1. CHAPTER 8
LEARNING

2. What’s In This Chapter? (Objectives for this Unit)
This chapter on learning is the perspective known as Behavioral
Essential Questions to be asked:
What is learning?
Which part of our behavior is learned?
What are the types of learning?

3. "The object of teaching a child is to enable the child to get along without the teacher."  
unknown

4. What is Learning?
A relatively permanent change in an organism’s behavior due to experience.

5. Association We learn by association Associative Learning
Our minds naturally connect events that occur in sequence
Aristotle 2000 years ago
John Locke and David Hume 200 years ago
Associative Learning
learning that two events occur together
two stimuli
a response and its consequences
Ex. Upward arm motions correlate to positive position

6. Conditioning Conditioning: Classical Conditioning(C.C.):
The acquisition of specific patterns of behavior in the presence of well-defined stimuli.
Classical Conditioning(C.C.):
a response naturally elicited by one
stimulus comes to be elicited by a different,
formerly neutral stimulus
Ex. Snails on 310

7. Classical or Pavlovian Conditioning
We learn to associate two stimuli

8. Classical Conditioning Terms
Neutral stimulus:
A stimulus that does not elicit a specific response.
Conditioned stimulus (CS):
A neutral stimulus that acquires the ability to elicit a specific response
Conditioned response (CR):
A response similar to the UR that is elicited by the CS.

9. Classical Conditioning Terms
Unconditioned stimulus (US):
A stimulus that always elicits a specific response in the absence of any training.
Unconditioned response (UR):
A response that is always elicited by a specific stimulus in the absence of any training.

10. Classical Conditioning
Ivan Pavlov
Russian physician/ neurophysiologist
Nobel Prize in 1904
studied digestive secretions
First studies on associative learning

14. CLASSICAL CONDITIONING
Nearly all automatic, involuntary responses (UR) can become a conditioned response:
heartbeat, sweating, stomach secretion, blood pressure, brain waves etc.
For conditioning to be effective, the conditioned stimulus should occur before the unconditioned stimulus, not after.
the conditioned stimulus becomes a kind of signal for the unconditioned stimulus.

16. ALL HANDS ON DECK
1. Sara is watching a storm. A bolt of lightning is followed immediately by a huge crash of thunder and makes her jump. This happens several more times. The storm starts to move away and there is a gap between the lightening bolt and the sound of thunder, yet Sara jumps at the lightening bolt.
What is the:
UCS
UCR CS CR

17. ALL HANDS ON DECK
Steve's mouth waters whenever he eats anything with lemon in. One day, while seeing an advertisement showing lemons, his mouth begins to water.
What is the:
UCS
UCR CS CR

18. Can you name the Stimulus?

19. Classical Conditioning in Real Life
Learning to like
Learning to fear
Accounting for Taste
Reacting to Medical Treatment

20. Classical Conditioning
UCS
(passionate
kiss)
UCR
(sexual
arousal) CS
(onion
breath) CR
Kiss)

21. Nausea Conditioning in Cancer Patients
UCS
(drug)
UCR
(nausea) CS
(waiting
room) CR

22. Acquisition
Initial stage of classical conditioning with associating a neutral stimulus with an unconditional stimulus so that the neutral stimulus comes to elicit a conditioned response.
Ex. Flatworms

23. Principles of Conditioning
Discrimination
Generalization
Extinction
Spontaneous recovery

24. Classical Conditioning
Discrimination
in classical conditioning, the learned ability to distinguish between a CS and other stimuli that do not signal a UCS
Ex. Different types of dogs or snakes

25. Classical Conditioning
Generalization
tendency for stimuli similar to CS to elicit similar responses
the extension of the conditioned response from the original stimulus to similar stimuli.
Ex. Children fear cars, truck, and other moving vehicles

26. Modification of Original Classical Conditioning
Response generalization:
Stimulus discrimination:

28. Classical Conditioning
Extinction
diminishing of a CR
in classical conditioning, when a UCS does not follow a CS

29. Persistence of Classical Conditioning
Spontaneous recovery: the reappearance of the CR after a pause in extinction trials

30. Classical Conditioning
Strength
of CR
Pause
Acquisition
(CS+UCS)
Extinction
(CS alone)
Spontaneous
recovery of CR

31. ALL HANDS ON DECK
Think about the following scenarios and try to apply some of the aspects of classical conditioning:
1. How we acquire likes or dislikes for certain
foods.
2. How classical conditioning may be used to
treat conditions such as alcoholism.
3. How advertisers use classical conditioning.
4. How phobias and fears can be acquired.
5. How phobias and fears could be treated.

32. Behaviorism John B. Watson The case of baby Albert”
Subject: 11 month old baby

33. Classical Conditioning in Humans
J. B. Watson classically conditions “Little Albert” to fear white rats.
Case study
Identify the u.s., u.r., c.s., c.r.
Discrimination and generalization

34. The Case of Baby Albert

36. Classical Conditioning in Humans
Mary Cover Jones reconditions “Peter” to not fear rabbits.
This procedure evolved into desensitization therapy.
The Case of Baby Peter
Ucs, cs, ucr, cr

37. Common Examples of Classical Conditioning
Phobias:
Irrational fears
Conditioned food (taste) aversion:
Classically conditioning a novel flavor to illness
Biological predispositions for serve as protective measures

38. Classical Conditioning Is Selective
Martin Seligman has used the concept of preparedness to account for the fact that certain conditioned responses are acquired very easily.
The ease with which we develop conditioned taste aversions illustrates preparedness.

39. Classical Conditioning Is Selective
Animals are biologically prepared to learn conditioned taste aversions
Taste aversions can occur with only one pairing of the taste of a tainted food and later illness.

40. Reasons Taste Aversion Is Unique
Taste aversion only requires one pairing of the NS with the US.
Several hours can occur between the presentation of the NS and the US and the association between the two stimuli will occur.

41. OPERANT CONDITIONING
Learning By Consequences

42. Thorndike’s Law of Effect
Behavior consistently rewarded will become learned behavior.
Contemporary psychologists refer to this as the principle of reinforcement

43. Operant Conditioning
We learn to associate a response and its consequence
Key to learning trained behavior that doesn’t begin naturally within an organism
Ex. Pigeon flapping its wings or pecking for food

44. Operant Conditioning Operant (O.C.):
behaviors are emitted (in the presence of specific stimuli) to earn rewards or avoid punishments
The behavior is more likely or less likely to occur based on its consequences.
B. F. Skinner modified Pavlov’s concept and Thorndike’s law of effect.
Skinner used reinforcement
and punishment to enhance
learning.

45. Operant/Instrumental Conditioning
Operant or instrumental conditioning is learning to make or withhold a certain response because of its consequences.
Operant behaviors are different from the responses involved in classical conditioning
They are voluntarily emitted
Those involved in classical conditioning are elicited by stimuli.

46. Operant Conditioning: Shaping
Shaping: procedure in which reinforcers guide behavior closer and closer approximations of a desired goal
The organism is learning associations between its behavior and resulting events
Ex.

47. Operant Conditioning Terms
Reinforcer:
An event or stimulus that makes the behavior it follows more likely to occur again.
Best when not delayed but immediately following the behavior

48. Types of Reinforcement
Primary reinforcers
Secondary reinforcers
Positive reinforcers
Negative reinforcers

49. A Closer Look At Reinforcement
Primary reinforcer:
A reinforcer that is rewarding in itself, such as food, water, and sex.
Secondary reinforcer:
A reinforcer that acquires its reinforcing power through association with a primary reinforcer.
Money: #1 secondary reinforcer

50. A Closer Look At Reinforcement
Positive reinforcer:
A pleasant event that follows an operant response and increases the likelihood that the response will recur.
Negative reinforcer: strengthens a given response by removing an aversive stimuli.

51. Operant Conditioning Terms
Punishment: Any event that decreases the likelihood that the behavior preceding it will occur again.

52. Skinner’s Box
Chamber containing a bar or a key that an animal can manipulate to obtain a reward

53. SKINNER BOX Secondary reinforcer Primary reinforcer punishment

54. What Is Punishment?
The aim of punishment is to decrease the likelihood that an ongoing behavior will recur.
Punishment must be swift, sufficient, and certain for it to be effective.

55. A Closer Look at Punishment
Punishment is generally not as effective as the skillful application of reinforcement.
Avoidance training is an alternative strategy to using punishment.
Avoidance training:
Learning a desirable behavior to prevent the occurrence of something unpleasant.

56. Negative side effects of punishment
Slows down learning; punishing for errors
May suppress good behavior too; why should I try at all
Cat’s away syndrome
I’m a bad person
Only training method used only training method learned; cyclical effect
Unfortunate effect on the punisher

57. Reinforcement vs. Punishment
Reinforcement increases the rate of responding.
Punishment decreases the rate of responding.

58. Two Major Types of Reinforcement
Interval: time/clock: 7am-12pm-6pm
Ratio: amount: 1:1, 2:1, 3:1
Schedules can be:
Continuous:
each response is reinforced and thus learned more quickly but not as long lasting
Intermittent/partial:
reinforcement does not follow every response but the behavior lasts longer

59. Schedules of Reinforcement
Intermittent reinforcement: stronger schedule
Reinforcement which rewards are given for some correct responses but not for every one;
This generates behavior that persists longer than behavior learned by continuous reinforcement and thus is more resistant to extinction (behavior no longer occurs).
Partial reinforcement encourages learners to keep "testing" for a reward.
The type of partial reinforcement schedule also matters.

60. Schedules of Reinforcement Interval Schedules
A fixed-interval schedule:
Reinforcement given for the first correct response after a fixed time period, tends to result in a flurry of responding right before a reward is due.
A variable-interval schedule:
Reinforces the first correct response after an unpredictable period of time, tends to result in a slow but steady pattern of responding as the learner keeps testing for the next payoff.

61. Schedules of Reinforcement Ratio Schedules
A fixed-ratio schedule:
behavior is rewarded after a fixed number of correct responses,
so the result is usually a high rate of responding because faster responses yield quicker payoffs.

62. Schedules of Reinforcement
A variable-ratio schedule:
Provides reinforcement after a varying number of correct responses.
Encourages a high rate of response that is especially persistent because the person keeps harboring the hope that the next response will bring a reward.

63. Examples of Schedules Continuous reinforcement: Fixed-ratio schedule:
Putting money in a parking meter to avoid a parking ticket
Fixed-ratio schedule:
Being paid for producing a specific number of items (as in a factory setting)

64. Examples of Schedules Variable-ratio schedule:
Playing a slot machine
Fixed-interval schedule:
Receiving a salary paycheck every two weeks
Variable-interval schedule:
Surprise quizzes

65. Other Types of Learning
Cognitive learning
Learned Helplessness
Latent learning
Cognitive maps
Insight
Learning sets
Social learning theory

66. Learned Helplessness
Failure to take steps to avoid or escape from an unpleasant or aversive stimulus that occurs as a result of previous exposure to unavoidable painful stimuli.

67. Cognitive Learning Cognitive learning: Latent learning:
Learning that depends on mental processes that are not directly observable
Latent learning:
Learning that is not immediately reflected in a behavioral change
Occurs once there is incentive to demonstrate the behavior

68. Cognitive Learning
Extrinsic motivation: a desire to perform a behavior due to promised rewards or threats of punishment
Intrinsic motivation: a desire to perform a behavior for its own sake and to be effective
Bribing people to do this they already enjoy doing will reduce their level of intrinsic motivation

69. Cognitive Learning Cognitive map:
A learned mental image of a spatial environment that may be called on to solve problems when stimuli in the environment change.

70. Insight Learning Insight:
Learning that occurs rapidly as a result of understanding all the elements of a problem.

71. Learning Sets
The ability to become increasingly more effective in solving problems as more problems are solved.
i.e., “learning how to learn”

72. Social Learning Theory
A view of learning that emphasizes the ability to learn by observing or witnessing/imitating a model or receiving instructions, without firsthand experience by the observer.
Observational learning: Albert Bandura

73. Social Learning Theory
Modeling: the process of observing and imitating a specific behavior
Ex. Little brother wearing his hat like older brother
Ex. Bandura’s research on aggression
Ex. Prosocial behavior: positive, constructive, an helpful behavior
Mirror neurons: frontal lobe neurons that fire when performing certain actions or when observing another doing so.
Has to do with learning language as well

74. Practice Test 
1. In __________ reinforcement, the reinforcer follows every correct response.
a. intermittent
b. partial
c. negative
d. continuous
 2. In Pavlov's experiments with dogs, salivation was the
a. conditioned response.
b. unconditioned stimulus.
c. conditioned stimulus.
d. unconditioned response.

75. 3. The presentation of an aversive stimulus or the removal of a positive stimulus are both examples of a. negative reinforcement. b. punishment. c. positive reinforcement. d. secondary reinforcement. 4. In classical conditioning, learning is evident when a a. stimulus automatically produces a response without a prior history of experience. b. stimulus which did not initially produce a response now elicits that response. c. spontaneously emitted response increases in frequency as a result of its consequences. d. subject repeats an action he or she has observed in another and is praised for it.

76. 5. In Thorndike's law of effect, events critical for conditioning a
5. In Thorndike's law of effect, events critical for conditioning a. occur after the response. b. occur before the response. c. occur simultaneously with the response. d. are unrelated to the response except during extinction. 6. If you have a snake phobia because you once heard a loud noise while looking at a snake, for you a snake is a(n) a. US. b. CS. c. UR. d. CR.

77. 7. A series of responses that gradually approach a desired pattern of behavior are called a. adaptations. b. gradients. c. successive approximations. d. conditioning trials. 8. If the conditioned stimulus is presented many times without reinforcement, we can expect a. an increase in stimulus generalization. b. the strength of the UR to increase. c. an increase in response generalization. d. extinction to occur.

78. 9. A child has learned to avoid a furry, black cat
9. A child has learned to avoid a furry, black cat. However, she still plays with her grandmother's short-haired tabby. Her response demonstrates a. negative transfer. b. extinction. c. discrimination. d. successive approximation. 10. Punishment is most effective in suppressing behavior when it is a. immediate, consistent, and intense. b. delayed, consistent, and mild. c. immediate, consistent, and mild. d. delayed, inconsistent, and intense.