Psychology: Conditioning Types

Conditioning

• Conditioning is the process of learning, and there are two main types: classical conditioning (also known as Pavlovian) and operant conditioning (also known as Skinnerian).

Classical Conditioning

• Classical conditioning is a process in which an animal learns to associate one event with another, resulting in an unconditioned response.
• The association is learned without the animal needing to take any action.
• Ivan Pavlov discovered classical conditioning through his experiments with dogs, using a bell and food to elicit a salivary response.
• Counterconditioning is a technique used to change associations, often by creating a pleasant emotional response to something that previously triggered an unpleasant response.

Operant Conditioning

• Operant conditioning is a process in which behavior is learned through its consequences, with what is reinforced occurring more often and what is punished occurring less often.
• There are several types of reinforcement schedules, including:
  • Differential reinforcement of other behavior (mission training procedures): rewarding any behavior that is not the unwanted response.
  • Differential reinforcement of excellent behavior: rewarding responses that are of higher quality than average.
  • Differential reinforcement of high rates: rewarding responses that occur at a high rate within a certain time period.
  • Differential reinforcement of low rates: rewarding responses that occur only after a certain time has elapsed.

Duration Reinforcement Schedules

• Fixed duration: providing reinforcement at a fixed time since the last reinforcement.
• Learned irrelevance: when a stimulus is presented without consequences, leading to a lack of response.

Extinction

• Extinction involves the removal of reinforcement, leading to a decrease in behavior until it is no longer offered.
• Extinction is not the same as unlearning, as the animal simply learns a new rule.

Extinction Burst

• Extinction burst refers to the temporary increase in behavior when a previously rewarded behavior is no longer being rewarded.

Spontaneous Recovery

• Spontaneous recovery occurs when behavior that was previously affected by extinction reoccurs in the future when the trigger is presented again.

Orienting Response

• Orienting response is the behavior of turning towards a noise or visual stimulus, such as a dog turning towards a door slamming.

Factors that Affect Learning

• Reward: the amount and quality of the reward have a direct effect on behavior.
• Timing: proper timing is essential for effective training, as miscommunication and confusion can occur with poor timing.
• Fun: both the dog and owner should find training enjoyable, as enthusiasm and engagement can increase learning.
• Salience: a stimulus that is highly visible or noticeable, such as a smelly treat.
• Satiation or deprivation: the effectiveness of a consequence is reduced if the individual's appetite for that stimulus is satisfied, and increased if the individual is deprived of it.
• Environment and stress: stress can block chemical reactions in the brain necessary for learning, and minimizing stressful situations can foster creativity and learning.
• Contingency: if a consequence does not consistently follow the target response, its ability to modify the response is reduced.

Experimental Neurosis

• Experimental neurosis occurs when a dog is forced to make a discrimination that is no longer possible, leading to anxiety.

Taste Aversion Learning

• Taste aversion learning is the process by which a dog learns to avoid certain foods or tastes, often through association with an unpleasant experience.

Learned Helplessness

• Learned helplessness occurs when an animal is repeatedly subjected to an aversive stimulus that it cannot escape, leading to a lack of motivation to try to change the situation.