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How do we learn?
Learning
Psych 101
3 main types
Classical conditioning
Operant conditioning
Observational learning
Learning
Association Learning
Learning a basic association between two things
Ivan Pavlov
Noticed that when he
walked into the room to
feed dogs, they were
already salivating
Why would this be?
Food causes salivation
No food was present…
why are the dogs
salivating?
Association between
Terminology
Pavlov entering the room = dog’s get food
This is learning!!
Classical Conditioning
A relatively permanent change in an organism’s
behavior due to experience
Unconditioned Stimulus (UCS)
Unconditioned Response (UCR)
unlearned, naturally occurring response to the unconditioned
stimulus
Conditioned Stimulus (CS)
stimulus that unconditionally--automatically and naturally-triggers a response
originally irrelevant stimulus that, after association with an
unconditioned stimulus, comes to trigger a conditioned
response
Conditioned Response (CR)
learned response to a previously neutral conditioned stimulus
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Again…
Unexpected Associations
UCS
(passionate
kiss)
CS
(onion
breath)
CS
(onion
breath)
Timing is everything…
How should the US and the CS be
presented? Any particular ordering?
The CS elicits a diminished response (CR)
after time has passed and after extinction
UCS
(passionate
Kiss)
UCR
(sexual
arousal)
CR
(sexual
arousal)
Other ideas
Extinction
Ideally: CS then US
Spontaneous Recovery
UCR
(sexual
arousal)
Playing CS with no US
The response (CR) disappears
Well, how specific is the learning?
Generalization
The tendency to respond
to a CS that is similar to
the initial CS that the
animal was trained on
Discrimination
The ability to tell the
difference between
certain aspects of the
learned association
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Examples: Generalization
Examples: Discrimination
chocolate
Still want it?
Associations have to make
sense…
Rats are more likely to learn an association
between food and nausea than light and
nausea
Also they are more likely to learn to
associate light and shock than food to
shock
Operant Conditioning
Relies on the Law of Effect
Rewarded behavior is more likely to recur
type of learning in which behavior is strengthened if
followed by reinforcement or diminished if followed
by punishment
B.F. Skinner
Shaping
Skinner Box
chamber with a bar
or key that an animal
manipulates to
obtain a food or
water reinforcer
contains devices to
record responses
guide behavior
toward closer
approximations of
a desired goal
Successive
approximations
(bribing good
grades with money)
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Reinforcement
Seeking to strengthen the
behavior
Positive: adding
something to strengthen
behavior
Negative: removing
something to strengthen
behavior
Examples
Positive reinforcement
Money for good grades
Negative reinforcement
Removal of restriction for good grades
Punishment
Seeking to decrease the behavior
Positive: adding something to diminish
the behavior
Negative: removing something to
diminish the behavior
Examples
Punishment is most effective when
accompanied by reinforcement
“Don’t do this, do this instead.”
Spanking
Negative
punishment
Taking the car away
for getting a
speeding ticket
What if the
reinforcement/punishment is
not occurring EVERY time?
Which is most effective?
Positive punishment
In real life, people don’t get punished
every time they do something bad or
rewarded every time they do
something good
Continuous reinforcement:
If everytime you did something there
was a reward
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Types of Partial
Reinforcement
Partial reinforcement
More common than continuous
reinforcement
Which is better?
Continuous: faster learning
Partial: longer lasting learning
Fixed Ratio schedules
Variable Ratio schedules
Fixed Interval schedules
Examples:
Rewards are given at random time intervals
Most Effective?
Door to door salesmen
Checking the cookies to see if they’re
done
Airline frequent flier miles programs
Gambling
Observational Learning
Rewards are given every 30 minutes
Which reinforcement schedule do
these fit into?
Rewards are given in an unpredictable manner
Variable Interval schedules
Every 30 pieces gives a reward
Learning through observing
Albert Bandura
Conducted Bobo Doll Experiments
The Bobo Doll Experiment
2 groups of children
Watched an adult interact with
a bobo doll
1 group saw an adult be violent
with the bobo doll
1 group saw an adult ignore the
bobo doll
The children that observed the
violence were more violent
towards the bobo doll
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Quiz
A dog will naturally sneeze after being
tapped on the nose. For a short period, the
dog is shocked (lightly) prior to being
tapped on the nose and prior to them
sneezing. After training, the dog will sneeze
after being shocked.
What is the unconditioned stimulus here?
What is the conditioned response?
#2
A monthly salary is an example of
which type of partial reinforcement
schedule?
Variable ratio
Fixed ratio
Variable interval
Fixed interval
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