Learning

Learning

relative permanent change in an organism’s behavior due to experience

before conditioning

before experiment started; need to identify 3 parts

Neutral Stimulus (NS)

stimulus that when presented, does not illicit the desired response

Pavlov - the bell

(before conditioning)

Unconditioned Stimuli (UCS)

stimulus that when presented, will trigger a response, the UCR

Pavlov - the food

(before conditioning)

Unconditioned Response (UCR)

reaction that occurs when UCS is presented

Pavlov - salivation when bell rings

(before conditioning)

during conditioning

for the experiment to start, the bell must be rung and the dog immediately given food

Conditioned Stimuli (CS)

neutral event that leads to a UCR

Pavlov - ringing of the bell

(during conditioning)

after conditioning

if the bell rings and the dog salivates, the dog’s salivation is then considered a CR

Conditioned Response (CR)

response that occurs when a CS is presented

Pavlov - dog’s salivation

(after conditioning)

classical conditioning

pairing one stimulus that has meaning with another that doesn’t have meaning, so now it does have meaning; stimulus-stimulus learning

Acquisition

pairs CS with UCS to create meaning

* timing - the shorter the time between the CS and UCS, the stronger the learning
* frequency - the more the CS and UCS are paired, the stronger the learning

Extinction

stop giving the UCS, and the CR will stop happening

Spontaneous Recovery

extinction occurs, and after a short break, if you present the CS again, the CR will occur

Reconditioning

after a longer break, the process must be restarted, but learning happens faster the second time

Generalization

the CR will occur if a stimulus similar to the CS occurs

ex | get bit by a dog, all of them are bad

Discrimination

only want CR to occur when CS is presented

* only give the dog food when the bell rings

John B. Watson

* first to apply Pavlov’s principles to humans
* father of behavioral psychology
* believed that anyone could be conditioned to anything
* presented bunny rabbit to child then scared child with loud sound

Robert Rescorla

* first to look at human cognition in classical conditioning
* when looking at classical conditioning in people, humans are complex, so it doesn’t always work
* four things must be considered in the acquisition stage: predictability, intensity, timing and attention

predictability

likelihood of UCR occurring

ex | adults drink alcohol because they don’t think they’ll get a hangover

intensity

the stronger the UCR, the greater the likelihood that learning occurs

ex | shocking with static electricity vs. sticking fork in electrical socket as punishment for getting question wrong

timing

the length between the CS and UCS can be stretched out

attention

there needs to be an attention span for learning to occur

John Garcia

* biopreparedness - belief that we are pre-wired to learn certain stimuli faster than others
* had contract to figure out a way to keep people from contaminated water
* tested rat with sugar water and bright light
* discovered taste aversion - when you will no longer eat a novel stimuli after it has made you sick

Martin Seligman

* believed that a UCR would still be learned if it was prevented from happening; completely wrong
* discovered learned helplessness - after repeated failures, you just give up

expectancy

regular classical conditioning; about a behavior; if we do these things, this behavior will happen

ex | when the bell is rung, the dog should salivate

evaluative

about feelings and emotions; event occurs and feelings toward it become positive or negative

ex | smell of cologne giving warm fuzzy feelings

B.F. Skinner

writer turned psychology who discovers, Edward Thorndike, who developed a concept called the law of effect

law of effect

rewarded behavior is more likely to be repeated, and punished behavior is less likely to be repeated

operant conditioning

response-stimulus learning; learning by consequences

Skinner Box

* blue light comes on, if rat pushes lever, it receives a food pellet
* red light comes on, if rat pushes lever, it gets electroshock and knocked unconscious

reinforcer

any stimulus that increases the change of a response happening; can be positive or negative

positive reinforcer

pleasurable stimuli following a response; reward

⭐ must be seen as desirable by the organism in the real word

ex | bag of rocks in exchange for getting all As ≠ desirable

negative reinforncer

use aversive stimuli to promote a behavior; “as long as you do this behavior, this bad thing won’t happen”

ex | no cellphones during lecture, or lecture stops and you have to take notes from the textbook

primary reinforcer

satisfies a biological need

ex | get an A for the rest of the year, and you get bread and water

secondary reinforcer

paired with primary reinforcer to make it more appealing; most powerful is money

ex | get an offer for an all expenses paid dinner where you can order whatever you want

punishment

any stimuli that decrease a behavior; immediacy and intensity must be there; fails when punisher is avoided or behavior is rationalized

immediacy

as soon as the behavior occurs, punishment must follow

intensity

(punishment)

punishment must be intense

avoiding punisher

ex | punished for using foul language around your mother, no longer use it around her

rationalizing behavior

ex | VIP concert tickets vs. 2 month grounding, go anyway because it’s worth it

shaping

use reinforcements to create or change behavior

ex | treasure box in elementary school

cognitive processes

looks at thought involved in behavior; consideration before actions

Albert Bandura

* proves common sense - “monkey see, monkey do”
* develops and promotes observational learning

simple modeling

unconsciously imitate or copy another’s behavior

observational learning

watch a behavior and imitate it at a later time; delayed

disinhibition

see someone do something and not get punished, and it increases your chances of doing it later