Download Unit III: Learning

Unit III: Learning
Chapters 4 & 5
Unit III Lesson 1: Definition of
Learning
What is Learning?
• Learning
– Relatively permanent change in
behavior
• Brain physically changes in response to
learning
– Brought about by experience or
practice
– Any kind of change in the way an
organism behaves is learning
Pavlov and Classical
Conditioning
• Ivan Pavlov
– Russian physiologist
– Studied digestion in dogs
• Dogs naturally salivate in response to
food (reflex)
• Pavlov’s dogs salivated in response to
other stimuli as well
– Labeled classical conditioning
• Learning response to a stimulus other
than the original
• New response does not naturally occur in
response to the stimulus, is learned
Classical Conditioning
Concepts
• Unconditioned stimulus (UCS)
– Naturally occurring stimulus
– Leads to an involuntary response
– Unconditioned:
• “Unlearned” or “naturally occurring”
• Unconditioned response (UCR)
– Involuntary response to naturally
occurring stimulus
Classical Conditioning
Concepts (2)
• Conditioned stimulus (CS)
– Stimulus is able to produce learned reflex
response
– Paired with the original unconditioned
stimulus
– Conditioned = “learned”
– Neutral stimulus
• Becomes conditioned stimulus when paired with
an unconditioned stimulus
• Conditioned response (CR)
– Learned reflex response to a conditioned
stimulus.
– Sometimes called conditioned reflex
Classical Conditioning
Principles
• CS must come before UCS
• CS and UCS must come very close
together in time
– Ideally, only several seconds apart
• Neutral stimulus must be paired
repeatedly with UCS before
conditioning takes place
• CS is usually a stimulus that is
distinctive from other competing
stimuli
Classical Conditioning
Concepts (3)
• Stimulus generalization
– Respond to a stimulus similar to original conditioned
stimulus with conditioned response
• Stimulus discrimination
– Not making a generalized response to similar
stimulus
– Similar stimulus was never paired with the
unconditioned stimulus
• Extinction
– Disappearance/weakening of learned response
• Follows removal or absence of the unconditioned
stimulus (classical conditioning)
– Removal of reinforcer (operant conditioning)
Classical Conditioning
Concepts (4)
• Spontaneous recovery
– Reappearance of learned
response after extinction
– Response usually weak
and short-lived
• Higher-order conditioning
– Strong conditioned stimulus
is paired with a neutral
stimulus
– Neutral stimulus to become
a second conditioned
stimulus
Conditioned Emotional
Response
• Emotional response classically
conditioned to occur to learned
stimuli
• Examples:
– Fear of dogs
– Emotional reaction to seeing an attractive
person, baby animals, etc.
– May lead to phobias – irrational fear
responses
• Vicarious conditioning
– Classical conditioning acquired by watching
the reaction of another person
Taste Aversion
• Conditioned taste aversion
– Occurs after only one association
• Biological preparedness
– Animals learn associations with only one or
few pairings
– Survival value as animal could die with
multiple tastings
Why Classical Conditioning
Works
• Stimulus substitution
– Pavlov’s explanation
– Conditioned stimulus (CS) becomes
substitute for unconditioned stimulus
(UCS) due to close pairing of two
• Cognitive perspective
– Conditioning occurs because CS
provides information or expectancy
about UCS forthcoming