Introduction to Psychology Lecture Slides PDF

PSYC1071: Introduction to Psychology 1 Animal Learning and Cognition Lecture 1: Historical background Professor Anthony McGregor  Professor Anthony McGregor [email protected] Learn Ultra: Introduction to Psychology 1: Course Documents Block 2: Animal Learning and Cognitio...

PSYC1071: Introduction to Psychology 1 Animal Learning and Cognition Lecture 1: Historical background Professor Anthony McGregor  Professor Anthony McGregor [email protected] Learn Ultra: Introduction to Psychology 1: Course Documents Block 2: Animal Learning and Cognition Lecture slides, overviews, revision materials  Professor Anthony McGregor [email protected] If you don’t understand something: Ask (or) Listen again to the lecture when it uploads to Lecture Recordings Read the lecture notes I post after the lecture If you still don’t follow then post your question on the Discussion Board Contact: Drop-in 11.00-12.00 on Mondays. Email for appointment outside this time  Professor Anthony McGregor [email protected] My ‘lecture style’ I tend not to write many words on my slides. I nd this stops me reading them, but it also means my lectures are a bit more ‘free form’. My rambles into trivia are often give you a break from concentrating on some dif cult content. It’s all part of the plan. Apart from some obvious fact-based material, this is not a lecture series to learn by rote. Sit back and listen. Don’t try to write down what I say word- for-word. fi fi  Why Study Animal Cognition? Comparative Psychology - How do different species differ in their psychological abilities/processes? Natural and intellectual curiosity Relevance to other disciplines - human cognitive psychology - behavioural neuroscience - arti cial intelligence and computational modelling - clinical psychology fi  Why Study Animal Cognition? Comparative Psychology - How do different species differ in their psychological abilities/processes? Natural and intellectual curiosity Relevance Psychology istoa science other disciplines in which behavioural and other evidence is used to understand the internal processes - human leading cognitive people psychology (and members of other species) to behave as they do (Eysenck, 2004) - behavioural neuroscience - arti cial intelligence and computational modelling - clinical psychology fi  Darwin (1859) On the Origin of Species by Natural Selection there is variability among individuals in a population variability is hereditary more offspring are born than can survive, and there is competition among individuals for resources the survivors of the competition will reproduce  Darwin (1859) On the Origin of Species by Natural Selection There is no difference between the evolution of humans and the evolution of other animals There is no difference between behaviour and other evolved traits there is variability among individuals in a population variability is hereditary more offspring are born than can survive, and there is competition among individuals for resources the survivors of the competition will reproduce  Why Study Animal Cognition? Comparative Psychology - How do different species differ in their psychological abilities/processes? Natural and intellectual curiosity Relevance to other disciplines - human cognitive psychology - behavioural neuroscience - arti cial intelligence and computational modelling - clinical psychology fi  Why Study Animal Cognition? Comparative Psychology - How do different species differ in their psychological abilities/processes? Natural and intellectual curiosity Relevance to other disciplines - human cognitive psychology - behavioural neuroscience - arti cial intelligence and computational modelling - clinical psychology fi  Suggested Textbook "There are very few instances in which one of the world's leading researchers is willing to write a textbook in his area of expertise, and even fewer where the resulting text is beautifully clear and interesting. Pearce's text is of just this quality; any student fortunate enough to read it will be exposed to a lucid, entertaining, and stimulating introduction to what we know about animal learning and cognition." - Dr. David Lieberman, Department of Psychology, University of Stirling Suggested Textbook General introduction to learning. Covers basics, useful background Mark Haselgrove - Learning: A very short introduction *Very* short, but covers a lot of what’s in our lectures and more. Cheap! https://www.amazon.co.uk/Learning-Very- Short-Introduction-Introductions/dp/ 0199688362 Historical Background Romanes (1881) Animal Intelligence  Historical Background Romanes (1881) Animal Intelligence Insects Birds Apes Humans “They act with rational imitation – which involves a rational understanding of mechanical properties and considerable reasoning power”  Historical Background Conway Lloyd Morgan (1890s) Against anthropomorphism  Historical Background Conway Lloyd Morgan (1890s) Lloyd Morgan’s (1894) Canon In no case may we interpret an action as the outcome of the exercise of a higher psychical faculty, if it can be interpreted as the outcome of one which stands lower in the psychological scale  Historical Background Edward Thorndike (1874 - 1949) Wanted to deliver “the coup de grace to the despised notion that animals reason”  Trial by Trial Learning Curve 80 TIME TO ESCAPE (SEC) 60 40 20 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 TRIALS  Hypothetical Learning Curve 80 TIME TO ESCAPE (SEC) 60 40 20 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 TRIALS  Thorndike’s law of effect If a response leads to a satisfying outcome it will be strengthened S R O +/-  Historical Background ✦ John B Watson (1878-1958) advocated Importance of learning Behaviourism Use of animals ✦ Burrhus Frederick Skinner (1904-1990) ✦ Ivan P Pavlov (1849-1936) Watson Titchener  Historical Background ✦ John B Watson (1878-1958) advocated Importance of learning Behaviourism Use of animals “Give me a dozen healthy infants …. and my own specified world to bring them up in and I’ll guarantee to take any one at random and train him to become any type of specialist I might select - doctor, lawyer, artist, merchant-chief and, yes, even beggar-man and thief, regardless of his talents, penchants, tendencies, abilities, vocations, and race of his ancestors.” Watson Rosalie Raynor Little Albert Experiment (1920) A Clockwork Orange (1971)  Historical Background ✦ John B Watson (1878-1958) advocated Importance of learning Behaviourism Use of animals ✦ Burrhus Frederick Skinner (1904-1990) ✦ Ivan P Pavlov (1849-1936)