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Schacter
Gilbert
PSYCHOLOGY
Wegner
Unit 5
Learning
Slides prepared by
Randall E. Osborne, Texas State University-San Marcos
Revised by Dr. Bar-Navon
6.1 Defining Learning
-
Learning – Experience that causes a
permanent change
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Learning
Associative learning: learning that occurs by
making a connection or association between two
events. There are two types of associative
learning:
1. Classical conditioning – association between
stimuli in the environment and involuntary
reflexive behaviors such as salivation.
2. Operant conditioning – association between the
consequences of our behaviors and our voluntary
actions.
Schacter
Gilbert
PSYCHOLOGY
Wegner
6.2
Classical Conditioning: One
Thing Leads to Another
Learning
Classical conditioning.
Ivan Pavlov (1849-1936) –
Russian physiologist interested in studying digestion. Pavlov
used dogs as his research subjects.
Key terms:
Stimulus = activating event in the environment
Response = reaction to the activating event
- Pavlov taught dogs to salivate in reaction to hearing a bell
ring.
6.2 Classical Conditioning
-
Classical
conditioning
• Unconditioned
stimulus (US)
• Unconditioned
response (UR)
• Conditioned
stimulus (CS)
• Conditioned
response (CR)
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Learning
During conditioning or learning:
A bell rang, and immediately after the bell rang, the
dogs received food.
Bell + Food = salivation
Through associative learning, the dogs learned to
associate the bell with the food.
Learning
Eventually, after repeatedly pairing the bell with the food,
the bell was able to act in the place of the food.
Bell [alone] = salivation
-
The dogs were able to salivate in response to just the
bell ringing, without the food being present.
-
This is known as classical conditioning.
**In classical conditioning, an involuntary or reflexive
behavior such as salivation, is associated with another
stimulus in the environment like a bell. An involuntary or
reflexive behavior is one that you do not have to learn
how to do. It is instinctual or automatic. You are born
with it!
Pavlov’s Analysis and
Terminology
Before conditioning:
Bell (Neutral stimulus) == no relevant response
Food (Unconditioned stimulus) =Salivation (UCResponse)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------During conditioning:
Bell (NS) + Food (UCS) = Salivation (UCR)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------After conditioning:
Bell (CS) == Salivation (CR)
Learning
Pavlov’s terminology.
-
Unconditioned: means without learning or
conditioning.
-
UCS = unconditioned stimulus: a stimulus that
cause a response that you do NOT have to learn.
What was this in Pavlov’s study?
-
UCR = unconditioned response: a reaction to a
stimulus that you do NOT have to learn. What
was this in Pavlov’s study?
Learning
What are some examples of other involuntary or
reflexive unconditioned responses (UCR’s):
- Knee jerk patellar reflex: response to doctors tap
- Blinking: response to air puffs to the eye
- Sweating: response to heat
- Shivering: response to cold
- Emotional reactions such as fear
- Salivation: response to the sight or smell of food
- Nauseau: response to certain smells or sights
Learning
More Terminology:
- The stimulus that does not cause any
relevant reaction or response prior to
conditioning or learning is called the
neutral stimulus.
-
In Pavlov’s experiment, the neutral
stimulus is the bell.
-
Prior to conditioning, the bell does not
cause the dog to salivate.
Pavlov’s study
-
Conditioned means learned or trained.
A conditioned stimulus = a stimulus that
you have learned to connect with another
stimulus through associative learning or
repeated pairing.
- A conditioned response = a response
that you have learned to do in reaction to
a stimulus. This response is not innate or
something you are born with. It must be
learned!!!
-
Learning
In the following examples, see if you can figure out
what is the: Neutral stimulus (NS), UCS, UCR, CS, &
CR.
1. Every time June goes to visit Grandma at her cute
little yellow house in Queens, she notices that it is
very hot. When she asks Grandma about it, Granny
says she likes to keep it at a toasty 80 degrees all day
long. June sweats profusely and leaves Granny’s
house feeling drained. After repeatedly visiting
Grandma, June eventually begins to sweat when she
pulls up to the curb of Grandma’s cute little yellow
house in Queens, before she even goes inside.
Learning
2. Johnny yells “Bye Mom!” every morning
before he goes to school. Right after he
yells, he slams the door loudly behind him.
Johnny’s Mom jumps in reaction to the
slam. Eventually, Johnny’s yell of “Bye
Mom!” causes his mother to jump, before
the door even slams.
6.2 Conditioned Emotional
Responses
-
John Watson
“even complex behaviors are the result of
conditioning”
9-month-old “Little Albert”
Stimuli—white rat; dog; rabbit; burning
newspaper
• Showed curiosity
• Then shown stimulus (rat) and loud noise when he
reached to touch it—result was fear
• Soon sight of rat caused fear
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Chapter 4 – Classical Conditioning
-
Conditioned emotional responses. In a
famous experiment conducted by (Watson &
Raynor, 1920) Little Albert was trained through
classical conditioning to fear a rat.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KxKfpKQzow8
6.2 Conditioned Emotional
Responses
-
Watson’s goals:
• Complex reactions can be conditioned using Pavlovian
techniques
• Emotional responses (such as fear) are learned and not
result of unconscious processes
“Give me a dozen healthy infants, well-formed, 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, merchant-chief and, yes,
even beggar-man and thief, regardless of his talents,
penchants, tendencies, abilities, vocations, and race of his
ancestors.”
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Learning
Applications
John Watson believed that many fears and phobias are
initially acquired through classical conditioning.
Examples: a phobia of cotton balls or a phobia of clowns
(coulrophobia). Both of these phobias often begin at
an early age through classical conditioning.
Learning
-
In a similar line of thinking, fears and phobias can also
be “de-conditioned” or “unlearned” through classical
conditioning.
-
The case of “Little Peter” who was afraid of a rabbit
(Jones, 1924) illustrates the concept of counterconditioning.
-
Peter was given candy in the presence of the rabbit he
feared. Eventually, his fear disappeared.
Applications
- Classical conditioning is frequently used in advertising.
- Through imagery and/or music, smells, sounds,
advertisers attempt to manipulate the emotions of
consumers.
- The goal is to make the consumer associate a specific
emotion with their product.
-
For example: using humor in an ad, or using sex to sell a
product.
Video of a TV ad for diet Coke:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZmBDeswu2dI
Learning
Researchers have found that young children
and adults will begin to drool when they see
the golden arches of McDonalds.
This is an excellent example of classical
conditioning.
- Can you break this example down into the
basic elements (NS, UCS, UCR, CS, CR)
??
-
Applications of Classical Conditioning
Aversion therapy.
- Using classical conditioning to help someone break a habit or
bad behavior.
- Typically used to make a future behavior less appealing.
- Examples: silver nitrate filters for cigarettes, bitter apple for nail
biters, and antabuse (disulfurin) for alcoholics.
-
The drug antabuse alone has no effect. However, if it is mixed
with alcohol, the person becomes immediately and violently ill.
Most students can relate to eating something that made them
sick. How many of you have since eaten that same food?
Applications of Classical Conditioning
-
In the classic movie “A Clockwork Orange”
by Stanley Kubrick, the main character is
trained through aversion therapy to
associate nauseau with violent and/or
sexual feelings.
-
Thoughts?
-
Is this something we should
do to criminals?
Higher-order conditioning
Higher order conditioning: after a classically conditioned
response has been acquired, the learner is taught to make a
new association between the conditioned stimulus and a new
and different neutral stimulus.
-
Example: in Pavlov’s study, after conditioning or learning to
salivate in response to the bell, the dogs are taught to make a
new association between the bell and a light.
bell + light = salivation
-
Eventually, the light alone will be able to cause the dogs to
salivate. This is higher order conditioning.
light = salivation
-
The salivation response to the light will be weaker than the
salivation response to the bell. Why?
Review
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
A stimulus that does NOT cause a
relevant reaction or response before
conditioning
A stimulus that causes an involuntary
reflexive response
A reaction or response that is not
learned. It is innate or something you
are born with.
In Pavlov’s study, what the bell is
called after conditioning or learning
takes place.
In Pavlov’s study, what is the meat
powder referred to as?
A type of classical conditioning where
a second neutral stimulus is
associated with a conditioned stimulus.
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
f.
Conditioned
stimulus
Conditioned
response
Unconditioned
stimulus
Unconditioned
response
Neutral
stimulus
Higher order
conditioning
Review
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
In the case of little Albert, before conditioning the
rat was a(n) ___.
Another way of saying “after learning takes place”
is___.
In the case of little Albert, the loud noise was the
____.
Sweating in response to heat is a(n) ______.
Classical conditioning involves ____ behavior.
A reflex would be considered a(n) _____
behavior.
The Golden Arches of McDonald’s would be
considered a(n) _____ before conditioning.
Children drooling only upon sight of the golden
arches of McDonalds would be a(n) ______.
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
f.
g.
h.
i.
Unconditioned
stimulus
Conditioned
stimulus
Neutral stimulus
Conditioned
response
Unconditioned
response
Involuntary
Voluntary
Conditioned
unconditioned
Schacter
Gilbert
PSYCHOLOGY
Wegner
6.3
Operant Conditioning:
Reinforcements from the
Environment
Operant Conditioning
-
Focus is on Voluntary behavior
-
Behavior that is learned only NOT innate
-
Consequences shape voluntary behavior
-
Free-will is a myth
-
Theorists: Skinner, Thorndike, Watson
Chapter 4 - Learning
-
Operant conditioning: learning to perform a
voluntary behavior based upon the
consequences
-
behavior is voluntary. You must think
about doing it beforehand. It is not innate
or inborn.
Operant Conditioning
Example: raising your hand in class to answer a
question. This is voluntary behavior. It is NOT
reflexive or involuntary. You are not born with this
ability, you have to learn how to do this [although
the idea of this being innate in all my students
makes me quite happy ]
 Whether or not you will raise your hand again in
the future has to do with the consequences of
your actions. Were you ridiculed?  Did you get
a bonus point?? 

6.3 Operant Conditioning
-
B. F. Skinner
Operant conditioning
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Learning
-
B.F. Skinner is the most prominent figure
in psychology who we associate with
operant conditioning.
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=
-8956355585286146382&q=BF+Skinner
- There are two categories or types of
consequences according to Skinner:
-
1. reinforcement
2. punishment
Reinforcement
-
Reinforcement: any consequence that
increases the probability of a response in
the future.
-
Reinforcement can be used to shape many
unusual behaviors in animals as well as
people!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HKZdpKP
GvoA
Reinforcement types
Reinforcement= any consequence that you like.
It is different for everyone. The trick to motivation is to
figure out what each person likes and dislikes!
1. Positive reinforcement: a consequence that you like is
added. Example: bonus points, stickers, candy, money,
etc.
2. Negative reinforcement: a consequence that you dislike is
taken away. Example: If you have an A average, you are
exempt from the final and get an automatic A in the class.
Other examples: Snooze alarms, taking aspirin for a
headache, seatbelt buzzers in the car, etc.
Extinction and
Spontaneous Recovery
-
Extinction: A response that is no longer reinforced is
weakened and less likely to occur again in the future.
-
Example: you put money into a soda machine, and
nothing comes out. How many more dollars would you
put into the machine before you stop?
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Spontaneous recovery: the sudden reappearance of
a behavior after extinction has taken place. In the soda
machine example, you might try again after several
weeks of not using the machine.
Punishment
Punishment: any consequence that decreases the
probability of a behavior in the future.
-
E.g., A consequence that you do not like.
1. positive punishment: something that you don’t
like is added. Examples: getting spanked, getting
yelled at, etc.
2. negative punishment: something that you like is
taken away. Examples: getting grounded, you can’t
use the car, the phone, the video games, time-out,
etc.
Can you think of more examples of each type of
punishment?
Operant Conditioning
-
Skinner believed that reinforcement was significantly
more effective than punishment in shaping behavior.
Why?
1. punishment – tells the individual what not to do.
No! No! No! No! This can lead to “learned
helplessness” where the learner gives up trying. It can
also lead to anger and frustration. Focus is on the
negative. Lastly, the teacher is modeling aggression
when angry.
Operant Conditioning
2. reinforcement – Tells the learner what
they are doing correctly, or in what
direction they should keep moving. This
method is much more rewarding for both
the teacher and the learner, and
reinforcement continues to motivate future
attempts on the part of the student. Focus
is on the positive. Less likely to result in
frustration and helplessness.
Punishment
Learned helplessness. (Seligman, 1965)
- Dogs were divided into three groups.
- 1. dogs were harnessed and no shocks were given
- 2. dogs were harnessed and shocked, but were able to turn
the shock off by pressing a lever. [Control]
- 3. dogs were harnessed and shocked by yoked-control
[according to group #2]. They were unable to turn off the
shock. [NO Control]
- The first and second group of dogs quickly recovered after the
experiment. The third group however, suffered signs of clinical
depression. They had learned to give up.
Punishment
-
Learned helplessness is the behavioral
explanation for depression.
According to behaviorism, depression is the
result of an environment deprived of
reinforcement and abundant in punishment.
- Signs of depression that connect to this
explanation include: withdrawal, isolation,
apathy, and feelings of helplessness
-
Operant conditioning
-
When teaching an individual a new skill, it is best
to use continuous reinforcement. This means
reward the learner every time. Why would you
do this?
-
Partial reinforcement – not every time. Why do
you eventually want to switch to partial
reinforcement?
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Shaping: the reinforcement of successive
approximations or “baby steps” towards a
targeted behavior.
-
How would you teach a child to play baseball?
Swing a bat?
6.3 Operant Conditioning
-
Schedules of
reinforcement
• fixed-interval (set
time)
• variable-interval
(avg. time)
• fixed ratio (set
number)
• variable ratio
(avg. number)
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Partial Schedules of
Reinforcement
Both ratio and interval schedules can be either fixed
[constant] or variable [changes].
Ratio schedules.
Fixed ratio: the number of responses that must be made
before reinforcement is given is fixed or constant.
Example: every 5th time the rat presses the lever, he will
get a food pellet.
Variable ratio: the number of responses that must be
made before reinforcement is given is variable or
changes. Example: the first time the rat presses the
lever, he gets a food pellet. The next 30 times, he
doesn’t get any food pellets. The 32nd time he gets a
pellet. The next reward is given after 2000 presses.
Partial schedules of reinforcement
Fixed interval. The amount of time that must
elapse between reinforcement is fixed.
- Examples: a weekly paycheck, weekends, a
favorite TV show – say Thursday’s at 10pm. Can
you think of some more examples?
 Variable interval. The amount of time that must
elapse between reinforcement will vary or change.
This schedule is the most resistant to extinction.
- Examples: blue light sales at Kmart, the green
light at KrispyKreme doughnuts, fishing. Can you
think of some more examples?

6.3 Operant Conditioning
-
Superstitious behavior
• reinforcement of
accidental behavior
• “this stench causes
home runs!”
46
Schacter
Gilbert
PSYCHOLOGY
Wegner
6.4
Observational Learning: Look at
Me
6.4 Observational Learning
-
-
Learning without
direct
experience
Bandura’s bobo
dolls
Adult models
48
6.4 Observational Learning
-
Social learning
Cultural norms
Viewing media
violence
Mirror neurons
49