Learning

Learning

What is Learning? !A

relatively permanent change in an organism’s behavior due to experience. ! conditioning: The acquisition of specific patterns of behavior in the presence of wellwell-defined stimuli.

2 Types of Conditioning ! classical

(C.C.): a response naturally elicited by one stimulus comes to be elicited by a different, formerly neutral stimulus ! operant (O.C.): Conditioning in which the experimenter takes a response that the subject already has and strengthens it by reinforcing it every time it occurs

Pavlov’s Investigations

Classical Conditioning Terms ! unconditioned

stimulus (US): A stimulus that always elicits a specific response in the absence of any training. ! unconditioned response (UR): A response that is always elicited by a specific stimulus in the absence of any training.

Classical Conditioning Terms ! neutral

stimulus (NS): A stimulus that does not elicit a specific response ! conditioned stimulus (CS): a NS that acquires the ability to elicit a specific response ! conditioned response (CR): A response similar to the UR that is elicited by the CS

Classical Conditioning Procedure Before Conditioning

Bell (S)

o Response

Food (US)

Salivation (UR)

Classical Conditioning Procedure During Conditioning

Food (US)

Bell (S)

Salivation (UR)

Classical Conditioning Procedure After Conditioning

Bell (CS)

Salivation (CR)

Classical Conditioning Terms ! Aversive

Conditioning: Counterconditioning which associates an undesirable state with an unwanted behavior

Persistence of Classical Conditioning ! extinction:

presentation of CS without US leads to a lessening of responding and then no response ! spontaneous recovery: the reappearance of the CR after a pause in extinction trials

Classical Conditioning in Humans

! J.

B. Watson classically conditions “Little Albert” to fear white rats.

Conditioning Little Albert Before Conditioning

Rat (S)

o Fear

Loud oise (US)

Fear (UR)

Conditioning Little Albert During Conditioning Loud oise (US)

Rat (S)

Fear (UR)

Conditioning Little Albert After Conditioning

Rat (CS)

Fear (CR)

Common Examples of C.C. ! phobias phobias::

irrational fears ! conditioned food (taste) aversion: aversion: classically conditioning a novel flavor to illness

Modification of Original C.C. ! response

generalization: CR triggered by stimulus similar to the CS (e.g., Little Albert and other furry things) ! stimulus discrimination: CR is not elicited by stimuli similar to CS; CR is elicited only by a specific CS

Higher Order Conditioning ! Pairing

a second conditioned stimulus with the first conditioned stimulus in order to produce a second conditioned response ! an earlier CS becomes the US for further learning

Operant Conditioning Terms operant (O.C.): Conditioning in which the experimenter takes a response that the subject already has and strengthens it by reinforcing it every time it occurs ! shaping: A procedure in which rewards gradually guide an animal’s behavior toward a desired behavior. !

Operant Conditioning Terms ! reinforcer:

An event or stimulus that makes the behavior it follows more likely to occur again. ! punisher: A stimulus that follows a behavior and decreases the likelihood that the behavior will be repeated.

Types of Reinforcement ! primary

reinforcers ! secondary reinforcers ! positive reinforcers ! negative reinforcers

Primary & Secondary Reinforcers ! primary

reinforcer: A reinforcer that is rewarding in itself, such as food, water, and sex. ! secondary reinforcer: A reinforcer that acquires its reinforcing power through association with a primary reinforcer.

Positive Reinforcers !A

pleasant event that follows an operant response and increases the likelihood that the response will recur.

Negative Reinforcers !A

negative reinforcer strengthens a given response by removing an aversive stimuli.

Punishment ! The

aim of punishment is to decrease the likelihood that an ongoing behavior will recur. ! For punishment to be effective it should be swift, sufficient, and certain.

Punishment ! Punishment

is generally not as effective as the skillful application of reinforcement. ! Avoidance training is an alternative strategy to using punishment. ! avoidance training: Learning a desirable behavior to prevent the occurrence of something unpleasant.

Reinforcement vs. Punishment Reinforcers increase the rate of responding. ! Punishers decrease the rate of responding. !

Reinforcement vs. Punishment There are two ways to provide reinforcement (rewards) or punishment. First, the experimenter (or more likely, a parent or teacher) can give the participant (or child) something. Whenever something is given, or added, this is called positive. When something is taken, or subtracted, we use the term negative. Thus, if a teacher gives a child candy for behaving nicely in class, this is positive reinforcement. But if the teacher makes the child clean the blackboards during recess for speaking out in class, this is positive punishment. Note that "positive" and "negative" do not mean "good" and "bad;" they merely indicate whether something was added (positive) or taken away (negative). These terms can be tricky, so take a minute to study the table below.

Pleasing Stimulus Stimulus is Introduced

Positive Reinforcement increases response. Example: completion of homework increases when

Annoying Stimulus Positive Punishment decreases response. Example: because you talked, you must do extra work.

followed by praise.

Stimulus is Removed

Negative Punishment decreases response. Example: because you got an F, you cannot play on the football team.

Negative Reinforcement increases response. Example: your speed at turning off an annoying alarm clock increases.

Positive Reinforcer— Reinforcer— a stimulus or event that is presented after a response that increases the likelihood that this response will occur again. Negative Reinforcer— Reinforcer— a stimulus or event that is removed after a response that increases the likelihood that this response will occur again. Positive Punisher— Punisher— a stimulus or event that is presented after a response that decreases the likelihood that this response will occur again. Negative Punisher— Punisher— a stimulus or event that is removed after a response that decreases the likelihood that this response will occur again.

Learned Helplessness ! Failure

to take steps to avoid or escape from an unpleasant or aversive stimulus that occurs as a result of previous exposure to unavoidable painful stimuli.

Seligman’s Learned Helplessness Study

Thorndike’s Law of Effect

! behavior

consistently rewarded will become learned behavior

Thorndike’s Law of Effect

!

“All men seek happiness. This is without exception. Whatever different means they employ, they all tend to this end. The cause of some going to war, and of others avoiding it, is the same desire in both, attended with different views. The will never takes the least step but to this object. This is the motive of every action of every man, even of those who hang themselves.” - Blaise Pascal, Pacsal’s Pensees

Response Acquisition Classical !

Neutral Stimulus becomes associated with the Unconditional Stimulus

Operant !

desired response is followed by reinforcer

Extinction Classical !

occurs when Conditioned Stimulus-Stimulus Unconditional Stimulus pairing lapses

Operant !

occurs when reinforcing is withheld

Spontaneous Recovery Classical ! may

occur

Operant ! may

occur

Response Generalization Classical

Operant ! stimuli similar to ! supplying different Conditioned response to Stimulus will stimulus elicit Conditioned Response

Stimulus Discrimination Classical ! Conditioned Response is specific to a certain Conditioned Stimulus-Stimulus Unconditioned Stimulus pairing

Operant ! reinforcing only specific responses

Differences Between Classical & Operant Conditioning ! Classical

conditioning is passive on the part of the learner. ! Operant conditioning relies on the learner to actively participate in the learning process.

Differences Between Classical & Operant Conditioning ! In

operant conditioning reinforcers act as incentives for learning. ! Classical conditioning, on the other hand, does not provide incentives.

Observational Learning Social Learning Theory !

Much of the behavior we display has been learned or modified by watching models engage in those actions. Such models include parents, teachers, peers, and television performers

Observational Learning

Observational Learning The Process 1.

Attentional Process: People will learn from a model only if they are attending to the critical features of the model’s behaviors (i.e. attractive, engaging, similar to observer, etc.)

Observational Learning The Process 2.

Retention Process: The ability to remember the model’s actions after the model has disappeared from the scene

Observational Learning The Process 3.

Motoric Reproduction Process: They must show evidence of learning by performing the modeled activities.

Observational Learning The Process 4.

Reinforcement: Performance of a learned behavior depends on whether it will be rewarded or punished.