Learning

Classical conditioning

Classical conditioning

Form of learning based on the repeated association of 2 or more different stimuli.

CC Processes - 1. Acquisition

when the neutral stimuli is repeatedly paired with an unconditioned stimulus.

CC Processes - 2. Extinction

It’s the diminishing of a response over time when its not reinforced. It occurs when the conditioned stimulus is repeated multiple times & the response no longer occurs

CC Processes - 4. Spontaneous recovery

when the conditioned response reappears after an apparent extinction.

CC - Pavlov’s dogs (Pavlov, 1902)

Pavlov first set out to study a dog’s digestive system & salvatory glands.

• Observed that dogs would salivate not only when they saw or smelled food but also when they heard the footsteps of the lab technicians who fed them.

• He then systematically paired the presentation of food (unconditioned stimulus) with the ringing of a bell (neutral stimulus).

• Over time, the dogs learned to associate the bell with food and began to salivate (conditioned response) upon hearing the bell alone, even when no food was present.

• This demonstrated how a neutral stimulus could come to evoke a response through association with a biologically significant stimulus.

CC - Little Albert experiment (Watson & Rayner, 1920) Key findings

Watson & Rayner wanted to test if the principles of classical conditioning can be applied to humans, they did this by inducing a phobia into a nine-month boy named ‘Little Albert.’

•Albert was presented with a white rat, and he showed no fear. Watson then presented the rat with a loud bang that startled Little Albert and made him cry.

•After the continuous association of the white rat and loud noise, Little Albert was classically conditioned to experience fear at the sight of the rat.

•Demonstrated generalisation --> Albert’s fear generalised to other stimuli that were similar to the rat (fluffy coat, bunny, cotton)

CC - Little Albert experiment (Watson & Rayner, 1920) GRAVE

G - One child = unrepresentative.

R - Had standardised procedures & was carefully documented. Can be replicated.

A - Understanding of phobias, led to techniques like systematic desensitisation.

V - There was controls. Overall valid.

E - Unethical, Watson & Rayner deliberately caused distress to an infant & continued even though he was upset, possible left Albert with long term phobia. Ignoring the principle of reducing harm.

Operant conditioning

learning of a behaviour through a pattern of reward or punishment.

OC - Three phase model

Skinner noticed that the conditions need to be right before the behaviour occurred. This can be referred to as the three-phase model (ABC) of operant conditioning.

OC - Three phase model (Abc)

Antecedent - the environment

OC - Three phase model (aBc)

Behaviour - to follow & to be reinforced

OC - Three phase model (abC)

Consequence - something that follows the behaviour.

OC - Reinforces

Responses from the environment that increase the probability of a behaviour being repeated. Reinforcers can be either positive or negative.

OC - Punishers

Responses from the environment that decreases the likelihood of a behaviour being repeated. Punishment weakens behaviour.

Schedules of reinforcement - Fixed- Interval

Description	Response rate	Extinction rate
reinforcement is delivered at predictable times	Moderate	Medium

Schedules of reinforcement - Fixed - ratio

Description	Response rate	Extinction rate
reinforces behaviour after a specified number of correct responses.	Fast	Medium

Schedules of reinforcement - Variable - Interval

Description	Response rate	Extinction rate
Reinforcement is delivered at unpredictable time following specific behaviour being performed.	Moderate	Slow

Schedules of reinforcement - Variable - Ratio

Description	Response rate	Extinction rate
reinforces behaviour after a random number of responses.	Fast	Slow

OC - Law of effect (Thorndike, 1898) - Key findings

To see if that when satisfaction follows an action, the behaviour is more likely to be repeated. If an unfavourable outcome follows an action, then it becomes less likely to be repeated.

• Placed hungry cats in cages with automatic doors that could open by pressing a button inside the cage

• Measure how long it takes for the cat to escape

• Repeat but with food outside the cage

Law of effect: behaviours that offer rewards will be continued, whereas behaviours that give unpleasant consequences will not continue.

OC - Law of effect (Thorndike, 1898) - Evaluations

G - animals are not humans

R - repeatable

A - used in other studies & learning

V - hungry = different behaviour = effect of experiment

E - starving animals is not ethical

Skinner box (Skinner, 1948) - Key findings

to investigate the principles of operant conditioning & behaviour modification. (rats)

Skinner had a box with levers that when pressed could present food to the animals; another lever would present the animal with a buzzer. He found that the animals would learn to stop pressing the button that would produce the buzzer & press the lever to be presented with food.

Operant conditioning – demonstrated that behaviours could be modified & controlled using reinforcement. Identified voluntary behaviours can be strengthened through reinforcement.

Schedules of reinforcement - Skinner investigated different schedules of reinforcement, including continuous reinforcement (rewarding every instance of a behaviour) & intermittent reinforcement (rewarding behaviour only occasionally). He found that intermittent reinforcement was particularly effective in maintaining behaviour over time.

Skinner box (Skinner, 1948) - Evaluations

G - Generalisations between humans & animals must be made with caution

R - Objective, controlled variables, precise measurements

A - led to the development of treatments

V - adverse conditions that they were exposed to may have affected how they reacted to the experimental situation.

E - animals were exposed to stressful & harmful conditions

Social learning theory - Bandura (Ross and Ross 1977) Key findings

To determine whether aggressive behaviours are learnt/acquired through observation & imitation.

1. Children who had observed the aggressive model were more likely to imitate the aggressive behaviour they had witnessed. They displayed physical aggression towards the Bobo doll, hitting, punching, & verbally aggressing it.

2. Children in the non-aggressive model & control groups exhibited significantly less aggressive behaviour towards the Bodo doll.

3. The experiment demonstrated that children can learn aggressive behaviours though observation & modelling, supporting the concept of observational learning & the influence of models on behaviour.

Social learning theory - Bandura (Ross and Ross 1977) Evaluations

G - 72 children

R - Controls, standardised

A - Subject to ongoing research & debate

V - demonstrated the influence of observational learning on aggression

E - Ethical concerns exposing children to aggressive behaviour - informed consent from parents

Process of observational learning

Attention - Individuals need to be focused on the modelled behaviour.

Retention -People make mental representations of behaviours & remember them

Reproduction -The individual is capable of producing the observed behaviour.

Motivation - The individual needs to want to reproduce the behaviour or have a reason to.

Reinforcement - The reinforcement of feedback following the imitation of a behaviour can influence whether the behaviour is repeated. Positive reinforcement increases the likelihood of the behaviour occurring again, while negative reinforcement decreases the likelihood.

CC Processes - 3. Stimulus generalisation

when similar stimuli to the conditioned stimulus can cause the same conditioned response e.g. Watson’s little Albert was also scared of fluffy white teddy bears.

Modelling and vicarious reinforcement

Modelling is a fundamental concept in Bandura’s theory. It refers to the process of learning by observing & imitating the behaviour of others, known as models.

Vicarious reinforcement occurs when individuals observe the consequences or rewards received by a model for a particular behaviour. If they see that model is positively reinforced for their behaviour, it can motivate observers to imitate that behaviour.

CC - Unconditioned response (UCR)

is automatically triggered by an unconditioned stimulus.

CC - Unconditioned stimuli (UCS)

A stimulus that does not need to be learned (is automatic) to trigger a response.

CC - Neutral stimulus (NS)

A stimulus that has no effect on the unconditioned response.

CC - Conditioned stimulus (CS)

A stimulus that has been learned (conditioned) to trigger a certain response.

CC - Conditioned response (CR)

A learned (conditioned) response to a conditioned stimulus.

Reinforcement & punishment

Strategy	Reinforcement	Punishment
Positive	Add something to continue behaviour	Add something to stop behaviour
Negative	Take away something to continue behaviour	Take away something to stop behaviour - undesirable behaviour

Systematic desensitisation as a treatment for phobias - process

Is an application of classical conditioning used to treat fears & phobias.

1. Teach relaxation techniques

2. Development of graduated anxiety hierarchy - Patient asked about fear, info used to create a hierarchy of feared imagined stimuli from scenes that provoke mild anxiety in tense fear.

3. Desensitisation presentation or visualisation of hierarchy items (from lowest response) while client is in relaxed state.

Token economies OC

Token economies are behavioural intervention systems used in various settings, such as schools, hospitals, & prisons, to encourage & reinforce desired behaviours.

In a token economy, individuals earn tokens or points for exhibiting appropriate behaviours. These tokens can be exchanged for a range of rewards or privileges. They provide immediate & consistent reinforcement, making them a powerful tool for shaping behaviour & promoting positive changes.

challenges, including potential over-reliance on external rewards & the need for ongoing support & maintenance to sustain behaviour change.