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ch 6 ; learning

What are the Types of Learning?

Learning is a systematic, relatively permanent change in behaviour that results from cognitive experience.

Three assumptions:

Responses are learned, not innate
Learning is adaptive
Experiments can uncover the laws of learning, which will apply to animals and humans.

Behaviourism is a systematic method or approach to understanding changes in behaviour that focuses solely on observable behaviours, discounting the importance of mental activity (thinking, wishing, hoping).

It maintains that the principles of learning are the same for humans and nonhuman animals.

Non-associative learning involves procedures when only a single event or stimulus is presented without any reward or punishment.

There are several types of non-associative learning: habituation, sensitization, and imprinting.

Habituation	Sensitization	Imprinting
a decrease in the response to a repeated or prolonged stimulus over time. allows us to ignore stimuli that provide little/no important info, so we can focus on important stimuli. low-intensity stimuli	increase in the response to a repeated or prolonged stimulus high-intensity stimuli	a form of non-associate learning that takes place during a limited time, often within hours or days of birth/hatching, and creates an enduring behaviour that is often directed toward a specific individual.

Associative learning occurs when an organism makes a connection, or association, between two stimuli or events. Conditioning is the process of learning these association.

Two types of conditioning: classical and operant.

Classical conditioning: learning the association between two stimuli, leading to the anticipation of events.
Operant conditioning: learning the association between a behaviour and a consequence, leading to the increase of rewarded behaviours and decrease of punished behaviours.

Observational learning is a type of social learning that occurs when one person or animal observes another’s behaviour.

It differs from the associative learning described by behaviourism because a person can learn indirectly through observing others rather than learning from their own direct experience

Infants rely on observational learning & imitation.

What is Classical Conditioning?

Classical conditioning is a learning process in which a neutral stimulus becomes associated with a innately meaningful stimulus, and acquires the capacity to elicit a similar response.

Reflexes are an example of automatic stimulus-response connections. They induce salivation in response to food, nausea in response to spoiled food, shivering in response to cold, etc.

Unconditioned stimulus (US) is a stimulus that produces a response without prior learning.

Unconditioned response (UR) is an unlearned reaction that is automatically elicited by the US. It’s involuntary.

Conditioned stimulus (CS) is a previously neutral stimulus that eventually elicits a conditioned response after being paired with the unconditional stimulus.

Conditioned response (CR) is the learned response to the conditioned stimulus that occurs after CS-US pairings. Sometimes they’re similar to unconditioned responses, but they’re usually not as strong.

Pavlov used a buzzer, not a bell.

The temporal order of presentation of CS and US is important. The best conditioning occurs when CS precedes the US (forward conditioning). The worst conditioning occurs when US precedes US (backward conditioning).

Acquisition refers to the phase in learning where CS is paired with US and a learned response (CR) is acquired.

Contiguity means that the CS and US are presented close together in time.

Contingency means that the CS must serve as a reliable indicator that the US is on its way.

Generalization in classical conditioning is the tendency of a new stimulus that is similar to the original conditioned stimulus to elicit a response that is similar to the conditioned response

Discrimination in classical conditioning is the process of learning to respond to certain stimuli and not others.

extinction in classical conditioning is the weakening of the conditioned response when the unconditioned stimulus is no longer presented.

Spontaneous recovery is the process in classical conditioning by which an extinguished conditioned response can recur after a time delay, without further conditioning.

Renewal refers to the recovery of the conditioned response when the organism is placed in a novel context, and its a powerful problem to overcome.

E.g., not craving drugs in a rehab facility, but coming home leads to intense cravings.

Acquisition of fears can be explained by classical conditioning. This was demonstrated in John B. Watsons experiment where Little Albert was classical conditioned to fear rats and other similar stimuli.

Counterconditioning is a classical conditioning procedure that involves changing the conditioning of an undesired response to a stimulus into a desired response.

Aversive conditioning is a form of treatment that consists of repeated pairings of a stimulus with a very unpleasant stimulus.

Food cues are conditioned stimuli that are part of the eating experience, including the sight, taste, smell, and texture of food.

Placebo effect is when a substance or a procedure with no biologically known ingredients influences a person.

Classical conditioning can produce, Immunosuppression is a decrease in the production of antibodies, which can lower a person’s ability to fight disease.

Patients with multiple sclerosis were given a flavoured drink prior to receiving a drug that suppressed the immune system. After this pairing, the flavoured drink by itself lowered immune functioning, similarly to the drug.

Research has shown that placebo pills can influence the secretion of hormones if patients had previous experiences with pills containing actual drugs that affected hormone secretion

Studies have revealed that the sympathetic nervous system (the part of the autonomic nervous system that responds to stress) plays an important role in the learned associations between conditioned stimuli and immune and endocrine functioning.

Taste aversion learning is a special kind of classical conditioning involving the learned association between a particular taste and nausea.

It typically requires only one pairing of a neutral stimulus (a taste) with the unconditioned response (nausea) to learn a connection that often lasts a very long time.

can play a role in cancer treatments, where radiation produces nausea and thus patients end up developing strong aversions to foods they ingest.
Unlikely to occur with “food staples” that have been necessary to survival throughout our history.

Early studies demonstrated that giving children a “scapegoat” conditioned stimulus prior to chemotherapy would help contain the taste aversion to only one specific type of food or flavour.

We learn to prefer tastes (the CS) that are paired with unconditioned stimuli such as calories, recovery from illness, and positive emotions.

Embedded marketing is the exploitation or classical conditioning principles for advertisement.

Drug habituation occurs when someone develops a tolerance for a psychoactive drug and needs an increasing dose of the drug to get the same effect.

the conditioned response to a drug can be the body’s way of preparing for the effects of a drug. This plays a role in understanding drug overdoses.

Respondent behaviour is behaviour that occurs as an automatic response to a stimulus.

Classical conditioning explains involuntary responses. Operant conditioning explains voluntary behaviours.

What is Operant Conditioning?

Operant conditioning/instrumental conditioning is a form of associative learning in which the consequences of a behaviour change the probability that the behaviour will occur again.

B.F. Skinner used the term operant to describe the behaviour of the organism.

behaviour operates on the environment.

Contingency plays a role in operant conditioning, e.g. when a rat pushes a lever (behaviour) and food is delivered (consequence), the contingency of the lever —> food is important.

E. L. Thorndike studied cats in puzzle boxes, placing a hungry cat inside a box and placing a fish outside. The cat had to learn to open the latch inside the box. At first the cat made a number of ineffective responses. Eventually the cat accidentally stepped on the lever that released the door bolt. When the cat returned to the box, it again went through random activity until it stepped on the lever once more. The cat made fewer and fewer random movements until finally it immediately stepped on the lever to open the door.

Law of effect states that behaviours followed by pleasant outcomes are strengthened and behaviours followed by unpleasant outcomes are weakened.

Skinner believed that mechanisms of learning were shared among all species. He trained pigeons to pilot missiles. He created an operant conditioning chamber, called a Skinner box, to control experimental conditions.

Shaping refers to rewarding successive approximations of desired behaviours.

keep rewarding the animal/person every time it gets closer and closer to the desired behaviour.
often used to help people with motor problems

Reinforcement is the process by which a stimulus or event (reinforcer) following a particular behaviour increases the probability that the behaviour will happen again. These desirable consequences of a behaviour are of two types: positive reinforcement and negative reinforcement.

Positive reinforcement is when the frequency of behaviour increases because it is followed by a desirable stimulus.

Negative reinforcement is when the frequency of behaviour increases because it is followed by the removal of something undesirable.

avoidance learning occurs when the organism learns that by making a particular response, a negative stimulus can be escaped or avoided.

its powerful in the sense that the behaviour is maintained even in the absence of any aversive stimulus.

learned helplessness is when an organism has learned that it has no control over negative outcomes, even when it is given a chance it makes no attempt to change the outcome.

Primary reinforcer is innately satisfying; it doesn’t require any learning on the organism’s part to make it pleasurable.

Secondary reinforcer acquires its positive value through an organim’s experience; it is learned or conditioned reinforcer.

Token economy is where behaviours are rewarded with tokens and can be exchanged for desired rewards. Secondary reinforcers are used here.

Operant generalization means performing a reinforced behaviour in a different situation.

Operant discrimination means responding differently to stimuli that signal that a behaviour will or will not be reinforced.

Operant extinction occurs when a behaviour is no longer reinforced and decreases in frequency.

Continuous reinforcement is when a behaviour is reinforced every time it occurs. When it stops, extinction takes place quickly.

Partial reinforcement is when a reinforcer follows a behaviour only a portion of the time, and is more resistant to extinction. Characterizes most life experiences.

Schedules of reinforcement are specific patterns that determine when a behaviour will be reinforced.

Fixed ratio
Variable ratio
Fixed interval
Variable interval

Ratio schedules involve the number of behaviours that must be performed prior to reward

Interval schedules refer to the amount of time that must pass before a behaviour can be rewarded.

In a fixed schedule, the number of behaviours or the amount of time is always the same—the delivery of the reinforcer is perfectly predictable.

In a variable schedule, the required number of behaviours or the amount of time that must pass changes—the delivery of the reinforcer is not predictable

fixed-ratio schedule provides reinforcement after a set number of behaviours.

variable-ratio schedule meaning behaviours are rewarded on an unpredictable basis, they produce high, steady rates of behaviour that are more resistant to extinction than the other three schedules. Most responses for least reward.

Fixed-interval schedule reinforces the first appropriate behaviour after a fixed amount of time has passed. Rate of behaviour increases as time approaches when the behaviour will likely be reinforced.

Variable-interval schedule is a timetable in which a behaviour is reinforced after a variable amount of time has elapsed. Behaviour is slow and consistent on a variable-interval schedule.

Punishment is a consequence that decreases the likelihood that a behaviour will occur in the future.

Positive punishment is when a behaviour decreases when followed by the presentation of a stimulus.

Negative punishment is when a behaviour decreases when a stimulus is removed.

Time-out is a form of negative punishment where a child is removed from a positive reinforcer (like toys).

Operant conditioning learning is usually more efficient when the interval between the behaviour and its reinforcer is a few seconds rather than minutes or hours. Humans can connect behaviours to delayed reinforcers (delayed gratification). Immediate punishment is more effective than delayed punishment in decreasing the occurrence of a behaviour.

When the delayed consequences of behaviour are punishing and the immediate consequences are reinforcing, the immediate consequences usually win, even when the immediate consequences are minor reinforcers, and the delayed consequences are major punishers. ← e.g., over-eating, procrastinating. The opposite (minor immediate discomforts vs major delayed gratification) also exists.

Applied behaviour analysis (behaviour modification) is the use of operant conditioning principles to change human behaviour.

What is observational Learning?

Observational learning (imitation or modelling) is the learning the occurs when a person observes, retains, and often imitates the behaviour of others.

Bobo doll study by Albert Bandura: two groups of kids. one watched a bunch of bobo dolls get abused, the others watch the bobo dolls being ignored. The kids who watched the aggression displayed the same aggression against the dolls, whereas the kids who didn’t did not do so.

Bandura said are four main processes in observational learning:

Attention: noticing the behaviour of another
Retention: hold the information in memory
Motor reproduction: imitating model’s actions
Reinforcement: what consequences follow the modeol’s behaviour.

Vicarious reinforcement occurs upon seeing a model attain a reward for an activity, which increases the chances that will repeat the behaviour.

Vicarious punishment occurs upon seeing a model being punnished, which makes the observer less likely to repeat the behaviour.

Are Cognitive Factors Involved in Learning?

Edward Tolman emphasized the purpose of behaviour— the idea that much of behaviour is goal-directed. He believed it was necessary to study entire behavioural sequences in order to understand why people engage in particular actions.

To understand human behaviour, you need to view it in a larger context.

Tolman said that when classical conditioning and operant conditioning occur, the organism acquires certain expectations. He emphasized that the information value of the conditioned stimulus is important as a signal or an expectation that an unconditioned stimulus will follow.

A contemporary view of classical conditioning describes an organism as an information seeker, using logical and perceptual relations among events, along with preconceptions, to form a representation of the world.

Latent (implicit) learning is unreinforced learning that isn’t immediately reflected in behaviour. (e.g., walking around a campus without needing to find a classroom, but finding it easier next time you need to because you learned about the campus)

Insight learning is a form of problem solving in which the organism develops a sudden insight into, or understanding of, a problem’s solution.

Insight learning appears to entail both gradual and sudden processes, and understanding how these lead to problem solving continues to fascinate psychologists

What are the Biological, Cultural, and Psychological Factors in Learning?

Sometimes species-typical behaviours (instincts) can override even the best reinforcers.

Instinctive drift is the tendency of animals to revert to instinctive behaviour that interferes with previous learning.

Based on Pavlov’s work, it was believed that in associative learning, stimuli was interchangeable (any neutral stimulus could be paired with any biologically relevant stimulus).

Taste aversion challenges this, since nausea being paired with food only takes one experience to condition a response.

Pairing snakes with shocks generates fear quicker than pairing flowers with shocks.

There is preparedness among mammals to associate certain stimuli with fear and aversive stimuli. This suggests that the association is related to the amygdala (part of the limbic system related with emotions) and its difficult to modify.

Culture can determine the content of learnings.

Learning styles are just preference, but they do not affect the effectiveness of learning.

Mindset is used to describe the way our beliefs about ability dictate what goals we set for ourselves, what we think we can learn, and ultimately what we do learn.

Fixed mindset is the belief that one’s qualities are carved in stone and cannot change.

Growth mindset is the belief that one’s qualities can change and improve through effort.

How can Learning Improve Our Health and Wellness?

A powerful factor in potentially stressful experiences is their predictability. Even having good experiences on a predictable schedule is less stressful than having good things happen unexpectedly.

Feeling in control may be a key to avoiding feelings of stress. A lack of control over aversive stimuli can be particularly stressful.

e.g., learned helplessness

The perception of improvement, even in a situation that is objectively worse than another, is related to lowered stress.

When things are not going well for us, it often feels good to find an outlet, such as going for a run or a walk in nature. Likewise, for a rat, having an outlet for life’s frustrations is related to lowered stress symptoms. Rats that have a wooden post to gnaw on or even a furry little friend to complain to are less stressed out in response to negative circumstances

Key Words

Learning is a systematic, relatively permanent change in behaviour that results from cognitive experience.

Non-associative learning involves procedures when only a single event or stimulus is presented without any reward or punishment.

Habituation is a decrease in the response to a repeated or prolonged stimulus over time.

Sensitization is the increase in the response to a repeated or prolonged stimulus.

Imprinting is a form of non-associate learning that takes place during a limited time, often within hours or days of birth/hatching, and creates an enduring behaviour that is often directed toward a specific individual.