Chapter 7 Learning - Psychology

John B Watson and Classical Conditioning: Playing with Fear What test did he do?

-9-month-old Little Albert was not afraid of rats. -John B. Watson and Rosalie Rayner then clanged a steel bar every time a rat was presented to Albert. Albert acquired a fear of rats, and generalized this fear to other soft and furry things. -Watson prided himself in his ability to shape people's emotions.

Summary of the type of consequences

-Adding stimuli: Positive + Reinforcement (You get candy) Positive + Punishment (You get spanked) -Subtract stimuli: Negative - reinforcement (I stop yelling) Negative - punishment (No cell phone) -Outcome: Reinforcements- Strengthens target behavior (You do chores) Punishments- Reduces target behavior (cursing)

Explain B.F. Skinner's Operant Conditioning Experiment

-B. F. Skinner, like Ivan Pavlov, pioneered more controlled methods of studying conditioning. -The operant chamber, often called "the Skinner box," allowed detailed tracking of rates of behavior change in response to different rates of reinforcement. Bar or lever than an animal presses, randomly at first later rewards the animal A food/water dispenser provides the reward

Associative Leaning: Operant Conditioning Example: (NOTECARD)

-Child associates his "response" (behavior) with consequences. -Child learns to repeat behaviors (saying "please") which were followed by desirable results (cookie). -Child learns to avoid behaviors (yelling "gimme!") which were followed by undesirable results (scolding or loss of dessert).

What is an example of a cycle of mutual reinforcement?

-Children who have a temper tantrum when they are frustrated may get positively reinforced for this behavior when parents occasionally respond by giving in to a child's demands. Result: stronger, more frequent tantrums -Parents who occasionally give in to tantrums may get negatively reinforced when the child responds by ending the tantrum. Result: parents giving-in behavior is strengthened (giving in sooner and more often)

A human talent is responding to delayed reinforces, what are these reinforces hint there are two reinforcers

-Dogs learn from IMMEDIATE reinforcement; a treat five minutes after a trick won't reinforce the trick. Humans have the ability to link a consequence to a behavior even if they aren't linked sequentially in time. ------------------------------------------- -A piece of paper (paycheck) can be a DELAYED reinforcer, paid a month later, if we link it to our performance. Delaying gratification, a skill related to impulse control, enables longer-term goal setting. The answer is immediate and delayed

Which reinforcements produce more "responding" (more target behavior) for fixed interval? for variable interval? for fixed ratio? for ratio ratio?

-Fixed interval: slow, unsustained responding If I'm only paid for my Saturday work, I'm not going to work as hard on the other days. -Variable Interval: slow, consistent responding If I never know which day my lucky lottery number will pay off, I better play it every day. - Fixed ratio: high rate of responding Buy two drinks, get one free? I'll buy a lot of them! -Variable ratio: high, consistent responding, even if reinforcement stops (resists extinction) If the slot machine sometimes pays, I'll pull the lever as many times as possible because it may pay this time!

(NOTECARD) More Operant Conditioning Applications Parenting and Self-Improvement

-Parenting 1.Rewarding small improvements toward desired behaviors works better than expecting complete success, and also works better than punishing problem behaviors. 2.Giving in to temper tantrums stops them in the short run but increases them in the long run. -Self-Improvement Reward yourself for steps you take toward your goals. As you establish good habits, then make your rewards more infrequent (intermittent).

NOTE CARD (PROBLEM AND LESSON FROM PUNISHMENTS)

-Problem: Punishing focuses on what NOT to do, which does not guide people to a desired behavior Even in undesirable behaviors do stop, another problem behavior may emerge that serves the same purpose, especially if not replacement behaviors are taught and reinforced -Lesson: In order to teach desired behavior, reinforce what's right more often that punishing what's wrong.

With applying operant conditioning to parents: What are the problems with physical punishment?

-Punished behaviors may simply be suppressed, and restart when the punishment is over. -Instead of learning behaviors, the child may learn to discriminate among situations, and avoid those in which punishment might occur. -Instead of behaviors, the child might learn an attitude of fear or hatred, which can interfere with learning. This can generalize to a fear/hatred of all adults or many settings. -Physical punishment models aggression and control as a method of dealing with problems.

When are punishments less effective?

-Punishment is less effective when we try to artificially create punishing consequences for other's choices; -Severity of punishments is not as helpful as making the punishments immediate and certain.

When is punishment effective?

-Punishment works best in natural settings when we encounter punishing consequences from actions such as reaching into a fire. -In that case, operant conditioning helps us to avoid dangers.

What were the changes in the dog, bell, food example?

-The unconditioned response and the conditioned response are the same response, triggered by different events. -The difference is whether conditioning was necessary for the response to happen. -The neutral stimulus and the controlled stimulus are the same stimulus. -The difference is whether the stimulus triggers the conditioned response.

What happens after a CR (salivation) has been conditioned and then extinguished?

-following a rest period, presenting the tone alone might lead to a spontaneous recovery (a return of the conditioned response despite a lack of further conditioning). -if the CS (tone) is again presented repeatedly without the US, the CR becomes extinct again.

How does language happen other than through language and words? (Hint there's two)

1) we learn from experience 2)we learn by association

When do we learn from by association?

1.when two stimuli (events or sensations) tend to occur together or in sequence. 2.when actions become associated with pleasant or aversive results. 3.when two pieces of information are linked.How

When do we learn from experience?

1.when we learn to predict events we already like or don't like by noticing other events or sensations that happen first. 2.when our actions have consequences. 3.when we watch what other people do.

What are antisocial effect on observational learning?

Children who witness violence in their homes, but are not physically harmed themselves, may hate violence but still may become violent more often than the average child. Perhaps this is a result of "the Bobo doll effect"? Under stress, we do what has been modeled for us.

What is reinforcement schedule?

A pattern that defines how often a desired response will be reinforced

What is a spontaneous recovery [Return of the CR] ?

After a CR (salivation) has been conditioned and then extinguished: -following a rest period, presenting the tone alone might lead to a spontaneous recovery (a return of the conditioned response despite a lack of further conditioning). -if the CS (tone) is again presented repeatedly without the US, the CR becomes extinct again.

How does operant conditioning work?

An act of chosen behavior (a "response") is followed by a reward or punitive feedback from the environment. Results: -Reinforced behavior is more likely to be tried again. -Punished behavior is less likely to be chosen in the future

What is basic idea operant conditioning?

Associating chosen behaviors with resulting events

What is basic idea conditioning?

Associating events/stimuli with each other

Who saw potential in Edward Thorndike's principles?

B. F. Skinner saw potential for exploring and using Edward Thorndike's principles much more broadly. He wondered: how can we more carefully measure the effect of consequences on chosen behavior? what else can creatures be taught to do by controlling consequences? what happens when we change the timing of reinforcement?B.F. Skinner trained pigeons to play ping pong, and guide a video game missile.X B.F. Skinner trained pigeons to play ping pong, and guide a video game missile.

How often should we reinforce? Do we need to give a reward every single time? Or is that even best? These questions were put to the test by who?

B.F. Skinner experimented with the effects of giving reinforcements in different patterns or "schedules" to determine what worked best to establish and maintain a target behavior.

What is acquisition operant conditioning?

Behavior is associated with punishment or reinforcement

What is extinction classical conditioning?

CR decreases when CS is repeatedly presented alone

What is discrimination classical conditioning?

Distinguishing between a CS and NS not linked to U.S.

What is discrimination operant conditioning?

Distinguishing what will get reinforced and what will not

What is Thorndike's Law of Effect/ experiment?

Edward Thorndike placed cats in a puzzle box; they were rewarded with food (and freedom) when they solved the puzzle. Thorndike noted that the cats took less time to escape after repeated trials and rewards. Thorndike's law of effect:behaviors followed by favorable consequences become more likely, and behaviors followed by unfavorable consequences become less likely.

What is spontaneous recovery classical conditioning?

Extinguished CR starts again after a rest period (no CS)

What is spontaneous recovery operant conditioning?

Extinguished response starts again after a rest (no reward)

We may schedule our reinforcements based on an interval of time that has gone by. What is fixed interval schedule and what is variable interval schedule?

Fixed interval schedule: -Every so often Variable interval schedule: -Unpredictably often

We may plan for a certain ratio of rewards per number of instances of the desired behavior. What is fixed ratio schedule and what is variable ratio schedule?

Fixed ratio schedule: -Every so many behaviors Variable ratio schedule: -After an unpredictable number of behaviors

What is response classical conditioning?

Involuntary, automatic reactions such as salivating

What is discrimination? in terms of Ivan Pavlov?

Ivan Pavlov conditioned dogs to drool at bells of a certain pitch; slightly different pitches did not trigger drooling. Discrimination: the learned ability to only respond to a specific stimuli, preventing generalization. LESS stuff made them drool.

Little Albert Experiment

John B. Watson, 1920, classical conditioning Before Conditioning - Natural reflex is fear from the UCS: steel bar hit with hammer. Albert had no fear of the rat During Conditioning - NS: Rat + UCS: steel bar hit with hammer Natural reflex: fear After Conditioning - NS: Rat which his conditioned reflex is now fear when he sees the rat

What is Albert Bandura's Bobo Doll Experiment (1961)?

Kids saw adults punching an inflated doll while narrating their aggressive behaviors such as "kick him." These kids were then put in a toy-deprived situation... and acted out the same behaviors they had seen.

What is learning?

Learning is the process of acquiring new and relatively enduring information or behaviors.

What is the observational learning processes?

Modeling: The behavior of others serves as a model, an example of how to respond to a situation; we may try this model regardless of reinforcement. Vicarious Conditioning: Vicarious: experienced indirectly, through others Vicarious reinforcement and punishment means our choices are affected as we see others get consequences for their behaviors.

What is acquisition classical conditioning?

NS linked to US by repeatedly presenting NS before US

Even though Operant and classical conditioning are both associative learning, how are they different forms of associative learning?

Operant: -involves operant behavior, chosen behaviors which "operate" on the environment -these behaviors become associated with consequences which punish (decrease) or reinforce (increase) the operant behavior UNDERLYING DIFFERENCE There is a contrast in the process of conditioning. The experimental (consequence) stimulus repeatedly follows the operant behavior, and eventually punishes or reinforces that behavior. Classical: -involves respondent behavior,reflexive, automatic reactions such as fear or craving -these reactions to unconditioned stimuli (US) become associated with neutral (then -> conditioned) stimuli UNDERLYING DIFFERENCE There is a contrast in the process of conditioning. -The experimental (neutral) stimulus repeatedly precedes the respondent behavior, and eventually triggers that behavior.

What is the Operant Effect: Punishment

Punishments have the opposite effects of reinforcement. These consequences make the target behavior less likely to occur in the future.

What is acquisition? What gets "accquired"? How can we tell that acquisition has occurred? What is the timing?

Refers to the initial stage of learning/conditioning (NS + US) The association between a neutral stimulus(NS) and an unconditioned stimulus(US) is acquired The UR now gets triggered by a CS (drooling now gets triggered by a bell) Timing: For the association to be acquired, the neutral stimulus (NS) needs to repeatedly appear before the unconditioned stimulus (US)...about a half-second before, in most cases. The bell must come right before the food

What is Partial (intermittent) reinforcement schedule

Reinforcing a response only part of the time; results in slower acquisition of a response but much greater resistance to extinction than does continuous reinforcement

What is continuous reinforcement schedule?

Reinforcing the desired response every time it occurs

Do we learn antisocial behavior such as violence from indirect observations of others in the media?

Research shows that viewing media violence leads to increased aggression (fights) and reduced prosocial behavior (such as helping an injured person). This violence-viewing effect might be explained by imitation, and also by desensitization toward pain in others.

What is generalization operant conditioning?

Response behavior similar to the reinforced behavior.

Applications of Operant Conditioning: School? Sports? Work?

School:long before tablet computers, B.F. Skinner proposed machines that would reinforce students for correct responses, allowing students to improve at different rates and work on different learning goals. Sports:athletes improve most in the shaping approach in which they are reinforced for performance that comes closer and closer to the target skill (e.g., hitting pitches that are progressively faster). Work: some companies make pay a function of performance or company profit rather than seniority; they target more specific behaviors to reinforce.

What is extinction operant conditioning?

Target behavior decreases when reinforcement stops

What is one of the more effective forms of operant conditioning? Give an example of positive punishment? Give an example of negative punishment? Give an example of negative reinforcement? Give an example of positive reinforcement?

The Power of Rephrasing -Positive punishment: "You're playing video games instead of practicing the piano, so I am justified in YELLING at you." -Negative punishment: "You're avoiding practicing, so I'm turning off your game." Negative reinforcement: "I will stop staring at you and bugging you as soon as I see that you are practicing." Positive reinforcement: "After you practice, we'll play a game!"

(During Conditioning) example with dog, bell, and food (THIS IS A NOTECARD)

The bell/tone(N.S.) is repeatedly presented with the food (U.S.) Neutral Stimulus - bell + Unconrtolled Stimulus - food = Unconditioned Response: dog salivates

(After Conditioning) example with dog, bell, and food (THIS IS A NOTECARD)

The dog begins to salivate upon hearing the tone (neutral stimulus becomes conditioned stimulus)

What is response operant conditioning?

Voluntary actions "operating" on our environment

What is generalization classical conditioning?

When CR is triggered by stimuli similar to the CS

What was Ivan Pavlov's experiment and discovery?

While studying salivation in dogs, Ivan Pavlov found that salivation from eating food was eventually triggered by what should have been neutral stimuli such as: -just seeing the food. -seeing the dish. -seeing the person who brought the food. -just hearing that person's footsteps.

What is negative punishment?

You TAKE AWAY something pleasant/ desired (ex: no TV time, no attention)--MINUS is the "negative" here negative does not mean "bad" or "undesirable."

(Before Conditioning) What is neutral stimulus?

a stimulus that does not trigger a response For example: a bell/tone ------ > dog doesn't have any responses

(Before Conditioning) What is unconditioned stimulus and the response?

a stimulus which triggers a response naturally, before/without any conditioning For example: yummy dog food ------ > dog salivates

What is Cognitive learning?

acquiring new behaviors and information through observation and information, rather than by direct experience it occurs 1.by observing events and the behavior of others. 2.by using language to acquire information about events experienced by others.

What is positive Punishment?

adding a stimulus to stop a behavior from happening You ADD something unpleasant/aversive (ex: spank the child) Positive does not mean "good" or "desirable"

How does Associative Learning - Classical Conditioning work?

after repeated exposure to two stimuli occurring in sequence, we associate those stimuli with each other. Stimulus 1: See lightning Stimulus 2: Hear Thunder Our response to thunder becomes associated with lightning Result: our natural response to one stimulus now can be triggered by the new, predictive stimulus. After repetition Stimulus: See lightning Response: Covers ears to avoid sound

What is mirroring?

being able to picture ourselves doing the same action

What is Operant conditioning?

changing behavior choices in response to consequences this is associative learning

What is reinforcement?

feedback from the environment that makes a behavior more likely to be done again Positive +reinforcement: the reward is addingsomething desirable Negative -reinforcement: the reward is ending something unpleasant

What is shaping? .... more specifically shaping behavior (reinforcing successive approximations)

guiding a creature toward the behavior by reward behavior that comes closer and closer to the desired behavior For example: guiding you child to successfully put on their clothes without any help

What is operant Conditioning?

involves adjusting to the consequences of our behaviors. Consequence in this sense isn't bad, its like what you receive after your behavior Examples: -We may smile more at work after this repeatedly gets us bigger tips. -We learn how to ride a bike using the strategies that don't make us crash.

What is classical conditioning?

learning to link two stimuli in a way that helps us anticipate an event to which we have a reaction this is associative learning

What is cognition?

noticing consequences and associations.

What is prosocial behavior?

refers to actions which benefit others, contribute value to groups, and follow moral codes and social norms Parents try to teach this behavior through lectures, but it may be taught best through modeling... especially if kids can see the benefits of the behavior to oneself or others.

What is extrinsic motivation?

refers to doing a behavior to receive rewards from others. -One principle for maintaining behavior is to use as few rewards as possible, and fade the rewards over time.

What is intrinsic motivation?

refers to the desire to perform a behavior well for its own sake. The reward is internalized as a feeling of satisfaction. -Intrinsic motivation can sometimes be reduced by external rewards, and can be prevented by using continuous reinforcement.

What is extinction ?

refers to the diminishing of a conditioned response. If the US (food) stops appearing with the CS (bell), the CR decreases. (CS alone)

What is generalization? in terms of Little Albert?

the tendency to have conditioned responses triggered by related stimuli Little Albert became afraid of multiple furry objects More stuff made him scared

What is observational learning? what are the skills required?

watching what happens when other people do a behavior and learning from their experience Skills required: mirroring, being able to picture ourselves doing the same action, and cognition, noticing consequences and associations.

How does the strength of a CR grow?

with conditioning