Understanding the Definition and Types of Learning

Learning Definition

• A process that leads to enduring changes in behavior as a result of prior experience.

Types of Learning

• Nonassociative learning involves changes in response to a repeated stimulus.
• Associative learning involves making connections between stimuli and behavioral responses.
• Social learning leads to changes in behavior after verbal instructions or exposure to other individuals.
• Behaviorism focuses on observable phenomena rather than internal processes like thoughts and cognition.

Nonassociative Learning

• Habituation occurs when an organism becomes less responsive to a repeated stimulus.
  • This effect can be attributed to muscle fatigue or adaptation of sensory receptors.
  • Perceptual phenomena and social relationships are related to this
• Sensitization occurs when an organism becomes more sensitive or responsive to a repeated stimulus
  • This involves an evolutionary hypothesis to bring attention to potentially noxious stimuli in the environment.
• Both habituation and sensitization are always at work.
  • The stronger response depends on a person's state of arousal.
  • When aroused, sensitization is typically stronger than habituation.
  • When relaxed, habituation is more potent than sensitization.
• Dishabituation involves recovery of a response that has been habituated.
  • This recovery typically results from the presentation of a novel stimulus.

Associative Learning

• A connection or association is made between two events.
• Two types are classical and operant Conditioning.
  • Operant: Active form of learning where an association is made between a stimulus and a voluntary response.
  • Classical: Passive form of learning by which an association is made between a reflex-eliciting stimulus and another stimulus.

Classical Conditioning

• Ivan Pavlov used an apparatus to measure a dog's salivation during food consumption.
• He noticed dogs salivated in response to other stimuli that occurred around the same time as food presentation.
• The dogs learned if a specific condition was met, food would soon arrive.

Ingredients of Classical Conditioning

• Unconditioned Stimulus (UCS): A stimulus that produces a reflexive response without prior learning.
• Unconditioned Response (UCR): The response automatically generated by the unconditioned stimulus.
• Neutral Stimulus: A stimulus with no prior positive or negative association that elicits no reflexive response.
• Conditioned Stimulus (CS): A stimulus with no prior positive or negative association that elicits a response after being associated with the unconditioned stimulus.
• Conditioned Response (CR): The response that occurs in the presence of the conditioned stimulus after an association between the conditioned and unconditioned stimulus is learned.

Conditioning of Emotion

• John Watson and Rosalie Rayner (1920) demonstrated how fear could be conditioned in an 11-month-old infant (Little Albert).
  • Albert was presented with a harmless rat (neutral stimulus).
  • Every time Albert touched the rat, researchers made a loud noise (US) causing him to cry (UR).
  • Whenever Albert saw the rat (CS), he cried (CR) and tried to crawl away.
  • This conditioning generalized to other white furry objects.

Principles of Classical Conditioning

• Learning can either be very specific or generalize to other stimuli
• Learning through classical conditioning is not necessarily permanent.
• Acquisition is the initial learning of an association between the unconditioned and conditioned stimuli.
• Generalization is the tendency to respond to stimuli similar to the conditioned stimulus.
• Discrimination is learning to respond to a particular stimulus but not similar stimuli, preventing overgeneralization.
• Extinction is when the conditioned response to the conditioned stimulus is weakened in the absence of the unconditioned stimulus.
• Spontaneous Recovery is the reappearance of an extinct behavior after a delay.

A Major Turn in Psychology

• Behaviorism shifted the focus from internal phenomena to observable behavior.
• B.F. Skinner rejected any meaningful scientific inquiry into internal psychological processing, calling it a "black box."

Operant Conditioning

• An active form of learning where an association is made between a stimulus and a voluntary response.
• Behaviors must be performed to receive or avoid something

ABC's of Operant Conditioning

• Antecedent: Stimuli that precedes the behavior and signals the consequence.
• Behavior: Voluntary action that takes place.
• Consequences: Stimuli after the behavior that either increases or decreases the likelihood that the behavior will be repeated.

Consequences of Behavior

• Reinforcement is a consequence that increases the likelihood that a behavior will be repeated.
  • Positive reinforcement presents a positive stimulus, increasing the frequency of behaviors (e.g., children get stickers for working hard).
  • Negative reinforcement removes a negative stimulus, increasing the frequency of behaviors (e.g., taking pain medication to relieve a headache).
• Punishment is a consequence that decreases the likelihood that a behavior will be repeated.
  • Positive punishment presents a negative stimulus, decreasing the frequency of a behavior (e.g., receiving a speeding ticket).
  • Negative punishment removes a positive stimulus, decreasing the frequency of a behavior (e.g., losing phone for bad grades).

Levels of Reinforcement

• Primary reinforcers are consequences that are innately pleasurable and/or satisfy a biological need (e.g., food, drink, warmth, sex).
• Secondary reinforcers are learned pleasures that acquire value through experience because they are associated with primary reinforcers (e.g., money to buy food, provide shelter).

Learning New Behaviors

• Shaping is a process by which behavior is gradually changed into a desired target behavior.
  • This involves reinforcement of successive approximations.
  • Start with the behavior that is vaguely like the target behavior.
  • Continuously reinforce approximations of the target behavior then stop reinforcing earlier approximations once a higher approximation is attained.

Schedules of Reinforcement

• Continuous reinforcement schedule is when behavior is rewarded every time it is performed.
  • Leads to rapid acquisition of a behavior
  • Behavior is also subject to rapid extinction.
• Partial reinforcement schedules are when behavior is rewarded only some of the time
  • Useful for maintaining motivation.
• Fixed - the number of responses between reinforcements or the time between reinforcements is set and unchanging
• Variable - the number of responses between reinforcements or the time between reinforcements varies or changes
• Interval - the schedule is based on the time between reinforcements
• Ratio – the schedule is based on the number of responses between reinforcements

Variable Ratio Schedules

• This is unpredictable and yield high and steady response rates with little pause after reinforcement.
  • Example: Gambling

Fixed Ratio Schedules

• This is predictable and produces a high response rate, with a short pause after reinforcement.
  • Example: sales

Variable Interval Schedule

• This is Unpredictable producing moderate steady response rate
  • Example: checking Facebook.

Fixed Interval Schedule

• This exhibits a scallop-shaped response pattern reflecting a significant pause after reinforcement.
  • Example: medication schedule

Latent Learning

• Learning that occurs without either incentive or any clear motivation to learn.
• Edward Tolman's cognitive map study:
  • Rats seemed to have learned the complexity of a maze without being rewarded for completing it
  • Learning of cognitive maps is supported by changes in the hippocampus.

Observational Learning

• A form of learning in which a person observes and imitates a behavior from a model.
  • Eliminates a lot of the trial-and-error process involved in other types of learning.
  • Increases the rate of learning associated with operant or classical methods.
• Social and cognitive factors affect learning.
• It is a purposeful copying of goal-directed behavior.

Social Learning Theory

• States that learning is a cognitive process derived from social observation rather than direct reinforcement of motor actions.
• Albert Bandura claimed children learn behaviors through social learning.
• This involves four main processes:
  • Attention
  • Retention
  • Motor reproduction
  • Reinforcement / Motivation
• Bodo doll study involved:
  • Vicarious reinforcement
  • Vicarious punishment