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Learning
Haven’t we already talked about this???
What’s the difference between:
• Learning
• Knowledge
• Memory
• Education
• Training
Learning
“… any relatively permanent change in behavior that occurs
because of experience” (Wade & Tavris, 2005, p. 285)
The study of learning has been heavily
dominated by…
Behaviorism
Classical Conditioning
Pavlov’s Dog
Have you ever been classically conditioned?
Conditioning Fear
John B. Watson trained “Little Albert” to be afraid of white
mice
Stimulus Generalization
John B. Watson trains “Little Albert” to be afraid of bearded
men
Stimulus Discrimination
Learning to tell the difference between stimuli
Extinction
Stopping the reaction
How many times do you have to ring the bell without food to get the
drooling to stop?
Operant Conditioning
What is a consequence?
Reinforcement Schedules
Does punishment change behavior?
Sometimes. If…
• Immediate.
• Consistent.
Note: Harsher doesn’t help. Mild punishment works just as well.
Punishment does not work when…
Why punishment fails…
• Causes anxiety, fear, rage
These are not good conditions for learning. Too much anxiety, too little information.
• Stops working when the punishment goes away
– Can I get away with it? INSTEAD OF Is this a good idea?
• Can’t be immediate enough or specific enough
The dog who eats the box of treats while you’re at work has been rewarded 50 times before
you get home to punish him.
• Doesn’t convey information about what to do
• May be an accidental reinforcer
Social-Cognitive Learning Theory
Behaviorism (yes, we are conditioned, but)…
Observational learning
Social cognitive theory helps explain this.
• Attitudes
• Beliefs
• Expectations
Are behaviorists still around?
• Do you ever see systems of reinforcement and
punishment?
• “Cognitive behavioral therapy”
• Behaviorists never said thinking didn’t happen, only that
there was no sense in trying to study it. What kind of
research would Skinner be doing today?