Learning ­ the process by which experience or practice results in a relatively permanent change in behavior

  • Class notes, ride bike­ skills

 Conditioning ­ refers to the acquisition of fairly specific patterns of behavior in the presence of well­defined stimuli

  • Classical conditioning (Pavlovian)­ type of learning in which a response naturally elicited (reflexive behavior) by one stimulus comes to be elicited by a different, formerly neutral stimulus o Jason Movie sounds EX o Pavlov’s Conditioning Experiments
    • Classical conditioning was discovered almost by accident by I van Pavlov, a Russian physiologist who was studying digestive processes. Because animals salivate when food is placed in their mouths, Pavlov inserted tubes into the salivary glands of dogs to measure how much saliva they produced when they were given food.
    • Pavlov set out to teach the dogs to salivate when food was not present. He came up with an experiment where he sounded a bell just before the food was brought into the room­ dogs salivated

o Elements of Classical conditioning­ 4 main elements

  • Unconditioned stimulus­ UCS­ a stimulus that invariably causes an organism to respond in a specific way

 Always causes reflexive response

 Food in Pavlov’s experiment

  • Unconditioned Response­ UCR­ a response that takes place in an organism whenever an unconditioned stimulus occurs

 Salivation in Pavlov’s experiment

 Provoked naturally

  • Conditioned Stimulus­ CS­ originally neutral stimulus that is paired with an unconditioned stimulus and eventually produces the desired response in an organism when presented alone

 Bell in Pavlov’s experiment

  • Conditioned Response­ CR­ after conditioning, the response and organism produces when only a conditioned stimulus is presented

 Salvation in Pavlov’s experiment

 Provoked through learning

  • Classical conditioning in Humans
    • Phobias­ irrational fears of particular things, activities, or situations

 Not going to hurt us

  • To see how phobias might develop through classical conditioning, look at classic experiment conducted by John Watson and Rosalie Rayner

 Little Albert EX

  • Started showing boy lab rat
  • Every time he approached, experimenters made loud noise by striking steel bar
  • Eventually, started crying when he saw the rat
  • Classical conditioning is selective
    • Preparedness­ some stimuli serve readily as conditioned stimuli for certain kinds of responses

 Set up/primed to become scared to particular stimuli

  • Contra­preparedness­ other types of stimuli do not serve as conditioned stimuli well
  • Conditioned Taste Aversion­ conditioned avoidance of certain foods even if there is only one pairing of conditioned and unconditioned stimuli

 Happens after only 1 experience

 Breaks usually rules of classical conditioning

 John Garcia Rat Radiation EX

  • Rats exposed to high levels of radiation that made them sick
  • Drank less water in radiation chamber
  • Different bottles in home and radiation chamber o Plastic bottle had taste of water/radiation that served as a CS
  • Rats associated water with radiation­ UCS

 Evolution­ rapid happening of taste­illness combination increases animals chance of survival

 Real problem for cancer patients­ chemo causes aversion to all foods they eat due to nausea

  • Operant Conditioning­ behavior designed to operate on the environment in a way that will gain something desired or avoid something unpleasant­avoid punishment/get reward o Elements of Operant Conditioning
  • Operant responses­ chosen behavior that is modifiable by its consequences

 After we exhibit the behavior

  • Consequence that follows the behavior

Reinforces­ consequences which increase the likelihood that the behavior will be repeated

  • Look at effect of behavior regardless of form

Punishers­ consequences that decrease the chances that a behavior will be repeated

  • Law of Effect­ theory that behavior consistently rewarded will be stamped in as learned behavior and behavior that brings about discomfort will be stamped out – Principle of Reinforcement

 Types of Reinforcement

  • Positive – any event whose presence increases the likelihood that ongoing behavior will recur
  • Negative­ any event whose reduction or termination increases the likelihood that ongoing behavior will recur o Escape conditioning­ Remove behavior
  • Headache­ take aspirin o Avoidance conditioning­ Remove threat
  • Migraine­ take medicine before

 Types of Punishment

  • Positive­ addition of a stimulus that decrease the likelihood that the behavior will recur
  • Negative­ taking away of a stimulus that decreases the likelihood that the behavior will recur

 Conditions needed for punishment to work

  • Swift­ punishment occurs after behavior
  • Certain­ have to know they are getting caught
  • Sufficient without being cruel­ unpleasant
  • Seen as deserved by person being punished­ has to be fair

 Drawbacks of punishment

  • Only suppresses behavior­ does not replace it with better behavior
  • Unpleasant emotions­ humiliating
  • May convey notion that hurting others is ok­ get what you want by hurting others

 Learning

  • Cognitive learning­ learning that depends on mental processes that are not directly observable
  • Latent­ learning that is not immediately reflected in a behavior change (shows up later) o Edward Tolman’s Rat Study EX
    • When rats were reinforced­ learned maze faster because had reward
    • Rats unreinforced showed latent learning when finally given food at end of maze

 Stored internally in some way but not reflective in behavior

  • Insight­ learning that occurs rapidly as a result of understanding all the elements of a problem o Learning shoots to instant success­ “Ah Ha” moment o Wolfgang Kohler’s Chimp Study EX
    • Placed chimp in cage with banana just out of reach
    • Several items in cage, including a stick
    • Chimp grabbed stick, poked banana to drag through bars
  • Observational learning­ learning by observing other people’s behavior o Social learning theory­ a view of learning that emphasized the ability to learn by observing a model or receiving instructions, without firsthand experience by the learner
    • New behavior, consequences by watching others
    • Must not only see but also pay attention to what model does
    • Remember what the model did
    • Convert what you learned into action o Vicarious reinforcement/ Vicarious punishment­ experienced by models that affects the willingness of others to perform that behaviors they learned by observing those models
    • Albert Bandura’s Bobo Doll Study

 Randomly divided group of 66 nursery school children into 3 groups of 22 each

 Each watched film of adult abusing bobo doll with different ending condition

  • Model­reward­ saw model get candles, soda, praise from second adult (VR)
  • Model­punishment­ second adult scolding and shaking finger at model (VP)
  • No consequences­ film ended in aggressive scene

 Immediately after film­ kids taken individually into room where movie was filmed

 Allowed to play alone for 10minutes while behavior was observed through 1­way mirror to observe spontaneous behavior

 Experimenters offered treats for imitating film

  • Model Reward was more likely to portray film

All groups learned to imitate behavior equally