LEARNING
HOW DO YOU LEARN BEST??
Ivan Pavlov and the role of Serendipity
• Russian physiologist studying the digestive system
• Focusing on what substance helped to break food down
• One notable substance studied was saliva
• Developed method to measure saliva production
Components of Classical Conditioning
Ivan Pavlov termed this type of learning as classical conditioning (a.k.a. Pavlovian conditioning)
UCS –
UCR –
NS –
CS –
CR –
Classical Conditioning
UCS ->->->->UCR
UCS naturally causes or:
Then, we pair the NS (which becomes the CS) with the UCS enough times to create the CR
CS ->->->->->CR
Salivary Conditioning Apparatus
Pupils dilating at the sound of a bell..
UCS – lights off -> -> -> UCR – pupil dilation
NS – Bell
CS – Bell -> -> -> CR – pupil dilation
The tale of Little Albert….
• Watson and his assistant Rosalie Rayner (okay, there is a scandal there with these two) trained Little Albert to be afraid of a white rat
• UCS – -------- UCR –
• NS –
• CS- ------------------ CR –
• In delayed conditioning, the CS is presented:
• This is considered the most effective form of conditioning
• The CS is presented and terminated:
• This is the procedure of trace conditioning, which can be very effective if:
• Less effective than delayed conditioning
• In simultaneous conditioning the CS and the UCS are presented:
• Pavlov found that conditioning was very weak when:
• One explanation is that there is no time for the subject to anticipate the UCS and thus the CS does not take on the properties of the UCS.
• In the procedure sometimes called backward conditioning, the UCS is presented and terminated:
• Most psychologists argue that it does not work.
Generalization vs. Discrimination
• Response generalization – when the subject responds to:
• Response discrimination – when the subject responds:
What would happen if you….
• Kept presenting the CS without the presence of the UCS?
• Reintroduced the pairing of the CS and the UCS?
Taste-Aversion Learning
• When one associates a particular sensory cue (smell, taste, sound or sight) with getting sick and thereafter avoiding that particular sensory cue in the future
Behavior therapy using classical conditioning
• Aversive therapy-pair up bad behavior (acts as a CS) with some type of negative stimulus (acts as a UCS) to create a negative CR
• e.g. – you can pair up smoking with making a person really sick. They will then associate smoking with getting sick and usually just the thought of smoking will make them nauseous
Phobias…….so now you know how they occur
• Ways to deal with a phobia:
– Systematic desensitization
– Flooding
Operant Conditioning
• Operant Conditioning
– Response ->
– Subject a response
– Subject knows they are responding for stimulus
• Classical Conditioning
– Stimulus ->
– Subject has response
– Subject does not know that learning is taking place
Skinner
• Created the Skinner box, which showed how behavior could be shaped
Shaping
• Shaping – a system of quickly and systematically teaching animals/humans behavior
• Successive approximations –
Reinforcers• Skinner held that our behavior is learned
through the use of reinforcers – that is, any stimulus that will increase the likelihood that the behavior will occur again
• Primary reinforcers – unlearned biological needs/drives –
• Secondary reinforcers – learned needs/drives such as –etc.
Extinction and Spontaneous Recovery
• In operant conditioning, the response can be weakened and eventually extinguished by no longer presenting the reinforcer
• The response can be spontaneously recovered by reintroducing the reinforcer
Positive vs. negative reinforcement
Positive reinforcers –
In order for the reinforcer to be considered positive, it must be one which the subject considers to be positive – that is, if a subject does not like chocolate, offering this as a positive reinforcer will not work.
• Negative reinforcement – when a response is strengthened -
• With punishment, the behavior should decrease, while with negative reinforcement the behavior should increase
Examples of negative reinforcement
• Parent picking up baby to remove
the aversive stimulus of baby crying
• Child cleaning room to stop parent nagging
• Child being moved near teacher to stop them from talking – if the child does not talk again, then they have been punished – however, if the child was seeking attention, they will talk again to get the teacher’s attention
Escape and avoidance learning
• Negative reinforcement leads to 2 kinds of behaviors:
• 1) Escape learning –
• 2) Avoidance learning –
Continuous vs. intermittent reinforcement
• Continuous reinforcement: when the subject receives a reinforcer every time they do the response
• Intermittent: more variable – Schedules of reinforcement
Schedules of Reinforcement
OfficeClass vsOperantcond
Punishment1. It should be
2. Should
3. Explain why the person is being punished
4. Explain an
5. Be consistent-consistent punishment
6. Use physical punishment :
Negative effects of punishment
• Suppression of
• Triggers
• May lead to
Some suggestions
• Reinforce positive desirable behavior and ignore undesirable behavior (within reason)
• Praise children around the child for desirable behavior (vicarious learning – ripple effect)
• Reinforce behaviors as they get closer to the desired behavior-esp. with small children (shaping – successive approximations)
Learning
• Learning and learned helplessness
• Learning and the self-fulfilling prophecy
Observational Learning
When learning takes place via modeling – that is “monkey see, monkey do”
Albert Bandura – social learning theory
Bobo doll