Introduction

Learning: relatively permanent change in behavior or mental process that occurs from our
interactions with the environment
- acquired through experience
- excludes behavior that occurs due to maturation, injury, diseases, or mood
3 basic forms of learning
1. classical conditioning (Pavlovian): a previously neutral stimulus elicits a response
because it signals another stimulus
2. operant conditioning (instrumental): response becomes more or less likely to occur
depending on its consequences
3. observational/social learning: an observer imitates another person's behavior
Reflexes: innate because they are not learned; inborn, unlearned, automatic responses to
certain environmental stimuli
Ex. knee jerk reflex, salivation when you see food

Classical conditioning (Pavlovian)

- learning that occurs when a neutral stimulus is repeatedly paired with an unconditioned
stimulus
Ivan Pavlov: when dogs were given food, the reflex was to salivate, but the dogs began to
salivate before they received food
Stimulus: any event or object in the environment to which an organism responds
1. can be detected
2. can be measured
3. evokes a response
Unconditioned
Unconditioned response (unlearned): reflexes and automatic responses to stimuli
without learning ex. salvation
Unconditioned stimulus: stimulus that elicits a reflexive, unconditioned response
without prior learning ex. food
Ex. dogs salivate in response to food
Conditioned
Conditioned response (learned): response to a conditioned stimulus ex. salvation
Conditioned stimulus: stimulus does not naturally produce the response of interest
- regularly paired with the unconditional stimulus, signalling the unconditioned stimulus is
coming; neutral stimulus becomes conditioned stimulus ex. footsteps
Ex. dogs salivate in response to footsteps of the researcher
(Normally don’t produce any response but once an individual has learned the association of
this neutral stimulus with the unconditioned stimulus, that neutral stimulus now becomes
conditioned, and it elicits the conditioned response)
**Conditioned and unconditioned responses are the same (ex. dog salivates)
- differentiated based on stimulus causing the response (unconditioned/conditioned)
3 stages of classical conditioning:
Stage 1- Before conditioning: only unconditioned stimulus elicits the unconditioned
response Ex. donut causes salivate; unrelated stimulus (ex. bell) doesn’t cause salvation
 Stage 2- During conditioning: neutral stimulus is repeatedly paired with unconditional
stimulus to produce an unconditioned response Ex. bell ringing is paired with receiving
a donut and overall, this causes salvation
Stage 3- After conditioning: after learning has occurred, the neutral stimulus becomes a
conditioned stimulus producing a conditional response Ex. bell ringing is associated
with receiving a donut, so it causes salvation even in the absence of the donut
Learning occurs when: neutral stimulus becomes a conditioned stimulus when it elicits a
conditional response before the unconditioned stimulus is presented
4 factors affecting classical conditioning
1. Number of pairings of the conditioned and unconditioned stimuli greater the times
the neutral stimulus is paired with the unconditional stimulus, the stronger the
conditioned response
ex. salivate more in response to the bell if it's paired with a donut 20 times vs 5 times
2. Intensity of the unconditioned stimulus greater the intensity, greater the response
(faster learning)
3. How reliable the neutral stimulus predicts the unconditional stimulus pairing of
neutral stimulus with unconditioned stimulus must be reliable for learning to occur
Ex. smoke alarm that never goes off except in response to a fire will elicit more fear than
smoke alarm that periodically goes off when there is no fire
4. Temporal relationship between the neutral an unconditioned stimulus timing of the
pairings: no learning when there is too much time between the two stimuli
Principles of classical conditioning
Generalization: tendency to make a conditioned response to a stimulus that is similar to
the original conditioned stimulus
Ex. salivate when you hear a different bell similar to the bell associated with donuts
(Response strength decreases as differences between new stimulus and original
stimulus increase)
Discrimination: learned ability to distinguish between similar stimuli so that the
conditioned response occurs only to the original conditioned stimulus not similar stimuli
Ex. salivate when you hear the original bell associated with donuts, but not to new bells
that sounds similar
(Develops by presenting similar stimuli without the unconditioned stimulus)
Higher-order conditioning (2nd order): an association is learned between a 2nd neutral
stimulus and the previously conditioned stimulus that reliably elicits a conditioned
response
Ex. electric can opener signals food, causing salivation; electric can opener is kept in a
squeaky cabinet, so squeaking predicts the can opener is coming out; salivates in
response to the noise of the squeaky cabinet door
Extinction: decrease in the conditioned response when the unconditioned stimulus is no
longer presented with the condition stimulus
Ex. repeatedly ring bell without a donut eventually stop salivating to the bell
o loss in the strength of the association between the two stimuli
Spontaneous recovery: reappearance of a conditioned response after extinction
 o typically occurs after some time has passed; conditioned response is usually
shorter and weaker than before
Acquisition: strength of the conditioned response increases
Extinction: steady decrease in the conditioned response until its gone
Delay
Conditioned stimulus again elicits the conditioned response causes spontaneous
recovery of conditioned response, but it is weaker and extinguishes much faster
John Watson (founder of behaviorism)
- classical conditioning on little Albert: conditioned little Albert to be afraid of white rats
by pairing them with a previously neutral stimulus
- showed that emotional responses can be classically conditioned
Before conditioning/learning: neutral stimulus (white rat) produces no relevant fear
response; unconditioned stimulus (striking the steel bar with a hammer) produced the
unconditioned response (fear)
During conditioning: neutral stimulus (white rat) is repeatedly paired with the
unconditional stimulus (loud noise) to produce an unconditional response (fear/tears)
After conditioning: neutral stimulus (white rat) becomes a conditioned stimulus
producing a conditioned emotional response (tears- similar to the previously
unconditioned response)
Showed stimulus generalization: Albert cried because of a rabbit or dog
Conditioned emotional response: classically conditioned emotional responses to a previously
neutral stimulus
Classical conditioning in everyday life
Phobias: exaggerated and irrational fear of a specific object or situation (learning fear)
o more easily conditioned to fear stimuli that can have real negative effects (ex.
snakes)
Marketing and public health warnings: conditioned stimulus is associated with the
product (originally a neutral stimulus)
Marketing: popular song, good looking/famous person (conditioned stimulus) is
associated with the marketed product (neutral stimulus) consumer associates
pleasant feelings about the conditioned stimulus with the product
Public health warnings: scary image (conditioned stimulus) is associated with
product

Operant Conditioning (instrumental conditioning)

E.L. Thorndike  law of effect
(1) behaviors that have satisfying consequences are more likely to recur
(2) behaviors resulting in discomfort are less likely to recur
- process where a response becomes more or less likely to occur depending on its
consequences
- behavior is strengthened if it's followed by reinforcement and it's diminished if it's
followed by punishment
Skinner  3 components important for learning
Skinner box
- trained rats to press a lever to receive a food pellet
- used this to demonstrate several operant conditioning principles
If the behavior occurs, then a certain consequences will follow:
Reinforcement: a consequence that strengthens a response, making the response more
likely to occur
Punishment: a consequence that decreases the probability of the response, making it
less likely to occur
Positive reinforcement: adding a stimulus which increases the likelihood of a behavior
occurring again ex. praise for cleaning room
Negative reinforcement: removing an undesirable stimulus which increases the
likelihood of a behavior occurring again ex. taking away grounding if room is cleaned
Reinforcement
Primary reinforcers: satisfy an intrinsic biological need ex. food, water (positive) &
removing an aversive event like heat, pain (negative)
Secondary reinforcers: not intrinsic, value of these reinforcers is learned by their
association with primary reinforcers ex. money
*Not universal
Schedules of reinforcement: rate or interval at which responses are reinforced
Continuous schedule of reinforcement: every response is reinforced
Partial reinforcement schedule: reinforcement is delivered after some of the responses,
but not all
Ratio schedules: depend on the number of responses
o fixed ratio schedule: reinforcement after a fixed number of non-reinforced
responses maintains a high response rate
ex. every 10th coffee is free
o variable ratio schedule: reinforcement after an average number of non-
reinforced responses highest and most stable response rate, most resistant to
extinction (more responses directly produce more reinforcers)
ex. slot machines
Interval schedules: depend on the amount of time between responses
o fixed interval: reinforcement after a fixed amount of time between the response
and the last reinforced response  decline in responding immediately after
reinforcement, then an increase towards the end of the interval; lowest rate of
responding
ex. study habits (increase before test and decrease after), getting paid every 2
weeks
 o variable interval: reinforcement after an average amount of time between a
response and the last reinforced response stable and uniform rates of
responding but rates are still lower than variable ratio (consistently productive)
ex. boss dropping by to check progress

Shaping: reinforcement of successively closer approximations to the desired response

- needed because for reinforcement to work, the organism must first display the behavior
- behaviors are broken down into many small, achievable steps
ex. Skinner was trying to condition rats to suppress a lever for food; 1 st rewarded them
for moving closer to the lever
- particularly useful for complex behaviors
ex. increases the amount of productive behavior in disruptive kids: rewarded for short
periods of productive behavior and gradually the amount of time is increased before the
productive behavior is rewarded
Punishment: lowers the probability of a response
Positive punishment: add an unpleasant stimulus ex. speeding ticket
Negative punishment: remove a pleasant stimulus ex. taking away a child's favorite toy
Schedules of punishment: rate or interval at which responses are punished
- for punishment to be effective it must be immediate and consistent
o very hard to consistently punish a behavior ex. police can’t fine every person that
speeds
o negative consequences to punishment ex. someone who is severely punished
may become aggressive
o punishment is not usually effective for extinguishing a behavior, usually only
suppresses the behavior (likely will continue when punishment is removed)
**Reinforcing desirable behavior is a much more effective way to modify behavior
Reinforcement versus punishment review
Positive reinforcement: adding a positive resulting in an increase in behaviour (ex. food,
money, praise, attention)
Negative reinforcement: subtracting a negative by removing some pain producing or
aversive stimulus, increasing the behaviour (ex. removing electric shock/spanking)
Positive punishment: adding something negative, resulting in a decrease in behaviour
(ex. spanking, electric shock)
Negative punishment: subtracting a positive, resulting in a decrease in behaviour (ex.
removing privileges)
Operant extinction
- behavior that is operantly conditioned is maintained as a result of the consequences
- removing the rewarding consequences or consequences will decrease the behavior
Extinction: the consequence of the behavior is removed resulting in a decrease in the
behavior
Extinction burst: when extinction is applied, the behavior increases before it decreases
and this is called an extinction burst
works better when desired behaviors are reinforced, while undesirable behaviors are not
reinforced
rate of extinction depends on the schedule of reinforcement: reinforcement on a variable
ratio schedule is hardest to extinguish ex. slot machines
Superstitions (everyday life)
- beliefs that make connections between unrelated items or events and we believe them
to affect life events
o result from the accidental reinforcement of a behavior
ex. gambler blowing on dice is lucky and wins a lot, continues to blow on the dice
before every role because they associate it to winning
Institutions ex. school (everyday life)
- ex. token economies: children receive points/stickers for desirable behavior and those
stickers or points can be exchanged for a prize
- ex. reduced insurance rates for having no claims policyholders’ behavior is modified;
will be more careful drivers in order to receive the reward of a reduced insurance rate

Classical vs. Operant learning

Passive: organism is responding to the environment (classical)
Active: organism is activating on the environment (operant)
On what precedes a response: on a stimulus that predicts another stimulus
On what follows a response: what is the consequence of the behaviour
Classical conditioning: learn the association of lightening to thunder; startle response to
lightning before thunder occurs
Operant conditioning: see the lightening and put on headphones so you don’t hear the thunder;
behaviour decreases the likelihood that you will be frightened by the loud thunder rewarding
 Cognitive psychology
Previous approaches lack the influence of thoughts and feelings importance of mental states
in learning
Edward Tolman latent learning: learning has occurred but hasn't yet been demonstrated
- learning doesn't have to involve observable changes in performance
Albert Bandura Observational learning (social learning): learning new behaviors or
information by watching and imitating others (can be positive or negative)
- observing the consequences of the behavior of others: if model is successful, we’re
more likely to imitate that behavior
Factors affecting observational learning: status, competence, and power of the model
Bobo doll studies- 3 groups of children watched an adult’s behaviour:
(1) aggressive towards a bobo doll
(2) ignoring the doll
(3) control group with no adults present
Results:
(1) children in group 1 imitated the aggressive adult (treated doll in abusive way,
imitated exact actions of adult
(2) children who watched an adult ignore the doll showed even less aggressive behavior
than children in the control group (learn to ignore the doll?)
(3) children in control group showed less aggressive behavior
4 stages of observational learning
(1) attention: must observe behaviour ex. watching demonstrations
(2) retention: carefully note and remember the model’s actions
(3) production: imitate the model by actually performing the same actions
(4) motivation: more likely to imitate a model if the model is reinforced for their behavior
ex. if we earn the same reward that we expect based on observing the model
Observational learning in everyday life
Effects of violence in the media correlational studies show that there's a positive
correlation between the amount of violent television a person watches and the
likelihood of them behaving aggressively
Experimental research shows that watching violent television increases aggressive
behavior
Pro-social behaviours can also be socially learned
 Used to help individuals with special needs: observe others to learn and improve daily
skills

Biological constraints on learning

Martin Seligman  biological preparedness
- some responses go with specific reinforcers and punishers
o fear goes with dangerous stimuli, not safe stimuli Ex. something that's life
threatening (ex. snake) is more likely to signal danger than a flower
o noises and lights can easily be associated with shock
o taste goes with sickness
- individuals learn the association between some stimuli easier than others
Organisms learn to modify their behavior to avoid negative consequences  interaction
between classical and operant conditioning
o classical conditioning: smell of food and sickness results
o operant conditioned behavior: not eating the food to avoid the sickness
Learned helplessness
- sometimes the operant response doesn’t change the consequences
- Later we won't learn even when the response does affect the consequence
Ex. work hard but you aren’t successful eventually give up because you've learned
that no matter how hard you try it's not going to help
Seligman experiment: dogs were exposed to inescapable shock; later dogs were put in a
situation where they could escape the shock, but they didn't even try to get away
- can cause lack of motivation and coping mechanisms
- lead to positive psychology: focuses on happiness well-being and positive iti instead of
mental illness maladaptive behavior and negative thinking
Learning: relatively permanent change in behavior or mental processes that result from
practice or experience
Classical conditioning: learning through the associations made between stimuli
Operant conditioning: behavior is learned through the consequences of actions
Observational learning: learning through observation/modeling
All three major types of learning occur in our everyday lives
Ex. marketing (classical conditioning), superstitions (operant conditioning), learning
aggressive behaviour (observational learning)