1. Learning Haven’t we already talked about this??? What’s the difference between: Learning Knowledge Memory Education Training

2. Learning “… any relatively permanent change in behavior that occurs because of experience” (Wade & Tavris, 2005, p. 285) But…what about new information? Ideas? Memories?

3. The study of learning has been heavily dominated by… Behaviorism The study of observable relationships between the behavior and the environment. To a behaviorist, if you can’t see it and measure it, there’s no point in talking about it. Classical Conditioning Operant Conditioning stimulus Consequencebehavior response Conditioned stimulus

4. Classical Conditioning Pavlov’s Dog http://nobelprize.org/medicine/educational/pavlov/index.html Unconditioned stimulus (UCS)Response (R) Conditioned stimulus (CS) R=droolingUCS=food CS=bell An accidental discovery by Ivan Pavlov’s graduate students Pavlov was studying salivation. The dogs were studying food. http://nobelprize.org/medicine/educational/pavlov/index.html

5. Have you ever been classically conditioned? Unconditioned stimulus (UCS) Response (R) Conditioned stimulus (CS) R=feeling sick?UCS=? CS=? R=hungry? R=anxious?

6. Conditioning Fear John B. Watson trained “Little Albert” to be afraid of white mice Unconditioned stimulus (UCS)Response (R) Conditioned stimulus (CS) R=fear/cryingUCS=noise CS=mouse

7. Stimulus Generalization John B. Watson trains “Little Albert” to be afraid of bearded men Unconditioned stimulus (UCS)Response (R) Conditioned stimulus (CS) R=fear/cryingUCS=noise CS= mouse + anything like a mouse People who have chemotherapy begin to feel sick at the sight of things related to their chemotherapy (nurses’ uniforms; the room; the hallway)

8. Stimulus Discrimination Learning to tell the difference between stimuli Unconditioned stimulus (UCS)Response (R) Conditioned stimulus (CS) R=fear/cryingUCS=food CS= yellow hallway - drooling People who have chemotherapy begin to feel sick at the sight of things related to their chemotherapy (nurses’ uniforms; the room; the hallway) CS= blue hallway – no drooling

9. Extinction Stopping the reaction How many times do you have to ring the bell without food to get the drooling to stop?

10. Operant Conditioning What is a consequence? Operant Conditioning Consequencebehavior Neutral consequences – have no effect on behavior Reinforcers – increase behavior Punishers – decrease behavior Note! Not all reinforcers are “rewards” and not all “rewards” are reinforcers. Examples???

11. Reinforcement Schedules Intermittent – Once in a while (or every nth time) Continuous – every single time How do we reinforce… Lottery ticket buyers Dogs at the dinner table Tantrum-throwers Speeders Skinner’s “shaping” of behavior

12. Does punishment change behavior? Sometimes. If… Immediate. Consistent. Note: Harsher doesn’t help. Mild punishment works just as well. Punishment does not work when…

13. Why punishment fails… Causes anxiety, fear, rage These are not good conditions for learning. Too much anxiety, too little information. Stops working when the punishment goes away – Can I get away with it? INSTEAD OF Is this a good idea? Can’t be immediate enough or specific enough The dog who eats the box of treats while you’re at work has been rewarded 50 times before you get home to punish him. Doesn’t convey information about what to do May be an accidental reinforcer

14. Social-Cognitive Learning Theory Behaviorism (yes, we are conditioned, but)… The “environment” is the environment we perceive, so… Attitudes Beliefs Expectations Mean that a “stimulus” or “consequence” will be different for different people

15. Social cognitive theory helps explain this. Attitudes Beliefs Expectations Observational learning We are able to learn by watching others. but we don’t learn everything we watch others do Why do we start smoking? Why don’t we start smoking?

16. Are behaviorists still around? Do you ever see systems of reinforcement and punishment? “Cognitive behavioral therapy” Behaviorists never said thinking didn’t happen, only that there was no sense in trying to study it. What kind of research would Skinner be doing today?