Chapter 6: Learning Slides prepared by Randall E. Osborne, Texas State University-San Marcos, adapted by Dr Mark Forshaw, Staffordshire University, UK 1

Defining Learning: Experience That Causes a Permanent Change 2

Defining Learning Learning – Experience that causes a permanent change Habituation –gradual reduction in responding 3

Learning and Behaviourism Behaviourism: 1930s – 1950s Observable, quantifiable behaviour Mental activity is irrelevant and unknowable 4

Classical Conditioning: One Thing Leads to Another 5

Classical Conditioning –Unconditioned stimulus (US) –Unconditioned response (UR) –Conditioned stimulus (CS) –Conditioned response (CR) 6

Classical Conditioning 7

Basic principles of classical conditioning –Acquisition –Extinction –Spontaneous recovery –Generalization –Discrimination 8

Classical Conditioning: Acquisition 9

Classical Conditioning: Generalization 10

Conditioned Emotional Responses “Even complex behaviors are the result of conditioning.” John Watson 9-month-old “Little Albert” Stimuli—white rat; dog; rabbit; burning newspaper: –Showed curiosity –Then shown stimulus (rat) and loud noise when he reached to touch it—result was fear –Soon sight of rat caused fear 11

Conditioned Emotional Responses Watson’s goals: –Complex reactions can be conditioned using Pavlovian techniques –Emotional responses (such as fear) are learned and not result of unconscious processes “Give me a dozen healthy infants, well-formed, and my own specified world to bring them up in and I’ll guarantee to take any one at random and train him to become any type of specialist I might select – doctor, lawyer, artist, merchant-chief and, yes, even beggar-man and thief, regardless of his talents, penchants, tendencies, abilities, vocations, and race of his ancestors.” 12

A Deeper Understanding of Classical Conditioning Neural elements –Amygdala—central nucleus Cognitive elements –expectation Evolutionary elements –survival (such as food aversions) –adaptiveness –biological preparedness 13

Seligman and the Sauce Béarnaise Seligman’s favourite sauce He became very ill after eating steak with sauce Béarnaise No direct link between the sauce and the illness, but it put him off the sauce entirely 14

Operant Conditioning: Reinforcements from the Environment 15

Operant Conditioning E. L. Thorndike ( ) Instrumental behaviours Puzzle box Law of effect Watson originally rejects need for reward 16

Operant Conditioning B. F. Skinner Operant conditioning Operant chamber Reinforcer –Positive –Negative Punishment –Positive –Negative 17

Operant Conditioning Primary reinforcement Secondary reinforcement Primary punishment Secondary punishment 18

Operant Conditioning Which reinforcers are more effective? Premack principle –“no TV until the homework is done” Relatively reinforcing –Water to reinforce a thirsty rat for exercising –Non-thirsty rat drinking in order to exercise Overjustification effect 19

Basic Principles of Operant Conditioning Discrimination Generalisation Importance of context Extinction 20

Operant Conditioning Schedules of reinforcement –fixed-interval (set time) –variable- interval (average time) –fixed ratio (set number) –variable ratio (average number) 21

Operant Conditioning Ratio schedules –high rates of responding because number of rewards received is directly related to the number of responses made Intermittent-reinforcement effect –resist extinction 22

Operant Conditioning Superstitious behaviour –Skinner’s superstitious pigeons –reinforcement of accidental behaviour –‘stench causes goals’ hypothesis formed when footballers score on days they didn’t shower 23

Operant Conditioning—Neural Elements Pleasure centres –nucleus accumbens –medial forebrain –hypothalamus –involve dopamine 24

Operant Conditioning—Cognitive Elements Edward Tolman ( ) Means-ends relationships Latent learning Cognitive map 25

Operant Conditioning— Evolutionary Elements Rats trained to let in T-maze to get food Next day turned right (contrary to conditioning) Why? –rats are foragers –adaptive foraging strategy is to NOT search for food the same place twice 26

Observational Learning: Look at Me 27

Observational Learning Learning without direct experience –Observational learning Adult models guide child learning Learning by observation occurs in animals –Monkeys learning to fear snakes by watching other monkeys react to snakes Mirror neurons: fire when you perform an action, but also fire when you see someone else perform an action 28

Implicit Learning: Under the Wires 29

Implicit Learning Implicit learning Ways to study implicit learning –artificial grammar –can learn “rules” even without being taught rules 30

Implicit Learning Characteristics of implicit learning –smaller individual differences than explicit –unrelated to IQ –changes little across lifespan –resistant to disorders that impair explicit - strongly suggests that explicit and implicit learning use different neural pathways 31