Download Psy 258 Behaviorism

Personality Psychology
Behavioral/Learning Theories
Behavioral/ Learning Theories
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Our responses and behaviors which constitute personality
are learned
We learn to maximize rewards, avoid punishment
Learn through association (classical conditioning) or
consequences (operant/instrumental conditioning)
Observable behavior
Testable hypotheses, experimentation
Relevance of animal models
Situational variables
The function of behaviors
Ways of altering behavior patterns
Behavioral/Learning Theories
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Views individual differences in personality as
the result of learning and different
environmental experiences.
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Learning – the process whereby behavior
changes in response to external and
situational contingencies
Ivan Pavlov
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The Russian physicist Pavlov was born in 1849.
He studied pharmacology and physiology in Saint
Petersburg. Later he became a teacher on this academy.
Besides teaching, he was involved in medical research.
Pavlov was interested in the behavior of both humans
and animals, and he was especially interested in
reflexes.
His biggest contribution to the field of psychology is
classical conditioning, a theory about how behavior is
learned. He received a Nobel price for his important
contribution to science. Pavlov died in 1936 in Russia.
Ivan Pavlov:
Classical Conditioning
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A type of learning in which a neutral stimulus
acquires the ability to elicit a response.
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If a neutral stimulus is paired with a nonneutral stimulus, the organism will learn to
respond to the neutral stimulus as it does to
the non-neutral stimulus.
Classical Conditioning
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Unconditioned stimulus (US)
 Elicits a reflexive, innate response in the absence of
learning
Unconditioned response (UCR)
 The reflexive, innate response to a stimulus in the
absence of learning
Conditioned stimulus (CS)
 Elicits a learned response after pairing a
unconditioned stimulus
Conditioned response (CR)
 The learned response to a conditioned stimulus
Classical Conditioning
Pair
UCS
UCR
NS
CS
CR
Classical Conditioning
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Brain circuits can be conditioned.
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Pavlov believed all subcortical activity could
be described in terms of conditioned reflexes.
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For example, emotions are conditioned
reflexes and can lead to changes in
“personality”, phobias, behavioral responses,
etc.
John B. Watson
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John B. Watson formulated radical behaviorism
with a sole focus on observable behaviors that
can be measured, predicted, and controlled.
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For Watson, the environment is more important
than genetics in determining behavior.
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“Albert”, an 11-month old boy, was conditioned
to fear a white lab rat by pairing its arrival with a
loud noise, showing even emotions can be
conditioned
John B. Watson’s Views on
Personality
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Watson believed that personality is the result of
habit systems: repeated behaviors formed in
early childhood and set by age 30.
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Watson emphasized the power of the situation in
releasing habit systems
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Watson believed that unconditioning bad habit
systems could result in personality change
Radical Behaviorism
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Scientific explanations should depend on as few
assumptions as possible
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Human behavior is subject to the same laws as
the movement of physical objects and that the
mind is an irrelevant explanation for behavior.
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Human behavior is completely determined and
predictable, therefore controllable and lawful.
B. F. Skinner
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Born: March 20, 1904, Susquehanna Pennsylvania.
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Died: August 18, 1990, died of leukemia
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Skinner received his BA in English from Hamilton College
in upstate New York. After writing for a newspaper and
some traveling, he decided to go back to school, this time
at Harvard. He got his masters in psychology in 1930 and
his doctorate in 1931, and stayed there to do research until
1936. Also in that year, he moved to Minneapolis to teach
at the University of Minnesota. There he met and soon
married Yvonne Blue. They had two daughters. In 1948, he
was invited to come to Harvard to teach.
Operant Conditioning
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Consequences of a behavior determine if the
behavior will continue.
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Shaping
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Reinforcing closer approximations of a desired
behavior.
Select Reinforcer
Set up continuum of the desired behaviors.
Figure
6.10 Skinner box and cumulative recorder
Reinforcement and Punishment
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Increasing a response:
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Positive reinforcement =
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Negative reinforcement =
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Presentation of something pleasant
Removal of something unpleasant
Escape learning
Avoidance learning
Decreasing a response:
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Punishment
Problems with punishment
Schedules of Reinforcement
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Continuous reinforcement
Intermittent (partial) reinforcement
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Ratio schedules
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Fixed
Variable
Interval schedules
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Fixed
Variable
Physiologically Based
Dimensions of Personality
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Extraversion-Introversion
Sensitivity to Reward and Punishment
Sensation Seeking
Neurotransmitters and Personality
Extraversion-Introversion
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Measured by Eysenck Personality
Questionnaire (EPQ)
High extraversion: Talkative, outgoing, likes
meeting new people and going to new
places, active, bored easily, hates routine
Low extraversion: Quiet, withdrawn, prefers
being alone or with a few friends to large
crowds, prefers routines, prefers familiar to
unexpected
Extraversion-Introversion
Eysenck’s theory
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Introverts have a higher level than extraverts
of activity in the brain’s ascending reticular
activating system (ARAS)
People strive to keep ARAS activity at
optimal level—introverts work to decrease
and avoid stimulation; extraverts work to
increase and seek out stimulation
Extraversion-Introversion
Eysenck’s theory
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Research indicates that introverts and
extraverts are NOT at different resting levels,
but introverts ARE more reactive to moderate
levels of stimulation than extraverts
This work led Eysenck to revise his theory—
the difference between introverts and
extraverts lies in arousability, not in baseline
arousal
Extraversion-Introversion
Eysenck’s theory
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When given a choice, extraverts prefer higher
levels of stimulation than introverts
Geen (1984): Introverts and extraverts
choose different levels of stimulation, but
equivalent in arousal under chosen
stimulation
Extraversion-Introversion
Eysenck’s theory
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Introverts and extraverts perform task best
under their chosen stimulation level, poor
when performing under a stimulation level
chosen by other group
Sensitivity to Reward and
Punishment
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Personality based on two hypothesized brain
systems
Behavioral Activation System (BAS):
Responsive to incentives (cues to reward)
and regulates approach behavior
Sensitivity to Reward and
Punishment
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Behavioral Inhibition System (BIS):
Responsive to cues to punishment,
frustration, uncertainty, and motivates
ceasing, inhibiting, or avoidance behavior
Active BIS produces anxiety, active BAS
produces impulsivity
Sensitivity to Reward and
Punishment
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Integration with Eysenck’s model: Impulsive =
high extraversion, moderate neuroticism;
Anxious = moderate introversion, high
neuroticism
According to Gray, impulsive people do not
learn well from punishment because of weak
BIS; learn better from reward—supported by
research
Sensation Seeking
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Tendency to seek out thrilling, exciting
activities, take risks, avoid boredom
Early sensory deprivation research
Hebb’s theory of optimal level of arousal
Sensation Seeking
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Zuckerman: High sensation seekers are less
tolerant of sensory deprivation; require much
stimulation to get to optimal level of arousal
Zuckerman’s Sensation Seeking Scale
Moderate positive correlation between
extraversion and sensation seeking
Sensation Seeking
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Physiological basis for sensation seeking
 Neurotransmitters—chemicals in nerve
cells are responsible for the transmission of
nerve impulse from one cell to another
 Monoamine Oxidase (MAO)—enzyme that
maintains a proper level of
neurotransmitters
Sensation Seeking
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Physiological basis for sensation seeking
 Too little MAO = too much
neurotransmitter; too much MAO = too little
neurotransmitter
 High sensation seekers have low levels of
MAO, producing a need for stimulation to
reach the optimal level of arousal
Neurotransmitters and
Personality
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Dopamine—associated with pleasure
Serotonin—associated with depression and
other mood disorders
Norepinepherine—associated with fight or
flight response
Neurotransmitters and
Personality
Cloninger’s Tridimensional Personality
Model
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Novelty seeking—low levels of
dopamine
Harm avoidance—low levels of serotonin
Reward dependence—low levels of
norephinepherine