Learning

The belief that language is based solely on experience supports what theory?

blank slate: the theory that individuals are born without built-in mental content, and therefore all knowledge comes from experience or perception.

Why can human infants learn a language but not chimps?

because humans have "programs" or "modules" that allows them to decode and master sounds, their meaning and grammar

Are responses possible in a true blank slate?

no because there would be no rules for responding

3 important points of learning

1. Learning is based on experience
2. Learning produces changes in the organism
3. These changes are relatively permanent

These points are heavily influenced by behaviorists

Forms of Learning

Habituation and Sensitization

Habituation

a process in which prolonged exposure to an unchanging stimulus results in gradual reduction in responding

Sensitization

occurs when the presence of a stimulus leads to an increased response to a later stimulus

John Watson

• (behaviorist) wanted to control and predict behavior through studying observable behavior alone
• fueled by Pavlov's classical conditioning research by supporting the idea that it was okay to take the "mind" out of psychology

Ivan Pavlov

measured the salivary response of dogs to food and found if a neutral stimulus (bell) was paired with a stimulus that naturally evokes salivation, dogs learned to salivate in response to the neutral stimulus.

Classical Conditioning

When a neutral stimulus produces a response after being paired with a stimulus that naturally produces a response.

Four Elements of Classical Conditioning

1. Unconditioned Stimulus (US)
2. Unconditioned Response (UR)
3. Conditioned Stimulus (CS)
4. Conditioned Response (CR)

Unconditioned Stimulus (US)

a stimulus that produces a naturally occurring reaction in an organism

Unconditioned Response (UR)

the natural, reflexive reaction that is produced by a US

Conditioned Stimulus (CS)

a previously neutral stimulus that produces a reliable response in an organism after being paired with a US

Conditioned Response (CR)

a reaction that resembles a UR but is produced by a CS

Acquisition

the phase of classical conditions when the Cs and the US are presented together

Second-Order Conditioning

Conditioning where a CS is paired with a with a stimulus that became associated with the US in an earlier procedure

Extinction

The gradual elimination of a learned response that occurs when the CS is repeatedly presented without the US

Spontaneous Recovery

The tendency of a learned behavior to recover from extinction after a rest period

Generalization

The CR is observed even though the CS is slightly different from the CS used during acquisition

Discrimination

The capacity to distinguish between similar but distinct stimuli

Watson and Raynor (1920)

Studied conditioned emotional responses in "Little Albert," a 9-month old baby in an attempt to show that classical conditioning could be used for complex behaviors like fear

• Unconditioned Stimulus – hammer banging steel bar
• Unconditioned Response – fear (crying, clamoring)
• Conditioned Stimulus – white rat
• Conditioned Response – fear (crying, clamoring)

In classical conditioning, behaviors are...

reactive and involuntary

In operant conditioning, behaviors are...

active and voluntary

Operant Conditioning

A type of learning in which the consequences of an organism's behavior determine whether it will be repeated in the future

Edward L. Thorndike

• Did work on instrumental behaviors
• Developed the Law of Effect

Instrumental Behaviors

behaviors that require an organism to do something, solve a problem, or otherwise manipulate elements of its environment

Law of Effect

behaviors that are followed by a "satisfying state of affairs" tend to be repeated and those that produce an "unpleasant state of affairs" are less likely to be repeated

B.F. Skinner

Studied the role of reinforcement and punishment

Operant Behavior

behavior that an organism produces that has some impact on the environment
- behaviors "operate" on the environment --> the environment responds by providing events that strengthen (i.e. reinforce) or weaken (i.e. punish) the behavior

Reinforcer

any stimulus or event that functions to increase the likelihood of the behavior that led to it

Punisher

any stimulus or event that functions to decrease the likelihood of the behavior that led to it

Positive

situations in which a stimulus is presented

Negative

situations in which a stimulus is removed

Positive Reinforcement

when a rewarding stimulus is presented (increases behavior)

Negative Reinforcement

when an unpleasant stimulus is removed (increases behavior)

Positive Punishment

when an unpleasant stimulus is administered (decreases behavior)

Negative Punishment

when a rewarding stimulus is removed (decreases behavior)

Fixed-Interval Schedule

Reinforcers are presented at fixed-time periods, provided that the appropriate response is made

Variable-interval Schedule

a behavior is reinforced based on an average time that has past since the last reinforcement

Fixed-ratio Schedule

reinforcement is delivered after a specific number of responses have been made

Continuous Reinforcement

a special case of fixed-ratio schedule in which reinforcement is presented after each response

Variable-ratio Schedule

the delivery of reinforcement is based on a particular average number of responses

(produces higher rates of responding than fixed-ratio schedules because the organism never knows when the next reinforcement is going to appear)

The higher the ratio, the higher the response rate is

Intermittent Reinforcement

when only some of the responses made are followed by reinforcement

Intermittent Reinforcement Effect

Operant behaviors that are maintained under intermittent reinforcement schedules resist extinction better than those maintained under continuous reinforcement schedules

– If a vending machine doesn’t work even once, you’ll stop putting money in
– If a slot machine goes extra long without a payoff, you’ll likely keep playing

Shaping

Learning that results from the reinforcement of successive steps to a final desired behavior
– This is how many complex behaviors are learned
– The outcomes of one set of behaviors shape the next set of behaviors…

Successive Approximations

a method of shaping operant behavior by reinforcing responses similar to the desired behavior

(this process can speed up the operant learning process)