Unit 4 Learning

Skinner Box

Chamber containing a bar or key that an animal can manipulate to obtain a food or water reinforcer Attached devices record the animal's rate of bar pressing or key pecking Reinforcement: any event that strengthens the behavior it follows Increases behavior What is reinforcing depends on the animal and conditions All reinforcers are not created equal

Positive Reinforcement

Increasing behaviors by presenting positive reinforcers

Negative Reinforcement

Increasing behaviors by stopping or reducing aversive stimuli

OC at School

Online adaptive quizzing allows for immediate feedback Students receive reinforcement for correct understanding Individualization for students Consequences and rewards for grades and behavior

OC at Home

Operant Parenting Tips Give children attention and other reinforcement when they are behaving well Target a specific behavior, reinforce it, and watch it increase When children misbehave or are defiant, don't yell at them or hit them Explain the misbehavior and punish it by taking away something or giving a time out

Generalization

Tendency, once a response has been conditioned, for stimuli similar to the conditioned stimulus to elicit similar responses In operant conditioning: occurs when responses learned in one situation occur in other, similar situations Can be adaptive: toddlers learning to fear moving cars are also afraid of busses and motorcycles

What is Learning?

The process of acquiring through experience new and relatively enduring information or behaviors

Neutral Stimulus (NS)

The tone or bell when activated produces no response

Classical Conditioning Definition

Type of learning in which we link two or more stimuli because they occur together We association stimuli that we do not control, and we respond automatically This is called respondent behavior Learned involuntary responses Example: salivation, blinking, sweating, and cringing are natural responses to fear

OC and Stress

When we have feedback about our bodily responses, we can sometimes change those responses

Reinforcement Schedule

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

Intrinsic Motivation

desire to perform a behavior effectively for its own sake

Partial (Intermittent) Reinforcement Schedule

reinforcing a response only part of the time Slower acquisition but greater resistance to extinction Works well with children

Habituation

type of learning that involves a reduced response as a result of repeated but not constant exposure

Ivan Pavlov

1849-1936 Pavlov's work laid foundation for many of John B. Watson's ideas Both believed the basic laws of learning were the same for all animals Spent two decades studying dogs' digestive system and earned Nobel Prize Experiments on learning produced classical conditioning

B. F. Skinner

1904-1990 Behaviorism's most influential and controversial figure His work elaborated on Edward Thorndike's Law of Effect Designed an operant chamber (Skinner Box)

John Garcia

1917-2012 Challenged the prevailing idea that all associations can be learned equally well

Bobo Doll Study

A preschool child works on a drawing An adult in another part of the room builds with Tinker Toys As the child watches, the adults gets up and for nearly 10 minutes pounds, kicks, and throws around the room a large inflated Bobo doll, while yelling The child is then taken to another room filled with appealing toys Soon the experimenter returns and tells the child she has decided to save these toys "for the other children" She takes the now-frustrated child to a third room containing a few toys, including a Bobo doll Compared with children not exposed to the adult model, those who viewed the model's aggressive actions were more likely to lash out at the doll Observing the aggressive outburst apparently lowered their inhibitions Children imitated the acts they had observed and used the words they had heard Conclusion: By watching models, we experience vicarious reinforcement or vicarious punishment, and we learn to anticipate a behavior's consequences in situations We are especially likely to learn from people we perceive as similar to ourselves, as successful, or as admirable

Operant Conditioning Definition

A type of learning in which a behavior becomes more likely to recur if followed by a reinforcer or less likely to recur if followed by a punisher

Behaviorism's View on Learning

According to John B. Watson, the science of psychology should study how organisms respond to stimuli in their environments Psychology's "goal is the prediction and control of behavior. Introspection forms no essential part of its methods." Simply said: Psychology should be an objective science based on observable behavior

Five Classical Conditioning Processes

Acquisition Extinction Spontaneous Recovery Generalization Discrimination

Biological Limits on Classical Conditioning

An animal's capacity for conditioning is limited by biological constraints Each species' predispositions prepare it to learn the associations that enhance its survival Called preparedness Environments are not the whole story....biology matters!

Stimulus

Any event or situation that evokes a response Example: loud sound

Respondent Behaviors

Behavior that occurs as an automatic response to some stimulus Classical conditioning Example: tensing after a loud sound

Operant Behaviors

Behavior that operates on the environment, producing consequences Operant conditioning Example: saying "please" gets you what you want

Biological Limits on Operant Conditioning

Biological constraints predispose organisms to learn associations that are naturally adaptive You won't be so successful if you use food to reinforce behaviors that aren't normally associated with food or hunger Instinctive Drift: tendency of learned behavior to gradually revert to biologically predisposed patterns

You may have to differentiate classical conditioning and operant conditioning on the AP Exam.

Classical conditioning is involuntary (respondent) behavior, while operant conditioning is voluntary (operant) behavior.

Skinner's Legacy

Critics of Skinner's principles believed the approach dehumanized people by neglecting their personal freedom and seeking to control their actions Skinner replied that people's actions are already controlled by external consequences, and that reinforcement is more humane than punishment as a means for controlling behavior

Extinction

Diminishing of a conditioned response In classical conditioning: when unconditioned stimulus (US) does not follow a conditioned stimulus (CS) In operant conditioning: when a response is no longer reinforced

Unconditioned Stimulus and Response

Food in the mouth automatically, unconditionally, triggers a dog's salivary reflex No training is required for this automatic involuntary response (unconditioned response (UR)) The food is the unconditioned stimulus (US)

Observational Learning

Higher animals, especially humans, learn without direct experience, by watching and imitating others

Taste Aversion

If sickened after eating a certain food, you will later avoid it The smell and taste has become a CS for nausea This learning occurs rapidly because our biology prepares us to learn taste aversions to toxic foods

Acquisition

In classical conditioning: initial stage when one links a neutral stimulus and an unconditioned stimulus so that the neutral stimulus begins triggering the conditioned response In operant conditioning: strengthening of a reinforced response Conditioning helps an animal survive and reproduce, by responding to cues that help it gain food, avoid dangers, locate mates, and produce offspring

Discrimination

In classical conditioning: the learned ability to distinguish between a conditioned stimulus and similar stimuli that do not signal an unconditioned stimulus In operant conditioning: ability to distinguish responses that are reinforced from similar responses that are not reinforced Guide dog vs. guard dog (different reactions)

Cognition and Classical Conditioning

In their dismissal of "mentalistic" concepts such as consciousness, Pavlov and Watson underestimated the importance of the effects of cognitive processes (thoughts, perceptions, expectations) Robert Rescorla and Allan Wagner (1972) Showed an animal can learn predictability of an event More predictable association=stronger conditioned response Associations influence attitudes When British children viewed novel cartoon characters alongside either ice cream (yum!) or brussel sprouts (yuck!), they came to prefer the ice-cream associated characters Our cognitions matter!

Pavlov's Experiments

Initial work: attached a tube in the dog's cheek to collect saliva, which was measured in a cylinder outside the chamber Putting food in a dog's mouth caused it to salivate But the dog began salivating at the sight of food, the food dish, the person delivering the food, even the sound of approaching footsteps This led Pavlov to the fundamental form of learning (classical conditioning)

Primary Reinforcer

Innately reinforcing stimuli such as those that satisfy a biological need Examples: food, pain relief

Garcia & Koelling Experiment

John Garcia and Robert Koelling Exposed rats to a particular taste, sight, or sound and also to radiation/drugs that led to nausea and vomiting Findings Even if sickened as late as several hours after tasting a particular novel flavor, the rats thereafter avoided that flavor Challenged idea that US must immediately follow the CS Sickened rats developed conditioned aversions to tastes, but not to sights or sounds Challenged idea that any stimulus can be a CS Makes adaptive sense

Edward Thorndike

Law of Effect: behaviors followed by favorable consequences become more likely, and behaviors followed by unfavorable consequences become less likely Used a fish reward to entice cats to find their way out of a puzzle box through a series of maneuvers The cat's performance tended to improve with successive trials, illustrating the law of effect

Operant Conditioning

Learn to associate a response (our behavior) and its consequence Behavior is voluntary Acts followed by good results: repeated Acts followed by bad results: avoided Operant behaviors

Classical Conditioning

Learn to associate two stimuli and thus to anticipate events Stimuli are things we do not control and that we respond automatically Involuntary response Habituation can occur

Note that negative reinforcement is not punishment.

Negative reinforcement is psychology's most misunderstood concept. Think of negative reinforcement as something that provides relief. This term is likely to show up on the AP exam.

Conditioning Trial

Pavlov conducted multiple trials pairing the neutral stimulus (NS) of the tone with the unconditioned stimulus (US) of food The US of food is what continues to produce the UR of the drool/salivation

Pavlov's Legacy

Pavlov taught us that significant psychological phenomena can be studied objectively, and that classical conditioning is a basic form of learning that applies to all species Applications Former drug users crave in the drug-using context Eating food that is unhealthy so many times When a particular taste accompanies a drug; the taste can produce a placebo effect

Little Albert

Pavlov's work provided a basis for Watson's research: wanted to see if fear could be conditioned Watson and graduate assistant (Rosalie Rayner) conditioned Albert to fear a white rat after repeatedly experiencing a loud noise as the rat was presented After repeated pairings, Albert would cry at the sight of the rat His fear generalized to rabbit, dog, sealskin coat, but not to toys

Drawbacks to Physical Punishment

Punished behavior is suppressed, not forgotten. This temporary state may negatively reinforce parents' punishing behavior. Punishment teaches discrimination among situations. Punishment can teach fear. Physical punishment may increase aggression by modeling violence as a way to cope with problems.

Spontaneous Recovery

Reappearance, after a pause, of an extinguished conditioned response

OC at Work

Reinforcement influences productivity Rewards are most likely to increase productivity if the desired performance is both well-defined and achievable Doesn't have to be a monetary reward Immediate reinforcement is most effective

Delayed Reinforcer

Reinforcing after a period of time has elapsed Animals don't respond well if longer than 30 second delay Humans do respond to this

Immediate Reinforcer

Reinforcing immediately following a behavior Animals respond well with this

OC in Sports

Reinforcing small successes and then gradually increasing the challenge Confidence builds as athlete achieves mastery at each level Faster skill improvement Superstitious behaviors Example: tapping the plate with the bat for good luck If this is reinforced, the behavior is most likely to repeat

Conditioned Stimulus and Response

Salivation in response to a tone is learned: conditioned response (CR) It is conditional upon the dog's associating the tone with the food The neutral stimulus (NS) that now triggers salivation is the conditioned stimulus (CS)

Conditioned Reinforcer

Stimuli that gain their reinforcing power through their learned association with a primary reinforcer Examples: money, good grades, pleasant tone of voice

Response

The behavior that follows the stimulus Example: a normal response to a loud sound would be a jump or flinch

Learned Helplessness

The hopelessness and passive resignation an animal or person learns when unable to avoid repeated aversive events Losing control provokes an outpouring of stress hormones Therefore, loss of control makes us more vulnerable to stress and ill health

Although you didn't read about the overjustification effect, it is likely to appear on the AP exam.

The overjustification effect occurs when an expected external incentive such as money or prizes decreases a person's intrinsic motivation to perform a task.

Students sometimes have difficulty with schedules of reinforcement.

The word interval in schedules means that an interval of time must pass before reinforcement. There is nothing a learner can do to shorten the interval. The word ratio refers to number. If the learner responds with greater frequency, there will be more reinforcements.

OC and Self-Improvement

To build up self-control, you need to reinforce your own desired behaviors and extinguish the undesired ones 5 Steps Toward Self-Control State a realistic goal in measurable terms and announce it Decide how, when, and where you will work toward your goal Monitor how often you engage in your desired behavior Reinforce the desired behavior Reduce the rewards gradually

Insight Learning

a sudden realization of a problem's solution Contrasts with strategy-based solutions "Ah-ha" moment

Biofeedback

a system for electronically recording, amplifying, and feeding back information regarding a subtle physiological state, such as blood pressure or muscle tension

Cognitive Learning

acquisition of mental information, whether by observing events, by watching others, or through language

Punishment

an event that tends to decrease the behavior that it follows Punishment adds an aversive stimulus (positive punishment) or removes a pleasant stimulus (negative punishment) Different from negative reinforcement! Punishment tells you what not to do; reinforcement tells you what to do

Positive reinforcer

any stimulus that, when presented after a response, strengthens that response Examples Studying hard (behavior) to receive an A (reinforcement) from teacher Arriving at work on time (behavior) to receive praise and a pay raise (reinforcement) from your boss

Negative reinforcer:

any stimulus that, when removed after a response, strengthens that response Not punishment Examples Taking an aspirin (behavior) to reduce a painful headache (removal of aversive stimulus) Hitting the snooze button (behavior) to shut off an annoying alarm (removal of aversive stimulus)

Emotion-focused Coping

attempting to alleviate stress by avoiding or ignoring a stressor and attending to emotional needs related to our stress reaction Tend to use this when we believe we cannot change a situation

Problem-focused Coping

attempting to alleviate stress directly, by changing the stressor or the way we interact with that stressor Tend to use this when we feel a sense of control or think we can change a situation

Extrinsic Motivation

desire to perform a behavior to receive promised rewards or avoid threatened punishment This can backfire (overjustification effect) Excessive rewards can destroy intrinsic motivation

Associative Learning

earning that certain events occur together Events may be two stimuli (as in classical conditioning) or a response and its consequence (as in operant conditioning) Associations may be positive or negative

Mirror Neurons

frontal lobe neurons that some scientists believe fire when we perform certain actions or observe another doing so This may enable imitation and empathy Imitation is adaptive Humans are natural imitators We imitate emotions as well

Latent Learning

learning that occurs but is not apparent until there is an incentive to demonstrate it

Cognitive Map

mental representation of the layout of one's environment Tolman and Honzik (1930) Rats in one group repeatedly explored a maze, always with a food reward at the end Rats in another group explored a maze with no food reward Once given a food reward at the end, rats in the second group thereafter ran the maze as quickly as the always-rewarded rats There is more to learning than associating a response with a consequence

Personal Control

our sense of controlling our environment rather than feeling helpless

External Locus of Control

perception that chance or outside forces beyond our personal control determine our fate

Internal Locus of Control:

perception that we control our own fate These people tended to achieve more in school and work, acted more independently, enjoyed better health, and felt less depressed Less obesity, blood pressure, and distress

Sensory Adaptation

perceptual phenomenon that occurs when the brain stops recognizing a constant and unchanging stimulus

Prosocial behavior:

positive, constructive, helpful behavior Opposite of antisocial behavior Media are sources of observational learning 6 of 10 cable programs feature violence 74% of violence went unpunished Violence-viewing effect Media violence can cause aggression Desentization: viewers become less bothered by media violence, have less sympathy, rated injuries as less severe

Shaping

procedure in which reinforcers guide behavior toward closer and closer approximations of the desired behavior Also called reward by successive approximations

Higher-order Conditioning

procedure in which the conditioned stimulus in one conditioning experience is paired with a new neutral stimulus, creating a second (often weaker) conditioned stimulus Animal learns that light predicts tone, and responds to light instead Second-order conditioning

Modeling

process of observing and imitating a specific behavior Native language and other behaviors Albert Bandura Pioneering researcher of observational learning Bobo Doll Study

Variable-interval Schedule:

reinforces a response at unpredictable time intervals Checking our phone for a text from our friend

Fixed-ratio Schedule

reinforces response after a specified number of responses One free coffee after every 10 purchased

Fixed-interval Schedule

reinforces response after a specified time has elapsed Mail arriving at 2 pm every day

Variable-ratio Schedule

reinforces response after unpredictable number of responses Payoff on slot machine after varying number of plays

Continuous Reinforcement Schedule

reinforcing the desired response every time it occurs Learning occurs rapidly, but so does extinction When continuous reinforcement stops, the behavior is extinguished, though it may spontaneously recover

Discriminative Stimulus

stimulus that elicits a response after association with reinforcement (in contrast to related stimuli not associated with reinforcement) Example: pigeon is able to peck at a green circle (the discriminative stimulus) but not a red square

Self-Control

the ability to control impulses and delay short-term gratification for greater long-term rewards Predicts good health, higher income, and better school performance Varies over time and can weaken after use