Download Chapter 6 Learning

Introduction to Psychology, 7th Edition, James W. Kalat
Chapter 6: Learning
Chapter 6
Learning
Introduction to Psychology, 7th Edition, James W. Kalat
Chapter 6: Learning
Learning
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Learning is defined as any relatively permanent change in
behavior that is based upon experience.
It is an area of psychology that seems simple to evaluate
but is in fact quite complex.
Factors both within and outside of an organism can
influence and interfere with learning.
Introduction to Psychology, 7th Edition, James W. Kalat
Chapter 6: Learning
Module 6.1

Behaviorism
Introduction to Psychology, 7th Edition, James W. Kalat
Chapter 6: Learning
Behaviorism
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
Behaviorists are psychologists who insist that psychologists
should study only observable, measurable behaviors, not
mental processes.
There is however a wide range of views among researchers
who call themselves behaviorists.
Introduction to Psychology, 7th Edition, James W. Kalat
Chapter 6: Learning
Behaviorism

Methodological behaviorism
 Methodological behaviorists study only events that they
can measure and observe.
 They sometimes use those observations to make
inferences about internal events.
Introduction to Psychology, 7th Edition, James W. Kalat
Chapter 6: Learning
Behaviorism

Methodological behaviorism
 For example, from observing how an animal behaves in
the presence of certain stimuli, a methodological
behaviorist will infer the presence of an intervening
variable.
 An intervening variable is something that cannot be
directly observed yet links a variety of procedures to a
variety of possible responses.
Introduction to Psychology, 7th Edition, James W. Kalat
Chapter 6: Learning
Behaviorism

Methodological behaviorism
 If a monkey is more likely to show its teeth or make loud
noises in response to the placement of a stuffed animal
or a larger monkey of the same species in its cage, and
to a recording of growling noises of a predatory cat, the
methodological behaviorist will infer the presence of the
intervening variable fear.
Introduction to Psychology, 7th Edition, James W. Kalat
Chapter 6: Learning
Behaviorism

Methodological behaviorism
 What measurements would you take to infer the
presence of intervening variables such as:
 Hunger
 Affection
 Anger
Introduction to Psychology, 7th Edition, James W. Kalat
Chapter 6: Learning
Behaviorism

Radical behaviorism
 Radical behaviorists believe that internal states are
caused by events in the environment, or by genetics.
 The ultimate cause of behavior is therefore the
observable events, not the internal states.
 Most discussions of mental states are sloppy and
should be rephrased into a description of behavior.
Introduction to Psychology, 7th Edition, James W. Kalat
Chapter 6: Learning
Behaviorism

The rise of behaviorism
 In the early 1900’s, the structuralists used introspection
as a technique to study psychology.
 They asked subjects to describe their own experiences
in order to study thoughts and ideas.
Introduction to Psychology, 7th Edition, James W. Kalat
Chapter 6: Learning
Behaviorism

The rise of behaviorism
 Behaviorists believed that it was useless to ask people
to describe their private experiences.
 There was no way to check the accuracy of these
reports, and hard to define what “private experiences”
mean.
 Behaviorists insisted that psychology deal with
observable and measurable events only.
Introduction to Psychology, 7th Edition, James W. Kalat
Chapter 6: Learning
Behaviorism

The rise of behaviorism
 Jacques Loeb argued that all animal behavior, and most
human behavior, could be explained with stimulusresponse psychology.
 Stimulus-response psychology attempts to explain
behavior in terms of how each stimulus triggers a
response.
 Flinching away from a blow and shading one’s eyes
from a strong light would be examples of stimulusresponse behaviors.
Introduction to Psychology, 7th Edition, James W. Kalat
Chapter 6: Learning
Behaviorism

The rise of behaviorism
 More complex patterns of behavior are just the result of
adding together many changes of speed and direction
elicited by various stimuli.
 Modern behaviorists do not subscribe to this model but
now believe that behavior is the product of a history of
stimuli and responses, plus the effects of natural
physiological states (hunger, tiredness, etc.)
Introduction to Psychology, 7th Edition, James W. Kalat
Chapter 6: Learning
Behaviorism

The rise of behaviorism
 The behaviorists carried on the tradition of asking
questions about animal learning. This tradition was
abandoned when it was found to be impossible to
answer questions about how intelligent different animal
species are.
 Early behaviorists believed that it might be possible to
determine the basic laws of learning by studying how
animals learn.
Introduction to Psychology, 7th Edition, James W. Kalat
Chapter 6: Learning
Behaviorism

The assumptions of behaviorism
 Behaviorists are deterministic
 They assume that we live in a universe of identifiable
cause-and-effect. Since our behavior is part of that
universe, it too must have identifiable causes.
 If we know enough about the individual’s past
experiences, current influences, and genetics, we can
predict that individual’s behavior.
Introduction to Psychology, 7th Edition, James W. Kalat
Chapter 6: Learning
Behaviorism

The assumptions of behaviorism
 Behaviorists believe that mental explanations are
ineffective.
Q. Why is she smiling?
 A. She is smiling because she is happy.

Q How do you know she is happy?
 A. We can tell she is happy because she is smiling.

Introduction to Psychology, 7th Edition, James W. Kalat
Chapter 6: Learning
Behaviorism

The assumptions of behaviorism
 Behaviorists believe that this sort of exchange is typical
of the circular reasoning that can arise when one
attempts to infer the presence of internal states based
on behavior.
 The influence of this perspective can be seen in the
American legal system, where witnesses are not allowed
to draw inferences about what they saw, but rather are
encouraged only to describe appearance and behavior.
Introduction to Psychology, 7th Edition, James W. Kalat
Chapter 6: Learning
Behaviorism

The assumptions of behaviorism
 Behaviorists believe that the environment plays a
powerful role in molding behavior.
 The most powerful influence on behavior is outcome.
 Our environment selects and perpetuates successful
behaviors, much as evolution selects successful
animals.
 Behaviorists do not deny the importance of heredity,
but they do not emphasize it.
Introduction to Psychology, 7th Edition, James W. Kalat
Chapter 6: Learning
Behaviorism
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People are often quick to dismiss behaviorism, because
they are disturbed by the notion that thoughts, beliefs and
emotions are not the cause of behavior.
A behaviorist would argue that past outcomes of behaviors
have caused the thoughts, beliefs and emotions.
How could you scientifically support the idea that thoughts,
beliefs and emotions exist independently of your previous
experiences?
Introduction to Psychology, 7th Edition, James W. Kalat
Chapter 6: Learning
Module 6.2

Classical Conditioning
Introduction to Psychology, 7th Edition, James W. Kalat
Chapter 6: Learning
Pavlov and Classical Conditioning
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Ivan Pavlov was a physiologist who won a Nobel Prize for
his research on digestion.
His original description of classical conditioning was a byproduct of this research. He did not set out to discover
classical conditioning.
Introduction to Psychology, 7th Edition, James W. Kalat
Chapter 6: Learning
Classical Conditioning

Pavlov noticed that the dogs he used to do his research
salivated upon the sight of the lab workers who fed them.
 He concluded that this reflex was “psychological”
because it was based on the dog’s previous
experiences.
 Further testing demonstrated that the sight of food
produced the same effect as giving the same amount of
food to the dog.
Introduction to Psychology, 7th Edition, James W. Kalat
Chapter 6: Learning
Figure 6.2 Pavlov used dogs for his experiments on classical conditioning and
salivation. The experimenter can ring a buzzer (CS), present food (UCS), and
measure the responses (CR and UCR). Pavlov himself collected saliva with a simple
measuring pouch attached to the dog’s cheek; his later colleagues used a more
complex device.
Introduction to Psychology, 7th Edition, James W. Kalat
Chapter 6: Learning
Classical Conditioning
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
Based upon his tentative acceptance of the salivation as a
reflex, Pavlov used the term conditional reflex to describe
this response.
The term was mistranslated into English as conditioned
reflex, a mistake that helped create the terminology we use
to describe classical conditioning.
Introduction to Psychology, 7th Edition, James W. Kalat
Chapter 6: Learning
Classical Conditioning

Pavlov started with the unconditioned reflex of salivation to
food. He hypothesized that that this was an automatic
connection.
 The dogs had an unconditioned reflex between food and
secretion of digestive juices.
Introduction to Psychology, 7th Edition, James W. Kalat
Chapter 6: Learning
Classical Conditioning

A buzzer is called a neutral stimulus because it elicits
attention to the sound, but no automatic connection.
 The dogs would lift their ears and look around when the
buzzer sounded, but no salivation was produced.
Introduction to Psychology, 7th Edition, James W. Kalat
Chapter 6: Learning
Classical Conditioning

Pavlov conjectured that animals develop new connections
by transferring a response from one stimulus to another.
 He hypothesized that if a buzzer always preceded the
food, the buzzer would begin to elicit the reflex of
salivation.
Introduction to Psychology, 7th Edition, James W. Kalat
Chapter 6: Learning
Classical Conditioning

After a few pairings of the buzzer with the food, the dogs
would begin to salivate as soon as the buzzer sounded.
Introduction to Psychology, 7th Edition, James W. Kalat
Chapter 6: Learning
Figure 6.3a With classical conditioning a conditioned stimulus is followed by an
unconditioned stimulus. At first the conditioned stimulus elicits no response, and the
unconditioned stimulus elicits the unconditioned response. After sufficient pairings the
conditioned stimulus begins to elicit the conditioned response, which can resemble the
unconditioned response.
Introduction to Psychology, 7th Edition, James W. Kalat
Chapter 6: Learning
Figure 6.3b With classical conditioning a conditioned stimulus is followed by an unconditioned
stimulus. At first the conditioned stimulus elicits no response, and the unconditioned stimulus
elicits the unconditioned response. After sufficient pairings the conditioned stimulus begins to
elicit the conditioned response, which can resemble the unconditioned response.
Introduction to Psychology, 7th Edition, James W. Kalat
Chapter 6: Learning
Figure 6.3c With classical conditioning a conditioned stimulus is followed by an unconditioned
stimulus. At first the conditioned stimulus elicits no response, and the unconditioned stimulus
elicits the unconditioned response. After sufficient pairings the conditioned stimulus begins to
elicit the conditioned response, which can resemble the unconditioned response.
Introduction to Psychology, 7th Edition, James W. Kalat
Chapter 6: Learning
Classical Conditioning

Terminology
 Unconditioned Stimulus (UCS)  An event that
consistently and automatically elicits an unconditioned
response.
 Unconditioned Response (UCR)  An action that the
unconditioned stimulus automatically elicits.
Introduction to Psychology, 7th Edition, James W. Kalat
Chapter 6: Learning
Classical Conditioning

Terminology
 Conditioned Stimulus (CS)  Formerly the neutral
stimulus, having been paired with the unconditioned
stimulus, elicits the same response. That response
depends upon its consistent pairing with the UCR.
 Conditioned Response (CR)  The response elicited by
the conditioned stimulus due to the training. Usually it
closely resembles the UCR.
Introduction to Psychology, 7th Edition, James W. Kalat
Chapter 6: Learning
Classical Conditioning

Factors that enhance conditioning
 Conditioning occurs more rapidly when the conditioned
(neutral) stimulus is relatively unfamiliar. If you are
already habituated to (used to) the neutral stimulus, it
will take longer for its pairing with an unconditioned
stimulus to form a connection for you.
 Conditioning is facilitated when people are already
aware of the connection between the CS and the UCS.
When people are informed of the conditioning procedure
prior to its beginning, they will be conditioned faster.
Introduction to Psychology, 7th Edition, James W. Kalat
Chapter 6: Learning
Concept Check
A puff of air is blown into a rabbit’s eye just after a musical
tone is played. After several repetitions of this procedure, the
rabbit closes its eye when the musical tone is played.
What are the:




UCS
UCR
Neutral Stimulus/CS
And CR?
Introduction to Psychology, 7th Edition, James W. Kalat
Chapter 6: Learning
Concept Check
Answers:

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

UCS – Air puff
UCR – Closing eye
Neutral stimulus/CS – Musical tone
CR – Closing eye
Introduction to Psychology, 7th Edition, James W. Kalat
Chapter 6: Learning
Concept Check

The television commercial for Mega Burger shows a big
delicious cheeseburger. A 50’s rock-and-roll song is played
during the commercial. You see the commercial several
times, and now when the song is playing on the radio, you
get hungry.

What are the:




UCS
UCR
Neutral Stimulus/CS
And CR?
Introduction to Psychology, 7th Edition, James W. Kalat
Chapter 6: Learning
Concept Check
Answers:




UCS - Cheeseburger
UCR - Hunger
Neutral Stimulus/CS – Rock and Roll song
CR - Hunger
Introduction to Psychology, 7th Edition, James W. Kalat
Chapter 6: Learning
Concept Check

When the training starts, the CS elicits ________ and the
UCS elicits ________.
No response
The UCR
Introduction to Psychology, 7th Edition, James W. Kalat
Chapter 6: Learning
Concept Check

After the training, the CS elicits ________ and the UCS
elicits ________.
The CR
The UCR
Introduction to Psychology, 7th Edition, James W. Kalat
Chapter 6: Learning
Classical Conditioning

The processes of classical conditioning
 The process that establishes or strengthens a
conditioned response is called acquisition.
 To extinguish a classically conditioned response, the
conditioned stimulus is repeatedly presented without the
unconditioned stimulus. This decrease and elimination is
referred to as extinction.
Introduction to Psychology, 7th Edition, James W. Kalat
Chapter 6: Learning
Classical Conditioning

The processes of classical conditioning
 A rabbit is conditioned to blink its eye through repeated
presentation of a musical tone followed by a puff of air
directly blown in its eye. After a few repetitions, the
rabbit blinks its eye when the tone sounds. This is the
acquisition.
 The musical tone is then played repeatedly with no puff
of air. Gradually, the rabbit stops blinking its eye. This is
the extinction.
Introduction to Psychology, 7th Edition, James W. Kalat
Chapter 6: Learning
Classical Conditioning

The processes of classical conditioning
 Extinction does not erase the association between the
CS and the UCS.
 If the puff of air is suddenly presented again to the rabbit
without warning, it will blink its eye the next time the tone
is played.
Introduction to Psychology, 7th Edition, James W. Kalat
Chapter 6: Learning
Classical Conditioning

The processes of classical conditioning
 The temporary return of an extinguished response is
called spontaneous recovery.
 The rabbit acquires the response, and then the response
is extinguished through the repeated presentation of the
tone with no air puff. Many hours after the experiment,
the rabbit hears a musical tone. It blinks its eye.
Introduction to Psychology, 7th Edition, James W. Kalat
Chapter 6: Learning
Figure 6.4 Phases of classical conditioning: Classical conditioning proceeds through
several phases, depending on the time of presentation of the two stimuli. If the
conditioned stimulus regularly precedes the unconditioned stimulus, acquisition
occurs. If the conditioned stimulus is presented by itself, extinction occurs. A pause
after extinction yields a brief spontaneous recovery.
Introduction to Psychology, 7th Edition, James W. Kalat
Chapter 6: Learning
Figure 6.5 The procedure for classical conditioning of the eye-blink response.
Introduction to Psychology, 7th Edition, James W. Kalat
Chapter 6: Learning
Concept Check
To deal with your conditioned response to the song from the
Mega Burger commercial, what steps would you take to
produce extinction? What steps would you take to produce
spontaneous recovery?
To produce extinction, play the song repeatedly with no image of the
cheeseburger.
To produce spontaneous recovery, watch the commercial once a few
days after the extinction procedure has been completed.
Introduction to Psychology, 7th Edition, James W. Kalat
Chapter 6: Learning
Classical Conditioning

The processes of classical conditioning
 Stimulus generalization is the extension of a conditioned
response from the training stimulus to similar stimuli.
 Through conditioning Baby Hannah smiles and laughs at
the title screen with dark background and white writing
that precedes a funny song and cartoon on her
“Merrytubbies” video tape. Her parents notice that she
also smiles and giggles at the FBI Warning screen
appearing on movie videotapes.
Introduction to Psychology, 7th Edition, James W. Kalat
Chapter 6: Learning
Figure 6.6 Stimulus generalization is the process of extending a learned response
to new stimuli that resemble the one used in training. As a rule a stimulus similar to
the training stimulus elicits a strong response; a less similar stimulus elicits a
weaker response.
Introduction to Psychology, 7th Edition, James W. Kalat
Chapter 6: Learning
Classical Conditioning

The process of classical conditioning
 Discrimination is the process of learning to respond
differently to two stimuli because they produce two
different outcomes.
 Gradually Hannah stops laughing at the FBI Warning
screen because the song and cartoon do not follow it.
Introduction to Psychology, 7th Edition, James W. Kalat
Chapter 6: Learning
Classical Conditioning

Explanations of classical conditioning
 The process of classical conditioning is more complex
than it seems at first glance.
 The association is not merely a transfer of response
from one stimulus to the other. The conditioned stimulus
appears to act as a signal to the organism.
Introduction to Psychology, 7th Edition, James W. Kalat
Chapter 6: Learning
Classical Conditioning

Explanations of classical conditioning
 Temporal contiguity facilitates the process of
conditioning. The less time that elapses between the
presentation of the CS and the UCS, the faster the CR is
acquired.
 The CR will be acquired more quickly when the CS
precedes the UCS. This is called forward conditioning.
Introduction to Psychology, 7th Edition, James W. Kalat
Chapter 6: Learning
Figure 6.8 Pavlov believed that conditioning depended
on temporal contiguity: (a) At the start of conditioning,
activity in the UCS center automatically causes
activation of the UCR center. At this time activity of the
CS center does not affect the UCS center. (b) After
sufficient pairings of the CS and UCS, their
simultaneous activity causes the growth of a connection
between the CS and UCS centers. Afterward, activity in
the CS center will flow to the UCS center and therefore
excite the UCR center.
Introduction to Psychology, 7th Edition, James W. Kalat
Chapter 6: Learning
Classical Conditioning

Explanations of classical conditioning
 In trace conditioning, the CS stops well before the UCS
is presented. This is a slow and relatively ineffective way
to condition a response.
 Backward conditioning (UCS follows by the CS) rarely
produces any response.
 The discovery of blocking effects suggests that it is
difficult to condition the same response in an animal to
more than one stimulus.
Introduction to Psychology, 7th Edition, James W. Kalat
Chapter 6: Learning
Classical Conditioning

Explanations of classical conditioning
 When rats experience an electric shock (a UCS) they
jump and shriek.
 After being conditioned to a buzzer preceding the shock
(a CS) they freeze in place at the sound of the buzzer.
This is known to be a typical rat response to imminent
danger.
 These findings suggest that an animal uses a CS as a
way to prepare for a UCS. The animal is not treating the
CS as the actual UCS.
Introduction to Psychology, 7th Edition, James W. Kalat
Chapter 6: Learning
Classical Conditioning

Conditioning, contiguity and contingency
 A conditioned response develops only if there is
predictability or contingency.
 The UCS is more likely after the CS than without it.
 The learner discovers the event that predicts the
outcome. However, it is unclear whether or not any
actual complex thinking is occurring as a result of this
process.
Introduction to Psychology, 7th Edition, James W. Kalat
Chapter 6: Learning
Classical Conditioning


Classical conditioning is thought by those unfamiliar with
psychology to be the learning of simple, mechanical
behavior.
In reality it is a complex form of learning that requires some
processing of information on the part of the learner.
Introduction to Psychology, 7th Edition, James W. Kalat
Chapter 6: Learning
Module 6.3

Operant Conditioning
Introduction to Psychology, 7th Edition, James W. Kalat
Chapter 6: Learning
Thorndike and Operant Conditioning


In 1911, Harvard graduate student Edward Thorndike
developed a simple, behaviorist explanation of learning.
He used a learning curve, a graph of the changes in
behavior that occur over successive trials of a learning
experiment, to record how quickly cats learned to escape
from a puzzle box (a type of maze.)
Introduction to Psychology, 7th Edition, James W. Kalat
Chapter 6: Learning
Figure 6.11 Each of Thorndike’s puzzle boxes had a device that could open
it. Here tilting the pole will open the door. (Based on Thorndike, 1911/1970)
Introduction to Psychology, 7th Edition, James W. Kalat
Chapter 6: Learning
Figure 6.12 Trial and error or insight? As the data from one of Thorndike’s experiments
show, the time that a cat needs to escape from a puzzle box gradually grows shorter,
but in an irregular manner. Thorndike concluded that the cat did not at any point
“suddenly get the idea.” Instead, reinforcement gradually increased the probability of
the successful behavior.
Introduction to Psychology, 7th Edition, James W. Kalat
Chapter 6: Learning
Thorndike and Operant Conditioning



The curve of learning for the cats indicated a slow, gradual
and consistent progress towards the solution.
He noted that cats would learn to escape from puzzle
boxes more quickly if the response selected produced an
immediate escape.
The cats would try a repertoire of behaviors to open the
box, and gradually learn to more quickly select the one that
produced escape.
Introduction to Psychology, 7th Edition, James W. Kalat
Chapter 6: Learning
Thorndike and Operant Conditioning

But overall, it appeared to Thorndike that the cats were not
“understanding” the connections between the solution and
the escape. There was no sudden increase in the learning
curve to support that assumption.
Introduction to Psychology, 7th Edition, James W. Kalat
Chapter 6: Learning
Figure 6.13 According to Thorndike, a cat starts with a large set of potential behaviors
in a given situation. When one of these, such as pushing at a pole, leads to
reinforcement, the future probability of that behavior increases. We do not need to
assume that the cat understands what it is doing or why.
Introduction to Psychology, 7th Edition, James W. Kalat
Chapter 6: Learning
Thorndike and Operant Conditioning

Thorndike observed that the escape from the box acted as
a reinforcement for the behavior that led to the escape.
 A reinforcement is an event that increases the future
probability of the most recent response.
Introduction to Psychology, 7th Edition, James W. Kalat
Chapter 6: Learning
Thorndike’s Law of Effect

“Of several responses made to the same situation, those
which are accompanied or closely followed by satisfaction
to the animal will, other things being equal, be more firmly
connected to the situation, so that, when it (the situation)
recurs, they will be more likely to recur.”
Introduction to Psychology, 7th Edition, James W. Kalat
Chapter 6: Learning
Operant Conditioning

The type of learning that Thorndike studies has come to be
known as operant or instrumental conditioning.
 Operant conditioning is the process of changing
behavior by following a response with a reinforcement.
 In operant conditioning, the subject’s behavior
determines an outcome and is affected by that outcome.
Introduction to Psychology, 7th Edition, James W. Kalat
Chapter 6: Learning
Operant Conditioning


Classical conditioning is distinguished from operant
conditioning in that the subject’s behavior has no effect on
the outcome.
Classical conditioning usually influences visceral, reflexive,
and involuntary responses, while operant conditioning
applies to skeletal, somatic, and voluntary responses.
Introduction to Psychology, 7th Edition, James W. Kalat
Chapter 6: Learning
Table 6.2 Comparison of classical conditioning and operant conditioning
Introduction to Psychology, 7th Edition, James W. Kalat
Chapter 6: Learning
Processes of Operant Conditioning

In operant conditioning, extinction occurs if responses stop
producing reinforcements.
 A child for whom you are babysitting whines until you
give him a cookie. If you stop giving the child cookies,
he will eventually stop whining.
Introduction to Psychology, 7th Edition, James W. Kalat
Chapter 6: Learning
Processes of Operant Conditioning

Stimulus generalization occurs when a new stimulus is
similar to the original reinforced stimulus. The more similar
the new stimulus is to the old, the more strongly the subject
is likely to respond.
 The child for whom you are babysitting falls and scrapes
his knee. He is crying inconsolably. You give him a
cookie. He continues to whine and cry on and off all
afternoon, stopping for brief periods after you give him a
cookie. The stimulus of his whining has generalized to
crying and whining. You are responding to both.
Introduction to Psychology, 7th Edition, James W. Kalat
Chapter 6: Learning
Processes of Operant Conditioning

Discrimination occurs when someone is reinforced for
responding to one stimulus but not another. The individual
will respond more vigorously to one than to the other.
 If you stop giving the child cookies when he cries but
continue when he whines, he will whine much more
often than he will cry.
Introduction to Psychology, 7th Edition, James W. Kalat
Chapter 6: Learning
Processes of Operant Conditioning

A stimulus that indicates which response is appropriate or
inappropriate is called a discriminative stimulus.
 The child for whom you baby-sit does not whine for
cookies when his mother is present, because she never
gives in to his whining. As soon as she leaves, he is at
your knee whining for a cookie. The presence of his
mother has become a discriminative stimulus.
Introduction to Psychology, 7th Edition, James W. Kalat
Chapter 6: Learning
Phenomena of Operant Conditioning

The ability of a stimulus to encourage some responses and
discourage others is known as stimulus control.
 When his mother is present, the child for whom you
baby-sit asks her politely for some juice and bread.
When his mother is absent, he whines for cookies. The
presence or absence of one stimulus after another
signals to him which behaviors will or will not be
reinforced.
Introduction to Psychology, 7th Edition, James W. Kalat
Chapter 6: Learning
Processes of Operant Conditioning

Thorndike noted that some responses are more easily
learned than others. The cats learned to escape from the
mazes relatively quickly, but learned to scratch themselves
on cue slowly and inconsistently.
Introduction to Psychology, 7th Edition, James W. Kalat
Chapter 6: Learning
Figure 6.14 According to Thorndike’s principle of belongingness, some items are
easy to associate with each other because they “belong” together; others do not. For
example, dogs easily learn to use the direction of a sound as a signal for which leg to
raise, but they have trouble using the type of sound as a signal for which leg to raise.
Introduction to Psychology, 7th Edition, James W. Kalat
Chapter 6: Learning
Phenomena of Operant Conditioning

One possible explanation for this is belongingness.
 Belongingness is the concept that certain stimuli are
classified together or more readily associated with
certain outcomes more so than with others. Some
psychologists also refer this to as “preparedness”.
Introduction to Psychology, 7th Edition, James W. Kalat
Chapter 6: Learning
B.F. Skinner and the Shaping of Behavior



B.F. Skinner is considered to be the most influential of all
radical behaviorists.
He demonstrated many potential applications of operant
conditioning.
He was a firm believer in parsimony, seeking simple
explanations in terms of reinforcement histories, and
avoiding the inference of complex mental processes.
Introduction to Psychology, 7th Edition, James W. Kalat
Chapter 6: Learning
Shaping Behavior



Shaping establishes new responses by reinforcing
successive approximations to it.
Skinner used an “operant chamber” (referred to as a
“Skinner box” by others) into which he put the animal he
wished to train by shaping.
Gradually the animal was reinforced for behaviors that
approached the desired activity until it actually performed
the behavior in full.
Introduction to Psychology, 7th Edition, James W. Kalat
Chapter 6: Learning
Shaping Behavior

For example, to make a pigeon turn in a complete
clockwise circle, Skinner would first reinforce the pigeon
with food for just turning a few degrees to the right. After the
pigeon began turning to the right regularly, he would cease
reinforcing until the pigeon turned a few more degrees in
that direction, and when that behavior was established, wait
until the pigeon turned more pronouncedly to the right, and
reinforce that movement, until finally the pigeon turned
completely around in a circle.
Introduction to Psychology, 7th Edition, James W. Kalat
Chapter 6: Learning
Chaining Behavior

Chaining is an operant conditioning method where
behaviors are reinforced by opportunities to engage in the
next behavior
 The animal learns the final behavior, and then the next to
last, and so on, until the beginning of the sequence is
reached.
 Eating is an example of a chained behavior in humans.
Most of us first learn to eat with utensils, and gradually
acquire the preceding activities of getting and preparing
food.
Introduction to Psychology, 7th Edition, James W. Kalat
Chapter 6: Learning
Increasing and Decreasing the Frequency of
Responses


A reinforcement is an event that increases the probability
that a response will be repeated.
A punishment is an event that decreases the probability of a
response.
Introduction to Psychology, 7th Edition, James W. Kalat
Chapter 6: Learning
Reinforcement and Punishment


A reinforcement can be either the presentation of a
desirable item such as money or food, or the removal of an
unpleasant stimulus, such as verbal nagging or physical
pain.
A punishment can be the removal of a desirable condition
such as driving privileges or the presentation of an
unpleasant condition such as physical pain.
Introduction to Psychology, 7th Edition, James W. Kalat
Chapter 6: Learning
Reinforcement and Punishment



All things being equal, most people will respond better to
both immediate reinforcement and immediate punishment.
Most punishments are given in American society for
behaviors that are immediately reinforcing. The
punishments may or may not occur.
The threat of punishment under these conditions is not an
effective tool for changing behavior.
Introduction to Psychology, 7th Edition, James W. Kalat
Chapter 6: Learning
Reinforcement and Punishment


Punishment tends to be ineffective except for temporarily
suppressing undesirable behavior.
Mild, logical and consistent punishment can be informative
and helpful.
Introduction to Psychology, 7th Edition, James W. Kalat
Chapter 6: Learning
Table 6.1 Four categories of operant conditioning
Introduction to Psychology, 7th Edition, James W. Kalat
Chapter 6: Learning
Concept Check
Most people who speed are not put off this infraction by the
threat of a speeding ticket and fine. Based on what you have
learned about the efficacy of punishment as a training method,
why do you think this is?
Because the threat of the punishment is highly uncertain – very few
people get pulled over relative to the number who speed – and the
behavior is very immediately gratifying.
Introduction to Psychology, 7th Edition, James W. Kalat
Chapter 6: Learning
Reinforcements and Punishments

The presentation of an event that strengthens or increases
the likelihood of an event is called positive reinforcement.
 A parent praises a child for excellent performance on a
test.
 A waiter receives an extra large tip for good service.
Introduction to Psychology, 7th Edition, James W. Kalat
Chapter 6: Learning
Reinforcements and Punishments

Punishment is referred to as passive avoidance learning
because in response to punishment an individual learns to
avoid the outcome by being passive.
 A child learns to avoid the punishment of being sent to
his room for the evening by not teasing his little sister.
 A woman avoids distress by not calling her sister who
always says cruel things whenever they talk.
Introduction to Psychology, 7th Edition, James W. Kalat
Chapter 6: Learning
Reinforcements and Punishments

Omission training occurs when the omission of the
response produces reinforcement. Producing the response
also leads to a lack of reinforcement.
 This is sometimes referred to as negative punishment.
 Parents tell a teenager that if she breaks curfew
again, she will lose her driving privileges for a month.
Introduction to Psychology, 7th Edition, James W. Kalat
Chapter 6: Learning
Reinforcements and Punishments

Escape learning or active avoidance learning occurs if the
responses lead to an escape from or an avoidance of
something painful.
 This is sometimes referred to as negative
reinforcement.
 A teenager cleans his room to avoid listening to any
more of his dad’s nagging.
 A babysitter gives a cookie to a child to stop his
whining.
Introduction to Psychology, 7th Edition, James W. Kalat
Chapter 6: Learning
Concept Check
What type of learning has occurred?
You don’t go into your friend’s greenhouse because you get a
headache and sore throat whenever you go in with him.
Passive avoidance learning
Introduction to Psychology, 7th Edition, James W. Kalat
Chapter 6: Learning
Concept Check

What type of learning has occurred?

Your little brother locks you in his room and plays the
Barney theme song at full volume until you tell him what
Mom and Dad are giving him for his birthday.
Active avoidance learning (negative reinforcement)
Introduction to Psychology, 7th Edition, James W. Kalat
Chapter 6: Learning
Concept Check

What type of learning has occurred?

You win a $1,000.00 scholarship for your high GPA.
Positive reinforcement
Introduction to Psychology, 7th Edition, James W. Kalat
Chapter 6: Learning
Concept Check

What type of learning has occurred?

You put on your sunglasses because the bright sun is
making your eyes hurt.
Active avoidance learning
Introduction to Psychology, 7th Edition, James W. Kalat
Chapter 6: Learning
Concept Check

What type of learning has occurred?

You are not late for psychology class because your
professor will deduct points from your final grade if you are.
Omission training – negative punishment
Introduction to Psychology, 7th Edition, James W. Kalat
Chapter 6: Learning
Concept Check

What type of learning has occurred?

You send flowers to your sweetheart because you always
get extra affection and compliments after you do so.
Positive reinforcement
Introduction to Psychology, 7th Edition, James W. Kalat
Chapter 6: Learning
Concept Check

What type of learning has occurred?

You really want to pass this class so you never have to sit
through it again.
Active avoidance learning – negative reinforcement
Introduction to Psychology, 7th Edition, James W. Kalat
Chapter 6: Learning
What Constitutes Reinforcement?

A reinforcer is something that increases the likelihood of the
preceding response.
 This can be confusing because it leads to a circular
explanation.
 It can also be confusing because although generally a
reinforcer is a pleasant event, it doesn’t have to be.
 What constitutes a “pleasant event” can be hard to
define or vary from person to person.
Introduction to Psychology, 7th Edition, James W. Kalat
Chapter 6: Learning
What Constitutes Reinforcement?



Many reinforcers satisfy biological needs, such as hunger.
Addictive behaviors don’t seem to give much pleasure to
the addict (although they may be negatively reinforcing done to avoid the unpleasant condition of not having
access to the drug.)
Some reinforcers don’t satisfy any immediate need, but
may represent a future opportunity to have greater access
to resources (such as a good grade – you can’t eat it, but
getting many of them may raise your chances of having
more to eat later in your life.)
Introduction to Psychology, 7th Edition, James W. Kalat
Chapter 6: Learning
What Constitutes Reinforcement?

The Premack Principle
 The Premack Principle states that the opportunity to
engage in frequent behavior will be a reinforcer for any
less-frequent behavior.
 A person who prefers going to the movies to going to
museums can be reinforced for extra trips to the
museum with free movie passes.
Introduction to Psychology, 7th Edition, James W. Kalat
Chapter 6: Learning
What Constitutes Reinforcement?

The disequilibrium principle
 The disequilibrium principle states that each person has
a preferred pattern of dividing time between various
activities and if the person is removed from that pattern a
return to it will be reinforcing.
 A person who must work overtime for the next three
weekends makes an extra effort to finish up the
assigned work to return to his preferred activity of
playing golf.
Introduction to Psychology, 7th Edition, James W. Kalat
Chapter 6: Learning
Concept Check
Using the disequilibrium principle and positive reinforcement,
how would you encourage more studying in a child who is
getting poor grades due to insufficient studying?
Determine the child’s preferred after school activity and tie set
amounts of time spent doing that activity to the completion of a
minimum number of minutes or hours studying.
Introduction to Psychology, 7th Edition, James W. Kalat
Chapter 6: Learning
What Constitutes Reinforcement?


Unconditioned reinforcers meet primary, biological needs
and are found to be reinforcing for almost everyone. Food
and drink are unconditioned reinforcers.
Conditioned reinforcers are effective because they have
become associated with unconditioned reinforcers. Money
and grades are conditioned reinforcers.
Introduction to Psychology, 7th Edition, James W. Kalat
Chapter 6: Learning
Learning What Leads to What

Thorndike had a strictly mechanical view of reinforcement.
An animal that receives reinforcement for a behavior will
perform that behavior more frequently. No learning will take
place without reinforcement, and no understanding of the
reason for the behaviors is necessary.
 A rat learns to run a maze because food is present at the
end of the alleys that lead to the exit from the maze.
Introduction to Psychology, 7th Edition, James W. Kalat
Chapter 6: Learning
Learning What Leads to What

The idea of latent learning, on the other hand, suggests that
learning may occur in animals without being demonstrated
until the reward is presented.
 A rat is left to explore and sniff around in a maze. When
presented with the possibility of a reward of food, he
runs the maze as fast as the rat that was painstakingly
trained with rewards to run the same maze.
Introduction to Psychology, 7th Edition, James W. Kalat
Chapter 6: Learning
Schedules of Reinforcement

A schedule of reinforcement is a set of rules of procedures
for delivery of reinforcement
 It is used to maintain a learned behavior that might be
extinguished if reinforcement ceased.
 A continuous reinforcement schedule provides
reinforcement every time a response occurs.
 However, outside of the laboratory, reinforcement rarely
follows every occurrence of a desired behavior.
Introduction to Psychology, 7th Edition, James W. Kalat
Chapter 6: Learning
Schedules of Reinforcement



Most schedules of reinforcement are intermittent. In other
words, some responses are reinforced and others are not.
One of the two major categories of intermittent
reinforcement is ratio, in which the delivery of
reinforcement depends on the number of responses given
by the individual.
The second category of intermittent reinforcement is
interval, in which delivery of reinforcement depends on the
amount of time that has passed since the last
reinforcement.
Introduction to Psychology, 7th Edition, James W. Kalat
Chapter 6: Learning
Schedules of Reinforcement

A fixed-ratio schedule provides reinforcement only after a
certain (“fixed”) number of correct responses have been
made. For example, a laboratory rat being reinforced for
hitting a lever after every 5 hits is being reinforced on an
FR-5 schedule.
 The local gourmet coffee shop gives you a card that
says if you buy 9 coffee drinks you will get the 10th
beverage for free.
Introduction to Psychology, 7th Edition, James W. Kalat
Chapter 6: Learning
Schedules of Reinforcement

A variable-ratio schedule provides reinforcement after a
variable number of correct responses, usually working out
to an average in the long run. For example, a baseball
player who has a .333 batting average is reinforcing fans
with hits on a VR-3 schedule.
 Slot machines, like all gambling, provide a particularly
compelling form of variable ratio reinforcement to the
player.
Introduction to Psychology, 7th Edition, James W. Kalat
Chapter 6: Learning
Schedules of Reinforcement

A fixed-interval schedule provides reinforcement for the first
response made after a specific time interval. A person who
is paid every two weeks is reinforced for work on a fixed
interval schedule.
 You receive your local newspaper at the same time
every day. You probably have a good idea of when to
start checking for it. This is a fixed interval schedule.
Introduction to Psychology, 7th Edition, James W. Kalat
Chapter 6: Learning
Schedules of Reinforcement

A variable-interval schedule provides reinforcement after a
variable amount of time has elapsed.
 If your newspaper delivery person is very inconsistent
about delivery times, showing up one day at 5:00AM, the
next day at 7:30AM, etc., your paper is delivered on a
variable interval schedule.
Introduction to Psychology, 7th Edition, James W. Kalat
Chapter 6: Learning
Table 6.3 Some schedules of reinforcement
Introduction to Psychology, 7th Edition, James W. Kalat
Chapter 6: Learning
Schedules of Reinforcement


All things being equal, extinction of responses tends to take
longer when an individual has been on an intermittent
schedule rather than a continuous schedule.
One explanation for this difference is that the lack of
reinforcement does not signify the completion cessation of
reinforcements to the individual who has been on an
intermittent schedule.
Introduction to Psychology, 7th Edition, James W. Kalat
Chapter 6: Learning
Concept Check
Name the reinforcement schedule
You are paid $10.00 for every 100 envelopes that you stuff.
Fixed ratio
Introduction to Psychology, 7th Edition, James W. Kalat
Chapter 6: Learning
Concept Check

Name the reinforcement schedule

You receive e-mail from your friend who is studying in
France this semester at about an average of 1 note every 4
days.
Variable interval
Introduction to Psychology, 7th Edition, James W. Kalat
Chapter 6: Learning
Concept Check

Name the reinforcement schedule

Your very reliable oven bakes a batch of cookies in 10
minutes.
Fixed interval
Introduction to Psychology, 7th Edition, James W. Kalat
Chapter 6: Learning
Applications of Operant Conditioning

There are a wide variety of applications for the techniques
of operant conditioning including, but not limited to:
 Animal training for performance, military, and helper
animals.
 Persuasion in political and commercial enterprises.
 Psychological treatment, through the use of applied
behavior analysis or behavior modification.
Introduction to Psychology, 7th Edition, James W. Kalat
Chapter 6: Learning
Applications of Operant Conditioning


In behavior modification, the clinician determines which
reinforcers sustain an undesirable or unwanted behavior.
The clinician then tries to change the behavior by reducing
the opportunities for reinforcement of the unwanted
behavior and providing reinforcers for a more acceptable
behavior.
Introduction to Psychology, 7th Edition, James W. Kalat
Chapter 6: Learning
Operant Conditioning



People are sometimes offended by the idea that the
possibility of positive reinforcement might influence
behavior.
You wouldn’t work hard in a course or a job if your
performance didn’t matter and all the grades or bonuses
were given with no regard to quality.
Operant conditioning provides one enormously useful and
powerful way to change and improve behavior.
Introduction to Psychology, 7th Edition, James W. Kalat
Chapter 6: Learning
Module 6.4

Other Kinds of Learning
Introduction to Psychology, 7th Edition, James W. Kalat
Chapter 6: Learning
Conditioned Taste Aversions

If learning occurs reliably after just one trial, it is hard to
know if the learning was a result of classical conditioning or
operant conditioning
 One kind of learning that occurs after a single trial is an
association between eating something and getting sick.
 This is referred to as a conditioned taste aversion.
 Many species appear to have a built in predisposition to
associate illness with what they have consumed, even if
some time has elapsed between the consumption of the
substance and the onset of the illness.
Introduction to Psychology, 7th Edition, James W. Kalat
Chapter 6: Learning
Birdsong Learning

The beautiful songs of male birds may be delightful to our
ears, but they are serious business for the bird
 The songs are crucial for soliciting the attentions of a
suitable mate.
 They are also a warning to potential interlopers in the
singer’s territory.
Introduction to Psychology, 7th Edition, James W. Kalat
Chapter 6: Learning
Birdsong Learning



Some species of songbird are especially dependent on the
process of hearing live songs of older males of the same
species in order to develop a normal song.
There is a sensitive period early in the bird’s life during
which he will learn the song most readily.
The young bird will also learn better from a live male than
from a tape recording, and will not learn the songs of other
species.
Introduction to Psychology, 7th Edition, James W. Kalat
Chapter 6: Learning
Birdsong Learning




Birdsong learning resembles human language learning in
some ways.
It requires a social context, has an optimal period for
learning early in life, starts with a kind of babbling, and
tends to deteriorate if the individual becomes deaf later in
life.
It differs from classical conditioning in that the song the
baby male bird learns from is not an unconditioned stimulus
– it elicits no response.
It differs from operant conditioning in that during the
sensitive period there is no apparent reinforcement of the
learning.
Introduction to Psychology, 7th Edition, James W. Kalat
Chapter 6: Learning
Social Learning

The social-learning approach, defined first by Albert
Bandura, states that we learn about many behaviors before
we attempt them for the first time.
 Much learning, especially in humans, results from
observing the behaviors of others and from imagining
the consequences of our own.
 Two of the chief components of social learning are
modeling and imitation.
Introduction to Psychology, 7th Edition, James W. Kalat
Chapter 6: Learning
Social Learning

Bandura and his assistants did experiments in which
children watched films of real people and cartoon
characters either attacked an inflated “Bobo” doll or did not.
 Children who saw the versions of the films with
aggressive behavior were more likely to repeat those
actions when left alone with a similar toy.
 The implication was that the children were imitating the
aggressive behavior they had just witnessed in the film.
Introduction to Psychology, 7th Edition, James W. Kalat
Chapter 6: Learning
Social Learning


There has been great interest in the work of Bandura and
those who have done further research along these lines
because of the controversy over violence in TV programs
and movies.
It is unclear if there is a direct relationship between
televised or cinematic violence and violent behavior. People
vary widely in the degree to which they are open to the
influence of violent imagery.
Introduction to Psychology, 7th Edition, James W. Kalat
Chapter 6: Learning
Vicarious Reinforcement and Punishment


Another aspect of the social learning approach is the idea
that we are more likely to imitate behaviors that have been
rewarding for other people, and we are less likely to imitate
behaviors that create unpleasant results for others.
This substitution of someone else’s experiences for one’s
own is referred to as vicarious reinforcement or
punishment.
Introduction to Psychology, 7th Edition, James W. Kalat
Chapter 6: Learning
Vicarious Reinforcement and Punishment



The effectiveness of vicarious reinforcement and
punishment parallels that of direct reinforcement and
punishment.
Vicarious reinforcement appears to be more effective in
creating behavioral change than vicarious punishment is.
It may be that people are more able to use cognition to
avoid identifying with others whose behaviors brought
about serious or fatal consequences.
Introduction to Psychology, 7th Edition, James W. Kalat
Chapter 6: Learning
Self-Efficacy in Social Learning



We tend to imitate people we admire.
Advertisers are keenly aware of this tendency and routinely
use endorsements from celebrities and sports figures, and
images of the happy, healthy, affluent people that most of
us would like to be.
We do not however model ourselves after every admirable
figure that we encounter. We imitate others only when we
have a sense of self-efficacy, when we perceive ourselves
as also being able to perform the task successfully.
Introduction to Psychology, 7th Edition, James W. Kalat
Chapter 6: Learning
Learning


Classical conditioning, operant conditioning, conditioned
taste aversions, and social learning represent a diverse set
of influences on human behavior.
Your everyday behavior is in large part a product of the
combined effects of these processes.