Factors Influencing Respondent & Operant Learning: Part 1 Lesson 9

Associative Learning & Language n Language acquisition l Interaction of nature & nurture l Respondent & operant n Respondent l Association of sounds & symbols l English: “deh” = d; “err” = r l Russian: “deh” = д; “err” = р ~

Respondent Learning & Language n Associatе sounds/symbols with objects/actions l English: dog; woman; speak l Spanish: perro; mujer; hablar l Russian: собака; женщина, говорить n Words/ideas l Conditional stimuli l Conditional responses ~

Operant Learning & Language n Babies start off babbling sounds l Inherited behavior n Certain sounds are reinforced l Directly by parents, etc. l Also by consequences u words are understood  consequences n Mother ~ Mother

Respondent & Operant Together SDSD B SRSR : CSUS : CR UR

Respondent vs Operant n Both associative n Involuntary vs voluntary n Biologically important events l US vs S R n Signals/cues l CS vs S D n Contingency l CS : US vs B  S R ~

Respondent vs Operant n Both associative n Involuntary vs voluntary n Biologically important events l US vs S R n Signals/cues l CS vs S D n Contingency l CS : US vs B  S R ~

Factors Influencing Acquisition n Frequency l # learning trials n Predictivity l contingency & probability n Contiguity l timing n Salience l Intensity / novelty ~

Acquisition: Frequency n Gradual l usually requires many pairings l Respondent: CS : US  UR l Operant: S D : B  S R n Measuring the learned response l magnitude l latency / probability / frequency n Asymptote l limit to how much can be learned ~

Respondent Acquisition CS : US pairings CS : US  UR CR Strength Asymptote Hi Lo

Operant Acquisition Bar Press Rate (B) B  S R Trials Asymptote Hi Lo S D : B  S R

Acquisition: Detour Learning Task

Detour Learning Task

Acquisition: Detour Learning Chicks performance on detour learning task

Acquisition: Predictivity n Contingency l CS+ / CS- l S D / S ∆ n Probability l Usefulness of cues l Hi  faster learning l Low  slower learning ~

Contiguity: Respondent Learning n Order & Timing l Anticipate important event l  strongest to weakest CR Delayed CS US Trace CS US

Contiguity: Respondent Learning Simultaneous CS US Backward CS US

Contiguity: Respondent Learning n CS-US interval n In general... l shorter interval  more effective l longer interval  less effective n Depends on response system l Fast: seconds) u e.g., eye blink, skeletal muscle reflexes l Slow: 2-3 min u e.g., CERs, physiological responses l Nausea (CTA): hours ~

Contiguity: Operant Learning n Delay of Reinforcement n Immediate consequences most effective l temporal contiguity l reinforcement & punishment n longer delays:  probability of other behaviors being reinforced l instead of intended behavior ~

Delay of Reinforcement Delay between B and S R (sec) Bar presses per minute