© 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Chapter 6: Learning © 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

© 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Learning A relatively permanent change in behavior brought about by experience Distinguishes between changes due to maturation and changes brought about by experience Distinguishes between short-term changes in performance and actual learning © 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

Classical Conditioning Type of learning discovered by Ivan Pavlov in which a neutral stimulus comes to bring about a response after it is paired with a stimulus that naturally brings about that response © 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

Classical Conditioning © 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

Classical Conditioning Habituation Applying conditioning principles to human behavior Phobias PTSD Panic attacks Can be relieved by classical conditioning © 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

Classical Conditioning Extinction Occurs when a previously conditioned response decreases in frequency and eventually disappears Spontaneous recovery The re-emergence of an extinguished conditioned response after a period of rest © 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

Classical Conditioning Extinction and Spontaneous Recovery © 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

Classical Conditioning Stimulus generalization Occurs when a conditioned response follows a stimulus that is similar to the original conditioned stimulus Stimulus discrimination Ability to differentiate between stimuli Conditioned Stimulus New Stimulus © 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

Classical Conditioning Learned taste aversion When humans learn they are allergic to certain foods they learn to avoid that food © 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

© 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Operant Conditioning Operant Conditioning Learning in which a voluntary response is strengthened or weakened, depending on its favorable or unfavorable consequences B.F. Skinner © 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

© 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Operant Conditioning Thorndike’s Law of Effect Responses that lead to satisfying consequences are more likely to be repeated, and responses followed by negative outcomes are less likely to be repeated © 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

© 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Operant Conditioning Reinforcement The process by which a stimulus increases the probability that a preceding behavior will be repeated Reinforcer Any stimulus that increases the probability that a preceding behavior will occur again © 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

© 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Operant Conditioning Primary reinforcer Satisfies some biological need and works naturally, regardless of a person’s prior experience Secondary reinforcer A stimulus that becomes reinforcing because of its association with a primary reinforcement © 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

Positive Reinforcers, Negative Reinforcers, and Punishment Positive reinforcement A stimulus added to the environment that brings about an increase in a preceding response © 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

Positive Reinforcers, Negative Reinforcers, and Punishment Negative reinforcement Unpleasant stimulus which when removed from the environment leads to an increase in the probability that a preceding response will occur again in the future Escape conditioning Avoidance conditioning © 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

Positive Reinforcers, Negative Reinforcers, and Punishment Stimulus that decreases the probability that a prior behavior will occur again Positive punishment weakens a response through the application of an unpleasant stimulus Negative punishment consists of the removal of something pleasant © 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

Positive Reinforcers, Negative Reinforcers, and Punishment © 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

Schedules of Reinforcement Continuous reinforcement Behavior that is reinforced every time is occurs Partial reinforcement Behavior that is some but not all of the time © 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

Schedules of Reinforcement Fixed-ratio schedule Reinforcement is given only after a certain number of responses Variable-ratio schedule Reinforcement occurs after a varying number of responses rather than after a fixed number © 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

Schedules of Reinforcement Fixed-interval Provides reinforcement for a response only if a fixed time period has elapsed, overall rates of response are relatively low Variable-interval Time between reinforcements varies around some average rather than being fixed © 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

Schedules of Reinforcement “Scalloping Effect” © 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

© 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Operant Conditioning Stimulus control training Behavior is reinforced in the presence of a specific stimulus, but not in its absence Discriminative stimulus Signals the likelihood that reinforcement will follow the response © 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

© 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Operant Conditioning Superstitious behavior Shaping Process of teaching a complex behavior by rewarding closer and closer approximations of the desired behavior © 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

© 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Operant Conditioning Biological constraints Built-in limitations in the ability of animals to learn particular behaviors Application of conditioning in rats to discover land mines © 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

Comparing Classical and Operant Conditioning © 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

Cognitive Approaches to Learning © 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

Cognitive Approaches to Learning Latent learning A new behavior is learned but not demonstrated until reinforcement is provided for displaying it Observational learning Learning through observing the behavior of another person called a model © 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

Cognitive Approaches to Learning Violence in television and video games Most experts agree that watching high levels of media violence makes viewers more susceptible to acting aggressively, and research supports this claim “Media copycat” killings © 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

Cognitive Approaches to Learning Learning styles Relational style Master material best through exposure to a full unit or phenomenon Analytical style Master material best when they can carry out an initial analysis of the principles and components underlying a phenomenon or situation © 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

© 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Learning Styles © 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.