Topic 6.1: Learning

learning

•Change in an organism’s behaviour or thought as a result of experience

•Many different kinds, most basic are habituation and sensitization

Habituation

A decrease in response to a stimulus over time

Sensitization

Increase in response to a stimulus over time.

Memorization

• Focused on recalling information, often word-for-word.

• Lacks deep understanding of the material's underlying principles.

• Typically used for short-term recall, without long-term comprehension.

Learning via association

• Large amounts of learning occur though association

• Simple associations provide the mental building blocks for more complex ideas

• Learning association, or associative learning, is a learning process that forms connections between two stimuli or events, allowing an individual to predict future events based on past experiences.

Classical conditioning

The most common type of associative learning, where a neutral stimulus is paired with an unconditioned one to elicit a response.

5 components of classical conditioning

• Neutral stimulus (N S)

• Unconditioned stimulus (U C S)

• Unconditioned response (U C R)

• Conditioned stimulus (C S)

• Conditioned response (C R)

Classical conditioning step 1

when a neutral stimulus (like a bell) is repeatedly paired with an unconditioned stimulus (like food) until the neutral stimulus alone triggers a learned response (salivation), creating a conditioned stimulus and conditioned response

Classical conditioning step 2

• Eventually, the NS becomes a conditioned stimulus (CS), eliciting a conditioned response (UR) - After training, the metronome elicits salivation

• In this situation, the organism reacts the same way to the CS(formerly NS) as it did to the UCS

Acquisition

the phase during which a CR is established

Exctinction

the reduction of the CR after the CS is presented repeatedly without the UCS. spontaneous recovery and renewal may be evident:

Spontaneous Recovery

The CR returns after time has passed (no UCS-CS repairing required)

Renewal

The CR returns in a novel setting different from the

one in which the response was acquired (or extinguished)

Stimulus Generalization

when similar CSs elicit the same CR:

–Response to tuning forks that make the same sound

–Driving one car means you can drive most other cars

Stimulus discrimination

when we exhibit a C R only to certain

stimuli, not similar others:

–Your response to movies about tornadoes is different than your

response to a tornado in real life

Higher order conditioning

•Developing a CR to a CS that is

associated with another CS.

–UCS + CS1, CS1 + CS2….

•The CR becomes weaker the farther

from the original CS.

–CR1 strongest, CR2 weaker, C3 even

weaker...

Latent Inhibition

•A stimulus often experienced alone may be resistant to conditioning

Conditioned compensatory response (CCR)

 is a CR that is the opposite of the U C R and serves to compensate for the UCR.

•Important for understanding drug responses

•If you always take a drug in the same room, that room acts as a

cue which signals drug delivery

•Simply being in the room will initiate a defensive response (i.e. a

CCR) which prepares you for the drug’s effects.

Conditioned response

a learned reaction to a previously neutral stimulus, developed by repeatedly pairing it with something that naturally triggers a response.

Unconditioned response

a natural, automatic, unlearned reaction to a stimulus that doesn't need prior training.

Conditioned stimulus

a previously neutral object, sound, or situation that, after being repeatedly paired with an unconditioned stimulus, eventually triggers a learned, or conditioned response all on its own

Unconditioned stimulus

something that naturally and automatically triggers a response without any prior learning

Edward Tolman

Discovered latent learning, where learning happens without immediate reward, and the cognitive map, a mental representation of one's environment, challenging strict behaviorism by showing animals (and people) use internal thought processes, not just stimulus-response. Created Purposive Behaviourism

Purposive Behaviourism

a theory stating that behavior is goal-directed and purposeful, not just stimulus-response. It bridges behaviorism and cognitive psychology, proposing that organisms form internal "cognitive maps" (mental representations) of their environment, allowing them to navigate and achieve goals, even without immediate reinforcement.