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Learning
The acquisition of knowledge or skills
through experience, practice, or study,
or by being taught.
Knowledge acquired in this way.
Conditioning
• Train or accustom (someone or
something) to behave in a certain way or
to accept certain circumstances.
PRINCIPLES OF CLASSICAL
CONDITIONING
• In classical conditioning, an organism
learns to associate one stimulus with
another. The organism learns that the first
stimulus is a cue for the second stimulus.
Pavlov
• Classical conditioning was accidentally discovered
around the beginning of the 20th century by Russian
physiologist Ivan Pavlov. Pavlov was studying digestive
process in dogs when he discovered that the dogs
salivated before they received their food. In fact, after
repeated pairing of the lab attendant and the food, the
dogs started to salivate at the sight of the lab assistants.
• He noted that dogs were not only responding to a
biological need (hunger), but also a need developed by
learning. Pavlov spent the rest of life researching why
this associate learning occurred, which is now called
classical conditioning.
• To experiment on classical conditioning, Pavlov
utilized a tuning fork and meat powder. He hit
the tuning fork and followed the sound with the
meat powder. Pavlov presented the sound
(tuning fork) with the meat powder at the exact
same time increments. In the beginning, the dog
salivated only to the meat powder, but after this
was repeated, salivated at the sound of the
tuning fork. Even when Pavlov took away the
meat powder, the dog continued to salivate at
the sound of the tuning fork.
• In Pavlov’s experiment, the tuning fork
cued the dogs that food might be coming.
Following is an example of classical
conditioning.
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hhqum
fpxuzI
WATSON’S BABY ALBERT
• John B. Watson was interested in how
classical conditioning could be applied to
humans.
• In 1921, Watson and his research
assistant Rosalie Rayner experimented on
a 11-month-old infant named Albert.
• Goal: to condition Albert to fear a white rat by
paring the white rat with a loud bang.
• First: Albert showed no fear of rats, but once the
rat was repeatedly paired with the loud noise,
Albert developed a fear of rats.
• The noise induced fear.
• After pairings between the loud noise and the
rat, Albert started to fear the rat.
• Watson’s experiment suggested that classical
conditioning could cause some phobias.
KEY CONCEPTS OF CLASSICAL
CONDITIONING
Unconditioned Stimulus
• A stimulus that produces a response without conditioning
Unconditioned Response
• Automatic response produced by the unconditioned stimulus
Conditioned Stimulus
• A neutral stimulus that when paired with an unconditioned stimulus
produces a similar response
Conditioned Response
• A response that is learned by pairing the originally neutral
conditioned stimulus with the unconditioned stimulus
• Acquisition
The acquisition phase is the consistent parings of the bell and the
food that produces salivation. In the example above, this phase
occurs when the dog begins to salivate at the sound of the bell.
Conditioning occurs more rapidly when the food follows the bell by a
half a second.
• Extinction
The extinction phase is when the conditioned response no longer
occurs after repeated pairings without the unconditioned stimulus.
The dog’s response to the bell can be extinguished by repeatedly
presenting the bell without the food. The dog has not completely
forgotten the association between the bell and the food. If the
experimenter waits a day, the dog may have a spontaneous
recovery of the conditioned response and salivate again to the bell.
• Generalization
Occurs when there is a small difference in the presented stimulus
and the original conditioned stimulus. If Pavlov’s dog heard a bell of
a similar tone, the dog would still salivate.
• Discrimination
The opposite of generalization, discrimination happens when a
conditioned response does not occur when there is a difference
between the presented stimulus and the original conditioned
stimulus. If Pavlov’s dog heard a bell with a different tone and was
not awarded the unconditioned stimulus (food), the dog would learn
not to salivate to the second tone.
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xt0ucx
OrPQE
Operant Conditioning
PRINCIPLES OF OPERANT
CONDITIONING
• The main principles of operant
conditioning, are reinforcement,
punishment, shaping, extinction,
discrimination, and generalization.
SKINNER’S OPERANT
CONDITIONING
• Beginning in the 1930’s, Skinner started his experimentation on the
behavior of animals. Skinner's quest was to observe the relationship
between observable stimuli and response. Essentially, he wanted to
know why these animals behaved the way that they do. Skinner
controlled his experiments by using “Skinner boxes.” The Skinner
box was a contraption that would automatically dispense food
pellets and electric shocks. Skinner believed that the learning he
observed in his Skinner boxes could apply to human behavior. He
called this learning operant conditioning. Operant conditioning can
be described as behavior adjustments as a result of greater or
lesser negative or positive reinforcement and punishment. Skinner
hypothesized that human behaviors were controlled by rewards and
punishment and that their behaviors can be explained by principles
of operant conditioning
KEY CONCEPTS OF OPERANT
CONDITIONING
Reinforcement
The process in which a behavior is strengthened, and
thus, more likely to happen again.
– Positive Reinforcement
Making a behavior stronger by following the behavior with a
pleasant stimulus. For example, a rat presses a lever and
receives food.
– Negative Reinforcement
Making a behavior stronger by taking away a negative stimulus.
For example, a rat presses a lever and turns off the electric
shock
Punishment
The process in which a behavior is weakened,
and thus, less likely to happen again.
Negative Punishment
Reducing a behavior by removing a pleasant
stimulus when the behavior occurs. If the rat was
previously given food for each lever press, but
now receives food consistently when not
pressing the lever (and not when it presses the
lever), the rat will learn to stop pressing the
lever.
Positive Punishment
Reducing a behavior by presenting an unpleasant stimulus when the
behavior occurs. If the rat previously pressed the lever and received
food and now receives a shock, the rat will learn not to press the
lever.
Shaping
Technique of reinforcement used to teach new behaviors. At the
beginning, people/animals are reinforced for easy tasks, and then
increasingly need to perform more difficult tasks in order to receive
reinforcement. For example, originally the rat is given a food pellet
for one lever press, but we gradually increase the number of times it
needs to press to receive food, the rat will increase the number of
presses.
Extinction
The elimination of the behavior by stopping reinforcement of the behavior.
For example, a rat who received food when pressing a bar, receives food no
longer, will gradually decrease the amount of lever presses until the rat
eventually stops lever pressing.
Generalization
In generalization, a behavior may be performed in more than one situation.
For example, the rat who receives food by pressing one lever, may press a
second lever in the cage in hopes that it will receive food.
Discrimination
Learning that a behavior will be rewarded in one situation, but not another.
For example, the rat does not receive food from the second lever and
realizes that by pressing the first lever only, he will receive food.
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I_ctJqjl
rHA
Phobia
• A phobia is an unreasonable,
uncontrollable fear of a given object or
situation and can develop in a variety of
ways, including conditioning.
PHOBIAS & CLASSICAL
CONDITIONING
• Phobias can be acquired through classical
conditioning by pairing a neutral stimulus with
something that really causes pain.
• Phobia responses can be permanent unless the
organism is subjected to the extinction process.
In the extinction process, one must confront the
fear without the presence of the unconditioned
stimulus.
• For example, in Watson’s experiment, Little Albert
developed a phobia of white rats (and other furry
objects) as a result of pairing the white rat with a loud
bang. The phobia could have been extinguished by
repeatedly exposing Little Albert to the white rat without
the loud bang.
• Another way to extinguish a phobia is through counter
conditioning. In counter conditioning, the conditioned
stimulus is paired with a pleasant stimulus. Little Albert
could have extinguished his phobia of the white rat by
pairing it with something pleasant (e.g., food, praise).
PHOBIAS & OPERANT
CONDITIONING
• Phobias can be acquired through operant
conditioning by reinforcement. Phobias
can be learned through operant
conditioning by repeatedly reinforcing
avoidance of a mildly fearful situation. For
example, if a person has a mild fear of
flying and his/her spouse agrees to drive
instead of fly, the person's fear of flying
has been reinforced and may develop into
a phobia.
• Phobias can be maintained by operant
conditioning through negative reinforcement.
When a person is confronted with the object or
situation of his/her phobia, the person tends to
get anxious and avoid the object or situation.
The anxiety is reduced, but by avoiding the
object or situation, the avoidance behavior is
negatively reinforced and the phobia is
maintained. For example, a person who has a
phobia of flying, will maintain that phobia until
he/she flies.
EXAMPLES OF PHOBIAS
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9rl7Lr6
eDLc