Learning

What does Learning mean? Learning is any relatively permanent change in behavior brought about by experience or practice  ** Different from maturation that is controlled by genes  “relatively permanent” means that some part of the brain is physically changed to record learning: process of memory

Applying Learning If you were designing the ideal slot machine, how could you apply the principles of learning to ensure that people play the machine over and over again despite winning very little money? How does your ideal slot machine compare to state lotteries or mail contests?

Applying Learning Think of cases in your own life when punishment worked effectively and other cases when it did not. What were the differences between the two situations? Why did it work in some cases but not in others? How do your own experiences compare to the discussion in the text on the circumstances under which aversive control is likely to be most effective? Can you add new conditions to those listed in the text?

Classical Conditioning 1 st studied by Ivan Pavlov  Studying digestive system in dogs – salivation when eating Reflex – involuntary response - salivation Stimulus causes a Response – Food causes Salivation  Change in Study: Dogs began to salivate before food was given – this began the study of classical conditioning

Classical Conditioning Def. learning to make a reflex response to a stimulus other than the original, natural stimulus that normally produces the reflex  Pavlov accidentally discovered that one stimulus can, through pairing with another stimulus, come to produce a similar response

Elements of Classical Conditioning Unconditioned Stimulus (UCS) – a naturally occurring stimulus that leads to an involuntary Unconditioned Response Unconditioned Response (UCR) – involuntary response to a naturally occurring or Unconditioned Stimulus  Both are not learned

Elements of Classical Conditioning Neutral Stimulus (NS) – stimulus that has no effect on the desired response Conditioned Stimulus (CS) – stimulus that becomes able to produce a learned response by being paired with the original Unconditioned Stimulus Conditioned Response (CR) – learned response to a Conditioned Stimulus

How Does It Work? 1) Unconditioned Stimulus (UCS) elicits the Unconditioned Response (UCR) 2) Neutral Stimulus (NS) is introduced by itself & does not elicit the desired response 3) Neutral Stimulus (NS) is paired with the Unconditioned Stimulus (UCS) 4) Neutral Stimulus (NS) is presented on its own, thus becoming the Conditioned Stimulus (CS) 5) Conditioned Stimulus (CS) elicits/causes the Conditioned Response (CR)

Putting It All Together Major Understanding – neutral stimulus & UCS must be paired several times & the CS must precede the UCS by only a few seconds (no more than 5) Stimulus Generalization – stimuli similar to UCS will evoke CR but to a lesser degree Stimulus Discrimination – presentation of stimulus similar to CS without UCS leads to this stimulus not producing a CR  “Fake” stimulus allows subject to discriminate against real stimulus (CS)

Putting It All Together Extinction – weakening & eventual disappearance of the CR following the removal of UCS  Response “dies out” but it doesn’t have to be permanent*** Spontaneous Recovery – reappearance of CR after extinction  Usually weak & short-lived

Higher-Order Conditioning Occurs when a strong CS is paired with a neutral stimulus, causing the neutral stimulus to become a 2 nd conditioned stimulus  Without UCS, higher-order conditioning can be difficult to maintain

Conditioned Emotional Responses Watson & “Little Albert” – demonstrated that an emotional disorder called a phobia could be learned through classical conditioning – Conditioned Emotional Response (CER)  Exposed a baby to a white rat (UCS) & a loud noise (CS), producing conditioned fear (CR) of the rat  Vicarious Conditioning – classical conditioning of a reflex response/emotion by watching the reaction of another person

Other Conditioned Responses Taste Aversions – occur when an organism becomes nauseated after eating a certain food – becomes aversive to the organism Biological Preparedness – conditioned responses that are more easily learned, cause humans to associate certain stimuli with danger to survival  Survival Mechanism

Why Does Classical Conditioning Work? Stimulus Substitution – CS becomes a substitute for the UCS by being paired close together in time  CS must predict that the UCS is coming Cognitive Perspective – CS has to provide some kind of information or expectancy about the UCS in order for conditioning to occur  Presenting the CS after the UCS does not result in conditioning

Operant Conditioning Def. Learning of voluntary behavior through the effects of pleasant or unpleasant consequences to responses  Law of Effect: a response followed by a pleasurable consequence will tend to be repeated, but vice versa for an unpleasant consequence: Thorndike’s Puzzle Box

B.F. Skinner – Behaviorist Creator of Operant Conditioning – believed voluntary responses are what we use to operate on the world around us  Focused on the effects of consequences on behavior  Learning depends on what happens after the response  2 main components: Reinforcement & Punishment

Reinforcement Def. Process of strengthening a response by following it with pleasurable, rewarding consequence  “What’s in it for me” – the reason we learn  Skinner’s Box – rats learned to press down on a bar to get food; bar = reinforcement

Reinforcement Primary Reinforcer – satisfy a basic natural drive (food, water)  Used more easily for infants, toddlers, pre- schoolers, & animals Secondary Reinforcer – something that becomes reinforcing only after being paired with a primary reinforcer  comes from the process of classical conditioning

Reinforcement Positive Reinforcement – response followed by the presentation of a pleasurable stimulus  Something valued or desirable; added Negative Reinforcement – response followed by the removal/avoidance of an unpleasant stimulus  Something unpleasant; removed/avoided

Reinforcement 1) Cole’s father nags him to wash the family car. Cole hates being nagged, so he washes the car so his father will stop nagging him. 2) Tucker learns that talking in a funny voice get him a lot of attention from his classmates, so now he talks that way often. 3) Jana is a server at a restaurant & always tries to smile & be pleasant because that seems to lead to bigger tips. 4) Felicity turns her report in to her teacher on the day it is due b/c papers get marked down a letter grade for every day they are late.

Punishment Def. any event or stimulus, which when following a response, makes that response less likely to happen again  Punishment weakens responses, Reinforcement strengthens responses

Punishment Punishment by Application – response is followed by the experiencing (application) of an unpleasant stimulus  Adding to the situation Punishment by Removal – response followed by the removal of some pleasurable stimulus  Removing something valued/desirable  More accepted in child development