GR

Psychology chapter 5

Nonassociative learning

u Nonassociative learning:

u The simplest form of learning

u Occurs after repeated exposure to a single stimulus

u Does not require association or stimulus pairing

u Ex: Moving to a new house near train tracks. At first, it may wake you up; but now, you sleep through it.

 

Associative learning

u Linking 2 events or stimuli that occur close in time

u Conditioning: Process of learning associations

u Classical conditioning “Pavlovian Conditioning”

u Associating stimuli and an anticipated event

u Learning that one event will predict another

u Passive and automatic

u You learn things go together but this can happen naturally (if not experiment); the subject does not need to do anything to make these associations

u Operant Conditioning “Instrumental Learning”

u Associate response and consequence; guides future behavior

u In contrast to classical conditioning, the subject must perform a behavior to experience a consequence

u Behaviors then represent a way to attain or avoid something

u Instrumental learning; behaviors done for a purpose

Classical conditioning

u Learn to associate 2 stimuli

u When we experience one stimulus, we anticipate the second

u Learning an involuntary (reflex) response to a stimulus that is NOT a natural stimulus for that reflex response

u Stimulus: An object or event that elicits a sensory or behavioral response in an organism

Before conditioning

·       Unconditioned Stimulus (US): stimulus that elicits response without learning

·       Unconditioned Response (UR): response that happens without learning

·       Neutral Stimulus (NS): stimulus that doesn’t elicit a specific response

After conditioning

·       Conditioned Stimulus (CS): stimulus that elicits a specific response with learning

·       Conditioned Response (CR): response that happens with learning

Phases of classical conditioning

u Acquisition: Development

        Contiguity: US must quickly follow the CS

        Contingency: US must reliably follow the CS

u Extinction: Going Away

        Reduction of a CR that occurs when the US no longer follows the CS

u Spontaneous Recovery: Coming Back

        After extinction, the CR may reappear spontaneously

 

Operant Conditioning

        The learning of voluntary behavior through the effects of pleasant and unpleasant consequences

        “responses” = voluntary actions

        Learning process in which the consequences of an action determine the likelihood that it will be performed in the future

        B.F. Skinner was a behaviorist who is associated with this type of learning

        Behaviorism: A psychological approach that emphasizes environmental influences on observable behaviors.

        Organisms make responses that have consequences (outcomes)

        Consequences increase or decrease the likelihood of making that response again

        Response can be associated with cues in the environment

        We put coins in a machine to obtain food

        Refrain when an out of order sign is placed on machine

Operant Conditioning: Reinforcement

        A reinforcer is a consequence that increases the response behavior

        Reinforcement increases the probability that the subject will make that response behavior again

        Always involved a “good” consequence

        Can be “positive” or “negative”

        Positive = addition of a stimulus

        Negative = taking away of a stimulus

 

Positive and negative reinforcement

        Positive Reinforcement

        Reinforcement of a response by the addition or gain of a pleasant stimulus

       E.g., A kid gets a reward from their parents from doing well on a test

        Negative Reinforcement

        Reinforcement of a response by the subtraction or taking-away of an unpleasant stimulus

       E.g., Telling a class that if they all pass, then a homework assignment will be taken away

Reinforcements make behaviors more likely to occur

Reinforcements Increase Behaviors

        Primary: satisfy biological needs such as food and water

        Secondary: events or objects that do not satisfy biological needs (e.g., money, compliments)

        Positive reinforcement: addition of a reward increases the probability of the behavior

        Negative reinforcement: removal of an aversive stimulus increases  the probability of the behavior recurring

Operant conditioning: punishment

        Consequence that decreases the response behavior

        Punishment decreases the probability that the subject will make that response behavior again

        Always involves a “bad” consequence

        Can be positive or negative

Positive and Negative punishment

        Positive Punishment: The addition of a stimulus to decrease the probability of a behavior’s recurring

        Spray water at the cat for jumping on the table and the cat is less likely to jump again

        Negative Punishment: The removal  of a stimulus to decrease the probability of a behavior’s recurring

        Parents removing driving privileges because their son was suspended at school

Punishment decreases behavior

        Positive punishment: addition of an aversive stimulus decreases the probability of the behavior recurring

        Negative punishment: removal of a pleasant stimulus decreases the probability of a behavior recurring

 

Schedules of Reinforcement

        Continuous Reinforcement: A type of learning in which behavior is reinforced each time it occurs

        Partial Reinforcement: A type of learning in which behavior is reinforced intermittently

        Fixed Interval (FI): when reinforcement is provided after a defined amount of time has passed

        Variable Interval (VI): when reinforcement is provided after an undefined amount of time has passed

        Fixed Ratio (FR): when reinforcement is provided after a defined number of responses have been made

        Variable Ratio (VR): when reinforcement is provided after an undefined number of responses

Modeling

        Imitation of observed behavior

        Models are more likely to be imitated when they are viewed:

1.       Positively

2.        As having high status

3.        Similar to ourselves

Modeling: Media and aggression

        Extent to which media violence impacts aggressive behavior in children is debated

        Some studies demonstrate desensitization to violence after exposure to violent video games

        However, it is difficult to draw the line between “playful” and “aggressive” behaviors in children

        There may be extraneous variables that affect both TV/gaming and violent tendencies

Vicarious learning

        Vicarious Learning: Learning about specific consequences by watching others experience that consequence for performing an action

        e.g., watching your sibling get in trouble for something, and learning to avoid making the same mistake