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Welcome! Discuss with a neighbor…
Which of these scenarios qualify as learning in your
opinion?
1)
John’s dad calls him a dingbat everyday. Now John
calls his friends at school dingbats, too.
2)
When the bell rings, students prepare to go to their
next class.
3)
Michael is nervous about his chem test and dreams
about chemistry equations that night.
4)
Iris’ mother grounds her for 2 weeks for refusing to
flush the toilet. Iris now flushes the toilet after using
it.
5)
Tameka doesn’t remember the last digit of her
friend’s phone number, so she tries calling different
numbers until she finds the correct last digit.
What is Learning?
• The process by which practice or experience results in a
relatively permanent change in behavior
Learning Demo #1!
I need 2 subjects & 1 experimenter!
Informed Consent – You’ll be
participating in a study on learning.
Your face may get a bit wet – but
don’t worry, it’s refreshing!
Conditioning
• A simple form of learning in which a specific pattern of
behaviors is learned in the presence of a well-defined stimuli
Classical Conditioning
Classical Conditioning
• Learning in which a response
naturally caused by one stimulus
comes to be caused by a
different, formerly neutral
stimulus
• Ivan Pavlov: discovered classical
conditioning
Classical Conditioning: Key
Terms
• Unconditioned Stimulus (US): A stimulus that automatically causes
a specific response in an organism
•
Example: Food
• Unconditioned Response (UR): The response caused by the
Unconditioned Stimulus.
•
•
UR is automatic and unlearned
Example: Salivating in response to food
Classical Conditioning: Key
Terms
• Conditioned Stimulus (CS): A formerly neutral stimulus that is paired
with a US and eventually causes the desired response all by itself
• Example: Ringing a bell
• Conditioned Response (CR): The learned response to the CS
• Example: Salivation in response to the bell
Classical Conditioning: An
Example
• My goal: To get a dog to salivate when it hears a bell
• Before Conditioning:
• I ring the Bell (CS)  No Response
• I give the dog food (US)  Salivation (UR)
• During Conditioning:
• I ring the bell , then give the food  Salivation
Classical Conditioning in
Humans
• Phobias are sometimes the result of classical conditioning
• Experiment with a young child where he’d be exposed to a loud
noise (US) and cry (UR)
• Then exposed to a white rat (CS) and not react
• Then exposed to a loud noise (US) and white rat (CS) together
and cry (UR)
• Finally exposed just to the white rat (CS) and cry (CR)
• The child now has a phobia of rats!
Classical Conditioning
How to fix a phobia?
• Desensitization Therapy
• A technique that uses classical conditioning to treat phobias
• Person learns to relax in presence of stimulus that used to be
upsetting
• Flooding
• Client faces worst-case-scenario involving fear
• If they can survive this, they have no reason so be fearful
every day
Classical Conditioning & Genetics
• Preparedness is the notion that humans are predisposed to
develop certain phobias because they have survival value
• May explain common fears such as dark, heights, and snakes
Some Phobias
• Cleithrophobia – the fear of being trapped
• Cyberphobia – fear of or aversion to computers and of learning new
technologies
• Decidophobia – fear of making decisions
• Frigophobia – fear of becoming too cold
• Gamophobia – fear of marriage, commitment
• Heliophobia – fear of sunlight
• Hemophobia – fear of blood
• Koumpounophobia - fear of buttons
• Melissophobia - fear of bees
• Mysophobia – fear of germs, contamination or dirt
• Nomophobia – fear of being out of cell phone contact
• Oikophobia – fear of home surroundings and household appliances
• Pogonophobia – fear of beards
• Tetraphobia – fear of the number 4
Classical Conditioning: Taste
Aversion
• Taste aversion
• Learned association between
the taste of a certain food
and a feeling of nausea or
revulsion
• This learning can occur
quickly, often with only one
pairing
• Speed of learning is likely
related to survival instincts
Operant Conditioning
• There is a 2nd type of conditioning, called Operant
Conditioning
• It is based upon the Law of Effect
• Law of Effect: Responses that produce a satisfying effect in a
situation are more likely to occur again
Operant Conditioning
• Operant Conditioning:
• Learning in which an organism’s behavior is followed by a reward or
punishment
• Organism learns to perform behavior in order to gain a reward or
avoid a punishment
• Reinforcer
• A stimulus or event that follows a behavior and makes that behavior
more likely to occur again
• Punisher
• A stimulus or event that follows a behavior and makes that behavior
less likely to occur again
• B.F. Skinner performed pioneering research in the area of Operant
Conditioning
Reinforcement: Positive
Reinforcement
• Positive reinforcer (+)
• Adds something rewarding following a
behavior, making that behavior more
likely to occur again
• Example: Giving a dog a treat for
fetching a ball is an example
• Spontaneous Behavior: Dog fetches a ball
• Consequence: Give it a treat
• Resulting Behavior: More likely to fetch
the ball again
Reinforcement: Negative
Reinforcement
• Negative reinforcer (-)
• Removes something unpleasant from the environment following
a behavior, making that behavior more likely to occur again
• Taking an aspirin to relieve a headache is an example
• Spontaneous Behavior:
• Consequence:
• Resulting Behavior:
Punishment
• Goal of punishment is to decrease the occurrence of a
behavior
• Effective punishment
•
•
•
•
Should occur as soon as possible after the behavior
Should be sufficient, i.e., strong enough
Should be certain, occurring every time the behavior does
Should be consistent
Punishment
• Not as effective as reinforcement
• Does not teach proper behavior, only suppresses undesirable
behavior
• Can make someone upset that can impede learning
• May give impression that inflicting pain is acceptable
Practice!
• Mark has wet hands after washing them.
• He rubs his hands in a towel and the water is now removed from
them.
• Every time he doesn’t want his hands to remain wet he can use a
towel to get rid of the water.
• Is this:
A) Positive reinforcement
B) Negative reinforcement
C) Punishment
Learned Helplessness
• Failure to try to avoid an unpleasant stimulus because in the
past it was unavoidable
• Possible model for depression in humans
Behavioral Change Using
Biofeedback
• Biofeedback is an operant technique that teaches people to
gain voluntary control over bodily processes like heart rate
and blood pressure
• When used to control brain activity it is called neurofeedback
Biofeedback
Biofeedback
• We cannot perform biofeedback without the necessary
equipment, but we can still attempt to manipulate our bodily
functions through awareness of them
Step One: Take your pulse.
Step Two. Employ relaxation and meditation techniques.
Step Three. Recheck your pulse.
Step Four. Compare your two pulse readings.
Classical vs. Operant Conditioning
• Classical conditioning
• Naturally occurring
responses are attached to
conditioned stimulus by
pairing that stimulus with
the unconditioned stimulus
• Spacing of trials effects rate
of training
• Operant
conditioning
– Learning process in
which desired
responses are
followed by
reinforcers
– Reinforcing
behaviors close to
the target behavior
can speed up
acquisition
Extinction and Spontaneous
Recovery

Classical conditioning


Extinction: US and CS
are no longer paired,
eliminating the CR
Spontaneous
Recovery: occurs when
the CR temporarily
returns without
additional training

Operant conditioning


Extinction occurs
when reinforcement is
stopped, eliminating
the conditioned
behavior
Spontaneous Recovery
occurs when behavior
temporarily returns
without additional
training
Spontaneous Recovery occurs after Extinction
Examples
• Classical Conditioning
• Extinction: Stop flinching at the word “can” after a while
• Spontaneous Recovery: One day post experiment, hear the word
“can” and flinch
• Operant Conditioning
• Extinction: Stop rewarding dog for fetching ball  dog stops
fetching ball
• Spontaneous Recovery: Dog begins fetching the ball again
without you rewarding it
Generalization and
Discrimination
• Classical conditioning
• Stimulus generalization
• Organism learns to respond
to other similar stimuli
• Stimulus discrimination
• Organism learns to respond
only to specific stimuli
• Operant conditioning
– Response
generalization
• Stimulus generates
similar responses
– Response
discrimination
• Only specific
responses are
reinforced in the
presence of specific
stimuli
Examples
• Classical conditioning
• Stimulus generalization
• Flinch at the word “tan” or “man,” not just “can”
• Stimulus discrimination
• Through further conditioning, flinch at the word “tan” only
• Operant conditioning
• Response generalization
• If you give a dog a treat and it jumps or rolls over.
• Response discrimination
• Can teach the dog to just jump when you give it a treat through
further teaching
New Learning Based on Original
Learning
• Higher-Order Conditioning in Classical Conditioning
• New conditioning based on earlier conditioning
• Earlier CS is used as a US for further training
• Desensitization is based on this principle
• Example: I read the same word list as our first experiment, in
which a student was trained to move at the word “can.” Now I
flash a color everytime I say a word. When I say “can” I always
flash red. I eventually stop saying can and the subject flinches
in reaction to red.
Operant Conditioning: Primary vs.
Secondary Enforcers
• Primary reinforcer
• Intrinsically rewarding
• Food, water, sex
• Secondary reinforcer
• Acquire rewarding properties by being associated with primary
reinforcers
• Provide ability to obtain primary reinforcer
• Example would be money, grades
Pigeon Ping-Pong
• Based on our knowledge of conditioning so far, how could
these pigeons be taught to play ping-pong?
Punishment can be hard to
forget…
Schedules of Reinforcement
• Interval Schedule
• Reinforcement depends on passing of time
• Fixed Interval Schedule
• Reinforcement follows behavior after a fixed
amount of time has passed
• Example: Receiving a paycheck every 2 weeks
for your work
• Variable Interval Schedule
• Reinforcement follows behavior after a
variable amount of time has passed
• Example: Pop quiz
Schedules of Reinforcement
• Ratio Schedule
• Reinforcement depends on the number of
responses made
• Fixed Ratio Schedule
• Reinforcement follows a fixed number of
behaviors
• Example: Sales job where you earn $1000 for
every 20 dinnerware sets sold
• Variable Ratio Schedule
• Reinforcement follows a variable number of
behaviors
• Example: Playing a slot machine
Rank the Schedules Reinforcement
• Which is the most powerful for influencing behavior?
• Which is the least powerful for influencing behavior?
• Explain both choices
Cognitive Learning
• Learning that relies upon mental processes which are not
directly observable or measurable
• Latent Learning – learning that takes place but is not
immediately demonstrated
• Cognitive Map - using a mental image of environment to
solve problems
• Example of latent learning and cognitive map: If you carry a rat
through a maze and show the rat the layout of the maze, the
rat will navigate the maze quicker than a rat not previously
exposed to the maze
Cognitive Learning
• Insight Learning – sudden realization of a solution
• Examples: Kohler’s chimp study, Epstein’s pigeon study
• Demonstration: Insight Learning in action
• Learning Set: you become more efficient at solving problems
with practice
• Generative Learning: using past information to learn
something new
Do Now 26
• A) What is insight learning?
• B) Provide an example of when you or someone you know
solved a problem using insight learning. If you cannot think of
a personal example, come up with a situation which would
likely be solved via insight learning
• Also, please take out your Operant Conditioning homework
Cognitive Learning
• Observational Learning: Learning by watching the behaviors
of others
• Example: Watch someone get punished for something causes
you not to repeat that person’s behavior
• Albert Bandura: Bobo Doll Study
• Steps:
Violence in the Media
• Does consuming violent media cause us to act violently?
• Debate
• Why is there so much violent media available?
• What would you do as a parent?