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Unit Overview

Learning

  • Learning is defined as a lasting change in behavior or mental processes resulting from experience.

  • Key questions about understanding learning:

    • What are the mechanisms of learning?

    • What factors influence the learning process?

    • How do different types of learning manifest in behavior?

Types of Behavior

Unlearned Behavior

  • Instinct:

    • Refers to unlearned knowledge involving complex patterns of behavior.

    • More prevalent in lower animals than humans.

  • Reflex:

    • An automatic response by an organism to a stimulus.

Learned Behavior

  • Learning:

    • Change in behavior or knowledge that results from experience.

  • Associative Learning:

    • Involves connecting certain stimuli or events that occur together in the environment.

Simple Learning

  • Habituation:

    • Learning not to respond to repeated presentations of a stimulus, e.g., emergency sirens in a city.

  • Example of reduced attention to familiar stimuli, such as car alarms.

Major Types of Learning

  • Classical Conditioning:

    • Learning to associate events or stimuli that occur together repeatedly.

  • Operant Conditioning:

    • Learning to associate behaviors with their consequences (reinforcement or punishment).

  • Observational Learning:

    • Learning by observing others and imitating their behaviors.

The Three Major Types of Behavioral Learning

  • Classical Conditioning

    • A neutral stimulus is associated with a natural response.

  • Operant Conditioning

    • Response is increased or decreased due to reinforcement or punishment.

  • Observational Learning

    • Learning occurs through observation and imitation of others.

Key Figures in Learning Theory

  • Ivan Pavlov: Classical Conditioning (Pavlov's Dog).

  • Robert Rescorla: Contingency Model of Classical Conditioning.

  • Edward Tolman: Latent Learning.

  • John B. Watson: Behaviorism.

  • B.F. Skinner: Operant Conditioning.

  • John Garcia: Taste Aversion.

  • Albert Bandura: Observational Learning (Bobo Doll Experiment).

Biological Constraints and Learning

  • Biological Preparedness:

    • Organisms are innately predisposed to form associations between particular stimuli and responses.

  • Phobias and aversions can demonstrate biological influences on learning.

Learning's Broad Implications

  • Learning goes beyond academics; it encompasses a wide range of experiences and outcomes.

  • Instincts play a smaller role than learned behaviors in humans, indicating an evolutionary advantage.

  • Cognition and behavioral changes are integral to the learning process.

Classical Conditioning

Definition

  • A form of learning where a previously neutral stimulus acquires the power to elicit a conditioned response after being paired with an unconditioned stimulus.

Components of Classical Conditioning

  • Neutral Stimulus (NS): No response prior to conditioning.

  • Unconditioned Stimulus (UCS): Stimulus that provokes a reflexive response without conditioning.

  • Unconditioned Response (UCR): Reflexive response to the UCS.

  • Conditioned Stimulus (CS): Originally neutral stimulus that gains power to elicit response.

  • Conditioned Response (CR): Response elicited by the CS after conditioning.

Ivan Pavlov's Experiment

  • Pavlov discovered that neutral stimuli could trigger learned responses through associative learning.

Acquisition and Extinction

  • Acquisition: Learning stage where the conditioned response is established.

  • Extinction: Diminishing of a learned response when UCS no longer follows the CS.

  • Spontaneous Recovery: The reappearance of a conditioned response after a rest period.

Learning and Stimulus Effects

Stimulus Discrimination and Generalization

  • Stimulus Discrimination: Ability to distinguish between similar stimuli.

  • Stimulus Generalization: Demonstrating learned responses to stimuli similar to the CS.

Higher Order Conditioning

  • Involves associating a new neutral stimulus with an existing CS to create a second-order conditioned response.

Contingency Theory

  • Proposed by Robert Rescorla, emphasizes the importance of the predictive relationship between the CS and US for effective learning.

Examples of Classical Conditioning

  • Smartphone notifications eliciting reflexive responses.

  • Media images creating emotional connections through advertisement.

  • Experiences leading to conditioned aversions.

Differences Between Classical and Operant Conditioning

  • Classical conditioning focuses on involuntary responses, while operant conditioning involves voluntary behaviors influenced by consequences.

Operant Conditioning

Definition

  • Learning where behavior is modified by its consequences, such as rewards or punishments.

Key Concepts

  • Law of Effect: Behaviors followed by positive outcomes are more likely to be repeated.

  • Shaping: Gradually guiding behavior toward a target.

Types of Reinforcers

  • Primary Reinforcer: Innate reinforcing qualities (food, water).

  • Secondary Reinforcer: Gains reinforcing properties through association (money, praise).

Positive and Negative Reinforcement

  • Positive Reinforcement: Introduction of a stimulus increases the likelihood of behavior.

  • Negative Reinforcement: Removal of an unpleasant stimulus increases the likelihood of behavior.

Punishment

  • Positive Punishment: Introduction of an unpleasant stimulus decreases the likelihood of behavior.

  • Negative Punishment: Removal of a desirable stimulus decreases likelihood of behavior.

Making Punishment Effective

  • Must be swift, certain, limited in time/intensity, and target specific behaviors rather than the individual.

Reinforcement Schedules

Types of Schedules

  • Continuous Reinforcement: All correct responses are reinforced.

  • Intermittent Reinforcement: Only some correct responses are reinforced, leading to greater persistence of behavior over time.

  • Fixed and Variable Schedules: Differentiated based on timing and consistency.

Latent Learning

  • Learning occurs without immediate demonstration until a reason to use the learned knowledge presents itself, as shown by Edward Tolman's maze experiments.

Observational Learning

Definition

  • Learning via observing others, leading to imitation of behaviors based on observed consequences.

Key Elements

  • Attention, Retention, Reproduction, Motivation: Essential components required for successful observational learning.

Vicarious Learning

  • Vicarious Reinforcement/Punishment: Observing the consequences of others' behavior can influence the likelihood of imitating those behaviors.

Social Learning Theory

  • Albert Bandura: Explored learning dynamics in social contexts (e.g., the Bobo Doll Experiment showing aggression learned through observation).

Media and Violence

  • Studies indicate associations between media violence exposure and subsequent aggressive behavior, alongside desensitization effects.

Learned Helplessness

  • Demonstrates an acquired inability to escape negative situations, based on the original observations in conditioned animals.