Dr. M. Davis-Brantley

Learning is the process that produces a relatively enduring change in behavior or knowledge as a result of an individual’s past experience• Ex: Why don’t we touch hot stoves?• As a result of experience, we acquire new

behaviors or modify our old behaviors.

Conditioning is the process of learning associations between environmental events and behavior responses• Conditioning is reflected in everyday behavior

such as simple habits, emotional reactions, and skills

What’s this about

LEARNING?

Ivan Pavlov (1849–1936)

Ivan Pavlov 1849-1936 Russian

physiologist Studied digestive

processes Lecture--Pavlov

Digestive reflexes and salivation

Psychic secretion

UNCONDITIONED STIMULUS REFLEX ACTIONwill

elicit a

UNCONDITIONED STIMULUS

NEUTRAL STIMULUSREFLEX ACTIONwill

elicit a

CONDITIONED STIMULUSCONDITIONED STIMULUSwill

elicit aCONDITIONED

RESPONSE

NEUTRAL STIMULUSwill

elicit NO REACTION

Does not normally elicit a response or reflex action by itself•A bell ringing•A color•A furry object

Always elicits a reflex action: an unconditioned response•Food•Blast of air•Noise

A response to an unconditioned stimulus--naturally occurring•Salivation at smell of food•Eye blinks at blast of air•Startle reaction in babies

The stimulus that was originally neutral becomes conditioned after it has been paired with the unconditioned stimulus

Will eventually elicit the unconditioned response by itself

The original unconditioned response becomes conditioned after it has been elicited by the neutral stimulus

Extinction is the gradual weakening and apparent disappearance of conditioned behavior.

Spontaneous recovery is the reappearance of a previously extinguished response after a period of time without exposure to the conditioned stimulus

Stimulus Generalization is the occurrence of a learned response not only to the original stimulus but to other, similar stimuli

Stimulus Discrimination is the occurrence of a learned response to a specific stimulus but not to other, similar stimuli

Figure 5.4 Classically Conditioned Drug Effects: Does Just the Smell of a Starbucks Coffee Grande Perk You Up?Hockenbury: Psychology, Fourth EditionCopyright © 2005 by Worth Publishers

Figure 5.3 A Classically Conditioned Fear ResponseHockenbury: Psychology, Fourth EditionCopyright © 2005 by Worth Publishers

Little Albert Video

Little Albert Video-#2

Watson was hired by an advertising agency Applied the principles of classical

conditioning to advertising “To make your consumer react, tell him

something that will tie up with fear, something that will call out an affectionate or love response, or strike at a deep psychological or habit need”

See page 198

Operant ConditioningB.F. Skinner

Keep in mind that classical conditioning involves reflexive behaviors that are automatically elicited by a specific stimulus, most everyday behaviors don’t fall in this category

Dr. Edward Lee Thorndike Studied animals to see if they utilized reasoning

to solve problems He determined that a cats’ learning is based on a

trial and error bases Law of Effect—learning principle proposed by

Thorndike that proposes that responses followed by a satisfying effect become strengthened and are more likely to recur, while responses followed by a dissatisfying effect are weakened and less likely to recur

Did not like Thorndike’s term “satisfying state of affairs”

Interested in emitted behaviors

Operant—voluntary response that acts on the environment to produce consequences

•Reinforcement—the occurrence of a stimulus following a response that increases the likelihood of the response being repeated

•Parenting

Operant Conditioning

Primary—a stimulus that is inherently reinforcing for a species (biological necessities)

Conditioned (also referred to as a secondary reinforcer)—a stimulus that has acquired reinforcing value by being associated with a primary reinforcer

Presentation of a stimulus following a behavior that acts to decrease the likelihood that the behavior will be repeated

Does not teach or promote alternative, acceptable behavior

May produce undesirable results such as hostility, passivity, fear

Likely to be temporary May model aggression

Shaping Extinction Spontaneous Recovery Discriminative Stimuli Schedules of Reinforcement

Fixed-Ratio (FR) Variable-Ratio (VR) Fixed-Interval (FI) Variable-Interval (VI)

Ratio schedules are based on number of responses emitted

Fixed ratio (FR)—a reinforcer is delivered after a certain (fixed) number of correct responses

Variable ratio (VR)—a reinforcer is delivered after an average number of responses, but varies from trial to trial

Interval schedules are based on time.

Fixed interval (FI)—reinforcer is delivered for the first response after a fixed period of time has elapsed

Variable interval (VI)—reinforcer is delivered for the first response after an average time has elapsed, differs between trials

CLASSICAL Stimulus

precedes the response and elicits it

Elicited responses Learning as a

result of association

Pavlov

OPERANT Stimulus follows

the response and strengthens it

Emitted responses

Learning as a result of consequences

Skinner

Classical conditioning• elicits response as a result of associating

unconditioned stimulus neutral stimulus

Operant conditioning• emitted response • learning is a result of consequences

reinforcers punishment

Specific skills and general behavioral styles

Bandura’s cognitive theory

Observation Modeling Imitation Albert Bandura and the Bobo doll

study

Do what I say, not what I do—

This will teach you to hit your brother—

Why do you do that, you know you get in trouble for it—

Famous last words???