PSY 101 Chapter 6: Types of Learning PDF

## Types of Learning - Learning - a systematic, relatively permanent change in behavior that occurs through experience - Behaviorism is a theory of learning that involves observable behavior. It does not include mental activity such as thinking, wishing, and hoping. 2 types of learning ## Associat...

## Types of Learning - Learning - a systematic, relatively permanent change in behavior that occurs through experience - Behaviorism is a theory of learning that involves observable behavior. It does not include mental activity such as thinking, wishing, and hoping. 2 types of learning ## Associative Learning/Conditioning - Occurs when an association is made between two events. - Conditioning occurs when you have learned about the association. - There are two types of conditioning: classical conditioning and operant conditioning. ## Observational Learning - Occurs when an individual observes and then imitates another individual's behavior. Relies on mental processes attention, remembering and recalling information required. ## Classical Conditioning - Ivan Pavlov, a Russian physiologist, is a pioneer in classical conditioning. - He conducted research looking at digestion in the body. - He discovered that dog's salivated to more than just meat powder being placed in their mouth. ## Classical Conditioning - The dogs salivated to the sight of the meat powder, the individual that brought the meat powder, and the sound of the door closing when the meat powder arrived. - The dog's behavior included both learned and unlearned components. The unlearned components are known as reflexes. ## Classical Conditioning: Terminology - Helps to explain involuntary behavior - Classical conditioning occurs when a neutral stimulus is associated with a meaningful stimulus and then eventually acquires a similar response. - There are 2 types of stimulus and 2 types of responses in classical conditioning - unconditioned stimulus (UCS) - is a stimulus that brings about a response without any prior learning. - unconditioned response (UCR) - is the unlearned response to the UCS ## Classical Conditioning - conditioned stimulus (CS) - is a neutral stimulus that when associated with the UCS elicits a conditioned response. - conditioned response (CR) - is the learned response of the CS. - neutral stimulus (NS) - a stimulus that before conditioning does not naturally bring about the response of interest ## Classical Conditioning: Procedure - The first part of classical conditioning is called Acquisition - is the learning of the association between the stimulus and the response. - UCS produces a UCR (reflex) - neutral stimulus (NS) paired with a UCS - after pairings, NS produces a CR - the NS has become a CS - For the pairing to work 2 NB factors must be present - contiguity - time between CS and UCS - contingency - is CS regularly followed by the UCS? Has to serve as a reliable indicator that the UCS is on its way ## Classical Conditioning: Pavlov - (2) Unlearned/Reflexive - UCS - meat powder - UCR - dog salivates - NS - sound of Pavlov's bell (prior to pairings with meat powder) - Learned - CS - sound of Pavlov's bell - CR - dog salivates ## Classical Conditioning: Pavlov A diagram of the process of classical conditioning. It includes the stages of before conditioning, conditioning and after conditioning, as well as the UCS, UCR, CS and CR. ## Classical Conditioning - Pavlov made other discoveries in this experiment - 1. Generalization - occurs when a new stimulus that is similar to the original stimulus elicits a response that is similar to the CR. - Discrimination - opposite of generalization - is learning to respond to certain stimuli while not responding to others. CRs appear after the CS but not after other CSs - discrimination is generally learned by presenting other CSs without the UCS ## Classical Conditioning - Extinction - Extinction is the weakening of the CR in the absence of the UCS. - CR is weakened by presenting the CS without the UCS - Pavlov rang the bell but did not present food, and the dog stopped salivating - Spontaneous Recovery - CR recurs after a time delay and without additional learning - when Pavlov rang the bell the next day, the dog salivated - Real life example - thinking you are over an ex...... - Renewal - recovery of the CR when organism is placed in novel context - cues ## Classical Conditioning: Applications - (3) Phobias - Watson and Rayner (1920) - Little Albert - white rat (CS) paired with loud noise (UCS) - Counterconditioning - associate CS with new, incompatible CR - CS paired with new UCS - A technique used is aversive conditioning ## Classical Conditioning: Applications - placebo effect - immune and endocrine responses - taste aversion - advertising - drug habituation ## Operant Conditioning - Also called instrumental conditioning - Operant behaviors are voluntary behaviors and bring about either rewards or punishments - B. F. Skinner developed what is known as operant conditioning, which is a form of associative learning where the consequences of behavior produce changes in the probability of a behavior's occurrence. - Just as in classical conditioning, contingency is important in operant conditioning ## Operant Conditioning - (4) Thorndike's Law of Effect - consequence strengthens or weakens a S-R connection - study with cats - B.F. Skinner - expanded on Thorndike's work - shaping (reward approximations of the desired behavior) ## Reinforcement - Reinforcement occurs when a stimulus or an event strengthens the probability of a behavior occurring again. - Positive Reinforcement - behavior followed by rewarding consequence - rewarding stimulus is "added" - Negative Reinforcement - behavior followed by rewarding consequence - aversive (unpleasant) stimulus is "removed" ## Reinforcement - Table describing different types of reinforcement with examples of both behavior and the stimulus being provided. ## Principles of Reinforcement - Avoidance Reinforcement - by making a particular response, a negative stimulus can be avoided - Learned Helplessness - an organism learns it has no control over negative outcomes ## Types of Reinforcers - Primary Reinforcers - innately satisfying - Secondary Reinforcers - become satisfying through experience - repeated association with a pre-existing reinforcer ## Principles of Reinforcement - Generalization - stimulus "sets the occasion" for the response - responding occurs to similar stimuli - Discrimination - stimuli signal when behavior will or will not be reinforced - Extinction and Spontaneous Recovery - behavior decreases when reinforcement stops ## Schedules of Reinforcement - Continuous Reinforcement - occurs when the behavior is reinforced every time it occurs - Partial Reinforcement - fixed - variable - ratio - interval ## Schedules of Reinforcement - Schedules of reinforcement are timetables that determine when a behavior will be reinforced - Fixed Ratio (FR) - reinforcement follows a set # of behaviors - Variable Ratio (VR) - reinforcement follows an unpredictable # of behaviors (e.g., an average) - e.g. gambling ## Schedules of Reinforcement - Fixed Interval (FI) - reinforcement follows behavior that occurs after a set amount of time has elapsed - Variable Interval (VI) - reinforcement follows behavior that occurs after an unpredictable amount of time has elapsed e.g. fishing, pop quizzes ## Punishment - Punishment decreases behavior. - Positive Punishment - behavior followed by aversive consequence - aversive (unpleasant) stimulus is "added" - Negative Punishment - behavior followed by aversive consequence - rewarding stimulus is "removed" ## Punishment - Table describing different types of punishment with examples of both behavior and the stimulus being provided. ## Comparing Operant Procedures - Table showing a comparison between positive reinforcement, negative reinforcement, positive punishment and negative punishment and their effects on behavior. ## Controversy Over Punishment - corporal punishment - used by 70-90% of parents in the U.S. - correlational research studies - problems associated with punishment - why should parents avoid spanking? - is physical punishment necessary? ## Operant Conditioning - Timing of Consequences - immediate versus delayed reinforcement - immediate versus delayed punishment - immediate versus delayed reinforcement and punishment - Applied Behavior Analysis - behavior modification ## Observational Learning - Learning that occurs when a person observes and imitates behavior (modeling) - Bandura described four main processes involved in observational learning: - A)Attention: a person must attend to what the model is doing or saying. - B) Retention: the observer must code and retain the model's behavior in memory. - C)Motor reproduction: the observer must be capable of reproducing the behavior. - D) Reinforcement: reproducing the behavior requires the appropriate incentive. ## Cognitive Factors in Learning - Do cognitions matter and does learning involve more than environment-behavior connections? - Purposive Behavior - 1. Tolman believed that it is important to study not only behaviors, but also goals. Behavior as goal directed - 2. Expectancies are acquired from experience with environment. - 3. A cognitive map is an organism's mental representation of the structure of physical space. - 4. Latent learning is a type of learning which is not apparent in the learner's behaviour at the time of learning, but which manifests later when a suitable motivation and circumstances appear. - Tolman argued that humans engage in this type of learning everyday as we drive or walk the same route daily and learn the locations of various buildings and objects. - Only when we need to find a building's object does learning become obvious ## Cognitive Factors in Learning - Insight learning – Wolfgang Kohler - Is a form of problem-solving in which the organism develops a sudden insight into or understanding of a problem's solution. - Insight learning happens all of the sudden, as though things just pop into an individual's head. ## Other Factors in Learning - Biological Constraints - The structure of an organism's body permits certain kinds of behavior and inhibits others. - Instinctive drift - refers to the tendency of animals to revert back to instinctive behavior that then interferes with learning. - Preparedness - is an organism's biological predisposition to learn in certain ways but not others. Taste aversion is an example of preparedness: It takes only a single pairing of the UCS and CS for long-lasting learning to occur. - Cultural Influences - Culture can influence the way in which classical conditioning, operant conditioning, and observational learning are used. - Culture can determine the content of learning. - Organisms cannot learn about something they do not experience - Psychological Constraints - mindset: fixed v. growth