2. Learning Theories

3. Learning To gain knowledge, understanding, or skill, by study, instruction, or experience.

4. Part 1 Classical Conditioning

5. Ivan Pavlov (1849-1936) Classical conditioning is a type of learning in which associations are made between a natural stimulus and a learned, neutral stimulus.

6. Step 1 We begin with a natural stimulus/response pair. –No conditions are needed for this to occur. –Example: Food creates Saliva Stimulus=Response Classical Conditioning Terminology: –Unconditioned Stimulus: any stimulus that automatically elicits a response –Unconditioned response: a natural response to a natural stimulus Unconditioned Stimulus (UCS)= Unconditioned Response (UCR) –Food (UCS) = Salivation (UCR)

7. Step 2 In order for learning to occur a neutral stimulus is paired with the natural stimulus/response. This is repeated multiple times, by doing this the subject begins to associate the two. NS+UCS=UCR Classical Conditioning Terminology: –Neutral Stimulus (NS): a stimulus that has no effect on the response. experimenter (NS) + Food (UCS) = Salivation (UCR)

8. Step 3 After being paired together multiple times the subject begins to anticipate the NS=the UCS. And what was once neutral becomes learned or conditioned. Experimenter (CS)+ Food (UCS) = Salivation (UCR) Terminology: –Conditioned Stimulus (CS): a stimulus that was once neutral but has become learned by associating two things together.

9. Step 4 Eventually there is a response to the conditioned stimulus alone. –This makes the response a conditioned (learned) response (CR) Conditioned Stimulus (CS) = Conditioned Response (CR) experimenter (CS) = Salivation (CR) Terminology: –Conditioned Response: a response to the learned stimulus.

10. Helpful Hints… The Neutral Stimulus always becomes the Conditioned Stimulus. –NS turns into the CS The Unconditioned response always becomes the conditioned response. –UCR turns into the CR

11. Key Words/People… Acquisition: The initial stage of learning during which a response is established and gradually strengthened. John B. Watson Discovered emotional conditioning. Example: Little Albert Stimulus Generalization: Tendency for stimuli similar to the CS to evoke a similar response Extinction: The diminishing of a response when, in CC an UCS does not follow a CS. Spontaneous Recovery: The reappearance, after a rest, of an extinguished conditioned response. Mary Cover Jones: Discovered that Classical conditioning could be used to rid fears and phobias.

12. Part Two Operant Conditioning

13. B.F. Skinner (1904-1990) Operant Conditioning: a type of learning in which behavior is strengthened if followed by reinforcement or diminished if followed by punishment. Or actions and consequences.

14. Skinner Box

15. Key Words… Shaping: –A procedure in which reinforcers guide behavior toward closer and closer approximations of a desired goal. Chaining: –Reinforcing the connection between the parts of a sequence Punishment: –An aversive event that decreases the behavior it follows. Discrimination: –Learning to tell the difference between two stimuli.

16. Reinforcement Reinforcement: –Any event that strengthens the behavior it follows. –Primary –Secondary –Positive –Negative –Immediate –Delayed –Reinforcement Schedules –Continuous –Partial »Fixed-ratio »Variable-ratio »Fixed-interval »Variable-interval

17. Schedules of Reinforcement Variable Interval Number of responses 1000 750 500 250 0 10203040506070 Time (minutes) Fixed Ratio Variable Ratio Fixed Interval Steady responding Rapid responding near time for reinforcement 80

18. Conditioning Comparisons: Both are learning by Association Classical Conditioning: Learning through a stimulus and response Operant Conditioning: Learning through rewards or punishments and our behavior

19. Part 3 Social Learning

20. Social Learning… Albert Bandura Social Learning: learning from the behavior of others or all learning in social situations. Observational Learning: learning by observing and imitating the behavior of others.

21. Bo-Bo Dolls Bandura’s experiments

22. Key Words… Modeling: –The process by which a behavior is observed and imitated. -more affected by same sex models. -more affected by those we admire. Pro-social Behavior: –Positive, constructive, helpful behavior. –The opposite of anti-social.

23. Part 4 Cognitive Approach

24. Cognitive Approach… An approach to the study of learning that emphasizes abstract mental processes and previous knowledge. –Helps explain more complex examples of learning. –Focus on how knowledge is… Obtained Processed Organized

25. What makes it different? Believes in cognition. –Classical conditioning and operant conditioning ignore this. States that learning isn’t obvious –There is a big difference between learning how to do something and actually doing it.

26. Demonstrations of Cognition in learning… Latent Learning: –Learning that goes on under the surface, but not obvious. Expectancies: –Beliefs about our ability to perform an action and to get the reward. Reinforcement Value: –Individualized preference for a certain type of reward. Cognitive Map: –Mental image of where one is located in space. Strategies –Methods for solving problems

27. Wrap-Up… Classical Conditioning: –Learning by associating two events, a stimulus and response. Operant Conditioning: –Learning to associate rewards and punishments with our behaviors Social Learning: –Learning in any social situation. –Learning by watching and imitating others. Cognitive Approach: –Learning through abstract reasoning and previous knowledge.

28. The End!!