PSYC303 Final
The main conclusion(s) that can be drawn from Bandura's Bobo doll studies are that:
- Children who observe an aggressive model tend to replicate the same behaviors of the model. - Children who observe an aggressive model being punished for their actions are less likely to replicate the behaviors of the model. - Children who observe an aggressive model being rewarded for their actions are more likely to replicate the behaviors of the model. ANSWER: All of the above!
Priming a memory for a conditioning situation by presenting the CS:
- Makes that memory more susceptible to manipulation - Makes responding based on that memory vulnerable to extinction - Can disrupt spontaneous recovery if extinction trials are conducted shortly after the priming ANSWER: All of the above!
9: Which methodologies can be used to enhance extinction? (Be able to identify experiments described in your book, examples covered in class, hypothetical every day's life scenarios). Make sure that you understand: how can the priming of extinction be used to enhance extinction? What is the relevance to consolidation and re-consolidation?
1. Number (repetition) of extinction cycles - the use of a larger number of extinction trials produce a more profound decrease in conditioned behavior (eye blink, taste aversion, etc.). With repeated extinction trials the degree of spontaneous recovery progressively declines. 2. Spacing out the extinction trials - Short inter trial intervals (presenting the extinction trials close together) will produce stronger extinction. However, it will also have a shorter, and less enduring effect on behavior. Long inter-trial interval (spacing extinction trials apart) produce less spontaneous recovery and less renewal. 3. Immediate vs. delayed extinction: "If you fall of the horse, you get right back on it" It takes time to make memories. The process of making memories depend on our neurobiology - consolidation. Conducting extinction trials immediately after acquisition produce a more rapid loss of conditioned behavior vs. conducting extinction trials a day or more later. Repetition of later extinction trials, however, will reduce the chance of spontaneous recovery and renewal. 4. Conducting extinction in multiple contexts - reducing the renewal effect that is seen when the subject moves from the extinguished context to the context of acquisition or into a new context. - Generalization of the extinction effects. 5. Presenting "extinction-reminder cues" Presenting reminder cues from the extinction context reduces spontaneous recovery and renewal. Participants of Alcoholic Anonymous carry a chip that declares the duration of their sobriety. Patients are encouraged to carry an object from the therapeutic environment or repeat a short phrase when concerned with renewal of behavior. A help line provides similar help. So does imagination exercise: teaching the patient to imagine the treatment context when in new environment or environment that promotes renewal. 6. Priming extinction to update memory for reconsolidation: - Memories are never "solid" (consolidated). They can always be modified or changed once they are available. In fact, every time that we engage in a memory it is open to re-consolidation. This means that our memory changes every time that we talk or think about it. - Daniela Schiller (2010) found that the consolidation window is about 6 hours long. In both rats and human the activation of the memory open it up for changes. - Examples: Human participants learned the association between a colored square and a minor shock to the wrist: resulted in conditioned fear. They later underwent extinction trials which resulted in reduction of the conditioned fear. One group was exposed to CS (priming) and then extinction 10 min. later. One group was exposed to CS (priming) and then extinction 6 hours later. One group was not exposed to CS (priming) and underwent extinction only. The first group demonstrated less conditioned fear. Daniela and her dad, a holocaust survivor: The Ripple Project: Re-writing fearful memories. A reconsolidation project based in Israel.
ST: Which information is provided by research concerning the effectiveness of observational learning?
1. People can improve their performance on many tasks, including language and sports, simply by watching others perform. 2. People can improve their performance even without being aware of the influence of observational learning on their behavior - common in cases of evaluative conditioning. 3. People can serve as models without even being aware of it.
10: Which theories of punishment were covered in class? What are their prediction concerning the effect of punishment on learned behaviors? Who are the theoreticians associated with them?
1. The conditioned emotional response theory of punishment (Estes & Skinner, 1944): Suggest that an emotional response (e.g., fear) that is acquired through classical conditioning elicit freezing and thus suppress other ongoing behaviors. For instance, classically conditioned CS that was associated with shock suppress other instrumental behaviors, such as lever-pressing (conditioned suppression). The theory suggest that punishment suppress behavior through similar mechanism, but instead of a specific CS, various stimuli that are experienced before the punishment become associate with it. Prediction: the door/guests/knock will become associated with a shock provided by a shock collar, cause freezing and thus suppress behavior (barking). 2. The avoidance theory of punishment (Dinsmoor, 1954): Regards punishment as a form of avoidance behavior. Suggest that organisms respond to punishment by engaging in some other behavior that are incompatible with the punished activity. Performance of the alternative activity results in suppression of the punished behavior. The problem: which alternative behaviors are learned? Are they adaptive or maladaptive? The theory's main problems: unable to predict of the nature of the learned alternatives, and unable to measure it. 3. Punishment and the negative law of effect (Thorndike 1911): Sees positive reinforcement and punishment as symmetrically opposite processes. Suggest that punishment weakens behavior through the negative law of effect. Thorndike later abandoned these ideas. Contemporary research studies these predictions generate an important question: do reinforcers and punishments have equal but opposite effects? Experiments show that punishment is more effective in changing response preference than reinforcement: "loosing a penny is three times more punishing that earning a penny".
10: What are the characteristics of positive punishment and its methods of induction? Which mechanisms and consequences to positive punishment were covered in class? Which examples were discussed in class or are possible in our everyday life?
1. The features of the aversive (punishing) stimuli: type of stimuli. Multiple stimuli can serve as a punishment: an electric shock, a sudden air puff, loud noise, verbal reprimands, a physical slap, a squirt of water in the face, a squirt of lemon juice in the mouth, presentation of a cue associated with a shock, loss of appetitive reinforcement, etc. In human studies, a convenient punishment is a point loss (points can be traded for money). Subjects increased their response rate (discriminating two target cues) in sessions associated with point gain and reduced their response rate in sessions associated with point loss. Example: Lever-press responding of two college students reinforced on a VI schedule with points gain or loss. Response continued at baseline-like level during the reinforced stimuli, but was suppressed during the punished stimuli. Overcorrection: An extremely aversive component is added to the punishment of the behavior. A child that placed an object in his mouth would be required to remove it and wash his mouth with an antiseptic solution. A child that lies is reproached and is made to place soap in his mouth. 3. Response-contingent vs. response-independent aversive stimulation: Does the punishment depend on the response? Response-independent punishment (conditioned suppression procedure, CER) produces some suppression of instrumental behavior. However, significantly more suppression of behavior occurs if the aversive stimuli is triggered by the instrumental response (PUN, FR3). The delivery of an aversive stimulus that is contingent upon the instrumental response is more effective in suppressing that response than the delivery of an aversive stimulus that is independent of behavior. Example: During the punishment cue, lever pressing was punished on an FR 3 schedule. During the CER cue, the same number and distribution of shocks was delivered independent of behavior (YOKED procedure). Rats demonstrated more behavioral suppression in the response-contingent punishment procedure. 4. Delay of the punishment: Increased delay of the punishment (the time that elapse between the behavior and the punishment) reduces its effectiveness ("Credit-assignment problem"). If the target response is not punished right away - it is advised that it should not be punished at all. 5. The effect of the schedule of positive punishment: The degree of response suppression produced by punishment depends on the proportion of responses that are punished. FR1 schedule of punishment (shock) suppress all behaviors. Higher FR schedules (FR10) allows more responses to go unpunished and produce less behavioral suppression, but even schedules as high as FR1,000 can still produce some behavioral suppression. Example: Cumulative records of pecking by a pigeon when the response was not punished and when the response was punished according to various fixed-ratio schedules of punishment. The oblique slashes indicate the delivery of punishment. Responding was reinforced on a VI 3-minute schedule. 6. The effect of schedule of positive reinforcement: Most punished responses are maintained due to some schedule of reinforcement. The effect of punishment always depend on the reinforcer that maintains the response: Breaking the dress code is reinforced by attention or social approval. Rats will maintain lever press for food even if response result in intermittent shock delivery. In some instances, the source of the reinforcement is not clear (self-injurious behaviors in individuals with developmental disabilities). In some instances, the organism show resistance of the behavior to punishment: Example: drug-seeking in drug addiction, responding occurs at the expense of health, family, job. 7. The availability of alternative reinforced responses: The punishment is more effective if there is an alternative reinforced response to the punished response. Male smokers were allowed to press a lever for a cigarette. 1) In one condition a single lever was available, producing a reinforcement (cigarette) or punishment (an obnoxious sound) on an intermittent schedule of punishment. 2) In the second condition another, non-punished (but reinforced) lever was available. Subjects in the 1st condition demonstrated some suppression of behavior (a stable response rate), but subjects in the 2nd condition completely suppressed responding on the punished lever. Real Life Applications: The availability of alternative reinforced responses: Children punished for playing with curtain toys are less likely to play with the forbidden objects if other, permitted, toys are available. In individuals with severe developmental disorders, the occurrence of self-injurious behaviors decrease if other reinforcing behaviors are permitted. Even verbal punishments (the word "no") becomes more effective when alternative ("yes" options) are available. 8. Effect of discriminative stimulus for punishment (stimulus control): If a behavior is punished in the presence of a discriminative stimulus but is not punished when the stimulus is absent: the suppressive effects of the punishment will be limited to the presence of the discriminative stimulus. Known as: discriminative punishment Speed when a patrol car is seen. Behaving badly in the presence of one teacher, but not another (a substitute teacher). 9. Punishment as a signal for the availability of positive reinforcement: When the punishment becomes a signal or a discriminative stimulus for the availability of a positive reinforcement, responding will increase rather than decrease.
In the model-rival technique developed by Irene Pepperberg:
A student competes with the subject for the experimenter's attention
Punishment is predicted to eliminate response quickly and permanently if:
Administered using a short delay after the occurrence of the behavior.
ST: What is the connection between observational learning and aggressive behaviors? Which answers are provided by research/covered in class?
Albert Bandura (1925 -) is well known for his studies on the effect of observational learning on aggressive behavior (the "Bobo doll experiment"). He found striking evidence concerning the social learning of aggression: a. Children who observed a model behaving aggressively toward the Bobo doll tended to replicate the same behaviors when they were allowed into the same room. b. The children were very precise in some of their aggressive behavior, performing many of the same movements toward the same targets, using the same weapons, and uttering the same hostile statements. c. The effect on the child's behavior was even stronger if the child had observed reinforcement of the adult's aggression. d. Children who had observed the models' aggressive behavior being punished were less likely to reproduce the behaviors spontaneously. Bandura suggested the term Diffusion chain to explain process in which individuals initially learn a behavior by observing another individual perform that behavior, and then serve as a model from which other individuals learn the behavior.
Research given the effectiveness of schedules of positive punishment shows that:
An FR1 schedule of punishment will be more effective in suppressing behaviors compared to FR10 schedule of punishment.
Sally insert her money into the soda machine, but nothing comes out. To your surprise, she gives the machine a powerful kick. You realize she was demonstrating:
An extinction-related frustration/aggression
10: What are the differences between avoidance and punishment procedures? What are the learned components (contingencies) and its effects on the frequency of the behavior? What are some of the legal and ethical concerns implicated in positive punishment?
An instrumental response produce a stimuli/event which results in a change to the behavior: An event that results in the increase of the response rate - reinforcement. An event that results in the decrease of the response rate - punishment. The contingency between the behavior and the consequences determines whether the behavior will lead to the delivery, or removal of the stimuli: The behavior result in the delivery of a stimuli, positive. The behavior result in the removal of a stimuli, negative. In a positive punishment procedures, the organism learns that its behavior will produce the punishment. There is a positive contingency between the behavior and the consequences (the aversive stimulus). Upon learning - the frequency of the instrumental behavior decrease. In a negative reinforcement (escape or avoidance) procedures the organism learns that its behavior will omit/prevents the punishment. There is a negative contingency between the behavior and the aversive stimulus. Upon learning - the frequency of the instrumental behavior increase. With both procedures, the behavior result in the reduction of contact with the aversive stimulus. Escape will end the contingency once it started. Avoidance will prevent the behavior before it started. Both are essential to our survival. Both can have detrimental effects in the clinical environment (e.g., social/specific phobias). Although most of us engage in all sort of avoidance responses every day, as a society, educators, therapists, counselors, health professionals, animal trainers, we are particularly concerned with positive punishment learning. Positive punishment has always been in the public eye. Positive punishment is an integral part of our legal system and is used to encourage adherence to civil codes of conduct. Ethical use of positive punishment in the criminal justice system, childrearing and animal training is a matter of continual debate. Originally, Thorndike and Skinner concluded that punishment is not an effective method for controlling behavior and has only temporary effects. We now know that punishment is an effective technique for the modification of behavior. If applied appropriately - responding can be suppressed in one or two trials. Examples: A burn from a hot stove will eliminate future contacts with a hot stove. An electrical sock will eliminate any future attempt to stick a knife/fork into an electrical outlet. However, if punishment is misapplied, or behavioral suppression is incomplete, responding may recover, and the procedure may have unintended collateral effects. Will a speeding ticket eliminate all consequent speeding behavior? Will a barking collar / choke collar eliminate barking/pulling even when it is not applied?
Which of the following behaviors is likely to be 'contagious'?
An orienting response
Anthropomorphism:
Analyzes animal behavior using human perspective
Research in language learning in non-human animals demonstrate that:
Chimpanzees learn the hand gestures symbolizing human language faster than speaking human language
11: What is comparative cognition? What are the perspectives offered by traditional research and contemporary research regarding animal cognition? Which examples for animal cognition were covered in class?
Comparative cognition is an approach to the study of animal behavior that focuses on the mechanisms by which animals acquire, process, store, and act on information from the environment. The study of comparative cognition dates back to Darwin's writings about the evolution of intelligence. Darwin believed that that non-human animals are capable of various intelligent behaviors, just like humans, and suggested that mental abilities are subjected to evolution, just like physical traits. Research done over the last 50 years has taken the general-process approach - the assumption that the "rules" of learning (rather than the content or speed of the learning process) can be generalized. It is suggested that studying the intelligence (and evolution of intelligence) in many species may help us understand human behavior, explore the neurophysiological mechanisms underlying cognitive functions, & improve human well-being. Disagreement between: Ethologists - who claim that animals are capable of conscious thought, awareness, complicated emotions, verbal reasoning and intentionality. Experimental scientists - who focus on experimental evidence, exploring hypothesized cognitive processes that lead to unambiguous behavioral predictions. Neuroscientists - who point to differences in the size, complexity & evolution of animal brains. Anthropomorphism - making casual inferences about the rich mental life of an animal through the projection of our own thoughts, emotions, and intentions on them. Anthropomorphic explanations tend to overemphasize human experience and prejudge the conclusions that we may reach through systematic research. Traditional research in animal cognition investigates learning phenomena: habituation, sensitization, classical and operant conditioning = learning and memory. Through this research, additional animal capabilities were unraveled: time evaluation, probability, chain behaviors, delayed gratification etc. To the best of our knowledge, all animals are capable of learning through habituation, sensitization, classical, operant & observational processes: even the smallest, simplest ones. - The Aplysia (sea slug) will learn to withdraw itself up - if a touch repeatedly (habituation) or if the touch is followed by a shock (classical conditioning). - Bees learn to approach colors that are associated with food and ignore the ones that don't. - Male Blue Gourami fish learn that a flash of white light predicts the approach of a female and thus approach the light, producing more offspring. - Mice learn that certain juice flavors are mixed with x-radiation or lithium (which make them feel sick) and avoid it (taste aversion). - Pavlov's dogs learned to salivate to a bell associate with food. Contemporary research in animal cognition investigates even more controversial phenomena: Causal reasoning and deduction; Problem solving (opening a jar); Tool use; Social intelligence; Categorization (shapes, colors); Abstract concept learning; Language; Self-awareness; Emotions.
ST: What is contagious behavior? Which examples were covered in class? What is stimulus enhancement?
Contagious behavior - instinctive or reflexive behavior triggered by the occurrence of the same behavior in another individual. Examples: (a) Yawning; (b) Fear response - adaptive; (c) Laughing - important for social interaction and bonding. People rarely laugh when alone but do so in company. TV shows may include laugh tracks or live, laughing audience, to induce similar responses; (d) Orienting responses: We orient ourselves toward stimuli we have just sensed but also in the direction that others have oriented towards. Even 4 months old infants will follow the gaze of others (but not the head movement). So do other species (dogs, cats, etc.) Research shows that when a 12-month-old infant interacts with an adult (1) who then looks at an object (2), the infant will typically look at the same object (3)—but only when the adult's eyes are open; (e) Although highly controversial, some research support the idea that suicidal behavior can be "contagious" (transmitted, directly or indirectly, from one person to another). Prevalent in pre-teen and adolescences. Support is derived from three bodies of research: 1. Studies of the impact of media reporting on suicide. 2. Studies of suicide clusters. 3. Studies of the impact of exposure to a suicidal peer on adolescents. Other research has also addressed the distinct but related topic of contagion of non-suicidal self-injurious behaviors. Stimulus enhancement: the behavior of another individual can orient our attention to a particular item or location and increase the probability of a certain behaviors. Example: Hurrying for lunch when you see green boxes around you. Getting ice cream when others do. Stimulus enhancement is particularly effective for increasing the probability of a behavior associated with eating, drinking, or mating (strong instinctive components). The behavior may occur anyway, but in the presence of appropriate triggers, its occurrence probability will increase. It has been suggested that behavioral contagion and stimulus enhancement represent a momentary, but not a permanent, change in behavior. More substantial forms of learning occur with the observation of a model that is involved in classical and operant conditioning.
Every time that Ron's cat jump on the table, it finds yummy food. If Ron stops leaving food on the table, and the cat no longer finds food there, it is predicted that its jumping will _________, given that this behavior, acquired through __________ will be extinguished.
Decline; operant conditioning
Which theoretician is associated with the avoidance theory of punishment:
Dinsmoor
In Lab 4, you intentionally reinforced your rat's jumping behavior when performed through one type of hoop (color or size), but not the other type. In essence you performed:
Discrimination training
According to our textbook, rats who are raised with alcohol available, but did not observe alcohol consumption by their mother/foster mother:
Drank very little alcohol when they at adolescence
11: What does research demonstrate regarding social intelligence in non-human animals? Which examples and explanations were provided in class/textbook?
Empathy: - The ability to tune into another organism's emotions, mental state, need. - The ability to choose to help - when help is needed. - Rats will help a cage-mate. Rats will also help a stranger in need, but only if they are familiar with the strain. Rats will help a stranger, if they have been helped by a stranger. - Does the motivation to help involve stress/anxiety? Answer: yes. Anxiolytic drugs reduce helping behavior.
Ron was scared of clowns ever since his 5th birthday, when a clown jumped out of a closet and gave him a scare. Going to therapy, Ron learned that clowns are not scary, and he can now endure their presence. Ron's therapy included the _______________ of his fear of clowns
Extinction
9: What are the different forms of recovery from extinction? (Be able to identify experiments described in your book, examples were covered in class, hypothetical every day's life scenarios).
Extinction does not erase what was originally learned - it represents new learning. Evidence: the extinguished response reappears under four circumstances. 1. Spontaneous recovery: The decline in behavior due to extinction disappear due to the passage of time: - If a rest period is introduced after extinction training, responding comes back. - Nothing specific is done during the rest period to produce recovery (such as a CS-US presentation, or reinforcement of behavior). Example: Rate of rats poking their head into the food cup for two different CSs. The left panel shows the original acquisition of responding to the two stimuli (averaged together) when each was paired with food. The middle panel shows loss of responding during the extinction phase. The final test trials were conducted right after extinction for S2 and eight days after extinction for S1. Note that the eight-day rest period resulted in a substantial recovery of the conditioned behavior. 2. Renewal: The recovery of conditioned responding when the contextual cues that were present during extinction are changed. - Rats learned to press a lever in context A. Lever pressing behavior underwent extinction in context B. Lever pressing resumed in context A. Extinction does not result in permanent loss of conditioned behavior: behavior reappear with a change in context. - The recovery of responding with the change in context: renewal effect. The renewal effect is seen even if after extinction in context B, the subjects are tested in a new, neutral context (C), which was not associated with acquisition or extinction. This is known as ABC renewal. Rats learned to press a lever in context A. Lever pressing behavior underwent extinction in context B. Lever pressing resumed in context C. - A problem when generalization is desired: When the patient's maladaptive behaviors undergo successful extinction in the therapist's office but return once at home / office / school / new environments. 3. Reinstatement of conditioned responding: The recovery of classically conditioned behavior that occurs when the CS-US association has been extinguished, but the individual encounters the US again. - Eating a fish (CS)-> getting sick (US) -> fish avoidance (CR). Extinction: eating fish without getting sick. Reinstatement: getting sick, even with no connection to fish, will reinstate fish aversion. - Therapeutic implication: A client who was raised by an abusive parent and suffers from fear and anxiety may spend a lot of effort, time and money generating extinction of abuse-related symptoms. Even if therapy is successful, the reinstatement phenomena predict that fear and anxiety will return full blown if the patient experience an abusive encounter later in life. Responses that were successfully extinguished during the course of therapy can reappear in case that the US reappear. Extinction does not erase what was originally learned: behavior reappear with re-exposure to the US. - In instrumental conditioning: The recovery of operant-conditioned behavior that occurs when the behavior-reinforcer association has been extinguished, but the individual encounters the reinforcer again. Lab rats that learned to press a lever for cocaine successfully extinguished this behavior. However, experiencing the reinforcer again (a "free" shot of cocaine) lead to the reinstatement of the lever-press behavior. Just one cigarette... Just one shot... Just one injection... It is predicted that in humans, that "just one" encounter with the reinforcer will reinstate the conditioned responding (relapse) and eliminate years of abstinence. 4. Resurgence of conditioned behaviors: The reappearance of an extinguished target response when another reinforced behavior is extinguished (extinction of a new response will cause the reappearance of a previously extinguished behavior). - Individuals with developmental disabilities engage in disruptive self-injurious behaviors if becoming frustrated. - Omission training will reinforce functional communicative behaviors (hand raising, etc.) and extinguish disruptive behaviors. - However, if the teacher becomes very busy or fail to respond: the functional communicative behaviors will undergo extinction and disruptive behaviors will reemerge. Extinction does not erase what was originally learned. Extinction does not result in permanent loss of conditioned behavior. Extinction involves new learning. The extinguished response reappears under various circumstances: - Behavior reappear with the passage of time (spontaneous recovery). - Behavior reappear with the change of context (renewal). - Behavior reappear with re-exposure to the US (reinstatement). - Behavior reappear with extinction of other responses (resurgence).
10: What are the traditional procedures used to investigate human & non-human learning involving positive punishment?
For the behavior to be positively punished - it must first be established: In life - a maladaptive behavior (hyperventilation, self-injurious behaviors in autism). In individuals with developmental disorders, maladaptive behaviors can be successfully suppressed with the application of punishment (2006): 1. Hyperventilation - walking as an aversive punisher (using a behavior that the child sees as aversive - as a punisher). 2. Self-injurious mouthing of the hand - physically prevented from engaging in hand mouthing during the application of facial screen/hands down (FS/HD) procedure. For the behavior to be positively punished - it must first be established: In the lab - an animal (e.g., pigeons) can receive positive reinforcement for a behavior (e.g., pecking a key), and then - a punishment is superimposed on the procedure: Behavior results in reinforcement or punishment. Creates a conflict between the responses. Examples: lever press, drinking water, pecking a key - suppressed when a shock is applied. The effectiveness of the punishment is demonstrated by the ratio of response suppression.
9: Which evidence support the idea that extinction represent new learning (rather than forgetting)?
Forgetting is a passive process that occur due to the passage of time. Extinction is an active process that include the creation of new learning. If the US no longer follows the US, or a reinforcer is no longer provided for a behavior - the response disappears - undergoes extinction.. Instead of erasing existing memories / eliminating existing neural connections - the expression of the learned behavior is inhibited. This inhibition is supplied by areas of the frontal cortex, the ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC), which can inhibit behavioral output. Subjects underwent classical conditioning in which a tone preceded a shock to the elbow. During extinction sessions, better extinction correlated with increased activation of the vmPFC.
The renewal effect can be seen as the opposite of a learning concept known as:
Generalization
ST: What is the relevance of imitation to observational learning? Can animals imitate? Can animals teach? What answers are provided by research?
Generalized imitation is the tendency to imitate a new modeled behavior with no specific reinforcement for doing so. Does imitation = learning? ABA point: Real-world application Children who are developmentally delayed or are diagnosed with autism demonstrate deficits in their ability to learn through observation. By deliberately reinforcing the imitation of some behaviors, therapists who work with the children can produce a generalized tendency to imitate, which then greatly facilitates subsequent behavioral modification efforts. Can animals imitate? a. Some animals (especially birds and great apes) seem to be capable of imitation - observer pigeons are more likely to demonstrate a sequence that they had observed. b. Orangutans living with humans in a camp were shown to regularly copy the complex actions of the humans with whom they interacted, including learning to hang hammocks, build bridges, use boats, even start a fire! A considerable debate: when animals imitate - is this an "intentional" behavior (an indication of higher-level cognitive functioning), or does imitation result from a lower-level, instinctive, mechanism? The ability of primates to solve novel problems (opening a can) is tested when the animals watch a model perform a complex series of behaviors and is then given a chance to try and replicate it. On one hand: 1. Results show that animals do not copy the actions of the model exactly. 2. Alternative explanations can explain behavioral imitation (e.g., kittens' lever-pressing). c. It has been argued that past research on this issue has sometimes utilized inappropriate criteria for judging imitative ability in animals: Children show more true imitation than chimpanzees, but also more than human adults. Both human adults and chimpanzees display flexible behavior patterns in solving problems, as compared to the children, who tend simply to do what the model had demonstrated. Can animals teach? Some researchers argue that teaching is a behavior performed only by humans. Suggest that teaching by animals is subjected to anthropomorphism (assuming human motives or characteristics when observing animal behavior). Some evidence suggest that at least some nonhuman animals, especially chimpanzees and bonobos (once known as "pygmy chimpanzees"), do behave as teachers.
9: What are the differences between extinction in classical conditioning and extinction in instrumental conditioning procedures? What are the utilized extinction methodologies? What are the extinguished factors? Which examples were covered in class? Which hypothetical examples are possible in our everyday life?
In classical conditioning the CS predicts the US. In instrumental conditioning the behavior produces a reinforcer. Extinction involves the omission of the US, or of the reinforcer. Thus, in classical conditioning the CS will be repeatedly presented without the US. In instrumental conditioning the behavior will no longer produce a reinforcer. Results: the conditioned response declines. Exposure therapy for phobias is an extinction procedure in which participants are exposed to cues that elicit the fear response in the absence of the aversive US. When the US cease to follow an established CS - The CR diminishes/disappears. Involves: - Gradual exposure to a hierarchy of anxiety/fear-provoking stimuli. - Prevention of avoidance (negative reinforcement) (known as response prevention).
ST: What is the relevance of observational learning to aggression and media-based violence? Which answers are provided by research/covered in class?
In his research, Bandura found that filmed violence was as effective as live violence for the induction of violent behavior in observers. Children have always had opportunities to learn about violence, by observing violence at home and in the community. Thus, learning of violence by children is nothing new. However, the constant availability of aggressive/violent models today is new & pervasive. * In 1950, ~9% of American homes contained a television: a substantial change in children's exposure to violent media. * Children are also increasingly exposed to interactive violent or aggressive video games. Some games depict severe and violent criminal behaviors (theft, murder, torture, rape). * Habituation and de-sensitization Longitudinal studies are especially useful for isolating critical factors in violent behavior. When a large sample of boys from 1960-today was studied, it was found that: a. The amount of violent media viewed in childhood significantly correlated with aggressive and antisocial behavior 10 years later, even after controlling for variables such as initial aggressiveness, social class, and education. * The correlations is as high as the one between cigarette smoking and lung cancer. b. Early viewing of violence significantly correlated to adult criminality. Sex differences in the effects of media violence: Most studies find that: (a) Males are more likely to express the effects of exposure to violent video games, (b) Male video-game players have a more hostile view of the world than do females, (c) Males are more aggressive than females after exposure to violent media. One troubling possibility is that, although exposure to violent media does not predispose females toward behaving aggressively as much as it does males, it might make females more vulnerable to being victims of aggression. Desensitization to violence may allow females to feel that violence and aggression are normal aspects of life, which could predispose them to enter violent relationships. This may be related to the fact that, whereas most models of violent behavior are male, a high proportion of victims are female. Why do we rarely see this evidence clearly reported in the newspapers and other aspects of the popular press? a. Media sources are often interlinked (connections, influence). b. Media outlet takes a "balanced" approach to the topic by frequently including comments from researchers who believe that the effects of media violence have been overstated. The problem; since the vast majority of researchers agree that media violence is dangerous, then the "equal airtime" mislead public opinions. c. Researchers have not been purposeful enough presenting their findings to the public.
9: What are the effects of extinction procedures on behavior? (Be able to identify experiments described in your book, examples covered in class, hypothetical every day's life scenarios).
In instrumental conditioning a reinforcer follows the response. When extinguishing an instrumental conditioning: the reinforcer will no longer be provided after the response. Results: the conditioned response declines. Effects of extinction procedures: 1. The target response decrease when the response no longer result in reinforcement. 2. An increase in response variability is produced: - Example: the Var or Yoke experiment. The effects of extinction on response variability (left panel) and response rates (right panel) for rats that were required to perform variable response sequences for reinforcement (Var) or received reinforcement regardless of their response sequence (Yoke). While the rate of response declines in both groups due to extinction, variability increase (especially in the Yoked group) due to extinction. 3. The withdrawal of an expected reinforcer produce a strong emotional effect: frustration. Under certain conditions, frustration may be intense enough to induce aggression. - Example: Two pigeons, one is restrained, and the other one pecked a key for reinforcement. At times, the key was reinforced on a CRF schedule and at time - response resulted in extinction. During the extinction phases: the free pigeon attacked the restrained pigeon. Also observed when the pigeon was replaced with a stuffed model. Also seen in rats and human. Can be a problem when extinction is used in behavioral therapy. 4. Extinction Burst: the implementation of an extinction procedure can lead to a temporary increase in the frequency and intensity of responding. Examples: a rat may lever-press more rapidly and forcefully upon extinction. Or, when putting money into the soda machine; extinction may yield an increased rate of our button pressing. These effects can mislead one into believing that an extinction procedure is not affective. ABA point: Looking for these behaviors and recognizing them for what they are allows continuation and maintenance of the extinction procedure. Many times, as extinction occurs, we see concurrent effects: Extinction burst, Increased response variability, Frustration-aggression, Decreased response ratio The Emotional Effects of Extinction: Depression: it has been suggested that extinction can also lead to depressive-like symptoms in animals or humans (loosing a person who is a source of support). ABA point: providing an alternative to the behavior (or to the emotional support).
According to research, if you wish to quickly and permanently suppress a behavior through the use of punishment, your initial presentation of the punishment should include:
Intense and prolonged aversive stimulation
11: What does research demonstrate regarding language learning in non-human animals? Which examples were covered in class/textbook? What information is provided by early attempts in language learning? Which strategies prevails modern approaches to language learning in nonhuman animals? What are the principles and findings of language training procedures? Which information is provided by research concerning linguistic skills and "Grammar" in great apes?
Linguistic competence is perceived as the most complex cognitive skill. Historically, it was considered to be a uniquely human skill. It was hypothesized that linguistic ability depends on certain innate neuronal modules that only evolved in humans. Other suggest that if the appropriate conditions are provided - language acquisition is possible. and linked language to extensive training. Early work focused on the attempt to teach apes to speak human language. These attempts miserably failed: Chimpanzees do not learn to speak when given the same type of experience that human children are exposed to, even with extensive training. What are the obstacles in teaching spoken language to an ape? 1. Apes lack the anatomical pre-requisites for verbal language production. The organs within the vocal tract, such as larynx muscles and vocal cords, cannot be moved as freely and coordinated flexibly as in humans, especially not at a comparable speed. 2. Brain development and complexity (language is a capability that depends on multiple components/skills). In American sign language, hand gestures replace sounds: Chimpanzees can perform a broad range of hand movements and gestures (~100 symbols). Successful in other species: gorillas, dolphins, sea lions, African gray parrots. Yerkish: symbols Rumbaugh and colleagues developed the longest-running and most informative language training technique known thus far: instead of sign language, they used visual designs of shapes and colors to represent words (lexigrams). Lexigrams training procedures: Research utilized both chimpanzees and Bonobos. Participants were raised in language-rich environment with human contact all day every day. They could communicate with their trainers by pointing to or pressing a lexigram. Lexigrams were portable and data was recorded by a central computerized system. One Bonobo, Kanzi, was able to learn the lexigrams language without specific instructions (but by observing the training session provided for his mom). Kanzi was also allowed to further his training by listening to spoken English and observing humans communicating using gestures and lexigrams. No explicit language training sessions were conducted and Kanzi's use of language was not directly reinforced with food. When sound of words were produced through headphones, Kanzi responded correctly on nearly every trial, proving that the ability to discriminate phonemes in human speech is not unique to humans. Vocabulary learning is not a unique human skill. Evidence of "Grammar" in the great apes: Early studies in which training sessions were dedicated to grammatical learning yielded nothing but trainer's imitation and meaningless repetitions ("eat-drink-eat-drink"). Later analysis from research with Kanzi and his relatives (Panbanisha, Panpanzee) demonstrated that only ~10-15% of their language use included 2-3 words sequences. Children at a comparable developmental stage use 2-3 words sequences ~50% of time. In the apes, although most word combinations were requests, the word order was not random - in 81-91% of incidences lexigrams proceeded a gestures. In the Bonobos, only 5% of interaction was dedicated to declarative communication (compared to 40% in children at a comparable developmental stage). Language training procedures: A variety of procedures have been employed to train language skills. Irene Pepperberg, working with the Parrot Alex, developed an observational learning procedure known as the model-rival technique to train African gray parrots. One research assistant act as the trainer and the other as a rival student who competes with the parrot on the attention of the trainer.
Extinction can be enhanced when:
None of the above
ST: How does observational learning explain the acquisition of new instrumental-conditioned behaviors? What are the differences between acquisition and performance? Which factors affect the acquisition of new instrumental-conditioned behaviors (e.g., attention to the consequences of the model's behavior, reinforcement of the observer for attending the behavior of a model, etc.)? Under which circumstances are organisms more likely to translate acquisition into performance?
Observation of a model can influence the development of operant responses. Two related concepts: acquisition and performance. Acquisition of an operant response through observational learning requires: a. Attention to the consequences of the model's behavior (reinforcement or punishment). b. Reinforcement of the observer for attending to the behavior of a model: Teachers demonstrate desired behaviors and reinforce their students' attention to the demonstrations. Reinforcers can be "gold stars", grades, or any verbal appraisal. c. The observer has sufficient skills to benefit from observing the model: Modeling works only when the observers have the skills that are necessary to learn the behavior. d. The personal characteristics of a model influence the extent to which we will attend to their behavior: We are much more likely to attend to models who resemble us (age, background). We attend to models that we respect or admire. We attend to authorities. We can acquire information about a behavior without ever translating it into performance. Performance is the process of translating observational learning into behavior due to the presence of reinforcement and punishment: the learning/performance distinction. a. We are more likely to perform a modeled behavior when we have observed the modeled behavior being reinforced (or opposite, for punishment). Known as vicarious reinforcement/punishment. Example: a child repeating a funny joke they heard at home, if they have seen another child reinforced for telling it - in school. b. The consequence for performing the modeled behavior: We are more likely to perform a modeled behavior when we ourselves experience reinforcement for it. Example: a child repeating a funny joke they heard at home - and getting attention/into trouble. c. Our own history of reinforcement or punishment for performing modeled behaviors: * Learning when it is appropriate to perform modeled behaviors and who is an appropriate model. * Performance of a modeled behavior can be differentially reinforced in different contexts.
ST: How does observational learning explain the acquisition of new classically-conditioned behaviors? What is vicarious emotional conditioning? Vicarious emotional responses? How does learning occur (understand the concept of first order and higher order observational learning of classically conditioned responses and be able to analyze relevant examples). How can vicarious emotional responses explain the acquisition of food-related or addiction-related behaviors?
Observational learning in classical conditioning is often involved in the development of classically conditioned responses. In such cases, the stimuli involved are typically emotional in nature. Vicarious emotional conditioning: Vicarious emotional responses are classically conditioned emotional responses that result from seeing those emotional responses exhibited by others. A child that sees someone reacting with fear once exposed to dogs - might react similarly. A child entering a daycare center and sees children laughing & smiling - might react similarly. A rat that sees another rat try new food and stick out its tongues - will not touch the food. Vicarious emotional conditioning can take place in two ways: 1. First order conditioning (regular classical conditioning). The expressions of fear in others may act as an unconditioned stimuli (US) that elicit the emotion of fear in ourselves (CR). The stimuli serve as a CS that became associated with the expression of fear in others (predict it), and thus, evoke the CR. Basic assumption: we may have an inherent tendency to react fearfully whenever we see someone else is expressing fear. 2. Higher order conditioning: The expressions of fear in others may serve as a CS that predict a frightening event (US). The Stimuli that becomes associated with the expressions of fear in others (CS1) becomes a CS2. Thus, with respect to fear conditioning, the look of fear in others may function as either a US or a CS. Another person's smile can serve as a US or a CS in the same manner. Once vicarious emotional responses have been acquired, they can motivate other types of new behavioral patterns. * After watching a child happily playing with a toy, an observing child may be eager to play with the toy as well. * If we have seen someone else react fearfully to a particular type of spider, we may go out of our way to avoid any encounter with that type of spider. * After seeing someone eating or avoiding a certain type of food - we may act similarly. An Acquired Taste can be the Product of Observational Learning: We do not have to learn to eat and drink, but we do seem to learn what to eat and drink. Across the world, there are dramatic differences in flavor preferences, foods that are considered edible, and various practices associated with the preparation and consumption of food. Children tend to eat the foods that others eat around them, and these culturally or socially mediated preferences are strengthened over time, even for flavors that are very strong. In addition to food preferences, there is evidence for socially learned alcohol preferences: Children like the smell of alcohol if they have been raised by parents who drink heavily. Exposure to alcohol early in life is a risk factor for alcohol use in adolescence. Rats that are raised with alcohol available, but do not observe alcohol consumption by their mother/foster mother, drink very little alcohol when they are adolescents. If they observe their mother/ foster mother drinking alcohol, they will drink twice as much alcohol when they are adolescents. We might learn to drink "irresponsibly" through observational learning. We might learn to drink responsibly through observational learning.
Lab 4: Be able to understand how generalization, discrimination, discrimination training and extinction (and their behavioral effects) were demonstrated in the lab, including the meaning of the data (be able to analyze hypothetical data using appropriate terminology).
Part 1: Student discrimination and generalization. When there were two students present without food, a familiar and unfamiliar, the rat chose to approach the familiar. She did not want to climb onto the side where the unfamiliar person was. Therefore, she displayed discrimination due to the lack of interest for the nonfamiliar person. She displayed generalization when food was involved because she did not favor one person over the other when the food was present. She was familiar with Cheyenne but she still approached the other student just as much. Part 2: Object discrimination and generalization. At first, she displayed generalization because she went through both of the hoops equally, even though the other hoop was a different size and color than the familiar hoop. After her reinforced training, she displayed discrimination behavior because she only jumped through the one, reinforced hoop. She would avoid the other, non reinforced hoop completely. She did not discriminate between the hoops based on location as she still showed discrimination between the blue hoop and pink hoop even after their locations had changed. Object: She discriminated between the blue hoop and the pink hoop. When we switched the locations of the hoops, she still chose the blue hoop over the pink hoop. Part 3: Extinction She showed a successful extinction of the conditioned behavior through a decreased response ratio with the reinforced hoop, an extinction burst, increased response variability, and frustration-aggression - which eventually led to no response at all.
10: What are the specific characteristics of the use of punishment outside the lab?
Punishments are highly effective procedures for rapidly suppressing behavior. May be essential when the behavior is injurious, dangerous, or need to be suppressed immediately (e.g., chasing a ball to the street). Punishments cause a major shift in favor of an alternative response that is reinforced. However, effectiveness in the lab is not sufficient to justify its application outside the lab. Punishment procedures are easily misused. Ethical constrains: when does systematic training become an abuse? Punishment is typically not applied in an effective manner: - Introduced at low intensity - Long delay between behavior and punishment - Intermittent schedule - Absence of alternatives - Clear discriminative stimuli for punishment - Punishment that signals the availability of positive reinforcement Even if administered appropriately, disturbing & sometimes unknown side effects are possible. Immediate compliance but long-term unintended consequences: Aggression, Mental health issues, Parent-child relationship difficulties, Delinquent and antisocial behavior, Increased incidence of aggressive behavior in adulthood.
Sally worked hard to overcome her taste aversion to cashews, caused by cashew-induced food poisoning. Unfortunately, she caught a stomach bug, got very ill, and now finds that she cannot bear to be around cashews again. This demonstrates a phenomena known as:
Reinstatement
Observational learning, or ___________, allows us to acquire new behavioral patterns ______________.
Social learning; without direct exposure to the stimuli
Kira observed her mom react fearfully to a jelly fish. With no direct exposure, Kira learned to fear Jelly fish. According to the "first order conditioning" theory of vicarious emotional conditioning, for Kira:
The Jelly fish turned from a Neutral stimuli to a CS
Which theory suggests that punishment causes response suppression because a subject learns to engage in alternative behaviors that are incompatible with the punished activity?
The avoidance theory of punishment
9: What is counterconditioning? How can it be utilized in the therapeutic environment? In everyday life?
The pairing of two biologically strong stimuli (that produce opposite conditioned or unconditioned responses). Therapeutic counterconditioning - pairing a feared object with muscle relaxation, beloved object/person or any other appetitive stimuli. For example: being in a scary high place, while also being with a comforting person or toy.
The extinction of a classically conditioned behavior includes:
The presentation of the CS without the US
ST: Why is observational learning also referred to as "indirect learning" and "social learning"?
Thus far, we learned about the basic processes of conditioning in which new patterns of behavior are acquired through direct exposure to the relevant stimuli/events. Some behavioral patterns are acquired indirectly: The acquisition of a fear of dogs without ever being attacked by a dog. The acquisition of place preference/aversion (restaurant) without ever eating there before. The acquisition of behavioral patterns that have never been purposely reinforced before. Indirect learning: Two processes allow us to alter behavior patterns through indirect means: 1. Rule-governed behavior; the use of language to generate rules (or instructions) to control behavior, including self-control. 2. Observational learning; plays a strong role in human and animal learning. In observational learning, the behavior of a model is witnessed by an observer and the observer's behavior is subsequently changed. Since observational learning is a social process, it is often referred to as social learning.
11: What does research demonstrate regarding tool use in non-human animals? Which examples and explanations were provided in class/textbook?
Tool Use: - Back in 1927, Wolfgang Köhler, observed a chimpanzee who was putting one box on top of another to reach a piece of food. Another chimpanzee was using a stick to reach food that was placed outside its reach. He called these behaviors "Insight learning". Many other behaviors have been observed since. The question is whether the construction and use of tools requires complex cognitive processes, and which species demonstrate these behaviors. Sea Otters use rocks to crack open their food. Hermit crabs make homes out of many things. - Given all of what we know about the cognitive abilities of chimpanzees and other primate species, the fact that they use tools does not greatly challenge our view of them. Novel reports show extensive tool use and manufacture by various species of birds. In research done at Oxford University, two wild-caught New Caledonian crows were given access to food placed in a clear horizontal plastic tube that had one end open. The food was positioned at different distances from the opening of the tube, and twigs of different lengths were available for the birds to use to poke out the food. The crows readily used the twigs that were provided, and selected twigs of the appropriate length on each trial at a rate that exceeded chance. Demonstrated the ability to modify twigs, leaves, cardboard, and feathers to use as tools to obtain food from crevices and other places they cannot reach with their beak. Demonstrated problem solving - generating tools to accomplish tasks that they have never met before / observed being solved. Research has been dedicated to the question: how is this behavior acquired? Studies of the New Caledonian crow in its natural habitat show that juveniles do not achieve adult-like competencies in tool use until the end of their first year in life. Thus, tool use is learned over a long period of time. Observational learning complements learning by experience. Laboratory studies of hand-reared crows in captivity suggest that modeling tool use facilitate learning but is not necessary for learning: crows can figure it out on their own with no prior observation. Natural predisposition: crows have a natural tendency to pick up and manipulate objects.
ST: Which types of observational learning were covered in class? What are the differences between simple and complex types of observational learning?
Types of observational learning: a. Simple - contagious behavior and stimulus enhancement. b. Complex - classical and operant conditioning.
11: What does research demonstrate regarding self-recognition in non-human animals? Which examples and explanations were provided in class/textbook?
We are able to recognize our self in the mirror at ~18 month of age. The mirror test (mark test, mirror self-recognition test, MSR), is a behavioral technique developed by psychologist Gordon Gallup Jr. (1970), as an attempt to determine whether a non-human animals are capable of self-recognition. - The use of the MSR test to measure self-awareness has been highly controversial. - Very few species have passed the MSR test (great apes, a single Asiatic elephant, dolphins, orcas, and the Eurasian magpie). - Chimpanzees perform well after the age of 2-2.5. Decline after the age of 15 yrs. - A wide range of species have been reported to fail the test (several monkey species, giant pandas, sea lions, and most dogs, who react to the reflection as another animal).May be explained as a failure of the experimental procedures (Marmoset Monkey).