Learning and Conditioning Notes

6.1 What Is Learning?

• Instincts and Reflexes: Innate behaviors organisms are born with.

  • Reflexes: Automatic responses to stimuli (e.g., knee-jerk).

  • Instincts: Complex behavior patterns (e.g., migration).

  • Both help organisms adapt without learning.

  • Example: Sucking reflex in babies.

• Learning: A relatively permanent change in behavior or knowledge from experience.

  • Involves acquiring skills through experience.

• Associative Learning: Connecting events that occur together.

  • Central to classical, operant, and observational learning.

• Basic Learning Processes

  • Classical Conditioning: Associating events/stimuli that happen together (e.g., lightning and thunder).

  • Operant Conditioning: Associating behavior with consequences (reinforcement/punishment) (e.g., dog sits for treat).

  • Observational Learning: Learning by watching/imitating others (e.g., learning to surf).

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• Learning is part of behaviorism.

• Different fields of psychology (memory, cognition) have their own learning traditions.

6.2 Classical Conditioning

• Ivan Pavlov and His Dogs

  • Ivan Pavlov (1849–1936) studied classical conditioning.

  • Classical conditioning: associating stimuli to anticipate events.

• Pavlov's Discovery

  • Pavlov studied dog's digestive system.

  • Dogs salivated at the sight/sound of food-related stimuli.

  • Dogs don’t naturally salivate at an empty bowl.

• Unconditioned and Conditioned Responses

  • Organisms have unconditioned (unlearned) and conditioned (learned) responses.

  • Unconditioned stimulus (UCS): Stimulus that causes a reflex (e.g., meat powder).

  • Unconditioned response (UCR): Natural reaction to a stimulus (e.g., salivation).

  • Neutral stimulus (NS): Stimulus that doesn't cause a response (e.g., tone).

• The Pairing Process

  • NS presented before UCS in classical conditioning.

  • Neutral stimulus becomes conditioned stimulus (CS), causing a response after pairing with UCS.

  • Conditioned response (CR): Behavior caused by the CS.

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• Classical Conditioning in the Real World

  • Example 1: Chemotherapy

    • UCS: Chemo drugs

    • UCR: Vomiting

    • CS: Doctor’s office

    • CR: Nausea

  • Higher-order conditioning: CS conditions another stimulus (e.g., syringe associated with medication).

  • Example 2: Cat and can opener

    • UCS: Food

    • UCR: Excitement

    • CS: Can opener sound

    • CR: Excitement

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*   pairing a new neutral stimulus (“squeak”) with the conditioned stimulus (“zzhzhz”) is called **higher-order conditioning, or second-order conditioning**.
*   This means you are using the conditioned stimulus of the can opener to condition another stimulus: the squeaky cabinet

• Classical Conditioning at Stingray City

  • Stingrays conditioned to associate boat engine sounds with food.

  • CS: Boat engine sound

  • CR: Anticipation of food

• Classical Conditioning with Humans

  • Example: Infant excited by formula canister

    • UCS: Formula

    • UCR: Excitement

    • CS: Formula canister

    • CR: Excitement

  • Example: Dog and electric fence

    • UCS: Shock

    • UCR: Discomfort

    • CS: Edge of yard

    • CR: Fear

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• General Processes in Classical Conditioning

  • Acquisition: Initial learning phase connecting NS and UCS.

  • Timing is important.

  • Taste aversion: Conditioning where illness is associated with ingested food.

    • Evolutionary adaptation to avoid harmful foods.

  • Garcia and Koelling (1966) showed biological constraints to learning.

  • Robert Rescorla demonstrated how organisms predict UCS from CS.

  • Rescorla-Wagner model: Mathematical formula to calculate association probability.

• Extinction: Decrease in CR when UCS isn't presented with CS.

• Spontaneous Recovery: Return of extinguished CR after a rest.

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• Stimulus Discrimination and Generalization

  • Stimulus discrimination: Responding differently to similar stimuli.

  • Stimulus generalization: Demonstrating CR to similar stimuli.

    • More similar = more likely CR.

• Behaviorism

  • John B. Watson: founder of behaviorism.

  • Behaviorism: Studies behavior as stimulus-response, ignoring internal processes.

• Conditioning of Human Emotions

  • Watson believed principles apply to human emotions.

  • 1920: Watson and Rayner conditioned Little Albert to fear.

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*   Watson and Rayner’s experiments with Little Albert demonstrated how fears can be conditioned using classical conditioning.
    *   UCS: loud sounds
    *   UCR: fear
    *   CS: white rat
    *   CR: fear
*   **Stimulus generalization**: Little Albert demonstrated stimulus generalization—he became afraid of other furry things.

• Watson produced a phobia, countering Freud’s view.

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• Advertising and Associative Learning

  • Advertising uses associative learning.

  • Products associated with attractive models/positive feelings.

6.3 Operant Conditioning

• Operant Conditioning Basics

  • Operant conditioning: Associating behavior and consequence.

  • Classical vs. Operant:

    • Classical: UCS paired with NS becomes CS.

    • Operant: Behavior followed by reinforcement/punishment to strengthen/weaken behavior.

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• B.F. Skinner and the Law of Effect

  • Skinner: Behavior motivated by consequences.

  • Based on law of effect (Thorndike):

    • Satisfying consequences = repeated behavior.

    • Unpleasant consequences = less behavior.

  • Skinner experimented on animals in operant conditioning chambers (“Skinner boxes”).

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• Reinforcement and Punishment

  • Positive = adding something; negative = taking away.

  • Reinforcement = increasing behavior; punishment = decreasing behavior.

  • Reinforcers increase behavior, punishers decrease behavior.

• Positive Reinforcement: Adding a desirable stimulus to increase behavior.

• Negative Reinforcement: Removing an undesirable stimulus to increase behavior.

• Punishment

  • Reinforcement increases behavior; punishment decreases it.

  • Positive punishment: Adding undesirable stimulus to decrease behavior (e.g., scolding).

  • Negative punishment: Removing pleasant stimulus to decrease behavior (e.g., taking away toy).

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*   *Drawbacks to Phsyical Punishment:
    *   Punishment may teach fear.
    *   Punishment may cause children to become more aggressive and prone to antisocial behavior and delinquency.

• Shaping: Rewarding successive approximations of a target behavior.

  • Steps:

    1. Reinforce any response resembling desired behavior.

    2. Reinforce responses closer to desired behavior.

    3. Reinforce even closer responses.

    4. Continue reinforcing closer approximations.

    5. Only reinforce desired behavior.

  • Used in teaching complex behaviors.

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• Primary and Secondary Reinforcers

  • Primary reinforcers: Innate reinforcing qualities (e.g., food, water).

  • Secondary reinforcer: Reinforcing qualities when linked to primary reinforcer (e.g., praise).

  • Token economies: Behavior management using token reinforcers.

    • Effective in schools, prisons, hospitals.

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• Behavior Modification in Children

  • Uses operant conditioning to change undesirable behaviors.

  • Sticker charts (token economies).

  • Time-out (negative punishment).

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• Reinforcement Schedules

  • Continuous reinforcement: Reinforcer every time behavior is displayed.

    • Quickest way to teach behavior.

  • Partial reinforcement: Reinforcement not every time.

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*   **Fixed interval reinforcement schedule**: Behavior is rewarded after a set amount of time.
*   **Variable interval reinforcement schedule**: The person or animal gets the reinforcement based on varying amounts of time, which are unpredictable.
*   **Fixed ratio reinforcement schedule**: There are a set number of responses that must occur before the behavior is rewarded.
*   **Variable ratio reinforcement schedule**: The number of responses needed for a reward varies.

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• Cognition and Latent Learning

  • Behaviorists focused on behavior, not cognition.

  • Edward C. Tolman’s rat experiments:

  • Rats developed cognitive maps (mental layout of maze) without reward.

  • Latent learning: Learning not observable until there's a reason to demonstrate it.

6.4 Observational Learning (Modeling)

• Observational Learning: Learning by watching/imitating others.

  • Individuals imitated = models.

  • Involves mirror neurons.

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• Albert Bandura’s Social Learning Theory

  • Bandura’s ideas differed from strict behaviorists.

  • Social learning theory: Considers cognitive processes.

  • Learning can occur without external reinforcement.

• Live, Verbal, and Symbolic Models

  • 1. Learn new response. 2. Choose whether to imitate. 3. Learn general rule.

  • Live model: Demonstrates behavior in person.

  • Verbal instructional model: Explains behavior.

  • Symbolic model: Characters in books, movies, etc.

• Steps in the Modeling Process

  • Attention: Focus on model.

  • Retention: Remember what was observed.

  • Reproduction: Perform behavior.

  • Motivation: Want to copy behavior.

    • Vicarious reinforcement: More motivated if model was reinforced.

    • Vicarious punishment: Less motivated if model was punished.

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• Prosocial and Antisocial Effects

  • Prosocial models: Encourage socially acceptable behavior.

  • Antisocial effects: Negative effects of observational learning.

    • May explain abuse cycles.

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Key Terms

• Acquisition

• Associative learning

• Classical conditioning

• Cognitive map

• Conditioned response (CR)

• Conditioned stimulus (CS)

• Continuous reinforcement

• Extinction

• Fixed interval reinforcement schedule

• Fixed ratio reinforcement schedule

• Higher-order conditioning (also, second-order conditioning)

• Instinct

• Latent learning

• Law of effect

• Learning

• Model

• Negative punishment

• Negative reinforcement

• Neutral stimulus (NS)

• Observational learning

• Operant conditioning

• Partial reinforcement

• Positive punishment

• Positive reinforcement

• Primary reinforcer

• Punishment

• Radical behaviorism

• Reflex

• Reinforcement

• Secondary reinforcer

• Shaping

• Spontaneous recovery

• Stimulus discrimination

• Stimulus generalization

• Unconditioned response (UCR)

• Unconditioned stimulus (UCS)

• Variable interval reinforcement schedule

• Variable ratio reinforcement schedule

• Vicarious punishment

• **Vic