Learning & Behavior PSYC 3490 Spring 2025 Lecture Notes PDF

Learning & Behavior 3490 PSYC Spring 2025 Learning and Behavior What is learning? A relatively permanent change in behavior that results from experience (interactions with one’s environment) Learning as a Process What is behavior? Any activity of an organism tha...

Learning & Behavior 3490 PSYC Spring 2025 Learning and Behavior What is learning? A relatively permanent change in behavior that results from experience (interactions with one’s environment) Learning as a Process What is behavior? Any activity of an organism that can be observed or measured Behavior is lawful Examples of Learning? Cat Video Is this learning? What was learned? Why is it important to study learning? Simple learning processes underlie more complex behaviors e.g., drug overdose Historical role in psychology Because it’s a part of almost everything we do Historical Background Plato and Aristotle Nativism vs. Empiricism (Nature vs. Nurture) Aristotle’s Laws of Association 1. The Law of Similarity 2. The Law of Contrast 3. The Law of Contiguity 4. The Law of Frequency René Descartes Some human behaviors are reflexes that are automatically elicited by external stimulation, but others are freely chosen and controlled by the mind. Led to the scientific investigation of some of the “mechanistic behaviors” The British Empiricists Maintained that almost all knowledge is a function of experience E.g., John Locke Tabula rasa The conscious mind is composed of a finite set of basic elements (specific colors, sounds, smells, etc.) Structuralism Analysis of basic elements of the mind Used systematic observation Introspection E. B. Titchener (1867-1927) Functionalism The study of the purpose that mental processes serve in enabling people to adapt to their environment Ideas inspired by Darwin William James (1842-1910) Evolution Describes how species change across generations in response to environmental pressures Natural selection Traits vary Many traits are heritable Organisms compete for limited resources Instrumental in encouraging the comparative study of learning across species Charles Darwin (1809-1882) Behaviorism Emphasis on observable behaviors Objectivity Use of nonhuman animals Law of parsimony Avoided mentalistic explanations John B. Watson (1878-1958) Summary of Today