Generalization, discrimination and stimulus control

Forms of generalizations

4 different types

• vicarious generalization

• response maintenance

• response generalization

• stimulus generalization

Vicarious Generalization

a type of stimulus generalization

• focuses on people

• stereotypes

Ex. of vicarious generalization

mistaking stranger for friends

Response Maintenance

ability to maintain a learned experience over time

Ex. of Response Maintenance

• multiplication tables

• studying terms

Response generalization

a learned response occurs to a new stimulus

• the tendency of changes in one behavior to spread to other behaviors

Ex. of Response generalization

saying excuses me when you want something AND when you wish to pass by someone

Stimulus generalization

a learned response to stimulus similar to the one that was learned

• also refers to the tendency for changes in behavior in one situation to spread to another situation

• 4 types

Ex. of Stimulus generalization

• typing on the keyboard → typing on a phone keyboard

• playing an acoustic guitar → playing an electric guitar

4 types of stimulus generalization

• fear conditioning

• generalization following reinforcement

• generalization following extinction

• generalization following punishment

Trust and Mistrust

We learn to trust and not trust people via vicarious generalization

• the study showed that people prefer to interact with strangers who resembled a previously trusted individual to those who did not resemble one

Fear Conditioning

little Albert experiment

Generalization following reinforcement

Occurrence of a behavior in situations or contexts similar to the one where the reinforcement was given

• bird pecking at varying colors after reinforcement for pecking at a color wiht a wavelength of 550 nanometers

Generalization following extinction

refers to a response that was extinguished in one context begins to reappear in similar but different contexts

• responding to trauma triggers even after extinction training in virtual reality

Generalization following Punishment

Organism or individual avoids or changes behavior not only in the specific situation where punishment was applied but also in similar contexts or with similar stimuli

Generalization Gradient

the pattern or relationship that illustrates how much a learned response is generalized to stimuli that are similar to, but not identical to, the original stimulus

Stimulus generalization is typically expressed as what?

Generalization Gradient

Potential problems with generalization

• giving up: learned helplessness

• inflating problem behaviors: anxiety

• generalized behavior when interacting with animals

• hate crimes: stereotypes, ism

Generalization vs Discrimination

Discrimination is the tendency for behavior to occur in certain situations but not others

What is the relationship between generalization and discrimination?

Inverse relationship with generalization

• more discrimination= less generalization

Meta-analytic data suggests what about people with anxiety and discrimination?

It suggests that people with anxiety disorders have difficulty with discrimination of fear-related stimuli

Discrimination training

2 types

• Operant training

• Pavlovian training

Operant training

Any stimulus that signals either that a behavior will be reinforced or that it will not be reinforced

Ex. Operant training

• Uses reinforcement or punishment to teach discrimination.

• Involves a voluntary behavior (e.g., pressing a lever, raising a hand).

Pavlovian training

a controlled stimulus that is associated with either the appearance of an unconditioned stimulus or the absence of an unconditioned stimulus

Ex. of pavlovian training

• Involves an involuntary reflex or emotional response (e.g., salivation, fear).

• Uses predictive pairings of two stimuli to teach discrimination.

Simultaneous Discrimination training

Procedure where discriminative stimulus and non-discriminative stimulus are shown together

ex. of simultaneous discrimination training

presenting a rat two doors

• one door has food

• another doesn’t have food

• the incorrect door would lead the rat to the doors again

• the rat will increasingly choose the correct door

Successive discrimination Training

A procedure where the discriminative stimulus and non-discriminative stimulus are presented one after the other in a random sequence

• teaches individuals to differentiate between stimuli

ex. of Successive discrimination Training

• Horse presses a lever when a 2.5 inch circle appears and when a 1.5 inch circle appears

• Food is presented only when the lever is pressed while the 2.5 inch circle is present

• Horse increasingly presses lever when 2.5 inch circle is present and ignores the 1.5 inch circle

Matching to Sample

A discrimination training procedure in which the task is to select from two or more comparison stimuli

ex. Matching to Sample

similar shapes, color and sizes

Oddity Matching

given 3 things, find the odd one out

Errorless discrimination training

A form of training in which the non-discriminative stimulus is introduced in a very weak form for short periods of time and gradually presented at greater strengths for longer

Ex. Errorless discrimination training

having a pigeon discriminate between a red and green disc.

• the red disck would be shown for 5 mins while the green disc is shown for 3 secs

• eventually the green disc is also shown for 5 mins at a time

Is error necessary for learning?

no, they are not a function of learning nor are they blamed on the learner.

Stimulus Control

The tendency for a behavior to occur in the presence of a discriminative stimulus BUT NOT in the presence of a non-discriminative stimulus 

• the behavior only occurs with the discriminative stimulus

• used everyday

Ex. of stimulus control

• stop at red light but go at green light

• walk out of fourth floor instead of 5th floor to go to class

Is stimulus control bad?

not inherently bad

• needed to keep things safe and in order

Benefits of stimulus control

• keeps us from performing a behavior that wastes unnecessary time and energy

• prevents us from performing inappropriate behavior

• ensures that we all follow the same rules

How is stimulus control used in overdose?

Overdose can be seen as caused by discriminative stimuli

• Not just with unintentional controlled stimuli that create a compensatory controlled response

How is it used to explain relapse

• they relapse due to the stimulus provided in the environment

Because the stimulus is in control:

it is used in treatment to help end addiction by avoiding these stimuli or limit the control that the stimulus has to elicit a behavior or response

Theories of generalization

3 of them

• Pavlov

• Spence

• Lashley wade

Pavlov

Refers to the process by which an organism responds to stimuli similar to, but not identical to, the original conditioned stimulus (CS).

Spence

generalization occurs when an organism develops excitatory and inhibitory gradients around a conditioned stimulus (CS).

• Excitatory gradient

• Inhibitory gradient

Excitatory gradient

a gradient showing an increased tendency to respond to the discriminative stimulus or positive controlled stimulus

Inhibitory gradient

a gradient showing a decreased tendency to response to the non-discriminative stimulus or negative controlled stimulus and similar stimuli

Lashley Wade

Your ability to generalize or discriminate depends on your prior experience with stimuli

We generalize because

we haven’t learned the differences yet

We discriminate because

we have learned the differences

Observational learning

2 types

• social observational learning

• asocial observational learning

Social observational learning

learning form observation of a model and the consequences of the model’s behavior

Asocial observational learning

learning form observation of events and their consequences with the absence of a model

Why did observational learning have a poor start?

• Thorndike experiment with cats proved that animals can’t learn by observing another cat completing the puzzle

• Carl Warden concluded that monkeys can imitate each other

Vicarious reinforcement in observational learning

Occurs when the consequences of the model’s behavior strengthens the observer’s tendency to behave in a similar way

Ex. of vicarious reinforcement

watching someone slide open to get money and you do so too

Vicarious punishment in observational learning

occurs when the consequences of the model’s behavior weakens the observer’s tendency to behave

ex. of vicarious punishment

seeing your sibling getting yelled at for crossing the street

Imitation

Copying

• behaving in a manner that is identitcal to the behavior of a model

• game: simon says

Emulation

copying the goal of the behavior but achieving it in a different manner

• in math, you have the right answer but different method

• wanting to be someone

Domestic Violence

intergenerational transmission of violence

• example of observational learning

Gender stereotypes

children learn what behavior is appropriate for boys and girls

• example of observational learning

Is exposure to violent video games a causal risk factor for increased aggressive behavior?

YES, its aggressive affect leads to a decreased empathy and prosocial behavior

Is observational learning easy or hard?

it is not easy because there are many important factors to take into consideration

what are the important factors for observational learning to happen?

• task difficulty

• the skill of the model

• characteristics of the model

• characteristics of the observer

• the consequences of the observed acts

• the consequences of the observer’s behavior

how can task difficulty impact observational learning?

Observing a model performing a difficult

task improves the likelihood of success

• level of difficulty is also a subjective

how can the skill of the model impact observational learning?

We can observe an skilled modeling or an unskilled modeling but data is not clear about which one works better because it depends on the difficulty of the task it self

Unskilled modeling is also called

learning model

how can characteristics of the model impact observational learning?

people learn better from models that are more attractive, likable, prestigious because we pay attention to these characteristics more

how can characteristics of the observer impact observational learning?

• the species of the observer

• learning history/ experience

• other characteristics related to readiness to learn

Theories of observational learning

2 main theories

• Bandura’s social learning theory

• Operant learning model

Bandura’s Social Learning Theory

relies on cognitive processes

• what are the model’s behavior

• representing a model’s behavior

• using representations formed during retention to perform a modeled behavior

• expectations that a modeled behavior will be reinforced

Operant learning model

relies on observable behaviors

• environmental stimuli’s that elicits or triggers the behavior for a reward

• acts the observer performs to improve performance for a reward

• learning history

what is a limitation of learning

physical characteristics

• non-human primates can learn ASL but not learn verbal communication

Who attempted to demonstrate that learned behavior can be passed onto the next generation?

William McDougal

What did William McDougal show with breeding rats?

He argued that as the generations progressed the “learning” done would be easier and easier

• also showed that rats were forced to develop a habit that would then be passed down to their offspring

• later research suggests that his work was flawed but not entirely incorrect

Why did Lamarck disagree with Darwin?

he argued that organisms changed their behavior based on the environment that changed their organs and offspring

Transgenerational Epigenetic Inheritance:

it is the transmission of epigenetic markers and modifications from one generation to multiple subsequent generations without altering the base DNA

• gene expressions that turns on or off based on the environment

Who replicated Mcdougall’s experiment on rats?

Robert Tyron

what did Robert Tyron demonstrate?

After 18 generations, rats from the first strain performed much better than the 2nd strain

Environmental factor

Neurotoxins

Why is there an increase in the population of people who have autism, ADHD, dyslexia etc?

there is an increase in industrial chemicals that injure brain development

Instinctive drift

not all learned behavior persist

• the tendency for an animal to revert back to a fixed action pattern after learning a competing behavior due to some motivational state

Preparedness for learning

All organisms have inclinations to behave certain ways and it limits the desire to learn or behave a certain way

does learning have set end goal?

Just like evolution, learning does NOT have an end goal!