Learning Psychology PDF

Learning Psychology PSYC-2502 Dr. Emel Erdogdu [email protected] 1  Elicited Behavior, Habituation and Sensitization  Elicited behavior Elicited = involuntary All living organisms react to events in their env...

Learning Psychology PSYC-2502 Dr. Emel Erdogdu [email protected] 1  Elicited Behavior, Habituation and Sensitization  Elicited behavior Elicited = involuntary All living organisms react to events in their environment This behavior can range from simple reflexes towards complex emotional reactions (elicited behaviour) İmportant for survival Behavior that occurs involuntarily in reaction to specific environmental stimuli Elicited Behavior Simple reflexes (eye blink to air) Complex behavior sequences (sexual behavior) Complex emotional responses Goal directed behavior (drug seeking/drug abuse) Elicited behavior can be modified by experience through the processes of habituation and sensitization, which are potentially involved in all learning procedures  Reflex Eliciting stimulus + response behavior Response must follow immediately after the stimulus İnvoluntary response Simple: stimulating single muscle or gland Complex: activation of larger physical systems (startle response, orienting) Reflex arc: afferent neuron – interneuron – efferent neuron (sensory neuron – interneuron – motor neuron) Reflex arc Sensory receptors in the finger are activated by the flame and send the danger message through sensory neurons to the central nervous system, interneurons in the spinal cord send this message to motor neurons which activates the muscles or gland for response to pull the hand away from the flame The pain info is also send to the brain but the reflex is realized via the spinal cord to «save time» We withdraw the hand before we feel the pain! Example Reflexes among species Light →Pupillary constriction Heat → pain Dust → Sneezing Startle reaction to loud noise Patellar reflex (prevents falling) Not all complex reflexes are the same among species Species-typical response sequences are called Modal Action Patterns (MAPs) (also called fixed action pattern) Modal Action Patterns (MAPs) in humans Head-turning reflex in newborns when cheeks are touched (by the breast) Sucking reflex in babies Grasping reflex respiratory occlusion reflex (closig of airflow) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_JVINnp7NZ0 Milk – letdown reflex in mothers Modal Action Patterns (MAPs) in other species MAPs for sexual behavior, territorial defense, aggression, and prey capture Feeding of herring gull chicks. The chicks peck a red patch near the tip of the parent’s bill, causing the parent to regurgitate food for them. What are the eliciting stimuli for the Modal action patterns? Sign / releasing stimulus → long, Sign or releasing stimulus → food thin moving object Supernormal stimulus → fat and Supernormal stimulus → sugar exaggerated sign stimulus that → will cause you to eat more will cause a more viscious response Used in fast-food industry Modal action pattern for the desire to play  Sign stimuli and supernormal stimuli also have a major role in social and sexual behavior visual, olfactory, tactile, and other types of sign stimuli that are specific to each species Cosmetic and perfume industries take advantage of the sign stimuli that elicit human social attraction and affiliation and enhance these stimuli Lipstick Parfume  Learning vs Instinc İnstincts are not seperate from learning It is only through the Scientists no longer categorize behavior as instinctive versus epigenetic processes, learned for two major reasons which often The fact that all members of a involve experiential and species exhibit the same sexual or environmental feeding behaviors does not mean that these behaviors are inherited inputs, that DNA can rather than learned. produce particular Similar behaviors among all behavioral traits members of a species may reflect similar learning experiences. Sequential Organization of Behavior Responses do not occur in isolation of one another Rather, all motivated behavior involves sequential actions (eating, feeding, finding a mate, territorial defense) Appetetive behavior (early behavioral components to bring organism in contact with stimulus that will release the CB) + Comsummatory behaviour (completing behavior) Appetitive behaviors are variable and can be shaped by learning (e.g.finding food) Comsummatory behaviour are stereotyped species-typical behaviors, and most of the time species-typical MAPs (chewing, swallowing, hitting) How is the response modified when the eliciting stimulus is repeated? → Lets talk about Habituation and Sensitization  Habituation: A progressive decrease in the force of elicited behavior that may occur with repeated presentations of the eliciting stimulus Sensitization: An increase in the force of elicited behavior that may result from repeated presentations of the eliciting stimulus or from exposure to a strong extraneous stimulus. Plasticity of elicited behavior Habituation plays a major role in how we respond to the food we eat The taste of food can influence the amount of salivation What happens when the same food is eaten each day? Epstein et al.,(1992) For 10 days lemon or lime juce are administered Asked «like of the taste» (hedonic rating) Amount of salivation is measured Decrease of salivation flavor became less pleasant as it was repeatedly encountered On the 11th day the taste is changed (lemon or lime) Trial 11, causing a substantial Recovery in İncreased salivation responding Hedonic increase Lemon/lime experiment: example of stimulus specific habituation effect you are likely to eat more if you are eating food with varied flavors than if your meal consists of one flavor Can habituation be modified by changing attention? → eating during TV watching? → With frieds, dinner etc Having one’s attention directed to nonfood cues keeps the food from becoming uninteresting through habituation  Obesity appears to be associated with (absent) taste habituation Epstein et al., 1996 Differences in salivation response of normal weight and obese woman when eating lemon yogurt Overweight women did not show the standard habituation effect but continued their vigorous response to the yogurt across all taste trials  Visual Attention in Human Infants Bashinski et al., 1985 4 month old babies 4x4 and 12x12 checkerboard are shown 8 times for 10 sec How long is baby focused on image (sec) Habituation effect Sensitization effect Habituation effect  Adaptation of the visual attention test to other cognitive abilities in infants Turati et al., 2008 3 day old infants Habituation on familiar fotos Measure fixation time on new faces Dependent, independent V hypothesis Results? Babies longer fixate new faces Meaning such young infants can distinguish familiar and new fotos of faces  The Startle Response Different speed of habituation Leaton (1976) Phase 1: each day 1 x 2 sec for 11 days high sound Phase 2: one day 300 x 2 sec every 3 sec high sound Phase 3: for 3 days once a day for 2 sec The startle response is defensive reaction to potential or actual Long term Habituation attack. Measured with pressure sensor Spontanious recovery Short term Habituation Sensitization and the Modulation of Elicited Behavior Reflex responses are sensitized when the organism becomes aroused for some reason. Davis (1974) 2 groups of rats: Low background noise (60 decibel) High background noise (80 decibel) On top of background noise: 90ms, 110 decibel (high pitch) → 100 x every 30 sec Startle reflex? 60db: resulted in habituation 80db: sensitization, startle response increased Where do we experience such sensitization effects due to arousal? Hand touching you (walking on the street or from the back in the dark) Loud sounds in horror movie Sensory sensitization influences sexual relationship (tactile stimulus)  (Study panic and anxiety disorders) Bradley et al., 2005 Recording of eye blink reflex as startle response in humans İnduced fear in humans: Presentation of pleasent and unpleasant pictures to two groups 1. Threat of electro shock after pleasant picture 2. Threat of electro shock after unpleasant picture İncreased eye blink reflex to air in group 1 to pleasant pictures İncreased eye blinck reflex to unpleasant pic despite group condition → Negative pic is enough to introduce fear → Magnitude of the startle reaction can be altered by emotional states What is the purpose of habituation and sensitization ? Prevents stimulus chaos of too many stimuli Habituation indicates how much we «enjoy» İnvolved in many forms of learning  Habituation Versus Sensory Adaptation and Response Fatigue İs all response decrease due to habituation? NO Sensory adaptation: short term loss of sight after looking in the sun Fatigue: performance decrease while you are tired an example of habituation?  Dual process theory Grooves and Thompson (1970) Neural processes for Habituation and Sensitization are different, but they work together. The observable change in behavior is a result of both processes. Habituation processes → occures in S-R system (like reflex) Sensitization processes → occures in state system (nervous system that determine the organism’s general level of responsiveness or readiness) S-R system always gets activated when the eliciting stimulus is present, the state system only gets active by arousing stimuli Drugs, emotion (fear) can alter function of state system  Application İnfants: 4x4 stimulus activates S-R system 12x12 stimulus activates state system as stimulus was more arousing However arousal/sensitization effect was not strong enough to cancle out habituation processes and response decreased Rat: 60db: background noise did not arouse them → S-R →habituation 80db: background noise did arouse → state system active → sensitization Implications of the Dual-Process Theory Habituation is stimulus specific Sensitization is not stimulus specific Spontan recovery can occure for both habituation and sensitization Habituation and Sensitization of Emotions and Motivated Behavior Emotional Reactions and Their Aftereffects (Solomon and Gorbit 1974) (1) Intense emotional reactions are often biphasic: One emotion occurs during the eliciting stimulus, and the opposite emotion is observed when the stimulus is terminated. Sedation when drinking alcohol → hangover after drinking (2) primary reaction becomes weaker and (3) the after- reaction becomes stronger. Habituation effects in havy drinkers: Habituation of a primary drug reaction is called drug tolerance and accompanied by growth in the opponent after-reaction E.g. Long-lasting relationships Honeymoon, get used, less affection, grief after death Opponent process theory of motivation common characteristics of emotional reactions relate to the Opponent process theory of motivation (Solomon & Corbit, 1974) Assumes: Two opponent neurophysiological mechanisms involved in emotional behavior serve to maintain emotional stability →homeostatik balance  primary process, or a process: elicitated by presentation of an emotion-arousing stimulus (in stimulus presence)→ responsible for being happy opponent process, process b: generates the opposite emotional reaction (slow, last longer than stimuls) → e.g., irritability and melancholia opponent process is activated by the primary reaction and lags behind process a Repetition of the stimulus causes prolongued duration and increased intensity of the b process Response to single presentation Response to repetitive stimuli Two opponing emotional responses to stimuli Process a → initiates process b Process A is less strong due to B not strong enough to cancle out A repetition (habituation) B last longer than A But, process B is increased due to B becomes obvious after stimulus stops repetition  Can the dual process theory explain substance addiction? Rather than enjoyment of drug, prevention of pain from absence of the drug Avoid the negative after-effects Drug addiction involves efforts to minimize the aversive nature of the opponent or anti-reward processes attendant to repeated drug intake Neural bases of Habituation and Sensitization Neural bases of Habituation Neural bases of Sensitization  Summary Survival depends on successful interaction with environment Elicited behavior as response to environmental events Simple reflexes to complex emotonal responses elicited behavior is altered by experience If eliciting stimulus does not arouse organism, repeated presentations of the stimulus will evoke progressively weaker responses (a habituation effect). If organism is in a state of arousal, the elicited response will be enhanced (a sensitization effect). Opponent process theory of motivation: emotional responses elicited by environmental events are counteracted by opposing process Rewarding emotions will activate anti-reward circuits → drug Opponing process will get stronger by repetition