Myers’ PSYCHOLOGY Chapter 8 Learning

z Learning yrelatively permanent change in an organism’s behavior due to experience yexperience (nurture) is the key to learning

Classical Conditioning  Ivan Pavlov   Russian physician/ neurophysiologist  Nobel Prize in 1904  studied digestive secretions

Pavlovian (or Classical) Conditioning Animals (including humans) can learn to associate an arbitrary signal in the environment with some meaningful stimulus that is also present in the environment

Pavlov’s Classic Experiment Before Conditioning During ConditioningAfter Conditioning UCS (food in mouth) Neutral stimulus (tone) No salivation UCR (salivation) Neutral stimulus (tone) UCS (food in mouth) UCR (salivation) CS (tone) CR (salivation)

Classical or Pavlovian Conditioning zPavlov’s device for recording salivation

Classical or Pavlovian Conditioning zClassical Conditioning yorganism comes to associate two stimuli xlightning and thunder xtone and food ybegins with a reflex ya neutral stimulus that signals an unconditioned stimulus begins to produce a response that anticipates and prepares for the unconditioned stimulus neutral stimulus eventually comes to evoke the reflex

Classical or Pavlovian Conditioning zUnconditioned Stimulus (UCS) yeffective stimulus that unconditionally- automatically and naturally- triggers a response zUnconditioned Response (UCR) yunlearned, naturally occurring automatic response to the unconditioned stimulus xsalivation when food is in the mouth

Classical or Pavlovian Conditioning zConditioned Stimulus (CS) ypreviously neutral stimulus that, after association with an unconditioned stimulus, comes to trigger a conditioned response zConditioned Response (CR) ylearned response to a previously neutral conditioned stimulus

Classical Conditioning Concepts zAcquisition zExtinction zSpontaneous Recovery zHigher Order Conditioning zGeneralization zDiscrimination

Conditioning zAcquisition ythe initial stage of learning, during which a response is established and gradually strengthened yin classical conditioning, the phase in which a stimulus comes to evoke a conditioned response yin operant conditioning, the strengthening of a reinforced response

Conditioning zExtinction ydiminishing of a CR yin classical conditioning, when a UCS does not follow a CS yin operant conditioning, when a response is no longer reinforced

Classical or Pavlovian Conditioning zSpontaneous Recovery yreappearance, after a rest period, of an extinguished CR zGeneralization ytendency for a stimuli similar to CS to evoke similar responses

Classical or Pavlovian Conditioning zDiscrimination yin classical conditioning, the ability to distinguish between a CS and other stimuli that do not signal and UCS yin operant conditioning, responding differently to stimuli that signal a behavior will be reinforced or will not be reinforced

Operant Conditioning zOperant Conditioning ytype of learning in which behavior is strengthened if followed by reinforcement or diminished if followed by punishment zLaw of Effect yThorndike’s principle that behaviors followed by favorable consequences become more likely and behaviors followed by unfavorable consequences become less likely

Operant Conditioning zOperant Behavior ycomplex or voluntary behaviors xpush button, perform complex task yoperates (acts) on environment yproduces consequences zRespondent Behavior yoccurs as an automatic response to stimulus ybehavior learned through classical conditioning

Operant Conditioning zB.F. Skinner ( ) yelaborated Thorndike’s Law of Effect ydeveloped behavioral technology

Operant Chamber zSkinner Box ysoundproof chamber with a bar or key that an animal presses or pecks to release a food or water reward ycontains a device to record responses

The classic tool: Skinner box

Operant Conditioning zReinforcer yany event that strengthens the behavior it follows zShaping yconditioning procedure in which reinforcers guide behavior toward closer approximations of a desired goal zSuccessive Approximations yreward behaviors that increasingly resemble desired behavior

Operant Conditioning

Principles of Reinforcement zPrimary Reinforcer yinnately reinforcing stimulus ysatisfies a biological need zSecondary Reinforcer or Conditioned Reinforcer ylearned through association with primary reinforcer ystimulus that gains its reinforcing power through its association with primary reinforcer

Schedules of Reinforcement zContinuous Reinforcement yreinforcing the desired response each time it occurs ylearning occurs rapidly yextinction occurs rapidly zPartial Reinforcement yreinforcing a response only part of the time yresults in slower acquisition ygreater resistance to extinction

Schedules of Reinforcement zFixed Ratio (FR) yreinforces a response only after a specified number of responses yfaster you respond the more rewards you get ydifferent ratios yvery high rate of responding ylike piecework pay

Schedules of Reinforcement zVariable Ratio (VR) yreinforces a response after an unpredictable number of responses yaverage ratios ylike gambling, fishing yvery hard to extinguish because of unpredictability

Schedules of Reinforcement zFixed Interval (FI) yreinforces a response only after a specified time has elapsed yresponse occurs more frequently as the anticipated time for reward draws near

Schedules of Reinforcement zVariable Interval (VI) yreinforces a response at unpredictable time intervals yproduces slow steady responding ylike pop quiz

Punishment zPunishment yaversive event that decreases the behavior that it follows ypowerful controller of unwanted behavior

Problems with Punishment zPunished behavior is not forgotten, it's suppressed- behavior returns when punishment is no longer eminent zCauses increased aggression- shows that aggression is a way to cope with problems- Explains why aggressive delinquents and abusive parents come from abusive homes

Problems with Punishment zCreates fear that can generalize to desirable behaviors, e.g. fear of school, learned helplessness, depression zDoes not necessarily guide toward desired behavior- reinforcement tells you what to do-- punishment tells you what not to do- Combination of punishment and reward can be more effective than punishment alone zPunishment teaches how to avoid it

PunIshersPunIshers

Extinction zA particular behavior is weakened by the consequence of not experiencing a positive condition or stopping a negative condition yA rat presses a bar in its cage and nothing happens. yNeither a positive or a negative condition exists for the rat. yThe rat presses the bar again and again nothing happens. zThe rat's behavior of pressing the bar is weakened by the consequence of not experiencing anything positive or stopping anything negative.

Cognition and Operant Conditioning zCognitive Map ymental representation of the layout of one’s environment yexample- after exploring a maze, rats act as if they have learned a cognitive map of it zLatent Learning ylearning that occurs, but is not apparent until there is an incentive to demonstrate it