psych lec 4-2025-02-24T19:59:48.075Z

Overview of Learning in Psychology

• The lecture focuses on learning, a core concept in introductory psychology, covering classical and operant conditioning, and other learning theories presented by TA Melissa.

Exam Information

• Exam grades will be released today; average score approximately 64%.

• Exams consisted of 62 questions, but scored out of 60, meaning scores need to be divided by 60 for percentage.

• TAs have exam scan sheets available for review during office hours; documentation required for makeup exams due to health issues must be submitted ASAP.

Learning Definition

• Learning: Process of acquiring new, relatively enduring information or behavior through experience.

• Simplest form: Habituation - adapting to repeated stimuli (e.g., ignoring a train sound).

• Contrast with evolution: Evolutionary changes happen across generations; learning occurs within an individual's lifetime.

Behaviorism - Major Concepts

• Early psychologist John Watson criticized focus on unobservable mental processes; advocated for the study of observable behaviors, impacting psychology's direction.

• Focus on animal behavior in studies due to ease compared to human research.

Classical Conditioning (Pavlov)

• Classical Conditioning: Learning by associating an environmental stimulus with a behavioral response (e.g., cats expect food at the sound of a can opener).

• Ivan Pavlov's Experiment: Pavlov, initially studying digestion in dogs, found dogs salivated in response to stimuli associated with food.

• Noted that dogs salivated not just to food (unconditioned stimulus) but also to the sound of a tuning fork (neutral stimulus) after repeated pairings.

• Terminology:

  • Unconditioned Stimulus (US): Naturally elicits response (food).

  • Unconditioned Response (UR): Natural reaction (salivation).

  • Conditioned Stimulus (CS): Formerly neutral stimulus that now elicits response (tuning fork after conditioning).

  • Conditioned Response (CR): Learned response to conditioned stimulus (salivation to the tuning fork).

• Extinction: Weakened response after conditioned stimulus is no longer paired with the unconditioned stimulus.

• Spontaneous Recovery: Re-emergence of a previously extinguished conditioned response after a pause.

• Stimulus Generalization vs. Discrimination:

• Generalization: Responding similarly to stimuli resembling the conditioned stimulus (e.g., fear of all furry animals after being stung by a bee).

• Discrimination: The differentiation between stimuli; only responding to the actual conditioned stimulus (e.g., salivation only to specific tones).

• Higher Order Conditioning: Conditioning a second neutral stimulus using a conditioned stimulus (e.g., associating a black box with the tuning fork).

Key Studies and Implications

• Little Albert Study: John Watson and Rosalie Rayner conditioned fear in an infant, showing how emotions can be learned through conditioning.

• Systematic Desensitization and Aversive Conditioning: Practical applications of classical conditioning principles in therapy (e.g., treating phobias).

Operant Conditioning (Skinner)

• Operant Conditioning: Learning process through associating voluntary behavior with consequences.

• Thorndike's Law of Effect: Conveys that behaviors followed by favorable outcomes are more likely to be repeated.

• B.F. Skinner's Contributions:

• Shaping: Rewarding successive approximations of a desired behavior, ensuring clarity in the behavior to be reinforced.

• Distinction between reinforcement (increasing behavior) and punishment (decreasing behavior).

Types of Reinforcement and Punishment

• Positive Reinforcement: Adding a pleasant stimulus to increase behavior (e.g., giving a lollipop).

• Negative Reinforcement: Removing an unpleasant stimulus to increase behavior (e.g., lifting a curfew).

• Positive Punishment: Adding an unpleasant stimulus to decrease behavior (e.g., chores for misbehavior).

• Negative Punishment: Removing a pleasant stimulus to decrease behavior (e.g., taking away phone privileges).

Schedules of Reinforcement

• Continuous Reinforcement: Fast learning but unsustainable long-term.

• Partial/Intermittent Schedules: Fixed Ratio, Variable Ratio, Fixed Interval, Variable Interval: Each schedule influences how quickly responses are learned and maintained, with variable schedules fostering persistence.

• Behavior Modification and Token Economies: Practical applications in settings like schools to promote desired behaviors effectively, using reinforcement principles.

The Role of Cognition in Learning

• Learned Helplessness: Inability to escape negative outcomes can lead to passive behavior, impacting motivation and learning.

• Beliefs about reinforcement and evaluation of experiences influence behavior persistence.

• Self-evaluations: Positive behaviors can reinforce actions through feelings of pride or guilt, impacting future behavior.

• Intrinsic vs. Extrinsic Motivation: The quality of reinforcement itself and individual perceptions matter.

Other Learning Methods - Cognitive Maps and Observational Learning

• Cognitive Maps: Mental representation of environments, demonstrated in rats navigating mazes without explicit training need.

• Latent Learning: Learning that is not immediately expressed until a reward is present, shown in experiments where rats learned maze layouts without direct reinforcement initially.

• Mirror Neurons: Neurons that activate both when executing and observing actions, contributing to empathy and learning through observation.

• Albert Bandura’s Bobo Doll Experiment: Highlighted that children can learn behaviors (including aggression) through observation of role models.