Learning
Chapter 4
Learning
A change in behavior due to experience.
Whattypes of behavior change would
NOT be considered learning?
Why is learning important?
Different Perspectives
Behavioral psychologists focus on learning
through classical and operant conditioning.
Cognitive psychologists studying learning
are interested in the processes involved in
human memory.
The Journey…
LearningThrough Classical
Conditioning
LearningThrough Operant
Conditioning
Biological
and Cognitive Aspects
of Learning
Ivan Pavlov (1849-1936)
Unconditioned Reflexes
UCS UCR
UCS: (unconditioned stimulus) A stimulus that
elicits a response without prior conditioning.
UCR: (unconditioned response) A response
elicited by an unconditioned stimulus.
What are examples of unconditioned reflexes
in humans?
The Process of Classical
Conditioning
If a neutral stimulus (NS) is followed closely in
time by an UCS, which elicits an UCR, then the
previously neutral stimulus will also tend to elicit
a similar response.
Usually, many pairings of the NS and UCS are
necessary for this to occur – this is called
acquisition.
The Process of Classical
Conditioning Continued
Therefore, after many pairings with the UCS, the
NS becomes a CS (conditioned stimulus) and
the response it elicits is known as a CR
(conditioned response), which is a conditioned
reflex:
CS CR
Pavlov’s Dog
A Summary of
Classical Conditioning
Pairing of the NS & UCS
Delay(ed)conditioning: NS still on when UCS
begins; most effective.
Trace conditioning: NS off before UCS on; to
be effective, very short time between end of
NS and beginning of UCS.
NSmust be presented first for conditioning to
occur.
Other Respondent Processes
1) Extinction
2) Spontaneous Recovery
3) Generalization/Discrimination
Acquisition, Extinction,
and Spontaneous Recovery
The Classical Conditioning of
“Little Albert”
Study conducted by John B. Watson and Rosalie
Rayner.
In this example, what is the
(1) UCS?
(2) UCR?
(3) NS?
(4) CS?
(5) CR?
Did stimulus generalization take place?
Operant Conditioning
Learning how behavior “operates” on the
environment, or the consequences produced by
behavior.
Principles researched by B. F. Skinner, and
based on Thorndike’s law of effect:
Rewarded behavior is likely to recur.
Edward L. Thorndike
(1874-1949)
Thorndike’s Puzzle Boxes
B. F. Skinner
(1904-1990)
The Operant Chamber
(aka “Skinner Box”)
Skinner and His Birds
The Principle of Reinforcement
Any event that increases the probability of a
preceding response.
positive reinforcement: The presentation of an
appetitive stimulus strengthens behavior that
preceded it.
negative reinforcement: The removal of an
aversive stimulus strengthens behavior that
preceded it.
Reinforcers
Any stimulus or event that strengthens the behavior
it follows.
Can only be classified as such based on the impact
on future behavior
Primary vs. secondary reinforcers
What are some potential reinforcers for college
students?
Are reinforcers and rewards the same thing?
Punishment
The opposite of reinforcement – a stimulus
following the response decreases the probability
of that behavior.
positive punishment: The presentation of an
aversive stimulus weakens the behavior that
precedes it.
negative punishment: The removal of an
appetitive stimulus weakens the behavior that
precedes it.
Positive and Negative
Reinforcement and Punishment
Positive Negative
Appetitive Aversive
Reinforcement stimulus stimulus
presented removed
Aversive Appetitive
Punishment stimulus stimulus
presented removed
Operant Processes – Shaping
& Acquisition
Shaping occurs when an organism is trained to
make a response it cannot already make by
reinforcing successively closer approximations
to the desired response.
Acquisition refers to the strengthening of the
reinforced operant response.
Operant Extinction
Decreasing behavior by withholding
reinforcement for a previously reinforced
response
Spontaneous recovery possible
Cumulative Recording
A record of the total number of responses
over time; a visual depiction of the
response rate.
As the slope of a line in a cumulative
record gets steeper, the response rate is
faster.
How to Understand
a Cumulative Record
Acquisition, Extinction, and
Spontaneous Recovery
Schedules of Reinforcement
continuous reinforcement: Reinforcing a
desired response every time it occurs
(acquisition).
partial
reinforcement: Reinforcing a
response only some of the time
(maintenance).
Partial-Reinforcement Schedules
A ratio schedule is based on the number of
responses made.
An interval schedule is based on the amount of
time that has elapsed BUT ALSO REQUIRES A
RESPONSE…after a waiting period.
Schedules may also be fixed or variable.
Fixed Ratio and Variable Ratio
Schedules of Partial Reinforcement
Fixed Interval and Variable Interval
Schedules of Partial Reinforcement
Which is best?
Ratio schedules lead to higher rates of
responding than interval schedules.
Variable schedules lead to fewer breaks (no
responding occurring) after reinforcement than
fixed schedules.
With respect to extinction, it will take longer to
extinguish a response with a partial-
reinforcement schedule than a continuous
schedule.
Biological and Cognitive
Aspects of Learning
Biological Preparedness
in Learning
Latent Learning
Observational Learning
Biological Preparedness
in Learning
We are biologically prepared to classically
condition more readily to certain types of
stimuli.
Forexample, taste aversion – we readily
learn to avoid stimuli associated with food
and drink that produce nausea.
Taste Aversion
Studied by John Garcia and colleagues
Differencesfrom typical classical
conditioning:
Only a single pairing of the NS and UCS needed.
The presentation of the UCS, and thus, the
response, may be significantly delayed.
Instinctual Drift
The tendency of an animal to “drift back” from a
learned operant response to an object to an
innate, instinctual response.
Discovered by an animal-training couple named
Breland.
Thus, organisms more readily learn behavior
that is consistent with their natural behavior.
Latent Learning –
Edward Tolman
Latent learning is learning that occurs but is not
demonstrated until there is an incentive to do so.
Demonstrated that rats who had been allowed to
roam in a maze with no reinforcers available had
indeed learned the maze (when reinforcers
became available).
Latent Learning
Observational Learning
Learning by observing others and imitating
their behavior.
Also known as modeling.
Researched by Albert Bandura – the
infamous “Bobo Doll” study.
Observational Learning
The occurrence of modeling depends in
part on the consequences received by the
model.
Powerful force MEDIA
Prosocial vs. antisocial models
Possible role of mirror neurons in autism
