Learning
Learning is defined as a long lasting change in behavior resulting from experience
Learning can best be measured through change in behavior
Learning must result from experience rather than from any kind of innate or biological change
Conditioning
the process of learning associations
Classic conditioning
People and animals can learn to associate neutral stimulus with stimuli that produce reflexive
involuntary responses and will learn to respond similarly to the new stimulus as they did to the
old
conditioning is a basic form of learning by which organisms adapt to their environment
Conditioned likes and dislikes are even stronger when people notice and are aware of the
associations they have learned
A Russian psychologist named Ivan Pablo discovered classical conditioning through salivation
in dogs
He found the dogs learned to pair the sounds in the environment where they were fed with the
food that was given to them and begin to salivate simply upon hearing the sound
Unconditioned stimulus
US UCS
Something that elicits A natural reflexive response
the US in the Pavlovian experiment is food
Unconditioned response
UR UCR
the response made by the unconditioned stimulus
Conditioned Stimulus
CS
The stimulus that is paired with the natural stimulus
Bell
Conditioned response
CR
The response that results from the conditioned stimulus this is the same as the response that
results from the unconditioned stimulus but the reason is different.
Salivation upon hearing bell only
Learning has taken place once the animal response to the CS without a presentation of the US
this learning is also called acquisition since the animals have acquired a new behavior
Repeated pairings of CSs and USs yield stronger CRs
Delayed conditioning
Most effective method of conditioning is to present the CS first and then to introduce the US
while the CS is still evident this is called
Trace conditioning
the presentation of CS followed by a short break followed by the presentation of US
stimulus conditioning
CS and US are presented at the same time
backwards conditioning
US is presented first and is followed by the CS this method is particularly ineffective
Extinction
the process of unlearning a behavior
In terms of classical conditioning extinction has taken place when The CS no longer elects the
CR
Spontaneous recovery
sometimes after conditioning response has been extinguished and no further training of the
animals has taken place the response briefly appears upon presentation of the conditioned
stimulus
Spontaneous recovery suggests that extinction is suppression not elimination
generalize
often animals condition to respond to a certain stimulus will also respond to similar stimulus
although the response is usually smaller in magnetic magnitude does tendency to respond to
similar CS . subjects can be trained to tell the difference or discriminate between various stimuli
John Watson and Rosalie Reiner condition of little boy named Albert to fear a white rat
second order conditioning or higher order conditioning
Once I CS elicits a CR it is possible briefly to use the CS as a US in order to condition a
response to a new stimulus
for example after the dog salivates to the bell (first order)the bell can be paired repeatedly with a
flash of light and the dog will salivate to the light alone (second order). Although the light was
never paired with the food
Bio
Research suggests the animals and humans are biologically prepared to make certain
connections more easily than others
learning taste aversions are a classic example of this phenomena
if you ingest an unusual food or drink and then become nauseous you will probably develop an
aversion to the food or drink animals including people seem biologically prepared to associate
strange tastes with feelings of sickness
clearly this response is adaptive
salient stimulus
are easily noticeable and therefore create a more powerful conditioned response
Operant conditioning
a kind of learning based on the association of consequence with one’s behavior
Operant behavior
What makes the good or bad consequence in operant conditioning
law of effect
States that if the consequences of behaviors are pleasant the stimulus response connection will
be strengthened and the likelihood of the behavior will increase
if the consequence of her behavior is unpleasant the SR connection Will decrease and the
likelihood of the behavior will decrease
anything that makes a behavior more likely to occur is a reinforcer
positive reinforcement
refers to the addition of something pleasant
negative reinforcement
refers to the removal of something unpleasant
Discriminative stimulus
signals that a response will be reinforced
escape learning
allows one to terminate an aversive stimulus
avoiding learning
enables one to avoid unpleasant stimulus altogether
punishment
anything that makes a behavior less likely
Positive punishment
the addition of something unpleasant
Omission training or negative punishment
the removal of something pleasant
The same ends can be achieved through punishment and reinforcement punishment is operant
conditions version of aversive conditioning
punishment is most effective if it is delivered immediately after the unwanted behavior and if it is
harsh
Cons of punishment
Punish behavior is suppressed not forgotten
punishment teaches discrimination punishment could teach fear
physical punishment may increase aggression by modeling aggression as a way to cope with
problems
Shaping
reinforces the steps used to reach the desired behavior by rewarding approximations of the
desired behavior
The goal is to mold a single behavior
Chaining
being taught to perform a number of responses successfully in order to get a reward
The goal is to link together a number of separate behavior into a more complex activity
Primary reinforcers
Reinforcers that are themselves a award
Secondary reinforcers
Things we have learned to value
Generalized reinforcer
things that can be traded for anything
What functions as a reinforcers for some may not have the same effect on others
Premack principle
The reinforcing properties of something depend on the situation whichever of two activities is
preferred can be used to reinforce the activity that is not preferred
Reinforcement schedules
when you are first teaching it is best to reward the behavior constantly (continuous
reinforcement)
partial reinforcement effect
behavior will be more resistant to extinction if the animal has not been reinforced continuously
two things determine reinforcement
1.what determines when the reinforcer is delivered ratio schedule (number of responses made)
or the passage of time (interval schedule)
2.the pattern of reinforcement either constant (fix schedule) or (changing variable schedule)
Fixed ratio schedule
provides reinforcement after a set number of responses
Variable ratio schedule
provides reinforcement based on the number of tasks but the number varies
Fixed interval schedule
requires a certain amount of time pass before a task will result in a reward
variable interval schedule
varies the amount of time required to pass before a response will result in the reinforcer
variable schedules are more resistant to extinction then fix schedules
Ratio schedules promote higher rates of response than interval schedules
Awards are only effective in learning if used neither to bribe nore to control but to signal a job
well done excessive reward can undermine intrinsic motivation
Bio
Researchers have found that animals will not perform certain behaviors that go against their
natural inclinations
Instinctive Drift
the tendency for animals to forgo rewards to pursue their typical patterns of behavior
Radical behaviorists
learning occurs without thoughts cognitive theorists
argue that even classical and operant conditioning have a cognitive component
Pavlovian model of classical conditioning
known as the contiguity model
states that the more times two things are paired the greater the learning that will take place
Rascorlas model
known as the contingency model of classical conditioning
clearly rests upon a cognitive view of classical conditioning
A is contingent upon B when A depends upon B and vice a versa
in such a case the presence of one event reliably predict the presence of another
Note
the relationship between the CS and US is not always clear
Expectations or thoughts influence learning
Observational learning
also known as modeling
species specific
relies on observation and imitation observational learning has a clear cognitive component in
that a mental representation of the observed behavior must exist in order to enable the person
or animal to imitate it
Latent learning
learning that becomes obvious only once a reinforcement is given for demonstrating it
Abstract learning
learning that involves understanding concepts rather than learning simply to do something
Insight learning
occurs when one suddenly realizes how to solve a problem
learning often happens in this sudden way due to incite rather than because of the gradual
strengthening of the S R connection
Steps to learning
State a goal
Monitor behavior
Reinforce good behavior
Reduce rewards gradually
