Essentials of Understanding Psychology

1. Essentials of Understanding Psychology 9th Edition By Robert Feldman PowerPoints by Kimberly Foreman Revised for 9th Ed by Cathleen Hunt

2. Chapter 5:Learning

3. MODULE 15: Classical Conditioning • What is learning? • How do we learn to form associations between stimuli and responses?

4. MODULE 15: Classical Conditioning • Learning • Relatively permanent change in behavior that is brought about by experience

5. The Basics of Classical Conditioning • Type of learning in which a neutral stimulus comes to elicit a response after being paired with a stimulus that naturally brings about that response • Ivan Pavlov

6. The Basics of Classical Conditioning • Neutral stimulus • Unconditioned stimulus (UCS) • Unconditioned response (UCR) • Conditioned stimulus (CS) • Conditioned response (CR)

7. Applying Conditioning Principles to Human Behavior • “Little Albert” • John B. Watson and Rosalie Rayner (1920) • Phobias • Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)

8. Acquisition, Extinction & Spontaneous Recovery

9. Extinction • Occurs when a previously conditioned response decreases in frequency and eventually disappears • Spontaneous Recovery • Reemergence of an extinguished conditioned response after a period of rest and with no further conditioning

10. Generalization and Discrimination • Stimulus Generalization • Occurs when a conditioned response follows a stimulus that is similar to the original conditioned stimulus • Stimulus Discrimination • Occurs if two stimuli are sufficiently distinct from one another that one evokes a conditioned response but the other does not

11. Beyond Traditional Classical Conditioning: Challenging Basic Assumptions • John Garcia • Found that some organisms – including humans – were biologically prepared to quickly learn to avoid foods that smelled or tasted like something that made them sick • Learned taste aversion

12. MODULE 16: Operant Conditioning • What is the role of reward and punishment in learning? • What are some practical methods for bringing about behavior change, both in ourselves and in others?

13. Operant Conditioning • Learning in which a voluntary response is strengthened or weakened, depending on its favorable or unfavorable consequences

14. Thorndike’s Law of Effect • Responses that lead to satisfying consequences are more likely to be repeated

15. The Basics of Operant Conditioning • Reinforcement • Process by which a stimulus increases the probability that a preceding behavior will be repeated • Reinforcer • Primary • Secondary

16. Reinforcement & Punishment

17. The Basics of Operant Conditioning • Positive Reinforcers • Stimulus added to the environment that brings about an increase in a preceding response • Negative Reinforcers • Unpleasant stimulus whose removal leads to an increase in the probability that a preceding response will be repeated

18. The Basics of Operant Conditioning • Punishment • Stimulus that decreases the probability that a prior behavior will occur again • Positive punishment • Adding something • Negative punishment • Removing something

19. Pros & Cons of Punishment:Why Reinforcement Beats Punishment • Pros of Punishment: • Appropriate for dangerous behaviors • Temporary suppression may provide opportunity to reinforce more desirable behavior • Cons of Punishment: • Frequently ineffective • Physical punishment has harmful side effects • Fear, lowered self-esteem • Does not relay information about alternative, more desired behavior

20. Schedules of Reinforcement • Continuous reinforcement schedule • Reinforced every time it occurs • Partial (intermittent) reinforcement schedule • Reinforced some but not all of the time • Two Categories • number of response • amount of time

21. Schedules of Reinforcement • Fixed-Ratio Schedule • Reinforcement is given only after a specific number of responses • Variable-Ratio Schedule • Occurs after a varying number of responses

22. Schedules of Reinforcement • Fixed-Interval Schedule • Provides reinforcement for a response only if a fixed time period has elapsed • Overall rates of response are relatively low • Variable-Interval Schedule • Time between reinforcements varies around some average rather than being fixed

23. Discrimination and Generalization in Operant Conditioning • Stimulus control training • Behavior is reinforced in the presence of a specific stimulus, but not in its absence • Discriminative stimulus • Signals the likelihood that reinforcement will follow a response

24. Shaping:Reinforcing What Doesn’t Come Naturally • Process of teaching a complex behavior by rewarding closer and closer approximations of the desired behavior • Animal training • Textbook organization

25. Biological Constraints on Learning • You Can’t Teach an Old Dog Just Any Trick • Biological Constraints • Evolutionary explanations of behavior

26. Comparing Classical & Operant Conditioning

27. Behavior Analysis and Behavior Modification • Behavior Modification • Technique for promoting frequency of desirable behaviors and decreasing unwanted ones • Techniques • Identify goals and target behaviors • Design a data-recording system and record preliminary data • Select a behavior-change strategy • Implement the program • Keep careful records after the program is implemented • Evaluate and alter the ongoing program

28. MODULE 17: Cognitive Approaches to Learning • What is the role of cognition and thought in learning?

29. Cognitive Learning Theory • Approach that states learning is best understood in terms of thought processes, or cognitions • People develop an expectation that they will receive a reinforcer after making a response

30. Latent Learning • New behavior is learned but not demonstrated until some incentive is provided for displaying it • Learning occurs without reinforcement

31. Observational Learning:Learning Through Imitation • Learning by watching the behavior of another person, or model • Social cognitive approach • Albert Bandura • Mirror Neurons • Fire when one observes another person carrying out a behavior

32. Violence in Television and Video Games: Does the Media’s Message Matter? • Recent research supports the claim that watching high levels of media violence makes viewers more susceptible to acting aggressively

33. Does Culture Influence How We Learn? • Relational learning style • People master material best through exposure to a full unit or phenomenon • Analytical learning style • People master material best when they can carry out an initial analysis of the principles and components underlying a phenomenon or situation

34. Relational vs. Analytical Styles