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Learning. www.ablongman.com/lefton9e. Learning. A relatively permanent change in an organism The result of experience Exhibited in behavior. Learning. I. Classical Conditioning II. Operant Conditioning III. Cognitive Learning IV. Biological Basis for Learning. Classical Conditioning.
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Learning www.ablongman.com/lefton9e
Learning • A relatively permanent change in an organism • The result of experience • Exhibited in behavior
Learning • I. Classical Conditioning • II. Operant Conditioning • III. Cognitive Learning • IV. Biological Basis for Learning
Classical Conditioning • Conditioning • A systematic procedure through which associations and responses to specific stimuli are learned • One of the simplest forms of learning • Reflexes • automatic behavior • occur without prior learning
Basics of Classical Conditioning • Conditioning versus reflexes • Conditioning does require learning • Learned association between a neutral stimulus and a stimulus that evokes a reflex
Classical Conditioning • Ivan Pavlov (1849 – 1936) • Studied digestion in dogs • Discovered Classical (or Pavlovian) Conditioning • An originally neutral stimulus, • through repeated pairings with a stimulus that naturally produces a response, • comes to elicit a similar or identical response
Classical Conditioning • Terms and Procedures • 1. Unconditioned Stimulus • The stimulus that automatically produces a response • Unlearned • E.g., Food • 2. Unconditioned Response • Automatic, involuntary response to the unconditioned stimulus • E.g., Salivation
Terms and Procedures • Procedure • Present a neutral stimulus immediately before an unconditioned stimulus Unconditioned Response:SALIVATION Neutral Stimulus: BELL Unconditioned Stimulus: FOOD
Terms and Procedures • Procedure • Repeat many, many times • Remove the unconditioned stimulus: Stimulus: BELL Response: SALIVATION • Original stimulus no longer neutral!
Terms and Procedures • Conditioned Stimulus • A previously neutral stimulus that, • through repeated association with an unconditioned stimulus, • becomes capable of eliciting a response • E.g., Bell • Conditioned Response • The response to the Conditioned Stimulus • E.g., Salivating
Classical Conditioning • Conditioning does not occur immediately • Occurs gradually over many repeated pairings • This process through which the conditioned stimulus becomes associated with a learned response is called an acquisition process
Classical Conditioning in Humans • Many types of responses can be conditioned in humans • Conditioning can occur • Without our awareness • For pleasant and unpleasant reactions
White Rat Fear Fear White Rat Classical Conditioning in Humans • Little Albert • John Watson and Rosalie Raynor (1920) Frightening, loud noise • After many pairings:
Classical Conditioning in Humans • Little Albert • This type of learning is probably the source for most fear and anxiety in children
Higher-Order Conditioning • The process by which a neutral stimulus takes on conditioned properties through pairing with a conditioned stimulus • Permits increasingly remote associations
Key Variables in Classical Conditioning • Strength, timing and frequency • a. Strength of the unconditioned stimulus • b. Timing of the unconditioned stimulus • c. Frequency of Pairings
Key Variables in Classical Conditioning • Extinction and Spontaneous Recovery • a. Extinction • Process by which the conditioned stimulus no longer elicits the unconditioned response • b. Spontaneous Recovery • When an extinguished conditioned response reappears
Key Variables in Classical Conditioning • Stimulus Generalization and Discrimination • a. Stimulus Generalization • When a conditioned response occurs in response to a stimulus similar to the conditioned stimulus • Probably explains how some phobias develop • b. Stimulus Discrimination • An organism learns to respond only to the specific conditioned stimulus
Classical Conditioning in Daily Life • The Garcia Effect • John Garcia (Garcia & Koelling, 1971) • Conditioned taste aversion • Two startling findings • Could occur even if nausea was induced several hours after food or drink was consumed • Not all stimuli were equally easily associated
The Garcia Effect • Conditioned taste aversion can occur after only one pairing • Survival value of quickly learning to avoid foods that make us sick
The Garcia Effect • Practical applications • Preventing appetite loss with chemotherapy patients
Classical Conditioning in Daily Life • Learning and chemotherapy • Nausea can be conditioned to occur Unconditioned Stimulus: CHEMO-THERAPY Conditioned stimulus: FOOD Unconditioned Response:NAUSEA Conditioned stimulus: FOOD Conditioned Response:NAUSEA
Pavlov’s Understanding Reinterpreted • Pavlov thought in terms of simple associations between paired stimuli • Today’s researchers are considering how imagined stimuli (such as thoughts) can evoke a response
Operant Conditioning • Differences from classical conditioning • Conditioned behavior is voluntary, not reflexive • Consequence follows, rather than coexists with or precedes a behavior
Operant Conditioning • The Pioneers • 1. E. L. Thorndike (1874 – 1949) • Instrumental conditioning • 2. B. F. Skinner (1904 – 1990) • Three types of consequences • Behavior is ignored • Behavior is rewarded (reinforced) • Behavior is punished
Operant Conditioning • Reinforcement • Reinforcers • A reinforceris any event that increases the likelihood of a behavior • Reinforcement Strategies • a. Positive Reinforcement • The presentation of a stimulus after a behavior that increases the likelihood that response will recur • Example: Receiving a dollar for cleaning your room
Reinforcement Strategies • Negative Reinforcement • The removal of a stimulus after a particular response to increase the likelihood the response will recur • The stimulus removed is usually unpleasant • Example: Taking an aspirin to get rid of a headache
Negative Reinforcement • Another example: • Apologizing after being sent to time-out • Apologizing removes being confined to your room • This is also an example of escape conditioning • May lead to avoidance conditioning
Reinforcement • The Nature of Reinforcers • Two types of reinforcers • a. Primary Reinforcer • Examples: Food, water, pain avoidance • b. Secondary Reinforcer • Examples: Money, good grades
Operant Conditioning • The Skinner Box and Shaping • Skinner box • Animal randomly emits behaviors • Target behaviors are reinforced • Shaping • The selective reinforcement of behaviors that gradually approach (approximate) a desired response • Sometimes called the method of successive approximations
Operant Conditioning • Punishment • Types of Punishment • a. Positive punishment • A stimulus is presented in order to decrease the likelihood that the behavior will be repeated • Example: Getting yelled at for hitting your sister
Types of Punishment • Negative Punishment • A stimulus is removed in order to decrease the likelihood that the behavior will be repeated • Example: Losing your car after getting into a wreck
Punishment • The Nature of Punishers • Two types of punishers: • a. Primary punisher • Example: Pain • b. Secondary punisher • Example: Losing your driver’s license
Punishment • Limitations of Punishment • Only suppresses behavior • Has social consequences • May not control behavior in the long run • Physical punishments can lead to aggression • Inconsistent punishment can lead to learned helplessness
Key variables in Operant Conditioning Stimulus Generalization Stimulus Discrimination Extinction Spontaneous Recovery
Operant Conditioning in Daily Life • 1. Superstitious Behaviors • 2. Intrinsically Motivated Behavior • May actually decrease if they are externally reinforced
Cognitive Learning • Observational Learning • The Power of Modeling • Albert Bandura • Social learning theory • Showed that children played more aggressively after observing films with aggressive content • Observational learning can occur without being reinforced
Observational Learning • Observational Learning in Daily Life • a. Gender role development • b. Cultural values
Cognitive Learning • Other Types of Cognitive Learning • Insight – the “aha” experience • Latent Learning • Shows us a distinction between learning and performance
Biological Basis for Learning • Electrical Brain Stimulation and Reinforcement • James Olds (1955, 1960) • Found that rats find electrical stimulation of specific brain areas in the hypothalamus to be rewarding • This brain region involves the neurotransmitter dopamine