PS 4021Psychology Theory and method 1

Lecture 3-Week 3The Learning paradigm

Critical thinking in the wider world

Learning

• Behaviour is learned

• To understand why someone behaves in a particular way we need to examine the situation they are in and explore their past learning experiences in similar situations

We will discuss

• Radical approach to learning-Skinner• Moderate approach to learning-Dollard and

Miller• Bandura-social/cognitive approach– Self-efficacy

• Rotter locus of control• Mischel approach

Early approaches-Pavlov and Wartson

Pavlov-Classical Conditioning

Classical conditioning

• Pavlov (1904)• Classical conditioning:

the process by which a previously neutral stimulus acquires the capacity to elicit a response through association with a stimulus that naturally elicits a similar response

• Unconditioned stimulus: a stimulus that elicits a reflexive response in the absence of learning

• Unconditioned response: a reflexive response elicited by a stimulus in the absence of learning

• Conditioned stimulus: an initially neutral stimulus that comes to elicit a conditioned response after being associated with an unconditioned stimulus

• Conditioned response: a response that is elicited by a conditioned stimulus after it is associated with an unconditioned stimulus

• Conditioned=learned, unconditioned=not learned

• Unconditioned stimulus leads to unconditioned response. They are unlearned.

• During conditioning learning occurs• Conditioned stimulus leads to conditioned

response. They are learned-a consequence of learning and training

• Stimulus generalization: when a stimulus that resembles the conditioned stimulus elicits the conditioned response

• Stimulus discrimination: the tendency to respond differently to two or more similar stimuli

• Extinction: the weakening and eventual disappearance of a learned response; occurs when the conditioned stimulus is no longer paired with the unconditioned stimulus

• Spontaneous recovery: the sudden reappearance of a learned response after its apparent extinction

Applications to human behaviour

• Hunger pangs at the sight of the sign of a fast food

• Lighting and thunder• Perfume and

boyfriend/girlfriend• Food connected with food

poisoning • The case of little Albert

(Watson and Rayner, 1920)• The case of little Peter

(Jones, 1924)• Fear of dentist

Skinner

Radical Behaviorism

Operant conditioning

• Classical conditioning-learning that one event will follow another

• Operant conditioning-learning that a response will be followed by particular consequences

• Learner is more active

Operant Conditioning

• Reinforcement: the process by which a stimulus increases the probability of the response

• Positive reinforcement: a response is followed by a reinforcing stimulus

• Negative reinforcement: a response is followed by the removal of an unpleasant stimulus

• In both cases, response more likely to occur • Punishment: the process by which a stimulus reduces

the probability of the response

Operant Conditioning

• Shaping• The technique of reinforcing only those

variations in response that deviate in the direction desired by the experimenter

• We build up relatively complex behaviours by reinforcing closer and closer approximations to the desired behaviour

• Behaviour modification

• Shaping• The technique of reinforcing only those

variations in response that deviate in the direction desired by the experimenter

• We build up relatively complex behaviours by reinforcing closer and closer approximations to the desired behaviour

• Behaviour modification

In terms of personality

• Did not accept the concept of personality• Genetic inheritance might have a role but..• It is not the kind of person you are, but the

learning history you had and the current demands of your environment that dictate your behavior

Dollard and Miller

Stimulus-Response model of personality

• Attempt to integrate learning theory principles with Freud’s psychoanalytic approach

• Our behavior does not only consist of responses to environmental stimuli; we also respond to inner stimuli, thoughts and memories

• The role of the unconscious cues (because we learned them too early, because they are not labeled or because they are repressed)

• Personality is composed of learned habits• How are these habits acquired and

maintained?– Primary drives– Secondary drives

Primary Drives

• Infant is born with some innate drives that secure survival (hunger, thirst, need for sleep, avoidance of pain)

• Reduction of drives is the most powerful reinforcement

• Infant left to become extremely hungry (primary drive)-cries very loudly (response)-mother feeds it-infant learns crying is rewarded

Secondary drives

• Secondary drives are learned to help us cope with our primary drives

• Mother sets regular mealtimes before the primary drive of hunger makes the infant cry

Types of reinforcement

• Associated with primary and secondary drives are different types of reinforcement

• Primary reinforcers: food, water, sleep• Secondary reinforcers: items or events that

were originally neutral but have acquired a value as a reinforcer through being associated with primary drive reduction

Learning of habits consists of

• Initial drive– hunger

• Cue to act– Goodys sign as you drive home

• Response– Pick up meal

• Reinforcement of the response– Meal good– Meal bad

Types of conflict situations

• Approach-approach conflict– Two equally desirable holiday options

• Avoidance-avoidance conflict– Two equally undesirable activities

• Approach-avoidance conflict– Found the perfect house but the flat mate is awful

• Double approach-avoidance conflict– Positive and negative aspects that have to be

considered

Albert Bandura

Social Learning theory

Reciprocal determinism

Observational learning

• Bobo doll experiments (Bandura and Walters, 1963)

• Three factors important in modelling– Characteristics of the model– Attributes of the observer– Consequences of imitating the behavior

• Distinction is made between what we have learned (knowledge acquired) and what we can do (performance)

• Self-reinforcement

• Motivation and incentive

Personality development in social learning theory

• It is a learning process where parents, peers and other provide role models for children to learn from through observation

• It is a dynamic, complex process• Identifying goals to achieve is a crucial part• Goal achievement depends on self-regulatory

processes

Self-efficacy as a self-regulatory process

• Belief that if you perform some behavior, it will get you a desired positive outcome

• Confidence in your ability to perform• Increases likelihood of achieving success by

increasing likelihood of attempting the task, the effort you put on it and the persistence in the face of difficulties

Julian Rotter

Locus of control

Behaviour potential = Reinforcement value + Expectancy

• Behaviour potential: the likelihood of a specific behaviour occuring in a particular situation

• Expectancy: what we expect to happen• Reinforcement value: how much we value this

outcome

Generalized expectancies

• Individuals come to believe on the basis of their learning experiences that either reinforcement is controlled by outside forces or that their behavior controls reinforcement

• External locus of control: what I do does not influence outcomes

• Internal locus of control: what I do makes a difference

Walter Mischel

Personality-paradox

• Little evidence that behavior is consistent in different situations

• Traits and other measures of personality is not good predictor of how the individual will behave in different situations

• So, is it the situation or the personality that makes us behave as we do?

• Social-cognitive person variables as opposed to traits describe individual differences

• Individual personality differences are not due to situation-free personality traits but to situation-related descriptions of how individuals characteristically behave