Learning

Ch. 6
R. Cavera, Psy.D.
Chapter overview

Learning
How do we learn?
Classical conditioning
Operant conditioning
Biology, cognition, and learning
Learning by Observation
How Do We Learn?

Learning
The process of acquiring, through experience, new and relatively enduring
information or behaviors
Associative learning
Learning that certain events occur togetherthe events may be two stimuli
(as in classical conditioning) or a response and its consequences (as in operant
conditioning)
Cognitive learning
Acquisition of mental information, whether by observing events, by watching
others, or through language
How Do We Learn?

Learning also occurs

Association is one through cognitive
way of learning. and observational
learning.

There are two main

Conditioning is the forms of
process of learning conditioning.
associations. Classical
Operant
Learning

Classical conditioning
Type of learning in which we learn to link two or more stimuli and anticipate
events
Operant conditioning
Type of learning in which we learn to associate a response and its
consequence
Thus, we learn to repeat acts followed by good results and to avoid acts
followed by bad results

Lets take a closer look

Classical Conditioning
Operant Conditioning
Conditioning is not the only form of learning

Through cognitive learning we acquire mental information that guides our

behavior

Observational learning, another form of cognitive learning, facilitates

learning from others experiences
Question:

Why are habits, such as eating unhealthy, so hard to break?

Classical Conditioning

Pavlovs experiments
Pavlovs legacy
 Classical Conditioning
Pavlovs experiments
He and his associates explored
five processes: acquisition,
extinction, spontaneous
recovery, generalization, and
discrimination.

IVAN PAVLOV Experimental investigation

should lay a solid foundation for a future
true
science of psychology (1927).
PAVLOVS CLASSIC EXPERIMENT
 Definitions
Neutral stimulus (NS)
In classical conditioning, a stimulus that evokes no response before conditioning
Unconditioned stimulus (US)
In classical conditioning, a stimulus that unconditionallynaturally and
automaticallytriggers a response (UR)
Unconditioned response (UR)
In classical conditioning, an unlearned, naturally occurring response (such as
salivation) to an unconditioned stimulus (US) (such as food in the mouth)
Conditioned stimulus (CS)
In classical conditioning, an originally irrelevant stimulus that, after association
with an unconditioned stimulus (US), comes to trigger a conditioned response (CR)
Conditioned response (CR)
In classical conditioning, a learned response to a previously neutral (but now
conditioned) stimulus (CS)
Classical Conditioning

Acquisition
First stage in classical conditioning
Place where link between the NS and US is learned
A quail tale
Recent research on Japanese quail shows how their capacity for classical
conditioning gives them a reproductive edge
How did the researchers develop the quails preference for their cages red-
light district?
AN UNEXPECTED CS

Psychologist Michael Tirrell (1990) recalled: My first girlfriend loved

onions, so I came to associate onion breath with kissing. Before long,
onion breath sent tingles up and down my spine. Oh what a feeling!
Classical Conditioning

Extinction and spontaneous recovery

Extinction
In classical conditioning, the weakening of a conditioned response when an
unconditioned stimulus does not follow a conditioned stimulus
In operant conditioning, the weakening of a response when it is no longer reinforced
Spontaneous recovery
Reappearance, after a pause, of an extinguished conditioned response
 ACQUISITION, EXTINCTION, AND
SPONTANEOUS RECOVERY

The rising curve (simplified here) shows that the CR rapidly grows
stronger as the NS becomes a CS as it is repeatedly paired with the
US (acquisition). The CS weakens when it is presented alone
(extinction). After a pause, the CR reappears (spontaneous recovery).
Classical Conditioning

Generalization
The tendency, after conditioning, to respond similarly to stimuli that
resemble the conditioned stimulus
Can be adaptive

Discrimination
Learned ability to distinguish between a conditioned stimulus and other
irrelevant stimuli
Is also adaptive
Pavlovs Legacy

Pavlov showed how a scientific model can be used to objectively study the
learning.
Many responses to many stimuli can be classical conditioned. This is true
for every species tested.
Classical Conditioning in Everyday Life

Pavlovs principles influence human health and well- being in a

variety of ways
Examples
Patients can develop classically conditioned side-effects to drugs given as
cancer treatments
Former drug users often feel a craving when they are again in the drug-
using context
 Classical Conditioning and John Watson

In Watson and Rayners experiments, Little Albert learned to fear a

white rat after repeatedly experiencing a loud noise as the rat was
presented.
Operant Conditioning
Skinners experiments
Skinners legacy
Close-up: Using operant conditioning to build your own
strengths
Contrasting classical and operant conditioning
Differences: Classical and Operant
Conditioning
Classical
Involves learning associations
between events that are not
controlled by learner
Respondent behavior: Automatic Operant

responses to stimuli Involves learning associations between behavior and resulting events

Association with ones own actions with consequences

 Operant Conditioning
Skinners experiments
Built on Thorndikes law of effect: Rewarded behavior is likely to be repeated
Developed to reveal principles of behavior control
Shaping behavior (successive approximation)
Operant conditioning procedure in which reinforcers guide actions closer and
closer toward a desired behavior
Used as we continually reinforce others behavior
CAT IN A PUZZLE BOX
Thorndike used a fish reward to entice
cats to find their way out of a puzzle box
(right) through a series of maneuvers.
The cats performance tended to
improve with successive trials (left),
illustrating Thorndikes law of effect.
(Adapted from Thorndike, 1898.)
Types of Reinforcers

Positive reinforcement
Increases behaviors by presenting positive stimuli
Is anything that, when presented after a response, strengthens the response
Negative reinforcement
Increases behaviors by stopping or reducing negative stimuli
Is anything that, when removed after a response, strengthens the response
Is not punishment
WAYS TO INCREASE BEHAVIOR

A SKINNER BOX Inside the

box, the rat presses a bar or button
for a food reward. Outside, a
measuring device (not shown
here) keeps records of the animals
responses.
Operant Conditioning; Types of Reinforcers

Primary reinforcers
Unlearned; innate
Conditioned reinforcers (secondary reinforcers)
Learned associaitions with primary reinforcers
Immediate reinforcers
Immediate rewards
Delayed reinforcers
Delayed
Can you think of examples for each of these?
Operant Conditioning

Reinforcement schedule
Is a pattern that defines how often a desired response will be reinforced
Reinforcement schedules vary and influence our learning
Continuous reinforcement
Is good for behavior mastery; extinction can occur
Partial (intermittent) reinforcement
Is slower but extinction is less
Operant Conditioning
Fixed-ratio schedules
Reinforce behavior after a set number of responses
Variable-ratio schedules
Reinforce after an unpredictable number of responses
Fixed-interval schedules
Reinforce the first response after a fixed time period
Variable-interval schedules
Reinforcement after an unpredictable number of responses
 Punishment
Ways to decrease behavior

Major drawbacks of physical punishment

Punished behavior suppressed; punishing behavior
reinforced
Discrimination among situations taught
Generalization occurs; fear taught
Aggression may be increased by modeling
 Skinners Legacy
Urged people to use operant
principles to influence the
behavior of others
Sam Falk / Science Source

Criticized for neglecting peoples

personal freedom and advocating
for external control of others

B. F. Skinner I am sometimes
asked, Do you think of yourself
as you think of the organisms
you study? The answer is yes.
So far as I know, my behavior at
any given moment has been
nothing more than the product
of my genetic endowment, my
personal history, and the
current setting (1983).
Applications of Operant Conditioning

At school
Many of the ideas for education are used today
Electronic adaptive devices are often Skinnerian
At work
Many organizations used reinforcers to influence productivity
At home
Reinforcement is used and abused in many parenting situations
Reinforcement can be used effectively to help children change and manage their behavior
Contrasting Classical and Operant
Conditioning
Classical
Form of associative Operant
learning
Associate different events
that one cannot control
Respond automatically
Form of associative
learning
Links behaviors to act on
the environment to
produce rewarding or
punishing events
Using Operant Conditioning to Build
Your Own Strengths
State your goal in measurable terms and announce it
Decide how, when, and where you will work toward your goal
Monitor how often you engage in your desired behavior
Reinforce the desired behavior
Reduce the rewards gradually
Biology, Cognition, and Learning
Biological limits on conditioning
Cognitive influences on conditioning
Biology, Cognition, and Learning

Biological limits on conditioning

Humans are biologically prepared to learn some things rather than others
Humans are naturally disposed to learn associations favored by natural selection

Garcia and Koellings taste aversion

research ended the belief that
environments rule out behavior.

Findings help disprove the belief

that almost any stimulus could
serve equally well as a conditioned
stimulus.
Biology, Cognition, and Learning
Courtesy of Kathryn Brownson, Hope College

Limits on operant conditioning

Each species has a limit
on their capacity for
operant conditioning
Our biology predisposes
us to learn associations
that are naturally
ROMANTIC RED In a series of experiments that adaptive
controlled for other factors (such as the
brightness of the image), men found women more
attractive and sexually desirable when framed in
red (Elliot & Niesta, 2008).
Cognitive Influences on Conditioning

Watson
Rejected mentalistic
concepts
Maintained that the basic
laws of learning are the
same for all animals
Contended that psychology
should be objective science
based on observable Watsons view of learning
behaviors underestimated two sets of
influences:
Way biological predispositions
limits learning
Effect of cognitive processes
on learning
Cognitive Influences on Conditioning

Cognition and operant conditioning

Skinner rejected the premise that cognitive processes are integral to learning
Cognitive maps
Latent learning

LATENT LEARNING:Animals, like

people, can learn from experience,
with or without reinforcement.
Definitions

Cognitive map
Mental image of the layout of ones environment
Latent learning
Learning that is not apparent until there is an incentive to demonstrate it
Intrinsic motivation
Desire to perform a behavior for its own sake
Extrinsic motivation
Desire to perform a behavior to gain a reward or avoid a punishment
Learning by Observation?

Question: Does viewing media violence trigger violent behavior? (Maybe a

good question to ponder/answer for your reaction paper)
 Learning by Observation
Observational learning
Learning by observing others
Modeling
The process of observing and imitating a
specific behavior
Vicarious reinforcement or punishment
Learning to anticipate a behaviors
consequences in situations like those being
observed

ALBERT BANDURA
Learning by Observation

Mirrors and imitation in the brain

Mirror neuron
Fires when we perform certain actions and when we observe others performing those actions
Provides a neural basis for imitation and observational learning
EXPERIENCED AND IMAGINED PAIN IN THE BRAIN

Brain activity related to actual pain

(left) is mirrored in the brain of an
observing loved one (right). Empathy in
the brain shows up in areas that process
emotions, but not in the areas that
register physical pain.
Applications of Observational Learning

Prosocial effects
Prosocial behavior models can have a prosocial effect
Effectiveness is related to consistency in actions and words
Antisocial effects
Observational learning can have adverse effects
Early childhood environments with high levels of aggression, TV, and
videos are powerful sources of observational learning
Up Next: Mid-term exam!