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Schacter
Gilbert
Wegner
PSYCHOLOGY
Chapter 6
Learning
Slides prepared by:
Melissa S. Terlecki, Cabrini College
Schacter
Gilbert
Wegner
PSYCHOLOGY
6.1
Defining Learning:
Experience That Causes A
Permanent Change
Learning and Habituation

Learning: some experience that results
in a relatively permanent change in the
state of the learner.


can be conscious and deliberate or
unconscious.
Habituation: a general process in which
repeated or prolonged exposure to a
stimulus results in a gradual reduction in
responding.

a simple form of learning.
Questions
 How
are learning and memory
linked?
won’t the noise from a highway
near your home keep you awake at
night?
 Why
Schacter
Gilbert
Wegner
PSYCHOLOGY
6.2
Classical Conditioning:
One Thing Leads To
Another
Classical Conditioning
Behaviorism measures only observable,
quantifiable behavior.
 Classical conditioning: when a neutral
stimulus evokes a response after being
paired with a stimulus that naturally
evokes a response.


unconditioned stimulus (US),
unconditioned response (UR),
conditioned stimulus (CS), conditioned
response (CR)
Figure 6.1: Pavlov’s Apparatus for Studying
Classical Conditioning (p. 164)
Figure 6.2: The Elements of Classical
Conditioning (p. 165)
Questions
 Why
do some dogs seem to know
when it’s dinner time?
Match the Classical Conditioning
Component With Its Definition
US

UR

CS

CR

A reaction that resembles
an UR, but is produced by a
CS.
Something that reliably
produces a naturally
occurring reaction in an
organism.
A stimulus that is initially
neutral and produces no
reliable response in an
organism.
A reflexive reaction that is
reliably elicited by an US.
The Real World: Understanding
Drug Overdoses

Drug overdose deaths are puzzling:
victims are often experienced drug users.
 the dose is not larger than they usually take.
 deaths tend to occur in unusual settings.

A CS includes the context and many
CR’s can be compensatory reactions to
the US.
 Taking drugs in a new environment can
be fatal.

The Basic Principles of Classical
Conditioning

Classical conditioning is based on the
association between the CS and the US.
 Acquisition: the phase of classical
conditioning when the CS and the US are
presented together.
 Extinction: the gradual elimination of a
learned response that occurs when the US is
no longer presented.
 Spontaneous recovery: the tendency of a
learned behavior to recover from extinction
after a rest period.
Figure 6.3: Acquisition, Extinction, and
Spontaneous Recovery (p. 167)
Questions
 How
does conditioned behavior
change when the unconditioned
stimulus is removed?
Generalization and
Discrimination
Generalization: a process in which the
CR is observed even though the CS is
slightly different from the original one
used during acquisition.
 Discrimination: the capacity to
distinguish between similar but distinct
stimuli.

Figure 6.4: Stimulus Generalization
(p. 168)
Questions
 How
can changing the can opener
you use affect a conditioned dog’s
response?
Conditioned Emotional Responses:
The Case of Little Albert

In Watson’s experiment, Little Albert
associated a frightening loud noise (US) with a
white rat (CS) to elicit fear (CR).


also showed stimulus generalization in fear
responses to similar stimuli.
Fear can be learned just as any other
behavior.
 Conditioning can be applied to humans just as
any other animal.
 Ethics?
Watson’s Experiment with Little Albert
(p. 169)
Questions
 Why
did Albert fear the rat?
The Neural Elements of
Classical Conditioning

The amygdala (central nucleus) is critical for
emotional conditioning.
 When fear conditioning takes place, a
behavioral and physiological (autonomic
nervous system) response are elicited by the
CS.


path from amygdala to midbrain controls the
behavioral response.
path from the amygdala to the hypothalamus
controls the physiological response.
Questions
 What
is the role of the amygdala in
fear conditioning?
The Cognitive Elements of
Classical Conditioning
Classical conditioning only occurs when
an animal has learned to set up an
expectation.
 Conditioning is easier when the CS is an
unfamiliar event than a familiar one (no
pre-existing expectations).

Figure 6.5: Expectation in Classical
Conditioning (p. 171)
Questions
 How
does familiarity with the
stimulus hinder new conditioning?
The Evolutionary Elements of
Classical Conditioning

The conditioning of food aversions and
preferences has adaptive value.





rapid learning across 1-2 trials.
conditioning should take place over long intervals.
aversion to be to smell or taste rather than
ingestion itself.
aversion should occur more often for novel foods.
Biological preparedness: a propensity for
learning particular kinds of associations over
others.
Questions
have cancer patients’
discomfort been eased by our
understanding of food aversions?
 How
Culture and Community: Is it Possible That Humans
Have an Innate Ability to Understand Geometry?
Basic comprehension of geometric
shapes compared between Americans
and the Munduruku (an isolated tribe in
the Amazon).
 All participants performed well above
chance.
 Is knowledge of geometry universal and
innate?

Schacter
Gilbert
Wegner
PSYCHOLOGY
6.3
Operant Conditioning:
Reinforcements From The
Environment
Law of Effect

Operant conditioning involves the study of
behaviors that are reactive.
 Thorndike’s research focused on instrumental
behaviors.
 Operant conditioning: a type of learning in
which the consequences of an organism’s
behavior determine whether it will be repeated
in the future.
 Law of effect: the principle that behaviors that
are followed by a “satisfying state of affairs”
tend to be repeated and those that produce an
“unpleasant state of affairs” are less likely to
be repeated.
Figure 6.6: Thorndike’s Puzzle Box
(p. 174)
Figure 6.7: The Law of Effect (p. 174)
Questions
 What
is the relationship between
behavior and reward?
Reinforcement, Punishment, and the
Development of Operant Conditioning

Operant behavior: behavior that an organism
produces that has some impact on the
environment.
 Reinforcer: any stimulus or event that
functions to increase the likelihood of the
behavior that led to it.


positive reinforcement, negative reinforcement.
Punisher: any stimulus or event that functions
to decrease the likelihood of the behavior that
led to it.

positive punishment, negative punishment.
Figure 6.8: Skinner Box (p. 175)
Table 6.1: Reinforcement and
Punishment (p. 176)
Match the Operant Conditioning
Component With Its Example
Positive
Reinforcement
 Negative
Reinforcement
 Positive
Punishment
 Negative
Punishment


Getting a pizza party for
earning a good grade on
an exam.
 Having your car
privileges taken away for
disobeying a curfew.
 Having to do more
weekly chores for
getting caught stealing
money.
 Taking a particular pain
reliever medication to
get rid of a headache.
Questions
 Why
is reinforcement more
constructive than punishment in
learning desired behavior?
Reinforcers
Primary reinforcers satisfy biological
needs.
 Secondary reinforcers are associated
with primary reinforcers through classical
conditioning.
 Overjustification effect: circumstances
when external rewards can undermine
the intrinsic satisfaction of performing a
behavior.

Questions
 Can
rewards backfire?
The Basic Principles of
Operant Conditioning

A discriminative stimulus is one that is
associated with reinforcement.
 Stimulus control develops when a particular
response only occurs when the appropriate
stimulus is present.


discrimination and generalization effects.
Shaping: learning that results from the
reinforcement of successive approximations to
a final desired behavior.
 Superstitious behaviors reinforced?
Shaping (p. 178, 179)
Questions
 How
can operant conditioning
produce complex behaviors?
Questions
 How
would a behaviorist explain
superstitions?
Schedules of Reinforcement

Schedule of reinforcement: when/how an organism is
reinforced for a particular behavior.







interval schedule: time intervals.
ratio schedule: ratio/number of responses.
Fixed interval schedule (FI): reinforcements are presented
at fixed time periods, provided that the appropriate response
is made.
Variable interval schedule (VI): reinforcements are based
on an average time that has expired since the last
reinforcement.
Fixed ratio schedule (FR): reinforcements are presented
after a specific number of responses have been made.
Variable ratio schedule (VR): reinforcements are based on a
particular average number of responses.
Intermittent reinforcement: only some of the responses
made are followed by reinforcement.
Figure 6.9: Reinforcement
Schedules (p. 181)
Questions
 How
does a radio station use
scheduled reinforcements to keep
you listening?
Questions
 How
do ratio schedules work to
keep you spending your money?
Match the Schedule of
Reinfocement With Its Example
FI
VI
FR
VR

After every 10 pizzas you
buy, you get one free.
 A casino jackpot
machine hits every 100th
player.
 For every 10 minutes
you sit still at the
doctor’s office, you get a
lollipop.
 A car dealership gives
away keys to a brand
new car every hour.
The Neural Elements of
Operant Conditioning
Pleasure centers in the limbic system
(medial forebrain bundle, hypothalamus,
and nucleus accumbens) are involved in
conditioning.
 Dopamine (positive emotions) is
secreted throughout these pathways.
 Pathways linked to hunger, sexual
interest and activity.

Figure 6.10: Pleasure Centers in
the Brain (p. 183)
Questions
are the brain’s “pleasure
centers”?
 What
Cognitive Elements of Operant
Conditioning

Latent learning: a condition in which
something is learned but is not
manifested as a behavioral change until
sometime in the future.


reinforcement not required.
Cognitive Map: a mental representation
of the physical feature of the
environment.
Figure 6.11: Latent Learning
(p. 184)
Figure 6.12: Cognitive Maps
(p. 184)
Questions
are “cognitive maps”, and
why are they a challenge to
behaviorism?
 What
The Evolutionary Elements of
Operant Conditioning

Rats learned to go to the arm in the Tmaze with the food, but they had to
overcome the initial tendency to go the
wrong way.


foraging behavior is instinctual.
Each species is biologically predisposed
to learn some things more readily than
others (and to respond to ways that are
consistent with its evolutionary history).
Figure 6.13: A Simple T-maze
(p. 185)
The Misbehavior of Organisms
(p. 186)
Questions
explains a rat’s behavior in a
T-maze?
 What
Schacter
Gilbert
Wegner
PSYCHOLOGY
6.4
Observational Learning:
Look At Me
Observational Learning

Observational learning: learning takes
place by watching the actions of others.

model: someone whose behavior might
serve as a guide for others.
Observational learning also occurs in
animals.
 Mirror neurons fire when one performs
an action or watches another perform the
same action.

Observational Learning in
Surgical Training (p. 187)
Figure 6.14: Beating Up Bobo
(p. 188)
Questions
 What
did the Bobo doll experiment
show about children and aggressive
behavior?
 What
do mirror neurons do?
Schacter
Gilbert
Wegner
PSYCHOLOGY
6.5
Implicit Learning: Under
The Wires
Implicit Learning

Implicit learning: learning that takes place
largely independent of awareness of both the
process and the products of information
acquisition.





experiments in artificial grammar, serial reaction
time.
large individual differences.
unrelated to IQ.
changes little across the lifespan.
resistant to many disorders.
Figure 6.15: Artificial Grammar
and Implicit Learning (p. 191)
Questions
 How
can you learn something
without being aware of it?
 Why
are tasks learned implicitly
difficult to explain to others?
Neural Pathways of Implicit
and Explicit Learning

Patients suffering from psychoses or amnesia
still show implicit learning.
 Dot pattern prototype experiment; implicit and
explicit processing groups showed activation
in different brain regions.


explicit group showed increased activation in the
prefrontal and parietal cortices, and hippocampus
(among other areas).
implicit group showed decreased activation in
occipital lobe (visual processing).
Questions
 What
technology shows that implicit
and explicit learning are associated
with separate structures in the
brain?
Figure 6.16: Implicit and Explicit Learning
Activate Different Brain Areas (p. 192)
Where Do You Stand: Learning For
Rewards Or For Its Own Sake?
Reward shapes good behavior, yet the
overjustification effect predicts this to
have negative effects.
 Learning should be fun for its own sake,
not because incentives follow.
 Example: academic performance in
schools.
