Learning

1. Learning

2. Take a few moments… • Do you associate any food/smells with being sick? What happened? • How do you learn “right/wrong” behaviors? • When you were little, did you copy your mom/dad/brother/sister/friends? In what ways?

3. Behaviorism • Psychology should be an objective science that studies behavior without reference to mental processes • Most current behavioral psychologists would argue that mental processes should be studied

4. Learning • A relatively permanent change in behavior • Acquired from experience or observation

5. Classical Conditioning

6. Classical Conditioning • Learning in which an organism comes to associate stimuli

7. Ivan Pavlov • Studied how dogs associate salivation with food by ringing a tuning fork/bell with the presentation of food. The dog eventually salivated at the sound of the tuning fork/bell.

8. Another Example… • An experimenter sounds a tone just before delivering an air puff to your eye. • Unconditioned stimulus • Air puff • Unconditioned response • Eye blink to air puff • Conditioned stimulus • Tone • Conditioned Response • Eye blink to tone

9. The Office… Jim classically conditions Dwight • Unconditioned stimulus • Jim offers mint • Unconditioned response • Accepts mint • Conditioned stimulus • Computer sound • Conditioned Response • Expects mint Another Example…

10. Learning Processes

11. John B. Watson • Conditioned “Little Albert” to fear white rats, later all white, fluffy animals • Previously not afraid of white rats, Watson presented a loud banging sound when Albert saw a white rat  conditioned fear of rats. • US • Loud noise • UR • Crying at noise • CS • Rat • CR • Crying at rat

12. Operant Conditioning

13. Operant Conditioning • Learning in which behaviors are strengthened/diminished by consequence • Controlled rats’, and later pigeons’, behaviors with an operant chamber (Skinner box) • contained a bar or key that an animal can manipulate to obtain a food or water reinforce, with attached devices to record the animal’s rate of bar pressing or key pecking

14. Shaping • Skinner used shaping –reinforcers guide behavior toward closer and closer approximations of the desired behavior. • Reinforcement – anything that STRENGTHENS behaviors • Punishment – anything that DIMINISHES behavior

15. Positive… Adding/+ • Negative… Removing/- • Big Bang Theory – Sheldon trains Penny • Lost – Sawyer’s Skinner Box

16. Operant Conditioning Examples • Receiving praise for A+ in Psych/Soc. • Positive reinforcement – addition of something good • Lunch detention for being late to class. • Positive punishment – addition of something bad • No homework in class because everyone’s behavior was on point! • Negative reinforcement – removal of something bad • You get your phone taken away for Snapchatting in class… • Negative punishment – removal of something good

17. Reinforcement Schedules • Continuous reinforcement • Reinforcing the desired response every time it occurs; typically used at the beginning of an operant conditioning process • EX: Parent gives child praise or gives a piece of candy every time they use the bathroom during the potty-training process

18. Reinforcement Schedules • Partial or Intermittent Reinforcement • reinforcing a response only part of the time • Ratio = responses • Interval = time

19. Motivation • The type of motivation can affect the effectiveness of reinforcements and punishments • Intrinsic motivation – the desire to perform a behavior for its own sake. • Extrinsic motivation – the desire to perform a behavior due to promised rewards or threats of punishment. • Children who were normally avid readers (intrinsically motivated) were paid for reading and their reading amount decreased  positive reinforcement backfired

20. Observational Learning

21. Observational Learning • Learning by observing others • Learning does not always happen as a byproduct of experience • Modeling – the process of observing and imitating a specific behavior

22. Albert Bandura's Experiment • Experimental group of preschoolers was exposed to an adult beating a blow-up (Bobo) doll for 10 minutes and then left to see if they would do the same • children exposed to aggressive adult models were more likely to be aggressive towards the doll when alone with the toys

23. Applications of Observational Learning • Antisocial models may have antisocial effects (family, TV, movies, friends) • Prosocial behavior (positive, constructive, helpful) can have prosocial effects • Violent viewing correlates with violent play/actions • Violent TV/movies can desensitize children and adults to pain, death, and punishment.