learning
the process of acquiring through experience new and relatively enduring information or behaviors
classical conditioning
we learn to expect and prepare for significant events such as food or pain
a type of associative learning that involves learned involuntary responses
we learn to associate two stimuli that we don’t control, and thus anticipate events, responding automatically
exhibiting respondent behavior
stimuli are things we do not control and that we respond automatically (involuntary response)
Involuntary responses include salivation, blinking, sweating, and cringing or the automatic bodily reactions to strong emotions such as fear
Classical conditioning supports reproduction
operant conditioning
a type of learning in which behavior becomes more likely to recur if followed by a reinforcer or less likely to recur if followed by a punisher
we learn to repeat acts that bring rewards and avoid acts that bring unwanted results
a type of associative learning
we learn to associate a response (our voluntary behavior) and its consequences
the behavior is voluntary, we operate on the environment to produce a consequence
these associations produce operant behaviors
operant behavior
observational learning
we learn by observing events and people
cognitive learning
we learn things we have neither experience or observed
associative learning
learning that certain events occur together
the events may be two stimuli (as in classical conditioning) or a response and its consequence (as in operant conditioning)
habituation
what happens when repeated stimulation produces waning responsiveness
a type of learning or relatively permanent change in behavior that involves a reduced response as a result of repeated but not constant exposure
fueled by associative learning
sensory adaptation
a perceptual phenomenon that occurs when the brain stops recognizing a constant and unchanging stimulus
stimulus
any event or situation that evokes a response
response
the behavior that follows the stimulus
respondent behaviors
behaviors that occur as an automatic response to some stimulus
ex: woman tensing for thunder boom
operant behaviors
behavior that operates on the environment, producing consequences (rewarding or punishing stimuli)
ex: boy saying “please”
unconditioned stimulus
a stimulus that leads to an automatic response
in Pavlov's experiment, the food was the unconditioned stimulus
unconditioned response
an automatic response to a stimulus
the dogs salivating for food is the unconditioned response in Pavlov's experiment
John B. Watson
according to this behaviorist, the science of psychology should study how organisms respond to stimuli in their environments
simply said, psychology should be an objective science based on observable behavior
neutral stimulus
a stimulus which initially produces no specific response other than focusing attention
conditioned stimulus
a stimulus that can eventually trigger a conditioned response
in the described experiment, it was the ringing of the bell, and the conditioned response was salivation
conditioned response
an automatic response established by training to an ordinarily neutral stimulus
ex: if you witness a terrible car accident, you might develop a fear of driving
Ivan Pavlov
he taught us that significant psychological phenomena can be studied objectively, and that classical conditioning is a basic form of learning that applies to all species
he and Watson both believed the basic laws of learning were the same for all animals and humans
studied digestive system of dogs
produced the phenomenon of classical conditioning
acquisition
in classical conditioning, the initial stage, when one links a neutral stimulus and an unconditioned stimulus so that the neutral stimulus begins triggering the conditioned involuntary response
in operant conditioning, the strengthening of a reinforced response or the decreasing of a punished response
high-order conditioning
a procedure in classical conditioning in which the conditioned stimulus in one conditioning experience is paired with a new neutral stimulus, creating a second, often weaker, stimulus
ex: an animal has learned a tone predicts food can learn that a light predicts the tone and begin responding to the light alone
a.k.a second-order conditioning
extinction
when an unconditioned stimulus (US) does not follow a conditioned stimulus (CS)
spontaneous recovery
the reappearance, after a pause, of an extinguished conditioned response
generalization
the tendency to, once a response has been conditioned, for stimuli similar to elicit similar responses
Pavlov attached miniature vibrators to various parts of a dog’s body
after conditioning salivation to stimulation of the thigh, he stimulated other areas
the closer a stimulated spot was to the dog’s thigh, the stronger the conditioned response
discrimination
the learned ability to distinguish between a conditioned stimulus and similar stimuli that do not signal an unconditioned stimulus
B.F. Skinner
behaviorism’s most influential and controversial figure
his work elaborated on what psychologist Edward L. Thorndike called the law of effect
for his pioneering studies on operant conditioning, Skinner designed an operant chamber
law of effect
Thorndike’s principle that behaviors followed by favorable consequences become more likely, and behaviors followed by unfavorable consequences become less likely
operant chamber
in operant conditioning research, a chamber containing a bar or key that an animal can manipulate to obtain a food or water reinforcer; attached devices record the animal’s rate of bar pressing or key pecking
a.k.a the Skinner Box
reinforcement
any event that strengthens (increases the frequency of) a preceding response
shaping
an operant conditioning procedure in which reinforcement guides behavior toward closer and closer approximations of the desired behavior
a.k.a reward by successive approximations
discriminative stimulus
a stimulus that elicits a response after association with reinforcement (in contrast to related stimuli not associated with reinforcement)
positive reinforcement
any stimulus that, when presented after a response, strengthens the response
increasing behaviors by presenting positive reinforcers
ex: studying hard (B) to receive an good grade (R) from the teacher
ex: arriving at work on time (B) to receive praise and a pay raise (R) from your boss
negative reinforcement
any stimulus that, when removed after a response, strengthens the response
increasing behaviors by stopping or reducing aversive stimuli
ex: taking an aspirin (B) to reduce a painful headache (removal of aversive stimulus)
ex: hitting the snooze button (B) to shut off an annoying alarm (removal of aversive stimulus)
primary reinforcers
innately reinforcing stimuli such as those that satisfy a biological need
ex” food, pain relief
conditioned (secondary) reinforcers
stimuli that gain their reinforcing power through their learned association with a primary reinforcer
ex: money, good, grades, a pleasant tone of voice
reinforcement schedules
patterns that define how often a desired response will be reinforced
continuous reinforcement schedule
reinforcing the desired response every time it occurs
learning occurs rapidly, so it’s the best choice for learning a behavior
extinction also occurs rapidly; when continuous reinforcement stops, the behavior soon stops (is extinguished)
partial (intermittent) reinforcement schedule
reinforcing a response only part of the time
real life rarely provides continuous reinforcement; salespeople don’t sell every pitch, but they persist because their efforts are occasionally rewarded
responses are sometimes reinforced, sometimes not
learning is slower to appear, but resistance to extinction is greater that with continuous reinforcement
works with children
4 types of partial reinforcement
fixed ratio schedules
fixed interval schedules
variable ratio schedules
variable interval schedules
fixed ratio schedules
reinforcement occurs after a set number of responses
ex: one free coffee after every 10 purchases
fixed interval schedules
reinforcement occurs after a set length of time
ex: mail arriving at 2:00 pm every afternoon
variable ratio schedules
reinforcement occurs after an unpredictable number of responses
ex: payoff on slot machine after a varying number of plays
variable interval schedules
reinforcement occurs after an unpredictable length of time
ex: checking our phones for a text from a friends
punishment
an event that tends to decrease the behavior it follows
behavior that is punished is less likely to occur again
punishment adds an aversive stimulus or removes a pleasant one
positive punishment
adds something negative
negative punishment
takes away something positive
4 drawbacks of physical punishment
punished behavior is suppressed, not forgotten
punishment teaches discrimination among situations
punishment can teach fear
physical punishment may increase aggression by modeling violence as a way to cope with problems
school, sports, work, home, self-improvement, stress-management
how can operant conditioning techniques be applied?
school
online adaptive quizzing allows for immediate feedback
students receive reinforcement for correct understanding
sports
the key to shaping behavior in athletic performance as elsewhere, is first reinforcing small successes and then gradually increasing the challenge
work
rewards are most likely to increase productivity if the desired performance is both well-defined and achievable
parenting
when parents say “get ready for bed” and then cave into protests of defiance, the child’s whining and arguing is reinforced
self-improvement
to build up you self-control, you need to reinforce your own desired behaviors and extinguish the undesired ones
5 steps toward self-control →
state a realistic 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
manage stress
there is some evidence that when we have feedback about our bodily responses, we can sometimes change those responses
researcher Neal Miller, working with biofeedback, found that rats could modify their heartbeat increased or decreased
later researcher revealed that some paralyzed humans could also learn to control their blood pressure
Biofeedback systems
such as this one, which recorded tension in the forehead muscle of a headache sufferer, allow people to monitor their subtle physiological responses
biopsychosocial influences on learning
learning results not only from environmental experiences, but also from cognitive and biological influences
john garcia
Garcia was among those who challenged the prevailing idea that all associations can be learned equally well
he and Robert Koelling exposed a group of rats to a particular taste, sight, or sounds and later also to radiation or drugs that led to nausea and vomiting
taste aversion
if you became violently ill after eating oysters, you would probably have a hard time eating them again
Their smell and taste would have become a CS for nausea
This learning occurs readily because our biology prepares us to learn taste aversions to toxic foods
instinctive drift
the tendency of learned behavior to gradually revert to biologically predisposed patterns
pigs conditioned to pick up large wooden “dollars” and deposit them in a piggy bank began to drift back to their natural ways
they dropped the coin, pushed it with their snouts as pigs are prone to do, picked it up again, and then repeated the sequence, delaying their food reinforcement
cognitive map
a mental representation of the layout of one’s environment
ex: after exploring a maze, rats act as if they have learned a cognitive map of it
latent learning
learning that occurs but is not apparent until there is an incentive to demonstrate it
learning that involves cognition; there is more to learning than associating a response with a consequence
in a classic experiment, rats in one group repeatedly explored a maze, always with a food reward at the end
rats in another group explored the maze with no food reward, but once given a food reward at the end, the rats ran as quickly as possible in the following trials (Tolman & Honzik)
insight learning
a sudden realization of a problem’s solution
Contrasts with strategy-based solutions
extrinsic motivation
a desire to perform a behavior to receive promised rewards or avoid threatened punishment
ex: feeling pressured to finish homework by a deadline? Worried about your grade? Eager for college credit on AP Exam?
if yes, then you are extrinsically motivated
intrinsic motivation
a desire to perform a behavior effectively for its own sake
ex: Are you finding the material interesting? If there was no stake of a grade, would you be curious enough to learn the material for yourself?
if yes, intrinsic motivation fuels your efforts
overjustification effect
promising people a reward for a task they already enjoy can backfire
excessive rewards can destroy intrinsic motivation
problem-focused coping and emotion-focused coping
what are the 2 ways to learn to cope with personal problems?
problem-focused coping
attempting to alleviate stress directly by changing the stressor or the way we interact with that stressor
emotion-focused coping
attempting to alleviate stress by avoiding or ignoring a stressor and attending to emotional needs related to our stress reaction
personal control
our sense of impacting and directing our environment rather than feeling helpless
in humans, uncontrollable threats trigger the strongest stress responses
losing control provokes an outpouring of stress hormones, predicting health problems
ex: captive animals experience more stress and disease than their wild counterparts
learned helplessness
the hopelessness and passive resignation an animal or person acquires when unable to avoid repeated aversive events
in experiments, dogs were strapped in a harness and repeatedly shocked, given no chance to avoid them
later, when placed in another situation where they could escape the punishment by leaping a hurdle, the dogs displayed learned helplessness, cowering as if without hope
external locus of control
the perception that chance or outside forces beyond our personal direction determine our fate
Julian Rotter
internal locus of control
the perception that we direct and create our own fate
locuses of control
“internals” have achieved more in school and work, acted more independently, been healthier, and felt less depressed than “externals”
people with an internal locus of control at age 10 exhibited more exhibited less obesity, lower blood pressure, and less distress at age 30
compared with nonleaders, military and business leaders have a lower-than-average levels of stress hormones and reports less anxiety, thanks to their greater sense of control
self control
the ability to control impulses and delay short-term gratification for long-term rewards
predicts good health, higher income, and better school performance
in studies of American, Asian, and New Zealander children, self-control outdid intelligence test scores in predicting the future academic and life success
it varies over time; like a muscle, it tends to weaken after use, recover at rest, and grow stronger with exercise
observational learning
higher animals, especially humans, learn without direct experience, by watching and imitating others
modeling: we learn our native languages and various other specific behaviors by observing and imitating others
ex: a child who sees his sister burn her fingers on a hot stove learned not to touch it
modeling
we learn our native languages and various other specific behaviors by observing and imitating others
Albert Bandura’s Bobo Doll Study
result→
compared with children not exposed to the adult model, those who viewed the model’s aggressive actions were more likely to lash out at the doll
observing the aggressive outburst apparently lowered their inhibitions
the children imitated the very acts they had observed and used the very words they heard
takeaway→
by watching models, we experience vicarious reinforcement or vicarious punishment, and we learn to anticipate a behavior’s consequences in situations like those we are observing
we are especially likely to learn from people we perceive as similar to ourselves, as successful, or as admirable
mirror neurons
frontal lobe neurons that some scientists believe fire when we perform certain actions or observe another’s actions
the brain’s mirroring of another action may enable imitation and empathy
we imitate emotions and feel other’s pain
prosocial modeling
positive, constructive, helpful behavior
people who exemplify nonviolent, helpful behavior can also prompt similar behavior in others
watching others help pick up spilled books or coins, or viewing positively-themed television programming can produce positive helping behaviors in others
ex: this girl is learning orphan-nursing skills, as well as compassion, by observing her mentor in this Humane Society program
antisocial modeling
observational learning may also have antisocial effects which help us understand why abusive parents might have aggressive children
this helps us understand why abusive parents might have aggressive children
imitation
experimental studies have found that media violence viewing can cause aggression
desensitization
viewers become progressively less bothered by the violence
compared to a control group, subjects expressed less sympathy for domestic violence victims and rated victims’ injuries as less severe