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Psychology, 4/e by Saul Kassin
CHAPTER 5:
Learning
Learning
Classical Conditioning
Operant Conditioning
Observational Learning
Psychology, 4/e by Saul Kassin
©2004 Prentice Hall
Learning
Ethology

The study of the behavior of animals in their
natural habitat.
 Fixed Action Pattern

A species-specific behavior that is built into
an animal’s nervous system and triggered by
a specific stimulus.
Psychology, 4/e by Saul Kassin
©2004 Prentice Hall
Learning
Ethology
Herring-Gull Models
 In herring gull chicks, pecking is elicited
(released) by the movement of any red dot, even
on objects that do not resemble an adult herring
gull. This is an example of a fixed action pattern.
Psychology, 4/e by Saul Kassin
©2004 Prentice Hall
Learning
Defining Learning
 A relatively permanent change in
knowledge or behavior that results from
experience.



Adaptation by learning is flexible.
Humans adapt to life’s demands by learning
and not by instinct.
The key to learning is association.
Psychology, 4/e by Saul Kassin
©2004 Prentice Hall
Learning
Habituation of Fear
 Habituation



The tendency of an
organism to become
familiar with a stimulus
as a result of repeated
exposure
It is the simplest form of
learning.
Note here that rats
repeatedly exposed to a
cat’s odor, and no cat, hid
less over time.
Psychology, 4/e by Saul Kassin
©2004 Prentice Hall
Learning
Classical Conditioning

A type of learning in which an organism
comes to associate one stimulus with another
(also called Pavlovian conditioning).
 Classical Conditioning involves learning
that one event predicts another.
 This type of learning involves
•
•
•
•
An unconditioned stimulus
An unconditioned response
A conditioned stimulus
A conditioned response
Psychology, 4/e by Saul Kassin
©2004 Prentice Hall
Classical Conditioning
 An unconditioned stimulus (US)

A stimulus (an event) that triggers an
unconditioned (involuntary) response.
• Examples: food, loud noises, painful stimuli
• In Pavlov’s experiments, the US was the food.
 An unconditioned response (UR)

An unlearned response to an unconditioned
stimulus.
• Examples: salivation to food, jumping when hearing
a loud noise, moving away from something painful
• In Pavlov’s experiments, salivation to the food was
the UR.
Psychology, 4/e by Saul Kassin
©2004 Prentice Hall
Classical Conditioning
 A conditioned stimulus (CS)

A neutral stimulus (an event) that comes to
evoke a classically conditioned (learned)
response due to being presented shortly
before the US.
• In Pavlov’s experiments, the CS was the bell.
 A conditioned response (CR)

A learned response to a classically
conditioned stimulus.
• In Pavlov’s experiments, salivation to the bell was
the CR.
Psychology, 4/e by Saul Kassin
©2004 Prentice Hall
Classical Conditioning
Pavlov’s Apparatus
 Pavlov classically conditioned dogs to salivate.
Salivation was measured by a pen attached to a
slowly rotating cylinder of paper.
Psychology, 4/e by Saul Kassin
©2004 Prentice Hall
Classical Conditioning
Pavlov’s Discovery
Before Conditioning
 Before Stimuli Are Paired

Unconditioned Stimulus (US) elicits
Unconditioned Response (UR)
• Meat powder leads to salivation

Neutral stimulus elicits no particular response
• Bell leads to orienting response only, no salivation
Psychology, 4/e by Saul Kassin
©2004 Prentice Hall
Classical Conditioning
Pavlov’s Discovery
During and After Conditioning
 Conditioning: Neutral Stimulus is Paired with the
Unconditioned Stimulus


Bell rings, then meat powder is delivered
This procedure is repeated several times
 After Several Trials of pairing the bell with the food



When Bell rings, dog salivates
The Bell is now a Conditioned Stimulus (CS)
Salivation is a Conditioned Response (CR)
Psychology, 4/e by Saul Kassin
©2004 Prentice Hall
Classical Conditioning
Psychology, 4/e by Saul Kassin
©2004 Prentice Hall
Classical Conditioning
Basic Principles
 Acquisition

Formation of a learned response to a stimulus
through presentation of an unconditioned stimulus
 Extinction

Elimination of a learned response by removal of the
unconditioned stimulus
 Spontaneous Recovery

Re-emergence of an extinguished conditioned
response after a rest period
Psychology, 4/e by Saul Kassin
©2004 Prentice Hall
Classical Conditioning
The Rise and Fall of a Conditioned Response
Psychology, 4/e by Saul Kassin
©2004 Prentice Hall
Classical Conditioning
Temporal Relations in Classical Conditioning
 In forward pairing, the
CS precedes the US.

Easiest conditioning
 In simultaneous
pairing, the CS and
US occur together.
 In backward pairing,
the CS follows the US.

Most difficult
Time
Psychology, 4/e by Saul Kassin
©2004 Prentice Hall
Classical Conditioning
Generalization & Discrimination
 Stimulus Generalization

The tendency to respond to a stimulus that is
similar to the conditioned stimulus
 Discrimination

In classical and operant conditioning, the
ability to distinguish between different
stimuli
Psychology, 4/e by Saul Kassin
©2004 Prentice Hall
Classical Conditioning
Higher-Order Conditioning
 With repeated pairing, a
neutral stimulus can be
linked with a CS.

The bell (CS) is paired
with a black square.
 This neutral stimulus
becomes a CS.

In the example, the
black square elicits
salivation.
 One CS was used to create
another CS.
Psychology, 4/e by Saul Kassin
©2004 Prentice Hall
Classical Conditioning
When the CS Predicts the US
 Top graph: The US does
not happen without the
CS

Good learning here, the
CS predicts the US
 Bottom graph: The US
happens with or without
CS

Poor learning here, the
CS does not predict the
US
Psychology, 4/e by Saul Kassin
©2004 Prentice Hall
Classical Conditioning
The Conditioning of Little Albert
 An 11-month old boy – named
“Albert” – was conditioned to
fear a white laboratory rat.

Each time he reached for the rat,
Watson made a loud clanging
noise right behind Albert.
 Albert’s fear generalized to
anything white and furry.

Including rabbits and a Santa
Claus mask
Psychology, 4/e by Saul Kassin
©2004 Prentice Hall
Learning
Operant Conditioning
 Cats were put into puzzle
boxes and the time to
escape decreased over
the number of attempts.
 Law of Effect

Thorndike’s Law of Effect
Responses followed by
positive outcomes are
repeated, whereas those
followed by negative
outcomes are not.
Psychology, 4/e by Saul Kassin
©2004 Prentice Hall
Operant Conditioning
The Principles of Reinforcement
Operant Conditioning
 The process by which organisms learn to
behave in ways that produce
reinforcement.
Reinforcement
 Any stimulus that increases the
likelihood of a prior response.
Psychology, 4/e by Saul Kassin
©2004 Prentice Hall
Operant Conditioning
The Principles of Reinforcement
Punishment
 Any stimulus that decreases the
likelihood of a prior response.
Shaping
 Using reinforcements to guide an animal
or person gradually toward a specific
behavior.
Psychology, 4/e by Saul Kassin
©2004 Prentice Hall
Operant Conditioning
Reinforcement & Punishment
Increases
Behavior
Present
Stimulus
Remove
Stimulus
Decreases
Behavior
Positive
Positive
Reinforcement Punishment
(give money)
(give chores)
Negative
Reinforcement
(take away
chores)
Negative
Punishment
(take away
money)
Psychology, 4/e by Saul Kassin
©2004 Prentice Hall
Operant Conditioning
Schedules of Reinforcement
 Simple reinforcement
schedules produce
characteristic response
patterns.
 Steeper lines mean
higher response rates.
 Ratio schedules produce
more responses than do
interval schedules.
Psychology, 4/e by Saul Kassin
©2004 Prentice Hall
Operant Conditioning
Using Reinforcement to Boost Job Performance
 All salesclerks were
observed for a 20-day
baseline period.
 Then, half were given
cash bonuses for good
performance, half
were not.
 The ones given cash
bonuses improved job
performance.
Psychology, 4/e by Saul Kassin
©2004 Prentice Hall
Operant Conditioning
Condition Oneself to Break a Bad Habit
 Identify specific target behavior to change
 Record baseline
 Formulate a plan


To increase a behavior, use reinforcement
To extinguish behavior, avoid situations where
it occurs or remove reinforcements
 Implement the plan, revise as needed
 Maintain the change
Psychology, 4/e by Saul Kassin
©2004 Prentice Hall
Operant Conditioning
New Developments
Rats in a Maze: Evidence for a Cognitive Map
 Tolman trained rats in this
maze, with all alleys open.
 If “Block A” in place, rats
chose green (shorter) path.
 If “Block B” in place, rats
chose blue path.
 Green path is also
blocked.
 Rats take the shortest
detours, navigating as if
they have an internal map.
Psychology, 4/e by Saul Kassin
©2004 Prentice Hall
Operant Conditioning
New Developments
 Latent Learning:
Latent Learning
Learning that occurs but
is not exhibited in
performance until there
is an incentive to do so.
 Some rats found food
every time (red line)
 Some rats never found
food (blue line)
 Some rats found food on
Day 11 (green line)
Psychology, 4/e by Saul Kassin
©2004 Prentice Hall
Operant Conditioning
New Developments
Hidden Cost of Rewards
 Preschoolers played with felt-tipped markers
and were observed.
 Divided into 3 groups:



Given markers again and asked to draw
Promised a reward for playing with markers
Played with markers, then rewarded
 Children who drew with the markers to get the
reward were now less interested in them.
Psychology, 4/e by Saul Kassin
©2004 Prentice Hall
Observational Learning
Learning that takes place when
one observes and models the
behavior of others.
Studies of Modeling

Children and others model both antisocial
and prosocial behavior.

Psychology, 4/e by Saul Kassin
©2004 Prentice Hall
Observational Learning
The Process of Modeling Involves:
 Attention

One must pay attention to a behavior and its
consequences.
 Retention

One must recall what was observed.
 Reproduction

Observers must have the motor ability to reproduce the
modeled behavior.
 Motivation

Observer must expect reinforcement for modeled act.
Psychology, 4/e by Saul Kassin
©2004 Prentice Hall