Learning & Conditioning (PDF)

Learning Learning allows for beneficial changes in behaviour § Cognitive learning: reading, listening, and taking tests to acquire new knowledge § Associative learning: pairing of stimuli  Classical Conditioning Classical conditioning: learning that o...

Learning Learning allows for beneficial changes in behaviour § Cognitive learning: reading, listening, and taking tests to acquire new knowledge § Associative learning: pairing of stimuli  Classical Conditioning Classical conditioning: learning that occurs when a neutral stimulus elicits a response that was originally caused by another stimulus  Acquisition, Extinction, and Spontaneous Recovery Association depends on repeated, temporally contiguous pairings Generalization and Discrimination Generalization: response Discrimination: learning that originally occurs to a to respond to one original specific stimulus also stimulus but not to a occurs to similar stimuli new, but similar stimuli Adaptive Learning Processes Generalization and discrimination allow organisms to make adaptive changes, thereby enhancing survival and fitness Preparedness Preparedness: the biological predisposition to rapidly learn a response to a particular class of stimuli Conditioned Taste Aversions The acquired dislike of a food or drink because it was paired with illness § Often learned in one trial § Occurs even though illness is often delayed from when food was ingested § New foods are more prone to conditioned taste aversion Higher-Order Classical Conditioning When a CS functions as though it were a UCS Conditioning Emotions Conditioned emotional responses: emotional responses that are associated with a specific object or situation § Little Albert and Phobias Conditioning and Advertising Evaluative conditioning: when one stimulus takes on the emotional ‘valence’ of another stimuli § Watson’s Pebeco toothpaste campaign § Celebrity advertisements  Negative Political Advertising ‘Attack ads’ use evaluative conditioning to elicit unpleasant emotional responses in the viewers while presenting images of political opponents § Third person effect Operant Conditioning Operant conditioning: learning in which behaviour is determined by consequences The Law of Effect Edward Thorndike Law of effect: Responses followed by satisfaction will occur again; those not followed by satisfaction will become less likely Reinforcement and Punishment Reinforcement: when a situation (i.e., reinforcer) causes a behaviour to becomes more likely Punishment: when a situation (i.e., punisher) causes a behaviour to become less likely Positive and Negative Reinforcement and Punishment Positive Reinforcement Add stimulus (candy) Increase behaviour (questions) Negative Reinforcement Remove stimulus (light) Increase behaviour (questions) Positive Punishment Add stimulus (ridicule) Decrease behaviour (questions) Negative Punishment Remove stimulus (fun videos) Decrease behaviour (questions)  Corporal Punishment Interrupts behaviour, but effects are transient Corporal punishment linked with: § Poorer parent-child relationships § Poorer mental health § Child delinquency § Abusive behaviours as adults  Applying (non-physical) Punishment Effectiveness of punishment depends on: § Severity § Initial punishment level § Contiguity and being understood § Consistency § Showing appropriate behaviours  Discrimination and Generalization in Operant Conditioning Discriminative stimulus: is a cue or event that indicates a response, that if made, will be reinforced Delayed reinforcement reduces strength of stimulus- response pairing Applications of Operant Conditioning Shaping: a procedure in which a specific operant response is created by reinforcing successive approximations of that response § Chaining  Applications of Operant Conditioning Applied behaviour analysis (ABA) § Used with developmental conditions (e.g., autism) § Used to shape desirable behaviours Schedules of Reinforcement Continuous reinforcement: occurs when every response made results in reinforcement Partial (intermittent) reinforcement: occurs when only a certain number of responses are rewarded, or a certain amount of time must pass before reinforcement is available Partial Reinforcement Schedules Ratio vs. interval schedules Fixed vs. variable schedules  Fixed Ratio Schedules Reinforcement is delivered after a specific number of responses  Fixed Interval Schedules Reinforces the first response occurring after a set amount of time passes  Variable Interval Schedules The first response is reinforced following a variable amount of time  Variable Ratio Schedules The number of responses required to receive reinforcement varies  Controlled by Conditioning Ratio schedules tend to generate higher rates of responding Variable ratio schedules especially motivating Partial reinforcement effect: organisms conditioned under partial reinforcement resist extinction longer than those under continuous reinforcement § Problem gambling Driving Addiction Classical and operant conditioning combined to maintain $5 behaviour $5 Losses disguised $5 as wins Superstitions Superstitions can form when it is not clear what behaviour led to the reward B.F. Skinner and ‘superstitious’ pigeons Superstitions Confirmation bias Superstitions can have positive effects on controllable behaviours Cognitive Perspectives on Learning Latent learning: learning that is not expressed until the organism’s response is reinforced  Observational Learning Changes in behaviour and knowledge that result from watching others Albert Bandura’s ‘Bobo doll’ experiment Social Learning Theory: 1. Attention 2. Memory 3. Motor ability 4. Motivation Imitation Recreating a motor behaviour or expression, often to accomplish a specific goal Humans over-imitate other humans Can Media Affect Behaviour? Media often influences what we view as normal § Desensitization Positive correlation between exposure to violent media and aggressive thoughts and behaviour § Correlation does not equal causation § ‘Third’ variables § Ecological validity Mirror Neurons Cells that fire both when performing an action, as well as when observing an action from another individual Mirror Neurons Mirror neurons can be influenced by the inferred intention of the movement