Chapter 8

Learning
Chapter Overview

BASIC PROCESSES OF CONDITIONING MODELS SOCIAL LEARNING HOW NATURE AND

LEARNING OF LEARNING THEORY NURTURE WORK
TOGETHER IN LEARNING
 Basic Processes of Learning
 Learning is an enduring change in behavior that occurs with experience.
 Learning occurs when information moves from short-term to long-term memory. (In fact, learning and
memory are inherently intertwined; we cannot have one with out the other.
 Association is the process by which two pieces of information from the environment are repeatedly
linked, so that we begin to connect them in our minds. (This is related to Hebb’s Law.)
 Association is the process that contributes to conditioning, which is arguably the most common and
important type of learning. In conditioning, behaviors are triggered by “contextual factors,” which are
factors that are related to events in both the organism’s internal and external environment.
There are two types of conditioning: classical conditioning
and operant conditioning.

Classical conditioning is a form of learning in which a

neutral stimulus becomes associated with a stimulus to
which one has an automatic response (the book says this
response is “inborn,” but this is not always the case).

Operant conditioning is the process of changing behavior

by manipulating the consequences of that behavior.

Conditioning Models of
Learning
 Classical Conditioning
Pavlov is the first theorist to develop a theory of classical conditioning. In his famous study of
salivation in dogs, he found that particular physiological responses occur in dogs dependent on the
contexts they experience.
Pavlov stumbled upon classical conditioning by accident. While conducting his research on digestion, a
bell would ring during feeding time. He noticed that the dogs began salivating when the bell rang, even
if the food wasn’t brought out yet.
He thus started a new study. He hypothesized that different dogs would not salivate at the sound of
the bell, but they would at the scent of food (this is an inborn predisposition). However, if the food is
paired with the sound of the bell, the dogs would associate the bell with the food (after repeated
pairings). This would result in the new dogs also beginning to salivate at the sound of the bell alone.
Pavlov’s hypotheses turned out to be correct, and this became the basis for classical conditioning.
 Classical Conditioning
Classical conditioning contains many components. The first is the unconditioned stimulus (UCS). This is
an environmental stimulus that always produces the same, unlearned, involuntary response.
The UCS automatically results in the unconditioned response (UCR); this is the natural, automatic,
involuntary reaction to the UCS.
When classical conditioning occurs, the UCS is paired with a neutral stimulus. This is a stimulus does
not lead to a UCR (at first). The neutral stimulus may cause some kind of response, but not the
intended response.
After repeated pairing of the UCS and the neutral stimulus, the UCR begins occurring in the presence of
the neutral stimulus, even without the UCS being present. In this case, the neutral stimulus now
becomes the conditioned stimulus (CS). The UCR, when it occurs in the presence of the CS, is now
called the conditioned response (CR).
Classical Conditioning
 Classical Conditioning
 The process of classical conditioning can extend beyond this first pairing. For example, in the case with
the dogs, we can pair another stimulus with the bell. Let’s assume that a light is paired with the bell.
 In this case, the bell is treated as the UCS, the light is the neutral stimulus, and the salivation is the UCR.
 After the bell and the light are repeatedly paired, the light alone will cause the dog to salivate. At this
point, the light has become the CS, and the salivation has yet again become the CR.
 Occasionally, associations between the CS and other similar stimuli occur without any pairing. This is
called stimulus generalization. Keeping with our earlier example, a dog may start salivating at the sound
of a whistle because it sounds similar to the sound of a bell.
 Stimulus discrimination, on the other hand, occurs only when the CR occurs in response to the exact CS
in which it was originally conditioned. For example, if the dogs only salivate when they hear a specific
bell, but not when they hear other bells, stimulus discrimination is occurring.
 Classical Conditioning
 Classical conditioning can be undone through a process called extinction. Extinction is a weakening and
disappearance of a conditioned response in the absence of reinforcement. If the dogs are regularly
presented with the bell but no food is given, they will eventually stop salivating when they hear the bell.
 Often, after the process of extinction begins occurring, spontaneous recovery occurs. This is the sudden
reappearance of an extinguished response. Because this occurs after extinction has already started, it is
sometimes called an “extinction burst.”
 Classical Conditioning
In a classic case study by John Watson, a baby who goes by the
moniker Little Albert was classically conditioned to fear a white rat.
Albert did not fear the rat at first (humans do not have an innate fear of
rats). However, the rat was paired with a loud clanging noise that
scared Albert. This resulted in Albert becoming extremely fearful when
he saw the white rat.
Albert also generalized this fear to other white, fluffy objects, even
becoming fearful of a Santa Claus mask.
Eventually, Watson and his team “counter-conditioned” Albert to not
respond fearfully to the white rat. They gave Albert his favorite snack
and presented Albert with the rat during feeding. Eventually, Albert
learned to no longer be afraid of the rat.
Garcia has conducted numerous studies regarding taste aversion. This
type of classical conditioning occurs when we become sick shortly after
eating a particular food. This results in feelings of disgust any future
This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY-SA-NC
time we think of eating the food.
In 1905, Thorndike proposed the idea that some behaviors come
about spontaneously, and then the consequences of that behavior
determines the likelihood that the behavior will occur again.
Thorndike labeled this principle the law of effect.
In 1938, Skinner coined the term operant conditioning. Operant
conditioning is the process of changing behavior by manipulating
the consequences of that behavior.
Both Thorndike and Skinner originally conducted experiments
regarding this type of conditioning on animals (rodents, birds, cats)
but later generalized this type of learning to humans.

Operant Conditioning
 Operant Conditioning
In operant conditioning, individuals learn from the consequences of their behavior. One key element of
this is the reinforcer, which is an internal or external event that increases the frequency of a behavior.
There are two main types of reinforcers:
 Primary reinforcers are innate, unlearned reinforcers that satisfy biological needs.
 Secondary reinforcers, on the other hand, are learned by association, usually by classical conditioning.
Typically, if an individual is provided with or exposed to a reinforcer (either primary or secondary) during
or after a particular activity, they will engage in that activity again in order to receive that reinforcement
again. The individual may not be aware of the connection between the activity and the reinforcer.
In addition to reinforcement, it is believed that an antecedent will predict an individual’s behavior. The
antecedent is just any event that comes before the behavior. This is part of what we call the ABC’s of
operant conditioning:
 Antecedent  Behavior  Consequence
Finally, there are establishing operations, which are contexts in which the behavior occurs.
ABC’s of Operant Conditioning
Establishing Operations

Antecedent Behavior Consequences

• Any event that • The behavior that • Any reinforcer or
comes before a the individual or punishment that is
behavior that animal engages in. received during or
predicts that after the behavior.
behavior.
 Types of Consequences
There are two main types of consequences, and these are further divided into two groups each.
 Reinforcement is any stimulus that increases the frequency of a behavior.
 Positive reinforcement is the addition of a stimulus that increases the likelihood of a behavior occurring.
 Negative reinforcement is the removal of a stimulus that increases the likelihood of a behavior occurring.
* Both positive and negative reinforcement are defined by the fact that they increase behavior.
 Punishment is any stimulus that decreases the frequency of a behavior.
 Positive punishment is the addition of a stimulus that decreases the likelihood of a behavior occurring.
 Negative punishment is the removal of a stimulus that decreases the likelihood of a behavior occurring.
* Both positive and negative punishment are defined by the fact that they increase behavior.
Skinner emphasized that individuals and animals are much more likely to learn by being reinforced for target
behaviors instead of being punished for inappropriate behaviors.
The goal of operant conditioning is to increase a behavior by connecting the antecedents, behaviors, and
consequences (reinforcement) so that the individual regularly engages in that desired behavior.
One form of operant conditioning is shaping, which is the reinforcement of successive approximations of a
desired behavior. Another form is latent learning, which is learning that occurs in the absence of reinforcement
but is not demonstrated until later when the reinforcement occurs.
Types of Consequences
 Schedules of Reinforcement
There are various ways to administer reinforcement as a means of
increasing behavior. These are called schedules of reinforcement.
Our book describes several:
 Continuous reinforcement is reinforcement of a behavior every
time it occurs.
 Intermittent reinforcement is reinforcement that occurs only
after particular occurrences of a behavior. Intermittent
reinforcement can be divided into four types:
 Fixed-ratio schedule is reinforcement that occurs after a
set number of responses.
 Variable-ratio schedule is reinforcement that occurs after
a varying number of responses (ex: randomly).
 Fixed-interval schedule is reinforcement in which
responses are reinforced after a set period of time has
passed.
 Variable-interval schedule is reinforcement in which
responses are reinforced after time periods of varying
durations have passed.
 Social Learning Theory
Social learning theory was developed by Bandura. This theory
holds that some learning occurs by modeling others’ behavior. An
important aspect of this is observation learning, which is learning
influenced by watching others. Another aspect is modeling, which
is the imitation of other people’s behaviors.
 Social Learning Theory
Bandura developed social learning theory in response to the
findings of his famous Bobo Doll experiment.
In this experiment, Bandura had groups of children watch
various videos. There were four groups:
 A group that watched a video of a model being aggressive to a Bobo doll
and then being rewarded for their behavior.
 A group that watched a video of a model being aggressive to a Bobo doll
and then being punished for their behavior.
 A group that watched a video of a model not being aggressive to the doll.
 A group that watched a video with no model.
The children from each group were then allowed to play with
a Bobo doll for a short time.
It was found that children who viewed the aggressive videos
were much more likely to behave aggressively toward the
Bobo doll (especially those who watched the video of the
model being rewarded for being aggressive). This Photo by Unknown Author
is licensed under CC BY-SA-NC
 Relational Frame Theory
Relational frame theory (RFT) is a relatively new theory developed by Hayes. This theory holds that
people learn by creating “frames” for particular material, and these frames are then used to understand
other information.
 For example, a child learns that a nickel is worth more than a penny. From this point, the child can infer
than the penny is worth less than the nickel.
 The child then learns that a dime is worth more than a nickel. The child then makes two inferences: 1.)
the dime is worth more than the penny. 2.) the nickel is worth less than the dime.
 The child can then infer that the penny is also worth less than the dime.

This often occurs when learning language. For example, we learn to equate the letters “c-a-r” with the
sound of the word “car.” We then learn that both the letters and the sounds represent an actual car.

According to this theory, we also make inferences along various dimensions, including temporal
(before/after, now/then), causal (if/then), and perspective (here/there, I/you).
 Nature & Nurture
As our book describes it, “Biology makes learning possible, and learning changes biology.” Our book describes four
ways in which biology and environment interact to affect the ways we learn.
 Imprinting is the attachment of a young animal onto a larger animal. During imprinting, the young animal tends
to follow the larger animal around, attempting to learn from the larger animal’s behavior. We have learned from
imprinting animals that there is a sensitivity period, when a particular type of learning occurs very readily.
 Mirror neurons are neurons that activate when we watch individuals do a particular behavior, as well as when
we engage in that behavior ourselves. Activation of mirror neurons is related to imitation of observed behaviors.
These also play a role in embodied cognition, which is the set of thought processes involved in representing
parts of the body and reenacting bodily actions in thought.
 As we have learned previously, Hebb’s law describes how neurons that activate at the same time engage form
connections to one another.
 Studies have demonstrated that enriched environments lead to both better learning and neural growth in the
hippocampus.