encourage or reinforce behavior.

26. Escape Conditioning
Negative reinforcements are used in escape conditioning.
In escape conditioning, an organism learns behaviors that lead to an escape from an unpleasant situation (negative reinforcement)

27. Avoidance conditioning
Negative reinforcements are used in avoidance conditioning.
In avoidance conditioning, an organism learns behaviors that allow it to completely avoid an unpleasant situation.
Avoidance conditioning is very strong and may prevent an organism from learning new behaviors.

28. Punishment
Punishment presents an aversive stimulus or removes a pleasant stimulus to decrease the frequency of a behavior.

29. Disadvantages to Punishment
It does not eliminate learning: it merely suppresses a behavior.
If an organism knows that punishment is not likely, then the behavior is repeated
It is not effective unless it immediately follows the undesired behavior.
May be associated with the punisher so that eventually the punisher is feared.
Organisms being punished may learn to relate to others in an aggressive manner.
Makes clear what behaviors are incorrect, but it does not provided any demonstration of desired behavior.

30. Punishment can work if used wisely
One should punish the behavior not the person.
Punish immediately
Use severe enough punishment to eliminate the behavior.
Explain and reinforce more appropriate behaviors.

31. Discriminative stimuli
Discriminative Stimuli signal to an organism that reinforcement is available if a certain response is made.
This response is said to be under stimulus control.

32. Stimulus Generalization
Recognizing a stimulus that is similar to the original stimulus that signaled reinforcement.

33. Forming and strengthening operant behavior
Shaping
Secondary Reinforcement
Delay and Size of Reinforcement
Schedules of Reinforcement
Schedules and Extinction

34. Shaping
Shaping is the creation of new responses never before displayed.
Reinforcing successive approximations (behaviors more and more like the desired response) of the desired behavior.

35. Secondary Reinforcement
Often, operant conditioning will begin with primary reinforcers—events or stimuli that are intrinsically rewarding…food.
A secondary reinforcer is a previously neutral stimulus that , if paired with a stimulus that is already reinforcing, will itself take on reinforcing properties….token economy.

36. Delay and size of Reinforcement
Operant condition is strongest when the delay in receiving a reinforcer is short, and when the reinforcer is large.

37. Schedules of Reinforcement
On a continuous reinforcement schedule, every correct response receives a reward.
On partial, or intermittent reinforcement schedules, reinforcement is received only some of the time.

38. Fixed Ratio (FR) Schedules
A reward is given after a fixed number of responses.

39. Variable Ratio Schedule
A reward is given after an average number of responses.

40. Fixed Interval Schedule
Rewards the first response displayed after a fixed time interval.

41. Variable Interval Schedule
Rewards the first response after a varying time interval.

42. Schedules and extinction
Eliminating reinforcers for behavioral responses eventually causes the behavioral response to cease.
Partial reinforcement extinction effect demonstrates that it is more difficult to extinguish an operant behavior learned under a partial rather than a continuous reinforcement schedule.

43. Why Reinforcers work?
Primary reinforcers are items that fulfill basic needs or are inherently rewarding experiences, such as relief from pain.

44. The Premack Principle
The Premack Principle asserts that each person has a hierarchy of behvioral preferences, and that the higher an activity is in that hierarchy, the greater its reinforcement power.

45. Disequalibrium hypothesis
Contends that any activity can become a reinforcer if access to it has been restricted for a time.

46. Biological explanation
Biological psychologists have found that stimulation of “pleasure centers” in the brain is a powerful reinforcer, suggesting a physiological component to reinforcement.

47. Operant Conditioning of Human Behavior
Operant conditioning can be used to teach people the “rules” of social behavior and to eliminate problematic behavior and reinforce positive, desired behavior in people afflicted with mental retardation, autism, and other behavior disorders.
Operant conditioning principles can also be used to help people understand the stimuli that trigger behaviors they want to eliminate (smoking or overeating).
Understanding and avoiding discriminative stimuli can reduce undesired behavior.

48. Cognitive Process in Learning
Cognitive processes, such as how people store, represent and use information, can influence learning.

49. Learned Helplessness
Humans and animals placed in situations that eliminate their control over the environment tend to give up any effort to exert control over their environment in a new situation.
They learn to be helpless

50. Latent Learning
Learning that is not immediately evident in an organism’s behavior is known as latent learning.

51. Cognitive Maps
Cognitive maps are mental representations of the environment.

52. Insight and Learning
The cognitive process of insight involves understanding the global organization of a problem.

53. Observational Learning: Learning by Imitation
A series of experiments by Bandura demonstrated that people learn by watching others, which is termed observational learning.

54. Vicarious Conditioning
In vicarious conditioning, a type of observational learning, a person learns new behaviors by observing the consequences (reinforcement or punishment) of someone else’s behavior.

55. Using Research on Learning to Help people learn
Classrooms Across Cultures
Studies show that the average academic performance of U.S. students tends to lag behind that of students in other countries.
Suggested causes include static classroom formats, and less time spent on practice. VS

56. Teaching Machines
B.F. Skinner’s machine gave students immediate feedback on their answers to questions about course material presented in a window.
Today interactive computer programs work on the same principle.

57. Active learning
Active learning exercises improve memory of materials and make classrooms more enjoyable.
Active learning is a more elaborate processing in which students solve problems in groups, think about how material relates to what they know, and answer every question asked by the teacher.

58. Skill learning
Practice is the most critical component of skill learning.
How much effort is put into practicing the skill, by working on a variety of difficult problems or movements, will be a critical factor in performance.
Coaching is helpful in limited doses; the learner should be encouraged to try independent practice in addition to coaching.

59. Skill learning
Feedback let the learner know if she or he is correct and may provide understanding of the cognitive and physical processes used in the skill.
Feedback should be given after a learner is done practicing and should not be so detailed that the learner doesn’t have to learn from his or her own mistakes.