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