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Chapter Summary
[6.1 What Are the Three Ways We Learn?]
Learning Results From Experience. Learning is a relatively enduring change in behavior
that results from experience. Learning enables animals to better adapt to the environment,
and thus, it facilitates survival. There are three ways we learn: non-associative learning,
associative learning, and learning by watching others.
Non-Associative Learning. Habituation is a decrease in behavioral response after repeated
exposure to a nonthreatening stimulus. In contrast, sensitization is an increase in
behavioral response after exposure to a new and threatening stimulus.
The Brain Changes During Learning. To understand how learning occurs in the brain,
researchers have investigated the enhanced activity that results from the strengthening of
synaptic connections between neurons, a phenomenon known as long-term potentiation
(LTP).
[6.2 How Do We Learn by Classical Conditioning?]
Stimuli Are Related Through Classical Conditioning. Pavlov established the principles of
classical conditioning. Through classical conditioning, associations are made between two
stimuli that normally would not be linked. During classical conditioning, a neutral
stimulus (e.g., a metronome) is presented along with an unconditioned stimulus (e.g.,
meat) that reliably produces an unconditioned response (e.g., salivating). This pairing
eventually creates an association between the neutral stimulus and the unconditioned
response, thus forming a conditioned stimulus (e.g., the metronome) and a conditioned
response (e.g., salivating). Acquisition, extinction, spontaneous recovery, generalization,
discrimination, and second-order conditioning are processes associated with classical
conditioning.
We Learn Fear Responses Through Classical Conditioning. Phobias are learned fear
associations. Through the Little Albert study, John Watson became one of the first
researchers to demonstrate the role of classical conditioning in the learning of phobias.
Counterconditioning is a technique that can help overcome phobias.
Adaptation and Cognition Influence Classical Conditioning. Animals are biologically
prepared to make connections between stimuli that are potentially dangerous. This biological preparedness to fear specific objects helps animals avoid potential dangers. From
an evolutionary viewpoint, this makes them more likely to survive, adapt, and pass along
their genes. Animals are predisposed to form predictions that enhance survival, such as
judging the likelihood that food will continue to be available at one location. The
Rescorla-Wagner model maintains that the strength of a CS-US association is determined
by the extent to which the US is unexpected or surprising.
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[6.3 How Do We Learn by Classical Conditioning?]
Reinforcement Increases Behavior. A behavior’s positive consequences will make it
more likely to occur. Shaping is a procedure in which successive approximations of a
behavior are reinforced, leading to the desired behavior. Reinforcers may be primary
(i.e., satisfy biological needs) or secondary (i.e., do not directly satisfy biological needs).
Both Reinforcement and Punishment Can Be Positive or Negative. For positive
reinforcement and positive punishment, a stimulus is delivered after the animal responds.
For negative reinforcement and negative punishment, a stimulus is removed after the
animal responds. Positive and negative reinforcement increase the likelihood that a
behavior will recur. Positive and negative punishment decrease the likelihood that a
behavior will recur.
Operant Conditioning Is Influenced by Schedules of Reinforcement. Learning occurs in
response to continuous reinforcement and partial reinforcement. Partial reinforcement
may be delivered on a ratio schedule or an interval schedule. Moreover, partial
reinforcement may be fixed or variable. Partial reinforcement administered on a variableratio schedule is particularly resistant to extinction. Behavior modification involves the
use of operant conditioning to eliminate unwanted behaviors and replace them with
desirable behaviors.
Biology and Cognition Influence Operant Conditioning. The brain has specialized centers
that produce pleasure when stimulated. Behaviors that activate these centers are
reinforced. Through conditioning, secondary reinforcers can also activate dopamine
receptors. An organism’s biological makeup restricts the types of behaviors the organism
can learn. Latent learning takes place without reinforcement. Latent learning may not
influence behavior until a reinforcer is introduced.
[6.4 How Do We Learn By Watching Others?]
Learning Can Occur Through Observation and Imitation. Observational learning is a
powerful adaptive tool. Humans and other animals learn by watching the behavior of
others. The imitation of observed behavior is referred to as modeling. Vicarious learning
occurs when people learn about an action’s consequences by observing others being
reinforced or punished for their behavior. Mirror neurons are activated when a behavior is
observed and performed and may be the neural basis of imitation learning.
Learning Can Be Passed on Through Cultural Transmission. Memes (units of knowledge
transmitted within a culture) are analogous to genes in that memes are selectively passed
on from generation to generation.
Biology Influences Observational Learning. Every time you observe another person
engaging in an action, similar neural circuits are firing in your brain and in the other
person’s brain. These mirror neurons may help us explain and predict others’ behavior.
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There is speculation that mirror neurons may also play a role in humans’ ability to learn to
communicate through language.
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