Learning: How We're Changed by Experience

LEARNING: How we’re changed by Experience CHAPTER 5 Introductory Psychology GS F232 LEARNING CLASSICAL CONDITIONING Ivan Pavlov, a Russian physiologist, never intended to do psychological research. In 1904 he won the Nobel Prize for his work on digestion, testimony to his contrib...

LEARNING: How we’re changed by Experience CHAPTER 5 Introductory Psychology GS F232 LEARNING CLASSICAL CONDITIONING Ivan Pavlov, a Russian physiologist, never intended to do psychological research. In 1904 he won the Nobel Prize for his work on digestion, testimony to his contribution to that field. Yet Pavlov is remembered not for his physiological research but for his experiments on basic learning processes—work that he began quite accidentally  THE EXPERIMENT To demonstrate classical conditioning, Pavlov (1927) attached a tube to the salivary gland of a dog, allowing him to measure precisely the dog’s salivation. He then rang a bell and, just a few seconds later, presented the dog with meat. This pairing occurred repeatedly and was carefully planned so that, each time, exactly the same amount of time elapsed between the presentation of the bell and the meat. At first the dog would salivate only when the meat was presented, but soon it began to salivate at the sound of the bell. In fact, even when Pavlov stopped presenting the meat, the dog still salivated after hearing the sound. The dog had been classically conditioned to salivate to the bell. APPLIED PSYCHOLOGY… how people may experience hunger pangs at the sight of McDonald’s golden arches? how do some of us develop fears of mice, spiders, and other creatures that are typically harmless? How many of you have felt that on hearing a certain song you were suddenly smiling or feeling cheerful?  Little Albert In 1919, John Watson with Rosalie Rayner 11-month-old boy whom they called Albert B Albert had previously shown no fear of a white rat that was placed near him and had even reached out to stroke the animal The rat was placed close to Albert, and as he reached for it, Watson banged a steel bar with a hammer just behind his head, creating a loud gong Albert showed signs of fear due to the noise Experimenters repeatedly paired the rat and the loud sound, which resulted in Albert’s developing a fear response to the sight of the rat alone Which was the neutral stimulus (NS)? White rat- no fear Which was the unconditioned stimulus (US)? The loud banging sound Which was the unconditioned response (UR)? Fear response (UR) Now NS was paired with US What is the conditioned stimulus (CS)? The white rat alone (CS) What is the conditioned response? Fear response (CR)  Stimulus Generalization Albert’s fear response had generalized to other furry stimuli, including a dog, a rabbit, and even a Santa Claus mask that Watson had worn Stimulus generalization has survival value. It allows us to respond to a range of stimuli that are similar to an original threatening stimulus If you were menaced or bitten by a large dog when you were young.Because of stimulus generalization, you may find yourself tensing up whenever you see a large dog approaching. Have you ever walked into a room and suddenly felt uncomfortable or anxious for no apparent reason? déjà-vu—a feeling of having been in a place before when you’ve never actually been there  Stimulus Discrimination Stimulus discrimination, the ability to differentiate among related stimuli, represents the opposite side of the coin to stimulus generalization. This ability allows us to fine-tune our responses to the environment. Allows us to differentiate between threatening and non-threatening stimuli Extinction and Spontaneous Pavlov noticed Recovery that the conditioned response of salivation to the sound of a bell or a tuning fork would gradually weaken and eventually disappear when he repeatedly presented the sound in the absence of the US (food). This process is called extinction The extinguished response is not forgotten or lost to memory. It may return spontaneously at a later time when the animal is again exposed to the conditioned stimulus. This phenomenon is called spontaneous recovery  APPLIED PSYCHOLOGY CONTINUED… Drug Cravings- The conditioning model of drug cravings is supported by research that demonstrates that people with alcoholism salivate more at the sight and odor of alcohol than do non-alcoholic people Taste Aversions- Psychologist John Garcia and Bob Koelling - The rats developed an aversion or “conditioned nausea” to flavored water sweetened with saccharin when the water was paired with the nausea- producing radiation - APPLICATION WITH SAVING SHEEP Immune system conditioning-Robert Ader and Nicholas Cohen -The researchers had laboratory rats ingest saccharin-sweetened water (CS) while simultaneously giving them a drug (US) that sup- pressed immune- system responses (UR). After several pairings of the CS and US, immune suppression (CR) occurred when the rats drank the sweetened water alone (CS) APPLIED IN HUMANS- A group of healthy people were given an immune-  OPERANT CONDITIONING Thorndike’s Law of Effect (1932) B.F SKINNER & Skinner’s Box  Reinforcement Skinner called the process that leads the rat to continue pressing the key “reinforcement.” Reinforcement is the process by which a stimulus increases the probability that a preceding behavior will be repeated. A reinforcer is any stimulus that increases the probability that a preceding behavior will occur again. What would be some common examples of reinforcers? What may reinforce one person may not reinforce the other A primary reinforcer satisfies some biological need and works naturally, regardless of a person’s previous experience (food, warmth, pain relief) A secondary reinforcer is a stimulus that becomes reinforcing because of its association with a primary reinforcer (money, tokens, reward points) the neurotransmitter dopamine plays a key role in the reinforcement of behavior Are all reinforcers positive? or can there be negative reinforcers? A positive reinforcer is a stimulus added to the environment that brings about an increase in a preceding response In contrast, a negative reinforcer refers to an unpleasant stimulus whose removal leads to an increase in the probability that a preceding response will be repeated in the future. Eg. itchy rash, seat belt alarm So far we have discussed about increasing the likelihood of a behaviour.. how can we decrease certain behaviours?  Punishment Punishment refers to a stimulus that decreases the probability that a prior behavior will occur again. Positive punishment weakens a response by applying an unpleasant stimulus. Eg. spanking a child for misbehaving, sending someone to jail for for committing a crime Negative punishment consists of the removal of something pleasant. Eg. cell phone ban, pay cut Reinforcement increases the frequency of the behavior preceding it; Punishment decreases the frequency of the behavior preceding it The application of a positive stimulus brings about an increase in the frequency of behavior and is referred to as positive reinforcement; the application of a negative stimulus decreases or reduces the frequency of behavior and is called positive punishment. The removal of a negative stimulus that results in an increase in the frequency of behavior is negative reinforcement; the removal of a positive stimulus that decreases the frequency of behavior is negative You don't study for a test and you receive a bad grade. Positive Punishment Whenever you drink coffee in the morning, you are able to get your work done more quickly. Positive Reinforcement Every time you eat chocolate, you get a stomach ache. Positive Punishment Using an umbrella results in you not getting rained on, thus you start to bring an umbrella with you whenever rain is in the forecast. Negative Reinforcement Sandy keeps quiet after his father scolds him Positive Punishment Baseball player who hits a home run after a long slump and then wears the same pair of socks he had on at the time for good luck in every remaining game of the season ??  Schedules of Reinforcement Continuous Reinforcement reinforcement follows each instance of the operant response leads to rapid extinction when reinforcement is withheld Switching on the light bulb  Partial Reinforcement Ratio schedules: reinforcement is based on the number of responses. Interval schedules: reinforcement is based on the timing of responses. For each type, reinforcement can be administered on either a fixed or variable basis Fixed-Ratio (FR) Schedule reinforcement is given after a specified number of correct responses workers are paid on the basis of how many items they produce Fixed-ratio schedules produce a constant, high level of response, with a slight dip in responses occurring after each reinforcement  Variable-Ratio (VR) Schedule the number of correct responses needed before reinforcement is given varies around an average value reinforcement may be delivered after two, five, or 10 responses; at other times, 30 or 40 responses may be required Sales, Gambling, Lottery tickets Works on “Hey you never know!” typically produce high and steady rates of response They are also more resistant to extinction than fixed-ratio schedules because we never know when a given response will be rewarded Fixed-Interval (FI) Schedule reinforcement is given only for a correct response made after a fixed amount of time has elapsed since the last reinforcement Workers who receive a regular paycheck at the end of every week, studying before the exam rate of response tends to dips just after reinforcement is given and then increases as the end of the interval approaches  Variable-Interval (VI) Schedule the amount of time that must elapse before a reinforcement is given for a correct response varies rather than remaining fixed Finding a cab Pop quizzes Variable-interval schedules tend to produce a slow but steady rate of response. They also tend to be more resistant to extinction than fixed-interval schedules  Which of the following describes an instance of continuous reinforcement? Sometimes you forget to put enough money in the parking meter, but you don't always get a ticket. When you check your e-mail, sometimes you have new messages and sometimes you don't. After a week of doing his or her homework, a child is rewarded with a gold star. Every time you put a coin in a vending machine, you are rewarded with a candy bar.  More examples.. Uber drivers Shaping: training animals, learning swimming Couple therapy Biofeedback  Punishment or Reinforcement? Punishment should be used only in instances which require immediate correction Or the opportunity to temporarily suppress problem behaviour and meanwhile reinforce desirable behaviour Can be ineffective if not delivered shortly after the undesired behaviour or if the person can leave the setting Can be damaging to the individual’s self-esteem, inculcate deep-seated fear Teaches that physical or verbal aggression is permissible or desirable Does not convey what could be an alternative/desirable behaviour Cognitive Approaches to Learning  Insight Learning Chimp named Sultan, German psychologist Wolfgang Köhler (1927) Köhler believed Sultan had solved the problem on the basis of insight, the sudden flash of inspiration that reveals the solution to a problem Insight learning is the process of mentally working through a problem until the sudden realization of a solution occurs. We may call this moment of sudden insight the “Aha!” phenomenon Insight may occur by restructuring or reorganizing a problem in your mind until you see how the various parts fit together to form a solution  Latent Learning Edward Tolman and C. H. Honzik (1930) Rats in a maze Rewarded and unrewarded rats Demonstrated what they had learnt only when reinforced Latent learning—a kind of “hidden” learning that occurs without apparent reinforcement and that is not revealed in performance at the time it occurs cognitive map—a mental representation of the maze that allowed them to find their way to the goal box Observational Learning Bobo doll experiment- Albert Bandura Recent evidence of mirror neurons Modelling effects are generally stronger when the model is similar to the learner and when positive reinforcement for performing the behavior is evident. People also develop styles of dealing with conflicts in intimate relationships based on their observations during childhood of how their mothers and fathers dealt with marital disagreements Fear of rats, cockroaches without having any direct experience with them Observing the punishment of a model, however, does not necessarily stop observers from learning the behavior Playing violent video games, increased levels of aggression Watching violence on TV, Social media Crimes reported in media- imitation Desensitized to violence Misinterpretation of non-aggressive acts Exposure to actual firearm violence (being shot or being shot at) doubles the probability that an adolescent will commit serious violence over the next 2 years. In short, whether the violence is real or fictionalized, observing violent behavior leads to increases in aggressive behavior (Bingenheimer, Brennan, & Earls, 2005; Allwood, 2007; Quinn et al., 2017). When Marilyn Monroe committed suicide in August 1962, 303 more people than average took their lives that month (Stack, 2000). After Robin Williams committed suicide in 2014, calls to the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline increased (Carroll, 2014). One study found that copycat suicides were 14 times more likely when the victim was a celebrity and 87% more common when the coverage was on television rather than in a newspaper (Stack, 2003). After the popular Netflix series 13 Reasons Why, which portrayed a teen girl’s suicide, was released in late March 2017, Google searches for “how to commit suicide” jumped 26% (Ayers et al., 2017). In a study of mass shootings between 1997 and 2013, Sherry Towers and her colleagues (2015) found that such incidents were contagious: Shootings causing at least four deaths led to a 2- week period of increased gun violence. In light of such contagions, some psychologists have called for media outlets to stop identifying the perpetrators of mass shootings. If the shooters don’t get media attention, the thinking goes, fewer people will be tempted to repeat their violent acts (Perrin, 2016). Sociocultural Learning In the traditional Indigenous Australian culture, children aren’t sitting in a classroom – no way! They’re off learning on the job. The sons are learning to hunt kangaroo with their fathers while the daughters are off learning to hunt turtles with their mothers. In the contemporary Western classroom, children are sitting in classrooms learning to read books day in, day out. How might these children’s learning differ? The Sociocultural Learning Theory - Vygotsky Critiqued the idea that children’s learning and development follows universal laws Learner's environment plays a pivotal role in his/her learning development Culture provides “tools” like language, values Learning happens first through social interaction and second through individual internalization of social behaviors. Classroom relationships are important for learning Learning is Active: Socio-cultural theorists believe we have ‘agency’. This means that we are capable of thinking about things and rejecting some ideas. We work best when we talk things through and come to informed conclusions based both on what we hear from others and our own internal logic Knowledge is Co-constructed: Sociocultural theorists believe we can influence each other. So, as groups in classrooms, we can all share our ideas together and come up with an agreed ‘truth’ or set of facts after we’ve all thrown in our two cents and influenced one another’s ideas.