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Classical conditioning
Subject learns to give a response it already knows to a new stimulus
Stimulus
Change in the environment that elicits a response
Response
Reaction to a stimulus
Ivan Pavlov
Studied classical conditioning in dogs + food
Neutral Stimulus
Initially does not elicit a response
Unconditioned Stimulus
Reflexively brings about the unconditioned response
Conditioned stimulus
NS initially, when paired with UCS, it elicits the CR
Acquisition
When the US and NS are paired and the subject beings to associate them
John B. Watson + Little Albert
UCS: Loud noise
UCR: Albert begins to cry
NS: Albert reaches for the rat, the noise is sounded again
A week later, the CS was reintroduced and the CR was elicited
Classical conditioning occurring in one trial
IF
Unconditioned stimulus is strong
Neutral stimulus is striking or salient
Little Albert
UCS: Loud noise
NS: White rat
Aversive conditioning
Involving an unpleasant or harmful UCS (Little Albert)
Extinction
If the CS is presented repeatedly without the UCS, the CS loses its ability to elicit the CR
Spontaneous recovery
If the extinguished response shows up later on without repairing of the UCS and CS
Generalization
When a stimuli similar to the CS also elicits the CR without any training
Ex: Stimulus being a red circle, similar to a red square
Discrimination
When only the CS produced the CR
Occurs when the US is consistently paired with only the CS
Higher-order conditioning (second-order/secondary conditioning)
Well-learned CS is paired with an NS to produce a CR to the NS
The old CS acts as a UCS
Ex: (Pavlov’s experiment) If you paired a light right before you rang the bell, the dog would start to salivate at the light
Applications of classical conditioning
Overcoming fears, increasing/decreasing immune functioning, increasing/decreasing attraction of people or products
Operant conditioning
Active subject voluntarily emits behaviors and can learn new behaviors
connection made between behavior and its consequences
E. L. Thorndike + Cat experiment
Put cats in “puzzle boxes”
Placed a fish outside, and the cats had to step on a pedal to get it
Through trial and error, the cats got the reward of the fish by accidentally stepping on the pedal
Learning curve showed that the time it took for the cats to escape gradually fell
Instrumental learning occurred
Thorndike’s Law of Effect
Behaviors followed by satisfying/positive consequences are strengthened, while behaviors followed by annoying/negative consequences are weakened
Operant conditioning
Skinner gave this name to Thorndike’s instrumental learning
Subjects voluntarily operate on their environment in order to produce desired consequences
ABCs of behavior
A- Antecedents/stimuli that are present before a behavior occurs
B- Behavior that the organism voluntarily emits
C- Consequences that follow the behavior
Skinner boxes
Levers, food dispensers, lights, electrified grid used to perform experiments on animals
Skinner’s training procedures
positive reinforcement
negative reinforcement
punishment
omission training
Positive reinforcement
Emission of a behavior or a response is followed by a reinforcer
Negative reinforcement
Takes away an unpleasant consequence after a behavior has been given
Ex: bad headache —> aspirin
Punishment training
Learner’s response followed by aversive consequence
Ex: Child bad behavior —> gets spanked
Punishment must immediately follow a behavior, and must be consistent
Learner may become aggressive or give up
Omission training
Response by the learner is followed by taking away something of value, but the learner can get back the object after good behavior
Avoidance behavior
Form of negative reinforcement
Takes away the aversive stimulus before it begins
Ex: Dog jumps over a hurdle to avoid electric shock
Escape behavior
Form of negative reinforcement
Takes away the aversive stimulus after it has already started
Ex: The dog gets shocked at first, escapes by jumping over the hurdle
Learned helplessness
Feeling of futility and passive resignation that results from the inability to avoid repeated aversive events
Primary reinforcer
Something that is biologically rewarding
Ex: Food, drink
Secondary reinforcer
Something neutral, that when associated with a primary reinforcer, becomes rewarding
Ex: Money —> buy primary reinforcers
Generalized reinforcer
Secondary reinforcer that can be associated with a number of different primary reinforcers
Ex: Money, can be exchanged for any kind of primary reinforcer
Token economy
Tokens/secondary reinforcers used to increase a list of acceptable behaviors
Used in mental institutions, jails
Shaping
Positively reinforcing closer and closer approximations of the desired behavior
Chaining
Used to establish a specific sequence of behaviors by initially positively rewarding each behavior in a desired sequence
Continuous reinforcement
Reinforcement occurs after every response
Ex: payment after every book is read
Fixed interval
Reinforcement happens after set time
Ex: Salary payments by the week/biweekly
Results in lots of behavior as the time approaches but little behavior until the next time for reinforcement approaches
Fixed ratio
Reinforcement occurs after a set amount of responses
Ex: Payment after you have sold a certain number of pieces
Variable interval
Reinforcement happens after a varying time
Ex: Fishing (you don’t know when the fish will bite), promotion (could happen after 6 days or 6 months)
Ex: You never know when to expect pop quizzes, so you study every night
Variable ratio
Reinforcement happens after a varying amount of responses
Ex: Slot machines
More likely to exhibit the behavior until the reward
Superstitious behavior
Develop from unintended reinforcement of unimportant behavior
Contiguity Model
Pavlov’s view of classical conditioning
Close time between the CS and US was most important for making the connection
Contingency Model
Rescorla’s view of classical conditioning
Emphasized role of cognition and that the organism had to think about what would happen next
Blocking Effect + Leon Kamin
Used a rat and paired a light (NS) with a tone (CS)
The rat had already been conditioned with shock (UCS) to produce fear
He was unable to produce conditioned fear to the light alone
Argued that the rat had already learned to associate the signal for shock with the tone
The conditioning effect of the light was blocked
Latent learning
Learning in the absence of a reward
Edward Tolman + Spatial/latent learning
Experimental group of rats did not receive a reward for going through a maze for 10 days, while another group did
The experimental group performed better
On day 11, both groups were rewarded
On day 12, the group that did not receive a reward did just as well as the group that did, which demonstrates latent learning
Insight
Sudden appearance of an answer or a solution to a problem
Observational Learning
Occurs by watching the behavior of a model
Albert Bandura’s Bobo Doll Experiment
Three groups of children watched a model play violently with a bobo doll
One group saw the model rewarded, another saw the model punished, and last saw no consequences
The group that saw the model being punished played with the doll less, later when they were offered rewards, they imitated the behavior
Abstract learning
Understanding simple concepts and apply simple decision rules
Mirror neurons
Premotor cortex + temporal/parietal lobes
Neurons are activated when you perform an action, but also when others perform an action
Conditioned taste aversion
Intense dislike and aversion of a food because of its association with a negative stimulus
Adaptive responses of organisms to foods that could sicken or kill them
Preparedness
Through evolution, animals are biologically predisposed to easily learn behaviors related to their survival as a species
Instinctive drift
Conditioned response that drifts toward the national/instinctive behavior of the organism
Skinner’s rats sometimes reverted to scratching/biting the lever
Note 
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