1. Module 29: Biology, Cognition, and Learning
29-1: How do biological constraints affect classical and operant
conditioning?
29-2: How do cognitive processes affect operant conditioning?
29-3: In what two ways do people learn to cope with personal problems?
29-4: How does a perceived lack of control affect other people’s behavior
and health?

2. Biological Constraints on Conditioning 29-1: How do biological constraints affect classical and operant conditioning?

3. Biological Constraints on Conditioning 29-1: How do biological constraints affect classical and operant conditioning?
Limits on Classical Conditioning
John Garcia
Conditioned Taste Aversion
Biologically primed associations
Natural Selection and Learning
Genetic predisposition

4. Biological Constraints on Conditioning 29-1: How do biological constraints affect classical and operant conditioning?
Limits on Classical Conditioning

5. Biological Constraints on Conditioning 29-1: How do biological constraints affect classical and operant conditioning?
Limits on Classical Conditioning
Naturally adapting behaviors
Instinctive drift

6. Cognition’s Influence on Conditioning 29-2: How do cognitive processes affect operant conditioning?
Cognitive Processes and Classical Conditioning
Predictability of an event
Expectancy
Stimulus associations

7. Cognition’s Influence on Conditioning 29-2: How do cognitive processes affect operant conditioning?
Cognitive Processes and Classical Conditioning
Edward Tolman conducted research on the cognitive learning of mice when placed in a maze. He proposed that learning takes place cognitively, and thus is not necessarily immediately observable. Cognitive maps, mental representations people rely on to understand complex patterns, are used by all of us each day. Many people are amazed at the ability of taxi drivers to successfully navigate their way around a city without the use os a tradional map. Yet they do use a map – a mental map. An experienced taxi driver is able to drive to the desired location based on experience and a mental representation of the city he or she is navigating. When the taxi driver first learned the layout of the city, he or she most likely used a map or rode along with another experienced taxi driver. When the time came to demonstrate his or her knowledge of the city streets, the new taxi driver would most likely be able to do so with great accuracy. Latent learning, learning that may not be displayed until a later time, is not always immediately observable and may lie hidden until a circumstance arises that requires this prior learning to be displayed.
Insight
Intrinsic Motivation
Extrinsic Motivation

8. Cognition’s Influence on Conditioning 29-2: How do cognitive processes affect operant conditioning?
Cognitive Processes and Classical Conditioning
Insight
Motivation
1) Intrinsic Motivation – the desire to perform a
behavior for its own sake.
2) Extrinsic Motivation – the desire to perform a
behavior due to promised rewards or threats of
punishments.

9. Influences on Conditioning

10. Learning and Personal Control 29-3: In what two ways do people learn to cope with personal problems?
Coping with Personal Problems:
1) Problem-focused coping – attempting to alleviate stress by changing
the stressor or the way we interact with that stressor.
2) Emotion-focused coping – attempting to alleviate stress by avoiding
or ignoring and attending to the emotional needs related to a stress
reaction.

11. Learning and Personal Control 29-3: In what two ways do people learn to cope with personal problems?
Learned Helplessness (Martin Seligman)
Martin Seligman proposed the idea of learned helplessness, failure to continue exerting effort for an outcome because all previous attempts have failed. This theory explains that if a person or animal perceives they have no control over the outcome of a situation, they will abandon all efforts in trying to change the situation. Learned helplessness explains why some students stop trying in school. They believe that no matter how much effort they exert it will have little to no effect on the outcome. For example, Linda has tried numerous studying techniques to help her pass the AP Psychology test. Because Linda has not seen any favorable results from trying the different techniques, she feels that she will never pass an AP Psychology test and stops studying for the class all together. In this example, Linda’s mental interpretation or thinking that she lacks control over the outcome of an event brings about a feeling of hopelessness, which in turn leads to her no longer trying.

12. Learning and Personal Control 29-3: In what two ways do people learn to cope with personal problems?
Learned Helplessness (Martin Seligman)

13. Learning and Personal Control 29-3: In what two ways do people learn to cope with personal problems?
Learned Helplessness: Internal Versus External Locus of Control
Locus of Control
External Locus of Control – chance or outside forces determine your fate.
2) Internal Locus of Control – you control your own fate/destiny.

14. Learning and Personal Control 29-4: How does a perceived lack of control affect other people’s behavior and health?
Learned Helplessness: Depleting and Strengthening Self-Control
Self-Control – the ability to control impulses and delay short-term gratification for longer term rewards leads to:
1) good adjustment
2) better grades
3) social success