CHAPTER 5

LEARNING

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How would you teach a tiger to jump through a flaming hoop?
What steps would you take to have the tiger learn this?

“Don’t try this at

home kids!” “That was grrrrrrreat!”

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WHAT IS “LEARNING”?

It refers to relatively permanent change in

behavior that occurs as a result of practice,
experience or training. This implies 3 essential
elements:
a. Learning is a change in behavior
b. Change occurs through practice or experience
c. Change in behavior must be relatively
permanent and last for considerable time

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 THEORIES OF LEARNING
1. Connectionism
- by Edward Lee Thorndike - all
learning is explained by connections
or bonds formed between stimuli and
responses.
LAWS OF LEARNING BY EDWARD LEE
1. Laws of readiness – physiologically and
psychologically prepared.
2. Laws of exercise – repetitions and
rehearsals
3. Laws of effect - the consequence of a
certain response is favorable or
satisfying.
 THEORIES OF LEARNING

2. Classical Conditioning
- by Ivan Pavlov – neutral stimulus
gains the ability to elicit a response because
it has been paired with unconditioned
stimulus/ learning through association
 CLASSICAL CONDITIONING
1. Ivan Pavlov discovered the principle of classical
conditioning by accident.
2. Pavlov wanted to understand how a dog's stomach prepares
to digest food when something is placed in the dog's mouth.
3. He noticed that the mere sight or smell of food was enough
to get the dog salivating - investigated how this worked.

One of Pavlov’s Drooling Dogs

 II. ELEMENTS OF CLASSICAL CONDITIONING

a. Unconditioned Stimulus (UCS) – natural stimulus

which automatically elicits a response. (food )

b. Unconditioned Response (UCR) - automatic

response to the unconditioned stimulus (salivation to
the food)

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 II. ELEMENTS OF CLASSICAL CONDITIONING
c. Conditioned Stimulus (CS) – neutral stimulus
which at first cannot elicit a response but after pairing
with the UCS is able to elicit CR (bell)
+
d. Conditioned Response (C) - learned response to
the conditioned stimulus
(salivation to the bell)

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II. ELEMENTS OF CLASSICAL CONDITIONING

1. UCS ------->UCR
(food) (salivation)

CR---------|CS
(tone) - neutral
 CLASSICAL CONDITIONING CONCEPTS

a. Stimulus generalization
▪ Giving similar response to stimuli that
resemble the original stimulus.

b. Stimulus Descrimination
▪ Giving different response to different
stimuli
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 CLASSICAL CONDITIONING CONCEPTS

c. Extinction
▪ Disappearance of learned response or the
unlearning process

d. Spontaneous recovery
▪ The return of the conditioned response,
the relearning process.
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 CLASSICAL CONDITIONING
Fear - example.
Watson & Raynor (1920) - demonstration
of classical conditioning to emotional responses
in humans.
9 month old child - Little Albert -
beginning of experiment white rat did not elicit
fear, loud noise did elicit crying and distress.
paired the loud noise with the rat and after a
while the rat elicited fear in Little Albert.
 CLASSICAL CONDITIONING
What is UCS? (loud noise)
What is UCR? (fear response to loud noise)
What is CS? (rat)
What is CR? (fear of rat)
What would it be if Albert also became afraid of
cats? (stimulus generalization)
What if Albert was not afraid of gerbils?
(stimulus discrimination)
This is one way phobias can develop.
 MOST COMMON PHOBIAS
acrophobia - fear of high places
agoraphobia - fear of open places
claustrophobia - fear of closed places
gynephobia - fear of women
hydrophobia - fear of water
mysophobia - fear of dirt
ophidiophobia - fear of nonpoisonous snakes
3. Operant Conditioning by Burrhus
Frederick Skinner - learning through
consequences, there is a need for a
performance of task before reinforcement
is given.
⚫ Learning is a three part sequence:
(1) Antecedents must be present
(2) Behavior can occur
(3) Consequence of behavior results
⚫ Consequences provide either:
Reinforcement increases likelihood of behavior
Punishment decreases likelihood of behavior 16

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 OPERANT CONDITIONING
Positive reinforcement
- Increases the chance that the response will be
repeated.(chores=allowance)
Negative reinforcement
- one that has to be terminated or withdrawn to
increase the likelihood that the response will be repeated. (not
giving a quiz because the class behave properly)

❖ Primary reinforcement – stimulus naturally rewarding (food

satisfies hunger)
❖ Secondary reinforcement – one becomes rewarding because of
its association to primary reinforcement (tokens or chips which
can be exchanged for money) 17

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 OPERANT CONDITIONING
How often/frequently should a behavior be reinforced to facilitate
learning?
What is best reinforcement schedule?
⚫ Fixed Ratio Schedule
⚫ Variable Ratio Schedule
⚫ Fixed Interval Schedule
⚫ Variable Interval
Schedule

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 OPERANT CONDITIONING CONCEPTS

a. Extinction – unlearning which means learned

response would disappear if not reinforced.
⚫ Decreases likelihood of behavior in future
Associated with undesirable/aversive outcomes

Operant Real World

Procedure Behavior Consequence Result Example
Positive Response Aversive Stimulus Likelihood of the Drunk =
Punishment Is Made Presented Behavior Decreases Vomiting
Negative Response A Desired Likelihood of the Fighting =
Punishment Is Made Stimulus Removed Behavior Decreases 19
Time out

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 OPERANT CONDITIONING
b. Shaping is slowly and continually modifying
behavior
Step Goal: Learn to do Laundry
⚫ Reinforced at each 10 Lay out clothes for the party
step 9 Fold and put away clothes
8 Collect dried clothes
⚫ Eventually, doing a
7 Put wet clothes in dryer
early step elicits next 6 Start washer (wait)
step 5 Put in clothes and detergent
4 Select correct water temps.
3 Go to laundry room
2 Separate lights/darks
1 Buy Detergent 20

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 OPERANT CONDITIONING

c. Behavioral Modification
⚫ Possible through reinforcement
⚫ ‘Effective’, controversial method for
changing and shaping problematic behaviors
⚫ Positive punishment administered

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4. Observational or Social Learning by Albert
Bandura
Learning from watching others’ behaviors
⚫ “Learner” mimics a “role model”
Learn to rebuild engine by watching dad
Learn to cook risotto by watching Emeril
Bandura’s Bobo-Doll Experiment
⚫ Children learned to act by watching others
⚫ Cannot be S R learning
No stimulus presented TO the children

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4 PROCESS INVOLVED IN OBSERVATIONAL LEARNING
a. Attention – the observer focus his attention to what
distinctive features of the model he wants to imitate
b. Retention – the observer should remember the observed
behavior of the model
c. Motor reproduction – able to perform the task of
imitating the model
d. Motivation – if the result of imitating is pleasurable
such feelings serves as motivation to continue imitating