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Chapter 6:
Learning
Learning

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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
Learning
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Mere exposure effect: Learned preference
for stimuli to which we have been previously
exposed
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Behavioral learning: Forms of learning that
can be described in terms of stimuli and
responses (classical and operant conditioning)
What Sort of Learning Does
Classical Conditioning Explain?
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Classical conditioning: 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
Ivan Pavlov
The Essentials of Classical
Conditioning
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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
Classical Diagram
(UCS)  (UCR)
(NS) + (UCS)  (UCR)
(CS)  (CR)
Pavlov’s Dogs
(UCS) meat  (UCR) salivate
(NS) bell + (UCS) meat  (UCR) salivate
(CS) bell  (CR) salivate
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http://nobelprize.org/educational_games/medicine/pavlov/
The Essentials of
Classical Conditioning
Unconditioned
stimulus (UCS)
Unconditioned
response (UCR)
Conditioned
stimulus (CS)
Conditioned
response (CR)
The stimulus that elicits
an unconditioned
(automatic) response
The Essentials of
Classical Conditioning
Unconditioned
stimulus (UCS)
Unconditioned
response (UCR)
Conditioned
stimulus (CS)
Conditioned
response (CR)
The response elicited
by an unconditioned
stimulus without prior
learning
The Essentials of
Classical Conditioning
Unconditioned
stimulus (UCS)
Unconditioned
response (UCR)
Conditioned
stimulus (CS)
Conditioned
response (CR)
A previously neutral
stimulus that comes to
elicit the conditioned
(learned) response
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
Pavlov’s Dogs
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
Practical Applications
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Tigers in India
Coyotes and sheep
Desensitization and phobias
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Counterconditioning
Systematic desensitization
Aversive conditioning – breaking habits
Scapegoat stimuli –
chemotherapy
Classical Conditioning:
Generalization and Discrimination
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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
Classical Conditioning


Extinction: Diminishing of a
conditioned response; when
the CS no longer signals an
impending UCS
Spontaneous recovery:
Reappearance of a CR, after
a rest period, in response to
the CS.
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
How Do We Learn
New Behaviors by
Operant Conditioning?
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Law of Effect: if a response made in the
presence of a stimulus is followed by
satisfaction, then that response is more likely
to occur the next time the stimulus is
encountered (Thorndike)
Trial-and-error learning: gradually discover
the correct response by attempting many
behaviors and noting which ones produce
the desired consequences
Skinner’s Radical Behaviorism
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B.F. Skinner believed that the most powerful
influences on behavior are its consequences
Response(behavior)  Stimulus(consequence)
The Power of Reinforcement
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Reinforcement: increases the probability of
a response to happen again
Positive reinforcer: Stimulus presented
after a response that increases the
probability of that response happening again
Negative reinforcer: Removal of an
unpleasant stimulus after a response that
increases the probability of that response
happening again

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Term often misused in media/life
Confused with punishment
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
• Secondary reinforcers: Acquire their reinforcing
power by their learned association with primary
reinforcers (ex. money/tokens)
• Also called conditioned reinforcers
Contingencies of Reinforcement

Continuous reinforcement: Reinforcement
schedule in which all correct responses are
reinforced
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Easiest to teach new behavior, more prone to
extinction
Shaping – rewarding for behavior towards end goal
Partial reinforcement: Reinforcement
schedule in which some correct responses are
reinforced
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AKA - intermittent reinforcement
Most resistant to extinction
Schedules of Reinforcement
Fixed Ratio (FR)
Variable Ratio
(VR)
Fixed Interval
(FI)
Variable Interval
(VI)
Rewards appear after a
set number of responses
factory workers getting
paid after every 10
products are completed
Schedules of Reinforcement
Fixed Ratio (FR)
Variable Ratio
(VR)
Fixed Interval
(FI)
Variable Interval
(VI)
Rewards appear after a
different number of
responses
slot machine pay-offs
Schedules of Reinforcement
Fixed Ratio (FR)
Variable Ratio
(VR)
Fixed Interval
(FI)
Variable Interval
(VI)
Rewards appear after a
set amount of time,
regardless of number of
responses
weekly or monthly
paychecks
Schedules of Reinforcement
Fixed Ratio (FR)
Variable Ratio
(VR)
Fixed Interval
(FI)
Variable Interval
(VI)
Rewards appear after a
different amount of time,
regardless of number of
responses
random visits from the
boss who delivers
praise
Schedules of Reinforcement
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Ratio schedules: Provide reward after a
certain number of responses
Interval schedules: Provide reward after a
certain time interval
More Operant Conditioning
Principles
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Token Economy
Premack principle
Types of Punishment
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Punishment: An aversive stimulus which
decreases the strength of the response it
follows
Positive punishment: The application of an
aversive (bad) stimulus after a response
Negative punishment (omission training):
The removal of an appetitive (good) stimulus
after a response
Four Kinds of Consequences
Increase
Behavior
Decrease
Behavior
Positive
(Add)
Positive
Reinforcement
Positive
Punishment
Negative
(Remove)
Negative
Reinforcement
Omission
Training
The Use and Abuse of
Punishment
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Power usually disappears when threat of
punishment is removed
Often produces side effects (fear, aggression)
Often suppresses undesirable behavior, but
doesn’t get rid of it
Aggressive and abusive
Ineffective if not given immediately
Doesn’t teach what is right
When does punishment work?
Operant and Classical
Conditioning Compared
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Classical conditioning involves the
association of two stimuli (UCS + CS) before
the response or behavior (SR)
Operant conditioning involves a reinforcing
(reward) or punishing stimulus after a
response or behavior (RS)
How Does Cognitive Psychology
Explain Learning?
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Insight learning: Problem solving occurs by
means of a sudden reorganization of existing
perceptions
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Understanding of problem as a whole
Learning to learn – previous experiences in problem
solving are applied to new ones in a way that
makes their solution seem instantaneous.
Cognitive maps: A mental representation of
physical space (Tolman)
Observational Learning:
Bandura’s Challenge to
Behaviorism
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Social-Learning Theory
Observational learning: Form of
cognitive learning in which one
learns how to perform new
behaviors by watching others
Albert Bandura
Modeling/Imitation
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
Punishment vs. Negative
Reinforcement
Negative
Reinforcement
Response
Consequence
Loud Noise
Press Lever
Loud Noise
Removed
Press Lever
Loud Noise
Applied
Punishment
No Noise