Unit 6: Learning

Learning

• A relatively permanent change in an organism's behavior due to experience.
  
  

How Do We Learn?

• By association.
  
  

Conditioning

• Our minds naturally connect events that occur in sequence.
  
  

Two Main Forms of Conditioning:

1. Classical Conditioning
   
   

2. Operant Conditioning
   
   

Operant Conditioning

• When we associate behavior with a consequence.
  
  

Classical Conditioning

Ivan Pavlov

• Russian psychologist who studied salivary response in dogs.
  
  

• Discovered dogs associated food with paired stimuli, leading to salivation without food.
  
  

• Studied deliberate associations between stimuli.
  
  

Classical Conditioning Process

1. Before Conditioning:
   
   

   • Unconditioned Stimulus (US): Food → Unconditioned Response (UR): Salivation.
     
     

   • Neutral Stimulus (NS): Tone → No response.
     
     

2. During Conditioning:
   
   

   • NS (Tone) + US (Food) → UR (Salivation).
     
     

3. After Conditioning:
   
   

   • Conditioned Stimulus (CS): Tone → Conditioned Response (CR): Salivation.
     
     

Key Terms

• Acquisition: Initial stage where NS and US are linked.
  
  

• Higher-Order Conditioning: Pairing a new stimulus with a previously conditioned stimulus.
  
  

• Extinction: US no longer follows CS, CR decreases.
  
  

• Spontaneous Recovery: Reappearance of an extinguished CR after rest.
  
  

• Stimulus Generalization: Responding similarly to stimuli like the CS.
  
  

• Stimulus Discrimination: Ability to distinguish between CS and other stimuli.
  
  

Applications of Classical Conditioning

• John B. Watson & Little Albert experiment.
  
  

• Drug treatment, fear reduction (systematic desensitization, flooding).
  
  

Classical Conditioning vs. Operant Conditioning

From Thorndike to Skinner

Edward L. Thorndike

• Law of Effect: Behaviors followed by favorable consequences are more likely to occur.
  
  

B.F. Skinner

• Expanded on Thorndike’s work with operant conditioning.
  
  

• Used operant chambers (Skinner boxes) with rats & pigeons.
  
  

Reinforcement

• Reinforcer: Any event that strengthens behavior.
  
  

• Primary Reinforcer: Innate (e.g., food or drink).
  
  

Types of Reinforcement

• Positive Reinforcement: Adding a stimulus after behavior to increase it.
  
  

• Negative Reinforcement: Removing an aversive stimulus to increase behavior.
  
  

  • Note: Negative reinforcement is not punishment.
    
    

Shaping

• Guiding behavior toward desired target through successive approximations.
  
  

Discriminative Stimulus

• A stimulus that signals reinforcement availability (e.g., stop sign).
  
  

Immediate vs. Delayed Reinforcers

• Immediate: Instantly follows behavior (e.g., food pellet).
  
  

• Delayed: Follows after time delay (e.g., paycheck, grades).
  
  

Reinforcement Schedules

• Continuous Reinforcement: Every correct response is reinforced.
  
  

• Partial (Intermittent) Reinforcement: Response is sometimes reinforced.
  
  

Interval (Time-Based)

• Fixed-Interval: After specific time (e.g., weekly paycheck).
  
  

• Variable-Interval: Unpredictable time intervals.
  
  

Ratio (Response-Based)

• Fixed-Ratio: After specific number of responses.
  
  

• Variable-Ratio: Unpredictable number of responses (e.g., slot machine).
  
  

Punishment

• Decreases behavior.
  
  

Consequences of Punishment:

• Unwanted fears.
  
  

• Conveys no information.
  
  

• Justifies pain to others.
  
  

• Aggression.
  
  

• Replacement behaviors.
  
  

Skinner’s Critics

• Acknowledged thought processes & biology, but critics say he discounted them.
  
  

Applications of Operant Conditioning

• Schools: Teaching machines, programmed learning.
  
  

• Sports: Improve performance.
  
  

• Workplace: Increase productivity.
  
  

• Parenting: Foster good behavior.
  
  

Classical vs. Operant Conditioning

• Respondent Behavior: Automatic response to stimuli (Classical).
  
  

• Operant Behavior: Behavior shaped by consequences (Operant).
  
  

Module 29: Biological and Cognitive Influences on Learning

Biological Predispositions

• Garcia: Conditioning can occur even if CS and US are hours apart.
  
  

• Taste Aversion: Association of food with illness (nausea, vomiting).
  
  

Cognitive Processes

• Rescorla & Wagner: Animals learn predictability of stimuli.
  
  

• Associations influence attitudes.
  
  

Latent Learning

• Learning that is not immediately evident.
  
  

• Edward Tolman: Rats form cognitive maps in mazes.
  
  

Insight

• Sudden realization of problem solution.
  
  

Motivation

• Intrinsic: Doing something for its own sake.
  
  

• Extrinsic: Doing something for rewards or to avoid punishment.
  
  

Learning and Personal Control

Coping Strategies

• Problem-Focused Coping: Directly addressing the stressor.
  
  

• Emotion-Focused Coping: Avoiding the stressor, focusing on emotional needs.
  
  

Learned Helplessness

• Passive resignation after repeated unavoidable negative events.
  
  

  • Martin Seligman: Dog experiments.
    
    

Locus of Control

• Internal: You control your fate.
  
  

• External: Fate controlled by external forces.
  
  

Self-Control

• Ability to delay gratification for long-term rewards.
  
  

Module 30: Learning by Observation

Bandura’s Experiments

• Bobo Doll (1961): Children imitate adults' behavior, especially when rewarded or punished.
  
  

Applications of Observational Learning

• Antisocial models → antisocial behavior.
  
  

• Prosocial models → positive behavior.
  
  

• Media violence increases aggression (Gentile et al., 2004).
  
  

Mirror Neurons

• Neurons that fire both during action and observation.
  
  

• Important for observational learning.