Learning How do we change our behaviors? How do we cause others to change their behaviors?

Associationism Fundamentally, all learning involves the creation of associations between stimuli we perceive and the appropriate responses. The study of learning is the study of how those associations are created and changed.

Types of learning Habituation Classical conditioning Operant condition Cognitive learning

Habituation Habituation is where we become so used to a stimulus that we no longer consciously process it: We learn to ignore it Noises near your apartment Smells near your house The annoying behaviors of children and animals

Classical Conditioning Learn a direct association between a stimulus (S) and a response (R) Responses are unconditioned reflexes (UR) brought about by an unconditioned stimulus (US). We pair the conditioned stimulus (CS) with the US so that the UR is brought about by the CS, at which point we say it is a conditioned response (CR)

Operant Conditioning We learned the association between a behavior and an effect - reinforcement. –Positive: The introduction of something good –Negative: The removal of something good –Punishment: The introduction of something bad –Escape: The removal of something bad

Law of Effect As an organism undergoes operant conditioning, its tendency to make the proper response will increase. Shaping: Molding a desired series of behaviors through successive approximation

Reinforcement schedules How do you get an animal to do something repeatedly? –Fixed ratio –Variable ratio –Fixed interval –Variable interval

Conditioned reinforcement Certain things that we covet, like grades or money, have no intrinsic value. Why do we covet these things? Second-order reinforcement