Download The Learning Approach

The Learning Approach
(Behaviourism)
Today’s session
You will learn how to...
Describe
You will learn about...
the
Behaviourism
assumptions of
Classical conditioning
psychological approaches The work of Ivan Pavlov
Describe and apply
and John Watson
psychological approaches
& theories
Watson (1878-1958)
"Give me a dozen healthy infants, well-formed, and
my own specified world to bring them up and I'll
guarantee to take any one at random and train him
to become any type of specialist I might select-doctor, lawyer, merchant-chief, and yes, even
beggarman and thief, regardless of his
talents, penchants, tendencies, abilities, vocations,
and race of his ancestors."(Watson, 1930)
What is it all about?
We are born as “blank
slates” (tabula rasa)
All we have at birth is the
capacity to learn
All behaviour is learned
from the environment
Focus of the approach:
observable behaviour
Some definitions....
Stimulus :
Any change in the environment that an organism registers.
Response :
Any behaviour that the organism emits as a consequence of a
stimulus.
Reflex:
A consistent connection between a stimulus and a response.
Classical conditioning
Learning by association
That’s a
reflex
Dog hears the lab
technician
What’s
going on?
How does it work?
Before conditioning
Bell: Neutral stimulus (NS)
Food: unconditioned stimulus (UCS)
Salivation: unconditioned Response (UCR)
During conditioning
Pairing
Bell: Neutral stimulus (NS)
Food: unconditioned stimulus (UCS)
Salivation: unconditioned Response (UCR)
After conditioning
Bell: Conditioned stimulus (CS)
Salivation: Conditioned response (CR)
Work it out....
A child is afraid of spiders. One day he is in a lift and
notices a spider. Now he is afraid of lifts.
Neutral stimulus (NS)?
Unconditioned stimulus (UCS)?
Unconditioned response (UCR)?
Conditioned stimulus (CS)?
Conditioned response(CR)?
Inducing a phobia: Little Albert
‘Little Albert’
Noise UCS
Fear UC
R
Noise UCS + Rat NS
Fear UCR
Rat CS
Fear CR
Today’s session
You will learn how to...
Describe
You will learn about...
and apply
Behaviourism
psychological approaches Operant conditioning
& theories
Using animals in
Assess the strengths and psychological research
weaknesses of
psychological approaches
(including methods)
Operant conditioning
Learning by consequences
Learning
Psychlotron.org.uk
» Classical conditioning
– Learning through association of stimuli
» Operant conditioning
– learning new behaviours through the
consequences of past
Ratatouille
Ratatouille is hungry and
perform various
exploratory behaviours
By chance he presses
the lever
I’ll do that
again
A pellet of food appears!
Operant conditioning
“Behaviour is shaped and maintained by its
consequences.” (B.F.Skinner)
Reinforcement
Punishment
Psychlotron.org.uk
Behaviour
Consequen
ce
Likelihood
of
repetition
Operant conditioning
“Behaviour is shaped and maintained by its
consequences.” (B.F.Skinner)
Reinforcement
Punishment

Psychlotron.org.uk
Behaviour
Consequen
ce
Likelihood
of
repetition
Operant conditioning
“Behaviour is shaped and maintained by its
consequences.” (B.F.Skinner)
Reinforcement
Punishment

Psychlotron.org.uk
Behaviour
Consequen
ce
Likelihood
of
repetition
Some definitions....
Reinforcement :
Positive
reinforcement :
Negative
reinforcement :
Punishment :
Anything which has the effect of increasing the likelihood of
the behaviour being repeated
Anything which has the effect of increasing the likelihood of
the behaviour being repeated by using consequences that
are pleasant when they happen i.e. food for Ratatouille
Anything which has the effect of increasing the likelihood of
the behaviour being repeated by using consequences that
are pleasant when they stop
Anything which has the effect of decreasing the likelihood of
the behaviour being repeated by using consequences that
are unpleasant when happen
Schedules of reinforcement
• When and how often we reinforce a behaviour
can have a significant impact on the strength
and rate of the response.
2 types of schedules
• Continuous reinforcement: the desired behaviour is
reinforced every single time it occurs.
• Partial reinforcement: the response is reinforced only
part of the time.
1. Fixed ratio schedules: the response is reinforced only
after a specified number of responses.
2. Variable-ratio schedules occur when a response is
reinforced after an unpredictable number of responses.
3. Fixed-interval schedules the first response is rewarded
only after a specified amount of time has elapsed
4. Variable-interval schedules occur when a response is
rewarded after an unpredictable amount of time has
passed.
Which schedule of reinforcement produces
the fastest learning?
Social learning
Learning by observation
and
imitation
Bandura (1977) believed that four criteria
need too be met for imitation to occur
1. Attention to the role model
2. Retention of the observed
behaviour
3. Reproduction of the target
behaviour
4. Motivation to imitate the
observed behaviour
Who makes an effective role model?
Same gender
Same age
Higher status
Admired or/and respected
Why do we imitate?
Vicarious reinforcements
What???
Observe behaviour
being reinforced in
other people
Bandura (1961)
And now lets think!
• Does this account for the way you learn?
• Does this explain gender development?
• Can this be applied to everyday life? i.e. Some
of your behaviour and your teacher’s
behaviour?
• More points of evaluation?