PSY140 Learning and Behavior Notes PDF

PSY140 handout 1_JDayao 1 Lesson 1. Introduc on to Learning and Behavior Learning  A rela vely permanent change in behavior or behavior poten ality that resu...

PSY140 handout 1_JDayao 1 Lesson 1. Introduc on to Learning and Behavior Learning  A rela vely permanent change in behavior or behavior poten ality that results from experience and cannot be contributed to temporary body states such as those induced by illness, fa gue, or drugs  Is not involved in innate behaviors which are inborn (reflexes) and which emerge during certain periods (matura on) Measures of learning  Performing a completely new behavior  Changing the frequency of an exis ng behavior  Changing the speed of an exis ng behavior  Changing the intensity of an exis ng behavior  Changing the complexity of an exis ng behavior  Responding differently to a par cular s mulus Types of learning  Simple learning  Associa ve learning  Complex learning Learning Styles  Different methods of learning or understanding new informa on; the way a person takes in, understands, expresses, and remembers informa on  There are 4 predominant learning styles: Visual, Auditory, Read/Write, Kinaesthe c The materials provided to you in any form is intended only for your use in connec on with the course you are enrolled in. It is not for distribu on or sale. Permission should be obtained from your instructor for any use other than what it is intended.  PSY140 handout 1_JDayao 2 Historical Antecedents of the Study of Learning  Plato believed that everything we know is inborn (resides in our soul), thus he views learning as a process of reflec on to discover the knowledge that already exists in our soul.  Aristotle believed that knowledge is acquired through experience and the associa on of these experiences.  Proposed 4 laws of associa on: 1. Law of similarity 2. Law of contrast 3. Law of Con guity 4. Law of Frequency  Rene Descartes proposed the idea of mind-body dualism where the mind has free will to produce voluntary behaviors while the body is like a machine that produces involuntary, reflexive behaviors in response to external s muli.  Bri sh empiricists believed that all knowledge comes from experience and that the conscious mind is composed of a finite set of basic elements that can be combined to form complex thoughts  John Locke proposed the idea that we are born with a mind that is like a blank slate, a tabula rasa  Structuralism proposed that it is possible to “experimentally” study the structure of the mind by iden fying the basic elements that compose it. Their method of choice to study feelings and sensa ons was introspec on.  This approach was spearheaded by Wilhelm Wundt in Germany and his student Eward Titchener in the United States  Wilhelm Wundt is known as the father of psychology  Func onalism proposed that psychology should focus on the study of the adap ve func ons of the mind (and therefore, learning) rather than its structures  This approach was established by William James who was largely inspired by the work of Charles Darwin  Charles Darwin proposed the idea that adap ve characteris cs, including our ability to learn, evolve through the process of natural selec on. The materials provided to you in any form is intended only for your use in connec on with the course you are enrolled in. It is not for distribu on or sale. Permission should be obtained from your instructor for any use other than what it is intended.  PSY140 handout 1_JDayao 3  Behaviorism proposes that for psychology to be a science it must focus on studying only behaviors which can be directly observed  John B. Watson is o en referred to as the father of behaviorism  Five schools of thought in behaviorism: 1. John B. Watson’s Methodological Behaviorism - asserts that for methodological reasons, psychologists should study only those behaviors that can be directly observed. S – R theory – learning is believed to involve the establishment of a connec on between a specific s mulus (S) and a specific response (R) 2. Clark Hull’s Neobehaviorism - brand of behaviorism that u lizes intervening variables, in the form of hypothesized physiological processes, to help explain behavior - intervening variables are opera onalized, that is defined in such a way that they can be measured 3. Edward Tolman’s Cogni ve Behaviorism - some mes called “purposive behaviorism” - u lizes intervening variables, usually in the form of hypothesized cogni ve processes, to help explain behavior Cogni ve Map – Tolman’s most famous intervening variable which is a mental representa on of one’s spa al surroundings Latent Learning – learning occurs despite the absence of any observable demonstra on of learning and only becomes apparent under a different set of condi ons The materials provided to you in any form is intended only for your use in connec on with the course you are enrolled in. It is not for distribu on or sale. Permission should be obtained from your instructor for any use other than what it is intended.  PSY140 handout 1_JDayao 4 4. Albert Bandura’s Social Learning theory - a behavioral approach that strongly emphasizes the importance of observa onal learning and cogni ve variables in explaining human behavior. Reciprocal Determinism – the environmental events, observable behavior, and “person variables”, which include thoughts and feelings, are seen as having a reciprocal influence on each other 5. B.F. Skinner’s Radical Behaviorism - emphasizes the influence of the environment on overt behavior, rejects the use of internal events to explain behavior, and views thoughts and feelings as behaviors that themselves need to be explained. - all three components of his model can influence each other but it is the environment that ul mately determines internal and external behavior Countercontrol – the deliberate manipula on of environmental events so as to alter their impact on behavior  Cogni ve Psychology - the study of individual-level mental processes such as informa on processing, a en on, language use, memory, percep on, problem solving, decision-making, and thinking (Gerrig and Zimbardo 2002) References: Chance, P. (2014). Learning and Behavior (7th edi on). California, USA: Wadsworth Cengage Learning Domjan, M. (2015). The Principles of Learning and Behavior (7th edi on). Connec cut, USA: Cengage Learning Mazur, J. & Odum, A. (2023). Learning and Behavior (9th edi on). Philadelphia, USA: Routledge Taylor & Francis Group Omrod, J. (2020). Human Learning (8th edi on). Boston, MA: Pearson Educa on Ltd. The materials provided to you in any form is intended only for your use in connec on with the course you are enrolled in. It is not for distribu on or sale. Permission should be obtained from your instructor for any use other than what it is intended.