Download Learning - Somerset Academy

Chapter 6
Learning
This multimedia product and its contents are protected under copyright law. The following are prohibited by law:
•Any public performance or display, including transmission of any image over a network;
•Preparation of any derivative work, including the extraction, in whole or in part, of any images
•Any rental, lease or lending of the program.
•
ISBN: 0-131-73180-7
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007
Learning
Learning –
A process through which experience
produces lasting change in behavior or
mental processes
Habituation –
Learning not to respond to repeated
presentation of a stimulus
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007
Learning
Mere exposure effect –
Learned preference for stimuli to which
we have been previously exposed
Behavioral learning –
Forms of learning that can be described
in terms of stimuli and responses
(e.g. classical and operant conditioning)
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007
What Sort of Learning Does
Classical Conditioning Explain?
Classical conditioning is a
basic form of learning in which
a stimulus that produces an
innate reflex becomes
associated with a previously
neutral stimulus, which then
acquires the power to elicit
essentially the same response
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007
The Essentials of Classical
Conditioning
Neutral stimulus –
Any stimulus that produces no
conditioned response prior to learning
Acquisition –
Initial learning stage in classical
conditioning; conditioned response
becomes elicited by the conditioned
stimulus
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007
The Essentials of Classical
Conditioning
Unconditioned
stimulus (UCS)
Unconditioned
response (UCR)
Conditioned
stimulus (CS)
Conditioned
response (CR)
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007
The Essentials of Classical
Conditioning
Unconditioned
stimulus (UCS)
Unconditioned
response (UCR)
The stimulus that elicits
an unconditioned
response
Conditioned
stimulus (CS)
Conditioned
response (CR)
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007
The Essentials of Classical
Conditioning
Unconditioned
stimulus (UCS)
Unconditioned
response (UCR)
Conditioned
stimulus (CS)
The response elicited
by an unconditioned
stimulus without prior
learning
Conditioned
response (CR)
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007
The Essentials of Classical
Conditioning
Unconditioned
stimulus (UCS)
Unconditioned
response (UCR)
Conditioned
stimulus (CS)
A previously neutral
stimulus that comes to
elicit the conditioned
response
Conditioned
response (CR)
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007
The Essentials of Classical
Conditioning
Unconditioned
stimulus (UCS)
Unconditioned
response (UCR)
Conditioned
stimulus (CS)
Conditioned
response (CR)
A response elicited by a
previously neutral
stimulus that has
become associated with
the unconditioned
stimulus
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007
Classical Conditioning
Prior to conditioning
Neutral stimulus
(tone)
(Orientation to sound
but no response)
Unconditioned stimulus
(food powder in mouth)
Unconditioned response
(salivation)
Conditioning
Neutral stimulus
CS (tone)
+
Unconditioned stimulus
(food powder)
Conditioned response
(salivation)
After conditioning
Conditioned stimulus
(tone)
Conditioned response
(salivation)
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007
Classical Conditioning
Extinction –
Weakening of a conditioned association
in the absence of an unconditioned
stimulus or reinforcer
Spontaneous recovery –
Reappearance of an extinguished
conditioned response after a time delay
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007
(1)
Acquisition
(CS + UCS)
(2)
Extinction
(CS alone)
Rest period
Strength of the CR
(Weak)
(Strong)
Acquisition, Extinction, and
Spontaneous Recovery
(3)
Spontaneous
Recovery
(CS alone)
(Time)
Trials
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007
Classical Conditioning:
Generalization and Discrimination
Stimulus generalization involves giving a
conditioned response to stimuli that are
similar to the CS
Stimulus discrimination involves
responding to one stimulus but
not to stimuli that are similar
Confusing stimuli may cause
experimental neurosis
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007
Applications of Classical Conditioning
Taste-aversion learning –
Biological tendency in which an organism
learns to avoid food with a certain taste
after a single experience, if eating it is
followed by illness
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007
A Challenge to Pavlov
Why are some stimuli-consequence
combinations readily learned while other
combinations are highly resistant to
learning?
What any organism can or cannot learn in
a given setting is due in part to its
evolutionary history
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007
How Do We Learn
New Behaviors by
Operant Conditioning?
In operant conditioning, the
consequences of behavior,
such as rewards and
punishments, influence the
chance that our behavior will
occur again
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007
How Do We Learn
New Behaviors by
Operant Conditioning?
Trial-and-error learning –
Learner gradually discovers the correct
response by attempting many behaviors
and noting which ones produce the
desired consequences
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007
Skinner’s Radical Behaviorism
B.F. Skinner believed that the most
powerful influences on behavior are its
consequences
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007
The Power of Reinforcement
Positive reinforcers –
Stimulus presented after a response that
increases the probability of that response
happening again
Negative reinforcers –
Removal of an unpleasant stimulus,
contingent on a particular behavior
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007
The Power of Reinforcement
Primary reinforcers –
Reinforcers, such as food and sex, that
have an innate basis because of their
biological value to an organism
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007
The Power of Reinforcement
Secondary reinforcers –
Stimuli, such as money or tokens, that
acquire their reinforcing power by their
learned association with primary
reinforcers
(also called conditioned reinforcers)
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007
Contingencies of Reinforcement
Continuous reinforcement –
Reinforcement schedule in which all
correct responses are reinforced
Partial reinforcement –
Reinforcement schedule in which some,
but not all, correct responses are
reinforced
(also called intermittent reinforcement)
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007
Contingencies of Reinforcement
Extinction –
In operant conditioning, a process by
which a response that has been learned
is weakened by the absence or removal
of reinforcement
How does this differ from extinction in
classical conditioning?
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007
Schedules of Reinforcement
Ratio schedules –
Provide reward after a certain number of
responses
Interval schedules –
Provide reward after a certain time interval
Fixed Ratio (FR)
Variable Ratio (VR)
Fixed Interval (FI)
Variable Interval (VI)
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007
Schedules of Reinforcement
Fixed Ratio (FR)
Variable Ratio
(VR)
Fixed Interval
(FI)
Rewards appear after a
certain set number of
responses
e.g. factory workers
getting paid after every
10 cases of product are
completed
Variable Interval
(VI)
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007
Schedules of Reinforcement
Fixed Ratio (FR)
Variable Ratio
(VR)
Fixed Interval
(FI)
Rewards appear after a
certain number of
responses, but that
number varies from trial
to trial
e.g. slot machine payoffs
Variable Interval
(VI)
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007
Schedules of Reinforcement
Fixed Ratio (FR)
Variable Ratio
(VR)
Fixed Interval
(FI)
Variable Interval
(VI)
Rewards appear after a
certain fixed amount of
time, regardless of
number of responses
e.g. weekly or monthly
paychecks
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007
Schedules of Reinforcement
Fixed Ratio (FR)
Variable Ratio
(VR)
Fixed Interval
(FI)
Variable Interval
(VI)
Rewards appear after a
certain amount of time,
but that amount varies
from trial to trial
e.g. random visits from
the boss who delivers
praise
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007
The Problem of Punishment
Punishment –
An aversive stimulus which diminishes
the strength of the response it follows
How does this differ from negative
reinforcement?
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007
Punishment vs. Negative
Reinforcement
Negative
Reinforcement
Response
Consequence
Loud Noise
Press Lever
Loud Noise
Removed
Press Lever
Loud Noise
Applied
Punishment
No Noise
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007
The Problem of Punishment
Positive punishment –
The application of an aversive stimulus
after a response
Omission training (negative punishment) –
The removal of an appetitive stimulus
after a response
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007
Four Kinds of Consequences
STIMULUS
Positive or
appetitive
+
Present
Remove
Positive
Reinforcement
Bonus for working hard
leads to more hard work
Negative or
aversive
Punishment
Getting speeding ticket
leads to less speeding
Negative
Reinforcement
Omission
Training
Aspirin curing headache
causes more aspirin use
Missing dinner leads to
less staying out late
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007
The Use and Abuse of Punishment
Power usually disappears when threat of
punishment is removed
Punishment
•
•
•
Often triggers aggression
May inhibit learning new and better
responses
Is often applied unequally
When does punishment work?
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007
Alternatives to Punishment
Extinction
Reinforcing preferred activities
Premack principle
Prompting and shaping
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007
Operant and Classical Conditioning
Compared
Classical conditioning involves the
association of two stimuli (UCS + CS)
before the response or behavior
Operant conditioning involves a reinforcing
(reward) or punishing stimulus after a
response or behavior
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007
How Does
Cognitive Psychology
Explain Learning?
According to cognitive
psychology, some forms of
learning must be explained
as changes in mental
processes, rather than as
changes in behavior alone
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007
How Does
Cognitive Psychology
Explain Learning?
Insight learning –
Problem solving occurs by means of a
sudden reorganization of perceptions
Cognitive maps –
A mental representation of physical
space
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007
Observational Learning: Bandura’s
Challenge to Behaviorism
Observational learning –
Form of cognitive learning in which new
responses are acquired after watching
others’ behavior and the consequences
of their behavior
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007
Brain Mechanisms and Learning
Long-term potentiation –
Biological process involving physical
changes that strengthen the synapses in
groups of nerve cells; believed to be the
neural basis of learning
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007
End of Chapter 6
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007