Download Classical Conditioning

Classical Conditioning
How do you get a dog to salivate
when he hears a bell?
Pavlov's Dog
Classical Conditioning
Classical Conditioning:
Associating a natural stimulus and
a neutral stimulus
natural stimulus –
produces a predictable
response
neutral stimulus –
does not produces any
particular response
Classical Conditioning
Application of Classical Conditioning;
Psychologists use:
Unconditioned
stimulus (UCS) –
(natural stimulus) that
produces an
unconditioned
response (UCR) at the
same time as a . . .
Classical Conditioning
Conditioned stimulus
(CS) – (once-neutral
stimulus) producing the
same response, called a
conditioned response
(CR) after several
repetitions
More realistic example
Getting dental work done
(unconditioned stimulus)
 hurts (unconditioned
response)
 Eventually the sound of the
dentist’s drill (conditioned
stimulus)
 causes anxiety, fear, or pain
(conditioned response)

Generalization/Discrimination
You may either
generalize: respond
the same to all drill
sounds (similar stimuli),
or
 Discriminate: If you
learn to respond only to
dental drill sounds
(distinct stimuli)

Extinction
If the conditioned
stimulus
 is NOT followed by the
same unconditioned
stimulus
 It will result in
extinction and the
conditioned response
will disappear

Operant Conditioning
Learning from consequences of behavior
 The behavior is either reinforced
(increases) or punished (decreases)

Reinforcement
Reinforcement – stimulus or event that
increases the likelihood a behavior will be
repeated
 Example: to get a dog to shake hands,
you must give it a treat
(reinforcement) every time
it raises its paw

Reinforcement
Primary Reinforcer – stimulus that
satisfies a biological need (food or water)
 Secondary Reinforcer – stimulus like
money that gives a reward by being linked
with a primary reinforcer (food)

Schedules of Reinforcement
1.
2.
Fixed Ratio – reinforcement after a
fixed number of responses (paid after
every 10 pizzas made)
Variable Ratio – reinforcement after
varying number of responses (playing a
slot machine)
Schedules of Reinforcement
3. Fixed Interval – reinforcement of first
response after a fixed amount of time
(picking up your paycheck after 2 weeks)
4. Variable Interval – reinforcement of
first response after varying amounts of
time (calling a friend but getting a busy
signal)
Variable reinforcers are
more resistant to
extinction than fixed
reinforcers
Shaping
A process of achieving a desired behavior
by rewarding similar behaviors until the
desired behavior is reached
 Example: To get a dog to lie down and
roll over, you must reward each act until
the desired trick is learned

Negative Reinforcement
A behavior increases by removing or
preventing a painful stimulus
 Example: you take an aspirin to relieve a
headache – the headache is a negative
reinforcer to taking aspirin (aspirin taking
increases)

Punishment
An unpleasant consequence
decreases the frequency of the
behavior that produced it
 Example: Yelling “NO!!” every time a child
gets close to the fire will stop the unsafe
behavior
Can produce

unwanted side
effects:
-Rage
-Aggression
-Fear
Social Learning

Altering behavior by observing and
imitating the behavior of others
Social Learning

Cognitive Learning – altering behavior
by mental processes
– Latent Learning – learning or remembering
details without intending to (seeing the same
things on a regular driving route)
– Learned helplessness –repeated attempts
to control a situation fail, you feel helpless
(cannot change a situation, cannot escape
punishment – often leads to depression)
Social Learning

Modeling – learning by imitating others
Social Learning
Behavior Modification – systematic
application of learning principles to change
people’s actions and feelings
 Examples:

– Use classical conditioning to overcome fears
– Operant conditioning using token economies
by reinforcing desired behaviors by giving
“tokens” that can be exchanged for rewards
later
– Social learning through personal systems of
rewards and punishments to create selfcontrol
Group Activity





In groups of 3, read the two behaviors you
are given
Decide what general kind of conditioning
they describe (Classical or Operant) and if
operant,
Determine what specific kind of operant
conditioning (positive reinforcement,
negative reinforcement, punishment)
Explain the example and your answers to
the class
Take notes on all examples given (they
will be on the test)
Group Activity
Example
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
Type of
Conditioning
Notes, comments
Memory

Memory – storage and retrieval of what
has been learned or experienced
Processes of Memory
1. Encoding – transforming information so
the nervous system can process it
E
C
A
F
Can encode by:
Seeing the letters
Hearing them
spoken
or
Making a connection
“face”
Processes of Memory
2.
3.
Storage – maintaining information over
time (depends on how much effort was
put into encoding the information)
Retrieval – information is brought to
mind from storage (depends on how
efficiently it was encoded and stored)
3 Stages of Memory
1. Sensory memory – brief memory
storage immediately following a sensory
input
7
X
B
1
L
7
V F
5 3
W 5
Lasts only a fraction of a second
3 Stages of Memory
2. Short-term memory – memory of
about 7 items, lasts about 20 seconds
Lasts longer if repeated
Chunking –
grouping items to
make them easier
to remember
Primacy-Recency
Effect
3 Stages of Memory
3. Long-term memory – storage of
information over extended periods of
time
I before e except after c
Semantic memory – knowledge of
language – rules, words, meanings
Episodic memory – memories of
your life
Declarative memory – information
retrieved as needed
a2+b2=c2
Procedural memory – learned skills,
does not need conscious recollection
Retrieving Information

Recognition – the retrieval of an idea,
object, or situation you have experienced
before
– Recognizing songs or instruments
– Recognizing answers on a multiple choice test
Retrieving Information

Recall – active reconstruction of
previously learned material. Influenced
by:
– Reconstructive process – altering or
distorting our memories (“selective memory”)
– Confabulation – filling in memory gaps with
information/experiences that were not there
– Schemas – conceptual frameworks we use to
make sense of the world
– Eidetic memory – a photographic memory
Relearning/Forgetting
Relearning – Can relearn previously learned
information with less work (reciting a nursery
rhyme or poem from your childhood)
 Forgetting

– Decay – fading away of memory over time
 Older memories remain (can be recovered through
hypnosis, meditation, brain stimulation)
– Interference – blockage of memory by prior or
later memories
– Amnesia – loss of memory from a blow to the
head or infant amnesia (lack of early
memories)
Improving Memory

Elaborate Rehearsal – linking of new
information to material that is already
known
– Associate new information with past events,
relationships, feelings
– Learn new information in small bits instead of
all at once (don’t cram)
Improving Memory

Mnemonic Devices –
Using associations to
memorize and retrieve
information
– Acrostics (Queen of Hearts
eats raspberry cream tarts)
– Use mental pictures to learn
– making up words, stories,
etc. to remember
Spacing Effect

Distributing rehearsal (spacing effect) is
better than practicing all at once. Robert
Frost’s poem could be memorized with
fair ease if spread over time.
Chunking
Organizing items into a familiar,
manageable unit. Try to remember the
numbers below
 1-7-7-6-1-4-9-2-1-8-1-2-1-9-4-1
 If you are well versed with American
history, chunk the numbers together and
see if you can recall them better.
1776 1492 1812 1941.

Rehearsal
Effortful learning usually requires
rehearsal or conscious repetition.
 Ebbinghaus studied rehearsal by using
nonsense syllables: TUV YOF GEK XOZ
 The more times the nonsense syllables
were practiced on Day 1,
 the fewer repetitions were required to
remember them on Day 2.

!
Using only your notes, on a clean
sheet of paper, list the following:
The
 The
 The
 The
 The

3 Processes of Memory
3 Stages of Memory
4 kinds of long term memory
4 things that influence our recall
definition of mnemonic devices
Psychological Testing

Test Reliability – ability
of a test to give the same
results under similar
circumstances
– Do you score about the
same when retaken?
– Do different people give
you the same score?
– Do you do about the same
on each section of the
test?
Psychological Testing

Test Validity – ability of a
test to measure what it is
intended to measure
– Does the test accurately
predict performance?
Psychological Testing
Standardization – test
must be given the same Norm – standard
of comparison for
way each time
test results
 The test must establish
an average score (norm)
of a large, well defined,
group of people

Psychological Testing

Questions to ask
when getting a score
– Would you score the
same if you took the
test again?
– Does the score reflect
your knowledge of
the subject?
– Does your score
compare fairly with
other students who
took the test?
Intelligence Testing

Intelligence
– The ability to acquire
new ideas and new
behavior and to adapt
to new situations
– Or
– The ability to do well
on intelligence tests
and in school
Theories of Intelligence
In groups of 4-5 read about the
theory of intelligence on your card in
Section 2 of Chapter 13 (p. 349-352)
 Summarize the main features of the
theory
 Present them to the class who will
complete a chart in their notes on the
theories

Theories of Intelligence
Theory
Spearman
Thurstone
Gardner
Sternberg
Emotional
Intelligence
Main Features
Issus,
Criticisms
Intelligence Tests

Stanford-Binet Intelligence
Scale (1973)
– Children tested one at a time
– Define words, draw pictures,
explain events in daily life
– Intelligence Quotient (IQ) –
Mental Age/Chronological
Age X 100
Intelligence Tests

Wechsler Tests (1981)
– Tests for adults and children
– One overall score, plus
– Percentile scores in several areas
(vocabulary, math, picture arrangement)
– More detailed picture of individual’s
strengths and weaknesses
Percentile – percent of people taking the
test who scored lower than your score
Intelligence Tests
You should complete these questions in 60 seconds
or less!
– 1.Two ducks and two dogs have a total of
fourteen legs.
True False
– 2.A pie can be cut into more than seven pieces by
making four diameter cuts.
True False
– 3.Two of the following numbers add up to
thirteen.
1, 6, 3, 5, 11
True False
Personality Testing

Personality Tests – assess personality
characteristics and identify problems
– Objective tests –
 limited or forced-choice format
 Used to study personality characteristics
– Projective tests –
 unstructured
 Test-taker can respond freely with their own
interpretation of various stimuli
Personality Testing

Objective Test Examples:
– MMPI (Minnesota Multiphasic
Personality Inventory)
 567 true-false questions
 Used to assess major
patterns of personality and
extreme emotional disorders
 Usually given with other
tests or interviews
MMPI
1.
2.
3.
4.
I like mechanics magazines
I have a good appetite
I wake up fresh & rested most mornings
I think I would like the work of a
librarian
5. I am easily awakened by noise
6. I like to read newspaper articles on crime
7. My hands and feet are usually warm
enough
Personality Testing

Objective Test Examples:
– CPI (California Psychological Inventory)
 true-false questions
 Measures traits such as responsibility, selfcontrol, and tolerance
 Used to predict adjustment to stress,
leadership, and job success
 Usually follow-up test with counseling or
discussion with a psychologist
Personality Testing

Objective Test Examples:
– Myers-Briggs Test
 Characterizes personality on four different
scales
 Shows test takers how they relate to others
and how others relate to them
Personality Testing

Projective Test Examples:
– Rorschach Inkblot Test
 Inkblot designs are shown to the test-taker
who says what he/she sees
 Reveals aspects of the person’s personality
 Results often depend on the psychologist’s
expectations
Rorschach Test
Rorschach Test
Personality Testing

Projective Test Examples:
– TAT (Thematic Apperception Test)
 Pictures of vague but suggestive situations
 Subjects are asked to tell a story about the
picture
 Used to assess personality problems of the
test-taker
TAT