LearningChapter 7

Learning

Behavior You learn by observing

Change Connections between neurons are formed

Relatively enduring Change is usually permanent

Practice and experience Reinforces

Learning

Stimulus – produces activity in an organism Anything perceived by the senses – smell,

touch, taste, sight, hearing Response – reaction of an organism to a

stimulus Stimulus: Bright light Response: Close/cover your eyes

Aristotle

Greek philosopher 4th Century B. C. Laws of Association

Associations are mental connections between two stimuli

Ivan Pavlov

Russian psychologist Won the Nobel Peace Prize Classical Conditioning Studied the role of the salivary glands in

digestion

Natural Response

Unconditioned Response (UCR) unlearned, occurs naturally, no conditioning

or training are needed in order to produce this response

Unconditioned Stimulus (UCS) the stimulus that causes the UCR

Conditioned Stimulus and Response

Conditioned response (CR) Learned response

Conditioned stimulus (CS) A stimulus presented that wouldn’t normally

cause a certain response

Pavlov’s Experiment

What happens when a dog is given food ? Gets excited, jumps around, salivates

What happens when you ring a bell? Gets excited jumps around, no salivating

What happens if every time you give a dog food you rang a bell? The dog will eventually salivate

What happens now if you ring the bell? The dog will salivate

Pavlov’s Experiment

UCS Food

UCR Salivation

CS Bell

CR Salivation

Why does the dog now salivate to the sound of the bell? The dog has learned to associate the bell with food – he

learned something!

Pavlov’s Observations

The following 4 areas play a role in classical conditioning Time between CS and UCS Repetition Extinction Generalization and discrimination

Applications of Classical Conditioning

1. Counterconditioning Changing a negative response to a positive

one 2. Flooding

Having a person face their fear continuously

3. Desensitization Gradually exposing a person to something

they fear

Operant Conditioning

A behavior is learned in connection with a reward or punishment

E.L. Thorndike

Operant conditioning Placed a cat in a “puzzle box”

One lever in the box would open the door The cat would claw around and eventually find the

lever Once the door opened the cat was able to get out and

received a reward (food) The cat was put back in the box, it would claw around

again and find the lever, get out of the box and receive the reward

After a number of trials the cat new exactly where to go to get his reward

B.F. Skinner

Behavior psychologist Respondent behavior

The response that is involuntary, it doesn’t have to be learned, it happens automatically

Operant behavior Voluntary behavior, choosing to do something

Reinforcement Encourages or discourages a behavior

Principles of Operant Conditioning

Any response followed by a reinforcing stimulus tends to be repeated

A stimulus is considered reinforcing when it increases the rate of an operant behavior

Primary and Secondary Reinforcements

Primary A stimulus that is tied to some aspect of

survival (food, water)

Secondary A stimulus that is not necessary for survival,

(money, praise)

Changes in Operant Conditioning

Generalization when stimuli are similar but not identical, and

the CR still occurs Discrimination

learning the difference between two similar stimuli

Extinction getting rid of a response

Shaping

A method of refining a behavior by reinforcing behaviors that are close to the desired behavior

Eventually the reinforcements will lead to the actual desired behavior

Chaining

Teaching steps to a desired behavior separately

Once each behavior is linked together you get the actual desired behavior

Schedules of Reinforcement

How often must a person receive reinforcement for a behavior to continue?

Fixed Schedule

Given consistently Variable Schedule

Given at different rates or times

Schedules of Reinforcement

Ratio Schedule Based on the number of times a behavior occurs

and the rate at which it’s reinforced Interval Schedule

Reinforcement is given after a specific amount of time

Biology of Conditioning

Taste Aversion Develop a dislike for a particular food if it

resulted in an illness (biological preparedness) Adaptive behavior

Instinctual Drift Instincts We drift towards certain things because of

inborn tendencies

Latent Learning

Edward Tolman Individuals interact with the environment Form associations between two different

stimuli Cognitive maps – associations made

previously that can be used at a later time Latent learning – using a previously learned

behavior at a later time, but when you learned it, it wasn’t obvious that you could use it for something else

Insight Learning

Wolfgang Kohler Figuring out a method or behavior

Placed chimpanzees in cages with bananas hanging from the ceiling

In the cages were several boxes Chimps tried jumping and climbing to get to

the bananas After a while they studied the boxes They then stacked the boxes, climbed on top

and got the bananas

Cognitive Theories

Cognition Thinking Memory formation Learning Problem solving

Jean Piaget

French psychologist Mental abilities develop as a function of

biological development & experience Schemas contain info. About

Objects Actions Events Relationships

Example: Morning routine

Jean Piaget

Children are already born with certain schema Suck Reach Look Grasp

Stages of Cognitive Development

1. Sensorimotor (birth-2 years) Differentiates self from objects Object permanence – things continue to exist

even when they are no longer present to the senses

2. Preoperational (2-7 years) Use language, represent objects with words

Stages of Cognitive Development

3. Concrete operational (7-12) Think logically Classifies objects by several features (size,

color, shape) 4. Formal operational (12 & up)

Become concerned with the hypothetical, the present, and the future

Factors Affecting Learning

Meaningfulness Words or ideas that have personal meaning

Transfer Learning new information, but being able to use it in

real world situations Chemical Influence

Stimulants – caffeine, soda, coffee – inc. brain chemicals and may allow for more rapid learning

Depressants – alcohol – reduce nerve firing and the potential for learning

Social or Observational Learning

Albert Bandura Direct experience Vicarious experience - observing

Bandura’s Research

Divided preschool children into 2 groups One watched a film of an adult playing quietly

with a doll The other watched a film of an adult playing

aggressively with the doll Punching, kicking, throwing it around the room

Later, when the children were allowed to play with toys, those who had seen the more aggressive film were more than twice as likely to act aggressively

Processes in Observational Learning

Acquisition or modification of a behavior after at least one exposure to the behavior AttentionRetentionMotor Reproduction ProcessesMotivation

Violence in the Media

Observational Learning Media violence can encourage violent

behavior

Children brought up in a home where there is no aggressive behavior or punishment are usually less likely to exhibit violent behaviors seen in the media.

Current Approaches

Individual differences in cognitive processes The big picture Minor details Hands-on Think or reasoning

Factors that Influence Learning

Emotions Advantageous to learning If emotions are overwhelming, little learning

takes place Evolutionary

Processes are inborn and are turned on by situations we face each day

Factors the Influence Learning

Culture Values – learning depends on your family

values Perceptual Processes – how do you perceive

what you come into contact with Intelligence – varies among people