Classical Conditioning and Learning Psychology

Learning

• Learning refers to relatively permanent changes in behavior resulting from practice or experience
• Innate behaviors are inborn, emerge during certain periods, and are not the result of learning

Classical Conditioning

• Certain stimuli can elicit a reflexive response (e.g., air puff >> eye-blink, smelling food >> salivation)
• Key terms:
  • CS (Conditioned Stimulus)
  • UCS (Unconditioned Stimulus)
  • CR (Conditioned Response)
  • UCR (Unconditioned Response)
• The reflexive stimulus (UCS) and response (UCR) are unconditioned
• The neutral stimulus is referred to as the conditioned stimulus (CS)
• In classical conditioning, the CS is repeatedly paired with the reflexive stimulus (UCS)
• Eventually, the CS will produce a response (CR) similar to that produced by the UCS

Pavlov's Experiment

• Conditioning of emotional responses (e.g., John Watson's Little Albert study)
  • CS: a white rat
  • UCS: a loud banging sound
  • UCR: fear/startle response
  • Eventually, Albert exhibited fear to the white rat

Other Instances of Learning

• Positive conditioning: attraction in advertising (e.g., brand name + attractive model => liking)
• Negative conditioning: aversion (e.g., flavor + illness => flavor aversion)

Extinction

• Pairings of the CS and UCS lead to conditioning, whereas presentation of the CS only leads to loss of the conditioned response
• Extinction refers to loss of response to a CS presented without the UCS
• Extinction is not forgetting
• Extinction is useful in clinical situations (e.g., extinction of a phobia can be treated by exposure to the CS only)

Operant/Skinnerian Conditioning

• Organisms make responses that have consequences (e.g., punishment, reinforcement)
• The response can be associated with cues in the environment (e.g., putting coins in a machine to obtain food)
• Key aspects of operant conditioning:
  • In operant conditioning, the stimulus is a cue, it does not elicit the response
  • Operant responses are voluntary
  • In operant conditioning, the response elicits a reinforcing stimulus

Key Terms of Operant Conditioning

• Reinforcement: any procedure that increases the response
• Punishment: any procedure that decreases the response
• Types of reinforcers:
  • Primary: e.g., food or water
  • Secondary: e.g., money or power

Schedules of Reinforcement

• Continuous: reinforcement occurs after every response (produces rapid acquisition and is subject to rapid extinction)
• Partial: reinforcement occurs after some, but not all, responses (responding is more resistant to extinction)

Partial Reinforcement Schedules

• Ratio: every nth response is reinforced (e.g., fixed or variable ratio)
• Interval: first response after some interval results in reinforcement (e.g., fixed or variable interval)

Shaping

• Shaping: rewarding successive approximations towards the final goal
• Used often in phobias (e.g., fear of snakes)

Punishment

• Positive Punishment: presenting a stimulus that leads to a lowered likelihood for a response to occur in the future
• Negative Punishment: removing a stimulus that leads to a lowered likelihood for a response to occur in the future

Biofeedback

• Feedback allows for control of responses
• The autonomic nervous system (ANS) does not provide sufficient sensory feedback to the brain to allow for conscious control
• Biofeedback uses electronic devices to provide feedback and control of ANS function (e.g., heart rate, blood pressure)