Learning Theories PDF Lecture Notes

Learning Theories HPCS4004 Foundation Psychology  Learning - relatively permanent changes in our behavior & behavior potential  Learning theories – usually focus on behaviorist models  Classical conditioning  Operant conditioning  Observational learning A: Classical Conditioning  Iva...

Learning Theories HPCS4004 Foundation Psychology  Learning - relatively permanent changes in our behavior & behavior potential  Learning theories – usually focus on behaviorist models  Classical conditioning  Operant conditioning  Observational learning A: Classical Conditioning  Ivan P. Pavlov (1849-1936)  Most famous for his experiments involving dogs & their salivation Important concepts  Unconditioned Stimulus (US)  A stimulus that elicits a reflexive response, in the absence of learning  e.g. food elicits salivation in dogs  Unconditioned Response (UR)  The reflexive response elicited by a stimulus, in the absence of learning  Inborn / instinctive  Biological product  e.g. salivation in dogs is elicited by food naturally  Neutral Stimulus (NS)  An initially neutral stimulus which does not induce any relevant response  e.g. a bell sound does not initially induce salivation  Conditioned Stimulus (CS)  After the neutral stimulus (NS) has been associated with an unconditioned stimulus (US), it is able to elicit a conditioned response  e.g. a bell sound is associated with food  it induces salivation eventually  Conditioned Response (CR)  The response elicited by a conditioned stimulus (CS), which resembles the unconditioned response (UR)  e.g. salivation induced by a bell sound  Occurs after conditioning / learning  Classical Conditioning  The person or animal originally does not show any relevant response towards a neutral stimulus (NS)  During conditioning, the NS is paired up with an unconditioned stimulus (US)  The NS acquires the capacity to elicit a response similar to the unconditioned response (UR)  The NS becomes a conditioned stimulus (CS) that elicits a conditioned response (CR)  Principles of Classical Conditioning  Acquisition  A neutral stimulus that is consistently followed by an unconditioned stimulus will become a conditioned stimulus  Extinction  The weakening and gradual disappearance of a conditioned response  Occurs when the conditioned stimulus is no longer paired with the unconditioned stimulus  Higher Order Conditioning  A procedure in which a neutral stimulus becomes a conditioned stimulus through association with an already established conditioned stimulus Generalization and Discrimination  Stimulus Generalization  The tendency to respond to a stimulus that resembles one involved in the original conditioning  e.g. the dog salivates when any bell sounds are made (regardless of pitch)  Stimulus Discrimination  The tendency to respond differently to two or more similar stimuli  e.g. the dog salivates only when high-pitched bell sounds are made; achieved by giving food only with high-pitched sounds but not low-pitched ones Experiment in humans – Little Albert  An experiment by John Watson (1878-1958)  Subject: “Albert”, 11-month-old  Conditioned to fear a white laboratory rat  Each time he reached for the rat, Watson made a loud clanging noise right behind Albert  Albert’s fear was generalized to anything white and furry  Including rabbits and Santa Claus  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9hBfnXACsOI (1:15 onwards) B: Operant Conditioning  B. F. Skinner (1904-1990)  The process by which a response becomes more likely to occur or less so, depending on its consequences  Based on Thorndike’s (1898) “law of effect”  If a response is followed by a reward, it will be strengthened The “Skinner Box”  When a rat in a Skinner box presses a bar, a food pellet or drop of water is automatically released  Similar boxes exist for pigeons and many other species  https://www.youtube.co m/watch?v=MOgowRy2WC 0 The Consequences of Behavior  Reinforcement  The process by which a stimulus strengthens or increases the frequency of the previous response  Punishment  The process by which a stimulus or event weakens or reduces the frequency of the previous response Reinforcement  Positive Reinforcement  The response is followed by the presentation of a reward/pleasant stimulus  Negative Reinforcement  The response is followed by the removal of an unpleasant stimulus Punishment  Positive Punishment  The response is followed by the presentation of an unpleasant stimulus  Negative Punishment  The response is followed by the removal of a pleasant stimulus  Principles of Operant Conditioning  Extinction  When a previously reinforced behavior does not result in consequence, it will occur with a lower frequency  Schedule  Rules about how often and under what conditions a response will be reinforced (refer to lecture on Motivation)  Shaping  The process of eliciting a desired response by rewarding behaviors that are increasingly similar to the response Learning on Schedule  Continuous reinforcement  A reinforcement schedule in which a particular response is always reinforced /  a positive reinforcer is given every time after the occurrence of a specific behaviour  Intermittent / partial reinforcement  A reinforcement schedule in which a particular response is sometimes but not always reinforced  4 types  A. Fixed-ratio reinforcement  The reinforcer is given after the organism has emitted a fixed number of responses  e.g. piecework – for every 10 transactions you make you are given a $1000 bonus  High rate of responding; burst-pause-burst pattern  B. Variable ratio reinforcement  The average number of responses between reinforcers is predetermined; e.g. 1 reinforcement per 10 responses on average  Timing varies from trial to trial / unpredictable; e.g., 3 reinforcements given at 3rd, 12th & 27th responses over 30 trials respectively  e.g. gambling  High & steady rate of responding; no pause between responses  C. Fixed interval reinforcement  A reinforcer is delivered for a response made after a fixed period of time  e.g. monthly salary / students’ library visit before exams  A scallop-shaped pattern of responding  D. Variable interval reinforcement  A variable time interval between reinforcements are given  e.g. children whine to get their desired things, but the time they have to whine before being reinforced varies  Moderate & steady rate of responding Limitations of early behaviorist learning theories  Only focuses on observable behavior and consequences  Does not account for higher-order processes taking place during learning  e.g. cognitive structures, emotions  Advocates for passive student learning in a teacher-centric environment Social/Observational learning theory  Albert Bandura (1925-2021)  Observational Learning:  A process in which an individual learns new responses by observing the behavior or another (a model), rather than through direct experience  The process of learning is correlated to the observation of the model  Cognitive processes are involved  Attention  Retention  Reproduction  Reinforcement  BoboDollExperiment The famous bobo-doll experiment https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dmBqwWlJg8U Characteristics of models  Competent  Prestigious and powerful  Consistent with observer’s gender/ identification  Relevant to observer’s situation