Download File - Sneed - AP Psychology

Sneed - AP
Chapter 5 Learning


Learning- a process that produces a relatively enduring change in behavior or knowledge
as a result of past experiences
o Occurs in every setting not just classroom and takes place at every age not just to
humans
Conditioning- the process of learning associations between environmental events and
behavioral responses
o Includes classical condition, operant conditioning, and observational learning
Classical Conditioning






Ivan Pavlov- Russian physiologist who directed several research laboratories in St.
Petersburg, Russia
o Realized a dog salivated before he gave it food during an experiment, dog learned
to associate Pavlov for doggie treats
Classical conditioning- the basic learning process that involves repeatedly pairing a
neutral stimulus with a response-producing stimulus until the neutral stimulus elicits the
same response, also called respondent conditioning or Pavlovian conditioning
o Process of learning an association between two stimuli
o Involves pairing neutral stimulus with an unlearned, natural stimulus that
automatically elicits a reflexive response, becoming a learned association
Unconditioned stimulus (UCS- the natural stimulus that reflexively elicits a response
without the need for prior learning
Unconditioned response (UCR)- the unlearned, reflexive response that is elicited by an
unconditioned stimulus
Conditioned stimulus (CS)- a formerly neutral stimulus that acquires the capacity to
elicit a reflexive response
Conditioned response (CR)- the learned, reflexive response to a conditioned stimulus
Factors That Affect Conditioning




Stimulus generalization- the occurrence of a learned response not only to the original
stimulus, but to other, similar stimuli as well
Stimulus discrimination- the occurrence of a learned response to a specific stimulus, but
not to other, similar stimuli
Extinction (in classical conditioning)- the gradual weakening and apparent
disappearance of conditioned behavior, occurs when the conditioned stimulus is
repeatedly presented without the unconditioned stimulus
o Conditioned response would reappear when the conditioned stimulus was again
presented
Spontaneous recovery- the reappearance of a previously extinguished conditioned
response after a period of time without exposure to the conditioned stimulus
o Learned response may seem to disappear, but it is not eliminated or erased
From Pavlov to Watson


John B. Watson- American psychologist who published a landmark article in 1913
entitled “Psychology as the Behaviorist Views It”
o challenged the early founders of psychology who focused on studying subjective
mental processes
o founded a new school of psychology with this article
o became president of the American Psychological Association in 1915
o believed that virtually all human behaviors are a result of conditioning and
learning (past influences and environmental influences)
o neither talent, personality, nor intelligence was inherited
Behaviorism- school of psychology and theoretical viewpoint that emphasizes the
scientific study of observable behaviors, especially as the pertain to the process of
learning
o Observing behavior based on what the organism does or says
Conditioned Emotional Reactions



Watson’s interest in the role of classical conditioning in emotions set the stage for one of
the most famous and controversial experiments
In 1920 Watson and Rosalie Rayner proved that classical conditioning could be used to
establish a conditioned emotional response in humans
o Whenever Little Albert saw white rats, would always hear a steel clanging noise
o Experienced stimulus generalization and learned to fear all objects physically
similar to white rats
Fear, happiness, and/or sadness can be classically conditioned using a neutral stimulus
and natural reflex to establish a conditional reflex and even a stimulus generalization
Unconditioned Stimulus  Natural Reflex  Unconditioned Response
Neutral Stimulus + Unconditioned Stimulus  Natural Reflex  Unconditioned Response
Conditioned Stimulus  Conditioned Reflex  Conditioned Response
Classical Conditioning and Drug Use



Placebo response- an individual’s psychological and physiological response to what is
actually a fake treatment or drug, also called placebo effect
o Classical conditioning tends to produce a conditioned response that is similar to
the drug’s effect
o Classical conditioning can produce very different effects with other kinds of
drugs, especially drugs that disrupt the body’s normal functioning
Tachycardia- excessively rapid heartbeat, can be caused by epinephrine (adrenaline)
o Body’s compensatory response is to slow down the heart rate, producing opposite
effect, bradycardia
Conditioned compensatory response (CCR)- a classically conditioned response in
which stimuli that reliably precede the administration of a drug elicit a physiological
reaction that counteracts the drug’s effect
o Drug users feel it as withdrawal symptoms

Spontaneous recovery- conditioned response observed after presenting the conditioned
stimulus again after a lengthy period of time (after extinction)
Contemporary Views of Classical Conditioning

Cognitive perspective- mental processes as well as external events are an important
component in the learning of new behaviors
Cognitive Aspects of Classical Conditioning

Robert A. Rescorla- demonstrated that classically conditioned rats (with musical tone
and electric shocks) also assess the reliability of signals
o Classical conditioning depends on the information the conditioned stimulus
provides about the unconditioned stimulus, learning the relationship between
events
o Conditioned stimulus must be a reliable signal for learning to occur
o Rats in both group were actively processing information about the reliability of
the signals
o The animals assess the predicted value of the stimuli
o Animals use cognitive processes to draw inferences about the signals they
encounter in their environments
Evolutionary Aspects of Classical Conditioning



Taste aversion- a classically conditioned dislike for and avoidance of a particular food
that develops when an organism becomes ill after eating the food
o Conditioned taste aversion challenges the notion that virtually any stimulus can
become a conditioned stimulus
 Senses associated with bad taste do not affect the patient
o Painful stimulus is associated with external stimuli and taste stimulus is
associated with internal stimuli
o Taste aversion can be more readily classically conditioned than can arbitrary
associations
John Garcia- demonstrated that taste aversion could be produced in laboratory rats under
controlled conditions
Biological preparedness- the idea that an organism is innately predisposed to form
associations between certain stimuli and responses
Operant Conditioning


Classical conditioning cannot explain for nonreflexive/voluntary actions
Operant conditioning solves this problem by explaining how we acquire and maintain
voluntary behaviors
Thorndike and the Law of Effect

Edward Thorndike- first psychologist to systematically investigate animal learning and
how voluntary behaviors are influenced by their consequences, published Animal
Intelligence: An Experimental Study of the Associative Processes in Animals (1898)

o Wanted to discover if animals used reasoning to solve problems like humans
o Put cats in a “puzzle box” and watch them try to escape, after multiple trials
concluded that the cats did not display any humanlike insight or reasoning
o Explained the cats’ learning as a process of trial and error to emphasize
relationship between actions and consequences
o Elected president of the American Psychological Association in 1912
Law of effect- learning principle proposed by Thorndike that responses followed by a
satisfying effect become strengthened and are more likely to recur in a particular
situation, while responses followed by a dissatisfying effect are weakened and less likely
to recur in a particular situation
B. F. Skinner and the Search for “Order in Behavior”


B. F. Skinner- searched for the “lawful processes” that would explain “order in
behavior”
o Strongly believed that psychology should restrict itself to studying only
phenomena that could be objectively measured and verified- outwardly visible
behavior and environmental events
o Acknowledged existence of “internal factors” (thoughts, expectations, and
perceptions) but could not be used to explain behavior
o According to him, most important form of learning was demonstrated by new
behaviors that were actively emitted by the organism
Operant- Skinner’s term for an actively emitted (or voluntary) behavior that operates on
the environment to produce consequences
Reinforcement




Operant conditioning- the basic learning process that involves changing the probability
of a response being repeated by manipulating the consequences of that response, Skinner
conditioning
Reinforcement- the occurrence of a stimulus or event following a response that increases
the likelihood of that response being repeated
o Operant- the active response you emitted
o Reinforcement stimulus (reinforcer)- the stimulus or event that is sought in a
particular situation
Positive reinforcement- a situation in which a response is followed by the addition of a
reinforcing stimulus, increasing the likelihood the response will be repeated in similar
situations
o Reinforcing stimulus is not necessarily something we usually consider positive or
desirable
Negative reinforcement- a situation in which a response results in the removal,
avoidance, or escape from an aversive stimulus, increasing the likelihood that the
response will be repeated in similar situations
o Aversive stimuli- typically involve physical or psychological discomfort that an
organism seeks to escape or avoid, behaviors are said to be negatively reinforced
when they let you either:
 Escape aversive stimuli that are already present (escape behavior)
 Avoid aversive stimuli before they occur (avoidance behavior)
Primary and Conditioned Reinforcers


Primary reinforce- a stimulus or event that is naturally or inherently reinforcing for a
given species, such as food, water, or other biological necessities
Conditioned reinforce- a stimulus or event that has acquired reinforcing value by being
associated with a primary reinforce, also called a secondary reinforce
Punishment





Punishment- the presentation of a stimulus or event following a behavior that acts to
decrease the likelihood of the behavior’s being repeated
o Negative reinforcement always increases the likelihood that an operant will be
repeated
o Punishment always decreases the future performance of an operant
Punishment by application- a situation in which an operant is followed by the
presentation or addition of an aversive stimulus, also called positive punishment
Punishment by removal- a situation in which an operant is followed by the removal or
subtraction of a reinforcing stimulus, also called negative punishment
Several factors influence effectiveness of punishment:
o More effective if immediately follows a response than if delayed
o More effective if consistently follows a response than if occasionally
Several drawbacks of punishment:
o Punishment may decrease a specific response but doesn’t necessarily teach or
promote a more appropriate response to take its place
o Punishment that is intense may produce undesirable results (passivity, fear,
anxiety, hostility)
o Effects of punishment are likely to be temporary
Discriminative Stimuli

Discriminative stimulus- a specific stimulus in the presence of which a particular
response is more likely to be reinforced, and in the absence of which a particular response
is not reinforced
o According to Skinner behavior is determined and controlled by stimuli that are
present in a given situation
o Individual decision is determined by environmental stimuli and person’s
reinforcement history in that environment, not by personal choice or conscious
decision
Shaping and Maintaining Behavior


Operant chamber or Skinner box- the experimental apparatus invented by B. F.
Skinner to study the relationship between environmental events and active behaviors
Shaping- the operant conditioning procedure of selectively reinforcing successively
closer approximations of a goal behavior until the goal behavior is displayed
o Skinner believed that shaping could explain how people acquire a wide variety of
abilities and skills
The Partial Reinforcement Effect: Building Resistance to Extinction



Continuous reinforcement- a schedule of reinforcement in which every occurrence of a
particular response is reinforced
Partial reinforcement- a situation in which the occurrence of a particular response is
only sometimes followed by a reinforce
o Partially reinforced behaviors tend to be more resistant to extinction than are
continuously reinforced behaviors
Partial reinforcement effect- the phenomenon in which behaviors that are conditioned
using partial reinforcement are more resistant to extinction than behaviors that are
conditioned using continuous reinforcement
The Schedules of Reinforcement






Schedules of reinforcement- the delivery of a reinforce according to a preset pattern
based on the number of responses or the time interval between responses
Fixed-ratio (FR) schedule- a reinforcement schedule in which a reinforce is delivered
after a fixed number of responses has occurred
o Typically produce a high rate of responding that follows a burst-pause-burst
pattern
Variable-ratio (VR) schedule- a reinforcement schedule in which a reinforce is
delivered after an average number of responses, which varies unpredictably from trial to
trail
o Produces high, steady rates of responding with hardly any pausing between trials
or after reinforcement
Fixed-interval (FI) schedule- a reinforcement schedule in which a reinforce is delivered
for the first response that occurs after a fixed time interval has elapsed
o Typically produce a pattern of responding in which the number of responses tend
to increase as the time for the next reinforce draws near
Variable-interval (VI) schedule- a reinforcement schedule in which a reinforce is
delivered for the first response that occurs after an average time interval, which varies
unpredictably from trial to trial
o Unpredictable nature of variable-interval schedules tends to produce moderate but
steady rates of responding, especially when the average interval is short
o Reinforcement depends on the passage of time rather than on the number of
responses
Behavior modifications- the application of learning principles to help people develop
more effective or adaptive behaviors
o Has been used in diverse situations
o The systematic use of reinforcement and shaping resulted in the increased
occurrence of desirable behaviors