Download Learning

Learning
How do we change our
behaviors?
How do we cause others to
change their behaviors?
Associationism
• Fundamentally, all learning involves the
creation of associations between stimuli
we perceive and the appropriate
responses.
• The study of learning is the study of
how those associations are created and
changed.
Types of learning
• Habituation
• Classical conditioning
• Operant condition
• Cognitive learning
Habituation
• Habituation is where we become so
used to a stimulus that we no longer
consciously process it: We learn to
ignore it
• Noises near your apartment
• Smells near your house
• The annoying behaviors of children and
animals
Classical Conditioning
• Learn a direct association between a stimulus
(S) and a response (R)
• Responses are unconditioned reflexes (UR)
brought about by an unconditioned stimulus
(US).
• We pair the conditioned stimulus (CS) with
the US so that the UR is brought about by the
CS, at which point we say it is a conditioned
response (CR)
Operant Conditioning
• We learned the association between a
behavior and an effect - reinforcement.
– Positive: The introduction of something
good
– Negative: The removal of something good
– Punishment: The introduction of something
bad
– Escape: The removal of something bad
Law of Effect
• As an organism undergoes operant
conditioning, its tendency to make the
proper response will increase.
• Shaping: Molding a desired series of
behaviors through successive
approximation
Reinforcement schedules
• How do you get an animal to do
something repeatedly?
– Fixed ratio
– Variable ratio
– Fixed interval
– Variable interval
Conditioned reinforcement
• Certain things that we covet, like grades
or money, have no intrinsic value.
• Why do we covet these things?
• Second-order reinforcement