Download Introduction to Psychology

Introduction to
Psychology
Chapter 8: Learning and
Conditioning
Behaviorism
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John Watson
B.F. Skinner
Observable behavior
Learning by association
Reinforcement and punishment
Behaviorism
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“Give me a dozen healthy infants, well
formed, and my own special world to bring
them up in and I’ll guarantee to take any one
at random and train him to become any type
of specialist I might select- doctor, lawyer,
artist, merchant, and yes- beggar man and
thief” --John Watson
Learning
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Learning: a relatively permanent change in
behavior that can be attributed to experience
The Role of Learning
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Do some psychological characteristics result
from learning?
Classical Conditioning
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We learn when one event becomes
associated with another
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Stimulus-response chains
Stimulus/Response
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Stimulus: the presentation of something (i.e.
food, a noise, music, a puppy)
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Response: a reaction to the stimulus
Classical Conditioning
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The behavioral technique of pairing a naturally
occurring stimulus and response chain with a
different stimulus in order to produce a response
which is not naturally occurring
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Example: naturally occurring stimulus and response: loud
noise and flinching
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We can pair a different stimulus with a loud noise to
conditioning an unnatural response
Classical Conditioning
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Pavlov:
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Dogs: to study digestion
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Salivation would occur when meat powder was
placed in the dogs’ mouths
Classical Conditioning
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Salivation started to occur before the meat
powder was given
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The dogs would salivate when Pavlov
entered the room
Classical Conditioning
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The dogs started to associate Pavlov’s
entrance with food
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Can the dogs be conditioned to associate a
ringing bell with food?
Classical Conditioning:
How does it work?
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Unconditioned Stimulus: a naturally occurring
stimulus; it brings about a natural (as
opposed to learned) response
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Example: food: a stimulus that would produce a
naturally occurring response
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We don’t need to learn to respond to food
Classical Conditioning:
How does it work?
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Unconditioned response: a response that
occurs naturally and does not have to be
learned
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i.e. salivating to food: a natural response
Classical Conditioning:
How does it work?
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Conditioned stimulus: the stimulus brings
about a response due to learning.
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Example: a bell (the conditioned stimulus) brings
about salivation due to learning; this wouldn’t
occur naturally
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This takes many repeated pairings with the
unconditioned stimulus (the meat)
Classical Conditioning:
How does it work?
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Conditioned response: the response that is
not naturally occurring, but has been learned
or conditioned.
Putting it together....
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US (meat powder) ------ UR (salivation to meat)
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CS (bell)- US (meat powder) ---UR (salivation to meat)
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We repeat this pattern many times.....
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Then:
CS (bell) ----- CR (salivation to the bell)
John Watson:
Little Albert study
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Conditioned the child to fear a bunny
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Loud noise
Fear (toward the noise)
Bunny
Fear (toward the bunny)
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Little Albert study
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US: loud noise
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UR: fear (toward noise)
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CS: bunny
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US: fear (toward bunny)
Classical Conditioning:
Little Albert study
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US (loud noise) -------- UR (fear of noise)
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CS (bunny) ---- US (loud noise) -- UR (fear of noise)
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CS (bunny) --- CR (fear of bunny)
To Review....
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Classical conditioning involves learned
through association
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We can learn to fear, or respond in some way to
previously neutral stimuli
Higher order conditioning
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Extending the conditioning process by a step
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Example: clap, ring the bell, then salivation
occurs
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we don’t need to present food because the bell
has already conditioned the response
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Clapping would eventually cause salivation
Extinction
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We can weaken the conditioned response
(salivation to the bell) by removing the
reinforcement
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If we never introduce food again, the dogs will
eventually stop salivating to the bell
Spontaneous Recovery
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Even after extinction, the learned response
may come back suddenly
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There may be food this time
Stimulus Generalization
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A similar stimulus to the CS (the bunny) might
trigger the response
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We can condition fear of the rabbit, and then we
can condition fear of other, similar stimuli
Stimulus Discrimination
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Learned ability to respond differently to
different stimuli
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If certain stimuli are no longer associated with the
noise, the fear reaction will not be elicited
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i.e. introduce the mouse but no noise, eventually
Albert will fear the bunny, but not the mouse
Real-life application
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Phobias: intense, unrealistic fear reactions to
a stimulus or situation
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Conditioned emotional response: we learn to fear
certain stimuli
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Vicarious classical conditioning: if we see
something aversive happen to someone else
Treatment: Systematic
Desensitization
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Slow exposure to the stimulus, paired with
relaxation techniques
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Support for this in the research
In contrast:
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Flooding: introducing us to the stimulus all at once
Operant Conditioning
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We associate responses with their
consequences
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Acts that are reinforced will be repeated
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Acts that are not reinforced, or punished, will not
be repeated
Operant vs. Classical
Conditioning
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Operant Conditioning:
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Active
In regard to voluntary
responses
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Classical Conditioning:
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Passive: it just happens
“Language” of operant
conditioning
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Positive = add
Negative = take away
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Positive/negative are not necessarily good/bad
Reinforcement
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Any event that increases the probability that a
particular response will occur
Positive Reinforcement
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Providing a reward (reinforcer) to increase
the probability that the response will occur
again
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We add (positive = add) something good
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Candy for raising your hand in class
Praise for washing the dishes
Gold stars for doing your homework
Negative Reinforcement
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Response is followed by an end to discomfort
or a removal of an unpleasant event (negative =
removal/taking away something)
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We will increase the behavior because it results
in the decrease of something unpleasant
Negative Reinforcement
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Taking aspirin to alleviate a headache
Leaving early to avoid traffic
Rat presses a lever to stop a shock
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We will continue these behaviors because they
result in the end to something unpleasant
Punishment
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When a bad or unpleasant event begins
We will be less likely to repeat behaviors that
are punished
Punishment
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Positive: adding something aversive so a
behavior will not be repeated
Negative: taking way something positive so a
behavior will not be repeated
**Both are punishments because an
unpleasant event is beginning
Activity: reinforcement and
punishment
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worksheet
Superstitions
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We repeat them because the appear to be
reinforced
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i.e. lucky socks  winning a game
Partial Reinforcement
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Pattern where only certain responses are
reinforced
i.e. slot machine
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More resistant to extinction
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Over time, we may be rewarded, so we keep
trying
Are punishments effective?
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Based on:
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Timing (should be right after the bad behavior)
Consistency (punish it every time)
Intensity (strength of the punishment)
How can we teach kids without using
punishments?
Bandura: Social Learning
Theory
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Learning through observation and imitation
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Bobo doll experiment
Television and Violence
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Lots of violent t.v. is correlated with
aggression
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Does not prove causation
Identification with the aggressor?