UNIT 6: Learning

Social Learning Theory, Important People, and Reinforcement Schedule Types

Social Learning Theory =

* created by Albert Bandura (Bobo Doll Experiment)
* people learn through observation
* reciprocal determinism = a person’s behavior is both influenced by personal factios and their environment
* self-efficacy = beleif in one’s own competence

Initial Reinforcement

at every positive result, the subject is rewarded

Continous reinforcemtent results in…

quicker extinction

Overjustification Effect

the effect of promising a reward for an already desired activity

Skinner

* Operant Conditioning
* Reinforcement is more effective in shaping learning than consequences

Positive Punishment

giving unwanted stimuli in response to unwanted behavior

Negative Punsihment

removing wanted stimuli in response to unwanted behavior

Positive Reinforcement

giving desireable stimuli in response to wanted behavior

Negative Reinforcement

removing undesirable stimuli in response to wanted behavior

Continous Reinforcement

every time the response is made the subject is reinforced

Variable-Ratio Schedule (MOST EFFECTIVE)

reinforcement after a varying nuber of responses

Partial Reinforcement

reinforcement after a fixed amount of responses (ex. punch cards)

Premack Principle

* desirable action can be used to reinforce undesirable action (finish your broccoli and you get ice cream)
* Operant Conditioning is in the eye of the beholder

Davis Premack

Premack Principle

Law of Effect

* behaviors followed by POSITIVE consequences are likely to be repeated
* actions resulting in NEGATIVE outcomes are less likely to be repeated

Edward Thorndike

Law of Effect

Aversive Conditioning

Using deterants (ex. putting a nauseating chemical in an alcoholic’s drink)

John Garcia

* Aversive Classical Conditioning
* studied radiation in mice

John B. Watson

Baby Albert Experiment

Second Order Condtioning

Pavlov’s red light

yeilds response without being directly linked to unconditioned stimuli

Discrimination

only responding to specific stimuli

Generalization

responding to similar/specific stimuli without distinction (different pitches of a bell)

John Locke

Tabula Rasa/Nature vs. Nurture

Associative Learning

learning to connect things or events together (ex. full name means you’re in trouble)

Classical Conditioning

stimulus and response (involuntary)

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Operant Conditioning

behavior and consequence (voluntary)

Ivan Pavlov’s Dog Studies tested…

classical conditioning (the association of two stimuli that will elicit the same response for either)

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UCS results in

UCR (instinctual)

UCS + CS

UCR (learned)

CS results in

CR (learned)

Robert Rescorla

* combines cognitive and behavioral
* within conditioning, there is a cognitive aspect
* we process associations differently
* not all associations are equal

Learned Helplessness

“learned“ that there isn’t a connection between the response and the reinforcer (i.e. classical conditioning doesn’t always work)

Acquisition

creating the association

Extinction

breaking the association

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Spontaneous Recovery

quickly regaining association over time