1. PS 4021 Psychology Theory and method 1 Lecture 3-Week 3 The Learning paradigm Critical thinking in the wider world

2. Learning

3. Behaviour is learned To understand why someone behaves in a particular way we need to examine the situation they are in and explore their past learning experiences in similar situations

4. We will discuss Radical approach to learning-Skinner Moderate approach to learning-Dollard and Miller Bandura-social/cognitive approach – Self-efficacy Rotter locus of control Mischel approach

5. Early approaches-Pavlov and Wartson

6. Pavlov-Classical Conditioning

7. Classical conditioning Pavlov (1904) Classical conditioning: the process by which a previously neutral stimulus acquires the capacity to elicit a response through association with a stimulus that naturally elicits a similar response

8. Unconditioned stimulus: a stimulus that elicits a reflexive response in the absence of learning Unconditioned response: a reflexive response elicited by a stimulus in the absence of learning Conditioned stimulus: an initially neutral stimulus that comes to elicit a conditioned response after being associated with an unconditioned stimulus Conditioned response: a response that is elicited by a conditioned stimulus after it is associated with an unconditioned stimulus

9. Conditioned=learned, unconditioned=not learned Unconditioned stimulus leads to unconditioned response. They are unlearned. During conditioning learning occurs Conditioned stimulus leads to conditioned response. They are learned-a consequence of learning and training

10. Stimulus generalization: when a stimulus that resembles the conditioned stimulus elicits the conditioned response Stimulus discrimination: the tendency to respond differently to two or more similar stimuli

11. Extinction: the weakening and eventual disappearance of a learned response; occurs when the conditioned stimulus is no longer paired with the unconditioned stimulus Spontaneous recovery: the sudden reappearance of a learned response after its apparent extinction

12. Applications to human behaviour Hunger pangs at the sight of the sign of a fast food Lighting and thunder Perfume and boyfriend/girlfriend Food connected with food poisoning The case of little Albert (Watson and Rayner, 1920) The case of little Peter (Jones, 1924) Fear of dentist

13. Skinner Radical Behaviorism

14. Operant conditioning Classical conditioning-learning that one event will follow another Operant conditioning-learning that a response will be followed by particular consequences Learner is more active

15. Operant Conditioning

16. Reinforcement: the process by which a stimulus increases the probability of the response Positive reinforcement: a response is followed by a reinforcing stimulus Negative reinforcement: a response is followed by the removal of an unpleasant stimulus In both cases, response more likely to occur Punishment: the process by which a stimulus reduces the probability of the response

17. Operant Conditioning

18. Shaping The technique of reinforcing only those variations in response that deviate in the direction desired by the experimenter We build up relatively complex behaviours by reinforcing closer and closer approximations to the desired behaviour Behaviour modification

19. Shaping The technique of reinforcing only those variations in response that deviate in the direction desired by the experimenter We build up relatively complex behaviours by reinforcing closer and closer approximations to the desired behaviour Behaviour modification

20. In terms of personality Did not accept the concept of personality Genetic inheritance might have a role but.. It is not the kind of person you are, but the learning history you had and the current demands of your environment that dictate your behavior

21. Dollard and Miller Stimulus-Response model of personality

22. Attempt to integrate learning theory principles with Freud’s psychoanalytic approach Our behavior does not only consist of responses to environmental stimuli; we also respond to inner stimuli, thoughts and memories The role of the unconscious cues (because we learned them too early, because they are not labeled or because they are repressed)

23. Personality is composed of learned habits How are these habits acquired and maintained? – Primary drives – Secondary drives

24. Primary Drives Infant is born with some innate drives that secure survival (hunger, thirst, need for sleep, avoidance of pain) Reduction of drives is the most powerful reinforcement Infant left to become extremely hungry (primary drive)-cries very loudly (response)- mother feeds it-infant learns crying is rewarded

25. Secondary drives Secondary drives are learned to help us cope with our primary drives Mother sets regular mealtimes before the primary drive of hunger makes the infant cry

26. Types of reinforcement Associated with primary and secondary drives are different types of reinforcement Primary reinforcers: food, water, sleep Secondary reinforcers: items or events that were originally neutral but have acquired a value as a reinforcer through being associated with primary drive reduction

27. Learning of habits consists of Initial drive – hunger Cue to act – Goodys sign as you drive home Response – Pick up meal Reinforcement of the response – Meal good – Meal bad

28. Types of conflict situations Approach-approach conflict – Two equally desirable holiday options Avoidance-avoidance conflict – Two equally undesirable activities Approach-avoidance conflict – Found the perfect house but the flat mate is awful Double approach-avoidance conflict – Positive and negative aspects that have to be considered

29. Albert Bandura Social Learning theory

30. Reciprocal determinism

31. Observational learning Bobo doll experiments (Bandura and Walters, 1963) Three factors important in modelling – Characteristics of the model – Attributes of the observer – Consequences of imitating the behavior

32. Distinction is made between what we have learned (knowledge acquired) and what we can do (performance) Self-reinforcement Motivation and incentive

33. Personality development in social learning theory It is a learning process where parents, peers and other provide role models for children to learn from through observation It is a dynamic, complex process Identifying goals to achieve is a crucial part Goal achievement depends on self-regulatory processes

34. Self-efficacy as a self-regulatory process Belief that if you perform some behavior, it will get you a desired positive outcome Confidence in your ability to perform Increases likelihood of achieving success by increasing likelihood of attempting the task, the effort you put on it and the persistence in the face of difficulties

35. Julian Rotter Locus of control

36. Behaviour potential = Reinforcement value + Expectancy Behaviour potential: the likelihood of a specific behaviour occuring in a particular situation Expectancy: what we expect to happen Reinforcement value: how much we value this outcome

37. Generalized expectancies Individuals come to believe on the basis of their learning experiences that either reinforcement is controlled by outside forces or that their behavior controls reinforcement External locus of control: what I do does not influence outcomes Internal locus of control: what I do makes a difference

38. Walter Mischel

39. Personality-paradox Little evidence that behavior is consistent in different situations Traits and other measures of personality is not good predictor of how the individual will behave in different situations So, is it the situation or the personality that makes us behave as we do?

40. Social-cognitive person variables as opposed to traits describe individual differences Individual personality differences are not due to situation-free personality traits but to situation-related descriptions of how individuals characteristically behave