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Learning
Learning
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Learning by Association: Classical Conditioning
Changing Behavior Through Reinforcement and Punishment: Operant Conditioning
Learning by Insight and Observation
Using the Principles of Learning to Understand Everyday Behavior
LEARNING
• Learning
– a relatively permanent
change in behavior or
knowledge resulting from
experience
Learning
Conditioning
Classical
Conditioning
Observational
Learning
Operant
Conditioning
Insight
LEARNING
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Some famous learning theorists: (clockwise from top
right) Ivan Pavlov, John Watson, B. F. Skinner
Learning by Association: Classical Conditioning
LEARNING BY ASSOCIATION: CLASSICAL CONDITIONING
• Classical conditioning
– learning that occurs when a
neutral stimulus becomes
associated with a stimulus
that naturally produces a
behavior
LEARNING BY ASSOCIATION: CLASSICAL CONDITIONING
THE PERSISTENCE AND EXTINCTION OF CONDITIONING
• Generalization
– The tendency to
respond to stimuli
that resemble the
original conditioned
stimulus
• Discrimination
– The tendency to
respond to stimuli
that are similar but
not identical
THE ROLE OF NATURE IN CLASSICAL CONDITIONING
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Behaviorists argued that conditioning is based entirely on experience, and that nature plays no
role.
Psychologists have found, however, that nature can influence the way associations are formed
in some instances of classical conditioning.
– Nature influences the classical conditioning processes involved in the learning of phobias,
in the development of taste aversions, and in post-traumatic stress disorders (PTSD).
THE ROLE OF NATURE IN CLASSICAL CONDITIONING
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Phobia
– a strong and irrational fear of a specific object, activity, or situation
– We are more likely to develop phobias related to objects that were harmful in our
evolutionary past.
Taste aversion in food conditioning
– Potentially harmful associations are learned very quickly.
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
– Strong associations are formed with stimuli related to traumatic events.
LEARNING BY ASSOCIATION: CLASSICAL CONDITIONING
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Key Takeaways
– In classical conditioning, a person or animal learns to associate a neutral stimulus (the
conditioned stimulus, or CS) with a stimulus (the unconditioned stimulus, or US) that
naturally produces a behavior (the unconditioned response, or UR). As a result of this
association, the previously neutral stimulus comes to elicit the same response (the
conditioned response, or CR).
– Extinction occurs when the CS is repeatedly presented without the US, and the CR
eventually disappears, although it may reappear later in a process known as spontaneous
recovery.
LEARNING BY ASSOCIATION: CLASSICAL CONDITIONING
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Key Takeaways, continued
– Stimulus generalization occurs when a stimulus that is similar to an already-conditioned
stimulus begins to produce the same response as the original stimulus does.
– Stimulus discrimination occurs when the organism learns to differentiate between the CS
and other similar stimuli.
– In second-order conditioning, a neutral stimulus becomes a CS after being paired with a
previously established CS.
– Some stimulus/response pairs are more easily conditioned than others because they have
been particularly important in our evolutionary past.
OPERANT CONDITIONING
Changing Behavior Through Reinforcement and Punishment
OPERANT CONDITIONING
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Operant Conditioning
– learning based on the consequences of behavior
– may involve the learning of new behaviors
HOW REINFORCEMENT AND PUNISHMENT INFLUENCE
BEHAVIOR
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Edward L. Thorndike
– First scientist to systematically study
operant conditioning
– Observed cats trying to escape from
puzzle boxes
– Developed law of effect:
• Responses that produce a
pleasant outcome are likely to be
repeated in a similar situation.
• Responses that produce an
unpleasant outcome are less
likely to be repeated in a similar
situation.
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B. F. Skinner
– Expanded on Thorndike’s ideas to
develop a more complete set of
principles to explain operant
conditioning
– Created specially designed
environments called operant chambers
or Skinner boxes to study learning
systematically
HOW REINFORCEMENT AND PUNISHMENT INFLUENCE
BEHAVIOR
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Operant chamber or “Skinner box”
– Cage large enough for a rodent or bird
– Contains a bar or key that the
organism can press or peck to release
food or water
– Contains a device to record the
animal’s responses
HOW REINFORCEMENT AND PUNISHMENT INFLUENCE
BEHAVIOR
HOW REINFORCEMENT AND PUNISHMENT INFLUENCE
BEHAVIOR
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Positive reinforcement is a more effective way to change behavior than is punishment
– Punishment creates only a temporary change in behavior.
– Punishment creates a negative and adversarial relationship with the individual providing
the punishment.
CREATING COMPLEX BEHAVIORS THROUGH OPERANT
CONDITIONING
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Continuous reinforcement
– A response is reinforced each
time it occurs.
• example: Each time a dog
rolls over, it receives a
biscuit.
– Leads to rapid initial learning,
but also to poor resistance to
extinction
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Partial (or intermittent)
reinforcement
– A response is sometimes
reinforced, sometimes not.
• example: When you hold a
door for someone, sometimes
you are reinforced with a
smile or a “thank you,” but
sometimes you aren’t,
– Leads to slower initial learning,
but also to greater resistance to
extinction
CREATING COMPLEX BEHAVIORS THROUGH OPERANT
CONDITIONING
CREATING COMPLEX BEHAVIORS THROUGH OPERANT
CONDITIONING
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Schedules based on the number of responses (ratio types) induce greater
response rate than do schedules based on elapsed time (interval types).
Also, unpredictable schedules (variable types) produce stronger responses than
do predictable schedules (fixed types).
CREATING COMPLEX BEHAVIORS THROUGH OPERANT
CONDITIONING
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Shaping
– Process of guiding an organism’s behavior to the desired outcome through the use of
successive approximations to a final desired behavior
• allows the creation of complex behaviors
OPERANT CONDITIONING
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Key Takeaways
– Edward Thorndike developed the law of effect: the principle that responses that create a
pleasant outcome in a particular situation are more likely to occur again in a similar
situation, whereas responses that produce an unpleasant outcome are less likely to occur
again.
– B. F. Skinner expanded on Thorndike’s ideas to develop a set of principles to explain
operant conditioning.
– Positive reinforcement strengthens a response by presenting something pleasant after the
response, whereas negative reinforcement strengthens a response by reducing or removing
something unpleasant.
OPERANT CONDITIONING
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Key Takeaways, continued
– Positive punishment weakens a response by presenting something unpleasant after the
response, whereas negative punishment weakens a response by reducing or removing
something pleasant.
– Reinforcement may be either partial or continuous. Partial reinforcement schedules are
determined by whether the reinforcement is presented on the basis of the time that
elapses between reinforcements (interval) or on the basis of the number of responses that
the organism engages in (ratio), and by whether the reinforcement occurs on a regular
(fixed) or unpredictable (variable) schedule.
– Complex behaviors may be created through shaping, the process of guiding an organism’s
behavior to the desired outcome through the use of successive approximation to a final
desired behavior.
LEARNING BY INSIGHT AND OBSERVATION
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Watson and Skinner believed that conditioning processes are sufficient to explain learning.
However, conditioning cannot fully explain some types of learning.
– insight – the sudden understanding of a problem’s solution
– latent learning – learning that occurs in the absence of reinforcement
– observational learning – learning that occurs by watching others’ behavior
LEARNING BY INSIGHT AND OBSERVATION
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Insight
– The sudden understanding of a problem’s solution
– Demonstrated by Kohler among chimpanzees
• Chimpanzees given a difficult problem began with trial-and-error attempts. They
then stopped and seemed to contemplate the problem for a while.
• Following the period of contemplation, the chimps suddenly seemed to know how to
solve the problem.
LEARNING BY INSIGHT AND OBSERVATION
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Latent learning
– Learning that is not reinforced and not demonstrated until there is motivation to do so
– Tolman demonstrated latent learning in an experiment involving three groups of rats
learning to run a maze.
• Group 1 – always reinforced; Group 2 – never reinforced; Group 3 – not reinforced
for first 10 days, then always reinforced from Day 11 on
• When Group 3 began receiving reinforcement, they quickly matched the
performance of Group 1.
• Group 3 formed a ‘cognitive map’ of the maze even when they were not receiving
reinforcement.
OBSERVATIONAL LEARNING
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Observational learning
– Learning by watching the behavior of others
– Bandura demonstrated observational learning in his “Bobo doll” studies.
– Children who viewed an adult behave aggressively toward a large inflatable plastic doll
later behaved aggressively toward the doll themselves.
THE EFFECTS OF VIOLENT VIDEO GAMES ON
AGGRESSION
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By the age of 12, the average American
child has seen more than 8000 murders
and 100,000 acts of violence on TV.
The more media violence children view,
the more aggressive they are likely to be.
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Playing violent video games also leads to
aggression.
– One meta-analysis of 35 studies
showed that exposure to violent video
games is linked to aggressive
thoughts, feelings, and behavior; to
physiological arousal; and to less
altruistic behavior (Anderson &
Bushman, 2002).
THE EFFECTS OF VIOLENT VIDEO GAMES ON
AGGRESSION
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Anderson and Bushman (2002) found that college students who had
just played a violent video game listed more aggressive actions,
thoughts, and feelings in response to a story than did those who had
played a nonviolent video game.
LEARNING BY INSIGHT AND OBSERVATION
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Key Takeaways
– Not all learning can be explained through the principles of classical and operant
conditioning.
– Insight is the sudden understanding of the components of a problem that makes the
solution apparent.
– Latent learning refers to learning that is not reinforced and not demonstrated until
there is motivation to do so.
– Observational learning occurs by viewing the behaviors of others.
– Both aggression and altruism can be learned through observation.
USING THE PRINCIPLES OF LEARNING TO UNDERSTAND
EVERYDAY BEHAVIOR
USING THE PRINCIPLES OF LEARNING TO
UNDERSTAND EVERYDAY BEHAVIOR
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Learning principles have been applied widely in everyday settings
Operant conditioning has been applied to:
– motivate employees
– improve athletic performance
– increase the functioning of the developmentally disabled
– help parents toilet-train their children
USING CLASSICAL CONDITIONING IN
ADVERTISING
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The general idea is to create an advertisement with positive features, so that the ad creates
enjoyment in the viewer. Through conditioning, the advertised product should create the
same enjoyment.
An ad’s positive features might include humor, a popular athlete or entertainer, and so on.
USING CLASSICAL CONDITIONING IN
ADVERTISING
• Ads that associate fear with a
product or behavior are also
effective.
– Cigarette warning labels
are a related example.
USING CLASSICAL CONDITIONING IN
ADVERTISING
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The use of classical conditioning in advertising is most successful when:
– we know little about the product
– the differences between competing products are minor
– we do not think carefully about the choices
OPERANT CONDITIONING IN THE
CLASSROOM
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Watson and Skinner believed that
conditioning principles could be used to
educate children.
Skinner promoted programmed
instruction, self-teaching with the aid of a
special textbook or teaching machine that
presents material in a logical sequence.
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“Give me a dozen healthy infants, wellformed, and my own specified 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, merchantchief and, yes, even beggar-man and thief,
regardless of his talents, penchants,
tendencies, abilities, vocations, and race of
his ancestors.”
» Watson (1930)
OPERANT CONDITIONING IN THE
CLASSROOM
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There are limitations to the use of reinforcement in instruction.
– Reinforcement should be directly contingent on appropriate behavior.
– Indiscriminate reinforcement to boost self-esteem doesn’t improve performance.
– Reinforcement may teach children that educational activities should be performed for
reward rather than for the intrinsic interest of the task.
REINFORCEMENT IN SOCIAL DILEMMAS
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People act to maximize their outcomes, the presence of reinforcers and the absence of
punishers.
In social dilemmas, the tendency for individuals to maximize their personal outcomes
ultimately reduces outcomes for everyone in the group.
– For example, individuals enjoy the convenience of driving alone to work each day, rather
than taking public transportation. In the end, though, there is more traffic, less fuel,
and less clean air for everyone.
REINFORCEMENT IN SOCIAL DILEMMAS
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The prisoner’s dilemma game allows the
laboratory study of social dilemmas.
In the game, two suspected criminals are
interrogated separately.
The matrix indicates the outcomes for
each prisoner -- the number of years in
prison -- as a result of each combination of
cooperative (don’t confess) and competitive
(confess) decisions.
Outcomes for Malik are in black and
outcomes for Frank are in grey.
USING THE PRINCIPLES OF LEARNING TO
UNDERSTAND EVERYDAY BEHAVIOR
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Key Takeaways
– Learning theories have been used to change behaviors in many areas of everyday life.
– Some advertising uses classical conditioning to associate a pleasant response with a
product.
– Rewards are frequently and effectively used in education but must be carefully designed
to be contingent on performance and to avoid undermining interest in the activity.
– Social dilemmas, such as the prisoner’s dilemma, can be understood in terms of a desire
to maximize one’s outcomes in a competitive relationship.