Psychology Chapter on Learning and Conditioning

Classical Conditioning

• Relatively permanent change in behavior brought about by experience
• Nurture (experience) versus Nature (maturation)

Differentiating Learning and Other Changes

• Learning involves experience (nurture)
• Maturation involves natural growth (nature)
• Example: Children improving at tennis due to increased strength from growth
• Performance vs. Learning: Temporary changes (e.g., fatigue) ≠ true learning

Habituation

• Decrease in response to a stimulus after repeated presentations of the same stimulus
• Infants lose interest in a brightly colored toy after repeated exposure
• Adults stop noticing wedding rings
• Purpose: Helps ignore stimuli that no longer provide new information

Types of Learning

• Simple Learning: Habituation (found in infants and adults)
• Complex Learning: Classical Conditioning (association between stimulus and response)
  • Examples: Crying at a bride walking down the aisle, feeling hungry at the sight of McDonald's golden arches, fearing the dark or falling in love
  • Pioneered by Ivan Pavlov

Key Points

• Differentiating between learning, maturation, and temporary performance changes is essential
• Habituation allows us to focus on new information and ignore repetitive stimuli
• Complex learning (e.g., classical conditioning) extends beyond habituation

Key Terminology

• Neutral Stimulus (NS): Before conditioning, does not naturally elicit the response of interest
• Unconditioned Stimulus (UCS): Naturally brings about a particular response without learning (e.g., meat in Pavlov's experiment)
• Unconditioned Response (UCR): Natural, automatic response to the UCS (e.g., salivation in response to meat)
• Conditioned Stimulus (CS): Previously neutral stimulus that, after pairing with the UCS, elicits the response (e.g., bell after conditioning)
• Conditioned Response (CR): Learned response elicited by the CS (e.g., salivation in response to the bell)

Process of Classical Conditioning

• Before Conditioning: NS (e.g., bell) → no salivation (irrelevant response). UCS (e.g., meat) → UCR (e.g., salivation)
• During Conditioning: NS (bell) is paired with UCS (meat). NS transforms into CS.
• After Conditioning: CS (bell) → CR (salivation)

Key Principles

• Conditioned = Learned (CS → CR)
• Unconditioned = Not Learned (UCS → UCR)
• Timing of Stimuli: CS should precede UCS by 0.5 seconds to a few seconds for effective conditioning.
• Neutral Stimulus Transformation: NS becomes a CS after repeated pairings with UCS.

Additional Notes

• Conditioning works best if CS precedes UCS.
• Timing and consistency of pairings are crucial for success.

Ethical Concerns

• Procedures were unethical.

Classical Conditioning Can Lead To

• Development of Emotional Responses
  • Fears/Phobias (e.g., bee sting → phobia)
  • PTSD (e.g., veterans associating loud noises with battlefield trauma)
• Positive Associations (e.g., a song evokes happy memories, a perfume recalls an early love)
• Drug Addiction (e.g., addicts associating drug paraphernalia with pleasant drug effects)

Effects of Classical Conditioning

• Negative Outcomes (e.g., phobias, PTSD, drug addiction)
• Positive Outcomes (e.g., fondness for scents, sounds associated with good memories)

Extinction

• A previously conditioned response (CR) decreases and eventually disappears when the conditioned stimulus (CS) is presented repeatedly without the unconditioned stimulus (US).
• Spontaneous Recovery: the reemergence of an extinguished conditioned response (CR) after a period of rest.

The Process of Acquisition, Extinction and Spontaneous Recovery

• Acquisition: The conditioned stimulus (CS) is repeatedly paired with the unconditioned stimulus (US) to strengthen the conditioned response (CR)
• Extinction: The CS is presented repeatedly without the US, causing the CR to weaken.
• Spontaneous Recovery: After a period of rest, the CR may reappear when the CS is presented again.

Generalization and Discrimination

• Stimulus Generalization: After a stimulus has been conditioned to produce a specific response, similar stimuli also elicit the same response.
• Stimulus Discrimination: Two stimuli are distinct enough that one elicits a CR while the other does not.

John Garcia's Research

• Organisms are biologically prepared to quickly learn to avoid foods that make them sick.
• Learned taste aversion: associating the taste of food with unpleasant symptoms (e.g., nausea, vomiting).

Challenge to Pavlov's Basic Assumptions

• Pavlov's Hypothesis: Learning as a mechanistic process of linking stimuli and responses
• Cognitive Learning Perspective: Learning involves active development of expectations about which stimuli will be paired with certain responses.

Applying Classical Conditioning to Advertising

• Pairing products with positive stimuli (e.g., catchy jingles, attractive imagery)
• Creating brand recognition
• Leveraging emotional connections
• Generalization

Operant Conditioning

• A form of learning where a voluntary response is strengthened or weakened depending on the consequences

Key Characteristics of Operant Conditioning

• Voluntary responses
• Outcome-driven (organism operates on environment to produce a desired result)

Comparison with Classical Conditioning

• Classical conditioning: Involves biological responses (e.g., salivation)
• Operant conditioning: Involves deliberate, voluntary actions

Thorndike's Law of Effect

• Responses that lead to satisfying consequences are more likely to be repeated.

Key Concepts Operant Conditioning

• Learning Process (organism forms a connection between stimulus and response without awareness)

Reinforcement Schedules

• Continuous reinforcement schedule: Behavior is reinforced every time it occurs.
• Partial (intermittent) reinforcement schedule: Behavior is reinforced some but not all of the time
• Impact of schedules: Continuous reinforcement leads to faster learning but partial reinforcement leads to more persistent behaviors
• Example of behavior: Candy vending machine (continuous), slot machine (partial)

Types of Partial Reinforcement Schedules

• Fixed-ratio schedule: Reinforcement after a fixed number of responses.
• Variable-ratio schedule: Reinforcement after an average number of responses.
• Fixed-interval schedule: Reinforcement after a fixed time period.
• Variable-interval schedule: Reinforcement after a varied time period

Cognitive Learning Theory

• Focuses on internal mental processes underlying learning.
• Beyond Stimulus-Response: Learning is not simply a link between a stimulus and a response, but people develop expectations of reinforcement.
• Higher-order Processes: Some learning, such as driving a car, involves thought processes and information processing, which go beyond simple stimulus-response associations

Latent Learning

• Learning that occurs without immediate reinforcement and may not be demonstrated until later.

Key Findings from Experiments: Rats in a Maze

• Unrewarded group
  • Made many errors and took longer to reach the end
• Rewarded Group
  • Learned to quickly run to the food and made fewer errors
• Experimental Group
  • Immediate reduction in errors and quickly matched the rewarded group's performance.

Observational Learning

• Learning by observing the behavior of another person (model).
• Bobo doll experiment (Bandura, 1963)
  • Children imitated the aggressive behavior of the model.
• Fearless peer experiment (Bandura, 1967)
  • Children afraid of dogs observed a model playing with a dog and became more likely to approach dogs.

Test your knowledge on key concepts in learning and conditioning, covering reinforcement schedules, classical conditioning, and shaping behavior. This quiz focuses on understanding the effects of reinforcement, the role of stimuli, and the nuances of extinction and recovery. Perfect for students studying psychology or behavior analysis.