Introduction to Psychology Lecture Notes (PSYC1001 Fall 2024) PDF

PSYC1001 Chapter 6 Introduction to Psychology These materials remain the intellectual property of the author. They are intended for personal use and may not be reproduced or redistributed without prior written consent of the author.  Chapter 6:...

PSYC1001 Chapter 6 Introduction to Psychology These materials remain the intellectual property of the author. They are intended for personal use and may not be reproduced or redistributed without prior written consent of the author.  Chapter 6: Lecture Objectives Chapter 6: Learning Behavioural Theory & foundations of the process of learning Pavlov & Classical Conditioning (nature & function) Skinner & Operant Conditioning (nature & function) Bandura & Observational Learning Copyright Christopher Motz (2024)  Learning Learning is an adaptive process in which the tendency to perform a particular behaviour is changed by experience. Learning generally refers to the effect on behaviour of certain types of interactions between the individual and the environment (or between environmental events), which includes all sources of stimulation impinging on the individual’s sense receptors within a given period. Making connections (associations) between events. Copyright Christopher Motz (2024)  Learning Behavioural theories attempt to relate units of behaviour, called responses, to units of the environment, called stimuli (the plural of stimulus). Focusing upon explaining current behaviour and predicting future behaviour (relating future stimuli to future responses) Copyright Christopher Motz (2024)  Learning “Learning is an adaptive process…” Evolutionary Theories would focus on the adaptive aspects of learning to survival. – Organisms that were able to “learn” (i.e. determine relations among events) were able to survive in a changing environment. – But learning still occurs even if the environment is not changing – the organism “learns” that the environment has not changed. (the bear and the stream) Copyright Christopher Motz (2024)  Learning Learning can not be observed directly, only inferred from changes in behaviour. – The “ah-ha” expression does not count as observable learning Learning can occur even when there is no noticeable change in behaviour. – i.e. Stop, drop & roll Copyright Christopher Motz (2024)  Habituation The Orienting Response – our attention is drawn to a novel stimulus Habituation – learning not to respond to an unimportant event that occurs repeatedly – (whistle vs. Baby’s cry) – Ignoring unimportant stimuli is adaptive for survival Copyright Christopher Motz (2024)  Habituation The Orienting Response – our attention is drawn to a novel stimulus Habituation – learning not to respond to an unimportant event that occurs repeatedly – (whistle vs. Baby’s cry) – Ignoring unimportant stimuli is adaptive for survival Sensitization – based on some prior stimulus, we become more responsive (more sensitive) to a subsequent stimulus. Not necessarily the same stimulus. (horror movie è creaking floor) Copyright Christopher Motz (2024)  Habituation Short-term Habituation – Temporary – The result of stimuli that are presented quickly in a short period Long-term Habituation – Lasting – Results when stimuli are spread over a longer period Copyright Christopher Motz (2024) Classical Conditioning Pavlov & his dogs Classical Conditioning involves learning about the conditions that predict that a significant event will occur. Also called “Pavlovian Conditioning” Copyright Christopher Motz (2024)  Pavlov’s Discovery Originally studying the mechanisms underlying digestion (not psychology) Realized that the dogs had learned to anticipate the food based on environmental stimuli (the presence of the dish or the person doing the feeding) Copyright Christopher Motz (2024)  Classical Conditioning UN-conditioned Stimulus (UCS) – a stimulus that naturally elicits some response. UN-conditioned Response (UCR) – a response that is naturally elicited by the stimulus. Pavlov’s dogs – naturally salivate in the presence of food Copyright Christopher Motz (2024)  Classical Conditioning Conditioned Stimulus (CS) – some stimulus that was previously neutral (i.e., it did not automatically elicit the response) – through repeated pairings with the UCS – becomes a “cue” for the response (what was previously known as the UCR) – i.e., the CS now elicits the response. But this response is no longer referred to as the UCR Copyright Christopher Motz (2024)  Classical Conditioning Conditioned Response (CR) – the response that was previously referred to as the UCR, when it is elicited by the CS, is now referred to as the CR (but it’s still the same response). Copyright Christopher Motz (2024)  Without Prior Learning UCS (food) naturally elicits UCR (salivation) This is a natural reflex action UCS UCR Food Dog Salivates Copyright Christopher Motz (2024)  Before Conditioning The Bell is a neutral stimulus Neutral No Response Stimulus Bell No Salivation Copyright Christopher Motz (2024)  During Conditioning The Neutral Stimulus is paired with the UCS The UCS is eliciting the UCR Neutral Stimulus + UCS UCR Bell Food Dog Salivates + Copyright Christopher Motz (2024)  After Conditioning The CS (previously neutral stimulus) now elicits the CR (salivation) CS CR Bell Dog Salivates Copyright Christopher Motz (2024)  The Biological Significance of Classical Conditioning The ability to learn to recognize stimuli that predict the occurrence of an important event allows the learner to make the appropriate response faster and more effectively Stimuli that were previously unimportant acquire some of the properties of the important stimuli and can now modify behaviour Copyright Christopher Motz (2024)  Basic Principles of Classical Conditioning Acquisition – “the learning phase” – during which conditioning occurs – the organism learns that the CS is reliably paired with the UCS, and learns to exhibit the CR to the CS. Three factors affect the strength of the CR (“strength” = the ability of the CS to elicit the CR and/or can refer to the intensity of the CR ) – Timing of the CS & UCS (contiguity) – Reliable pairings (contingency) – Intensity of the UCS Copyright Christopher Motz (2024)  Basic Principles of Classical Conditioning Extinction – when the CS is repeatedly presented without being followed by the UCS Spontaneous Recovery – almost as if we have forgotten the extinction. Copyright Christopher Motz (2024) Acquisition, Extinction & Spontaneous Recovery Copyright Christopher Motz (2024)  Timing & Intensity Timing – the order and timing of the presentation of the CS & UCS – Optimal delay Copyright Christopher Motz (2024)  Timing & Intensity Intensity – the intensity of the UCS that the CS is paired with will have an impact on the ability of the CS to elicit the CR. – A weaker UCS will not produce a strong relation between the CS and the CR. Copyright Christopher Motz (2024)  Differentiating one stimulus from another This process of learning would be useless if we were unable to determine which stimulus predicted which event Generalization – when a stimulus that is similar to the CS will also elicit the CR Discrimination – being able to determine the CS and similar conditional stimuli (CSsimilar), and dissimilar conditional stimuli (CSdissimilar). – The CS and CSsimilar will elicit the CR, but the CSdissimilar will not. Copyright Christopher Motz (2024)  Blocking What happens when a second neutral stimulus (CSB) is presented together with a previously conditioned CS (CSA)? Blocking – The previously conditioned CSA will interfere with the organism’s ability to pair the new CSB with the UCS – hence the CSB will not elicit the CR. Copyright Christopher Motz (2024)  Typical Classical Conditioning Chime Chime Chime Chime Food Food Food Time Salivation Salivation Salivation Salivation Copyright Christopher Motz (2024)  Blocking Light Light Light Light Chime Chime Chime Food Food Food Time Salivation Salivation Salivation Copyright Christopher Motz (2024)  Higher-order Conditioning Then we learn that the red light predicts the chime (the red light is a CS for the chime, which is a CS for food). The red light comes to elicit salivation – but only through pairing with the chime (the red light is never paired with food). Copyright Christopher Motz (2024)  Higher-Order Conditioning Light Light Light Light Chime Chime Chime Time Salivation Salivation Salivation Salivation Copyright Christopher Motz (2024)  Types of CRs Excitatory Conditioned Response – (what we have typically been discussing thus far) – The CS signals that the UCS is about to occur. – Pavlov’s assistant walking into the room (the CS), prior to feeding the dogs (the UCS) Inhibitory Conditioned Response – when the CS signals the absence of the UCS – Imagine if Pavlov had a second lab assistant – who’s job it was to observe the dogs in between feedings – thus, when this assistant entered the lab, it would signal a period of “no food” Copyright Christopher Motz (2024)  Conditioned Emotional Responses Many stimuli are able to arouse emotional responses Phobias are probably an example of a conditioned emotional response Phobias are an unreasonable fear of specific objects or situations, learned through classical conditioning – Either through direct experience, or through observation of the experience of another (seeing, hearing about, reading) Copyright Christopher Motz (2024) Conditioned Emotional Responses Copyright Christopher Motz (2024)  Summary Classical Conditioning – focuses on learning about events in our environment. Specifically, relations between events (i.e. so that we can predict future events). Habituation – is essentially a form of Classical Conditioning – where the stimulus is not paired with any meaningful event, thus we learn to ignore it. Copyright Christopher Motz (2024)  Operant Conditioning Operant Conditioning – Focusing on the learning that occurs when we pair environmental stimuli with our own behaviour (“operant behaviour” – the organism learns by “operating” on the environment) Based upon Thorndike’s Law of Effect – The consequences of a behaviour effect whether that behaviour will be repeated or not Behaviour that leads to positive outcomes has a greater tendency of being repeated Behaviour that leads to negative outcomes is less likely to be repeated Copyright Christopher Motz (2024)  Operant Conditioning Skinner – Pioneering work on Operant Conditioning When we engage in some action (a behaviour) and this action causes a favourable outcome, we are more likely to repeat the action (in order to repeat the favourable outcome). When an action causes an unfavourable (aversive) outcome, we are less likely to repeat the action. Copyright Christopher Motz (2024)  The Three-Term-Contingency The presence of the Discriminative (or Discriminative or Antecedent) Stimulus indicates that our Antecedent RESPONSE will elicit a particular Stimulus CONSEQUENCE The consequence could be positive or negative A response NOTE – the changed meaning of “response” (Previously, the organism’s reaction. Now, the organism’s behaviour, Favourable or Unfavourable which leads to the consequences) Consequence Copyright Christopher Motz (2024)  Operant Conditioning Appetitive Stimulus – any stimulus that is good or desirable Aversive Stimulus – any stimulus that is unpleasant or painful Copyright Christopher Motz (2024)  Operant Conditioning Primary Reinforcers – a “natural” reinforcer (i.e., food, water, sex) Secondary Reinforcers – a reinforcer that is not innately satisfying, but becomes a reinforcer through conditioning. Token reinforcers (i.e., money) are secondary reinforcers. Copyright Christopher Motz (2024)  Types of Reinforcement/Punishment Reinforcement – increases the likelihood that a response will be repeated – Positive Reinforcement – a response is regularly and reliably followed by the onset of an appetitive stimulus – Negative Reinforcement – a response is regularly and reliably followed by the removal of an aversive stimulus Copyright Christopher Motz (2024)  Types of Reinforcement/Punishment Punishment – decreases the likelihood that a response will be repeated – Positive Punishment – a response is followed by the onset of an aversive stimulus (a punisher) – Negative Punishment (Response Cost) – a response is followed by the removal of an appetitive stimulus Copyright Christopher Motz (2024)  Types of Reinforcement/Punishment Extinction – a decrease in the likelihood that a response will be repeated. – The response had to have been previously reinforced. – The reinforcement is no longer paired with the response, hence the frequency of the response decreases. Copyright Christopher Motz (2024)  Generalization & Discrimination In the Classical Conditioning material, we discussed similar ideas Generalization – giving the response to stimuli that are similar to the Discriminative (or Antecedent) Stimulus Discrimination – learning to distinguish between different types/forms of Discriminative Stimuli Copyright Christopher Motz (2024) What about creating complex, or novel behaviours? Shaping – reinforcing any response that successfully approximates the desired response. Want a rat to press a lever? – Reinforce any movement toward the lever, – Then, only reinforce touching the lever, – Then, only reinforce pressing the lever Copyright Christopher Motz (2024)  Do we have to reinforce every behaviour? Intermittent Reinforcement – reinforcing some, but not all, of the responses – This leads the organism to expect the occasional unrewarded response – and hence the organism is more willing to keep repeating the response even when not reinforced – The response is more resistant to extinction Copyright Christopher Motz (2024)  Schedules of Reinforcement Four different schedules of intermittent reinforcement – All based on not reinforcing every response Interval Schedule of Reinforcement: (two types) – Both based on reinforcing the first response that occurs after a certain period of time has elapsed – i.e., after a certain amount of time, the next behaviour gets rewarded Ratio Schedule of Reinforcement: (two types) – Both based on keeping consistent a ratio between number of responses and the number of reinforcements – i.e., the organism needs to do the behaviour a certain number of times before getting the reward Copyright Christopher Motz (2024)  Schedules of Reinforcement Fixed-Interval Schedule – After a fixed amount of time has passed, the very next response is rewarded Variable-Interval Schedule – After a variable amount of time (keeping constant a certain average amount of time), the very next response is rewarded – There will be a pre-determined average amount of time, but the specific amount of time on any particular trial will vary Copyright Christopher Motz (2024)  Schedules of Reinforcement Fixed-Ratio Schedule – A reinforcement is scheduled to occur after a certain number of responses. The required number of responses is always the same (i.e., fixed). – i.e. a food pellet is delivered after every 5th press of the lever. Variable-Ratio Schedule – A reinforcement is scheduled to occur after a certain number of responses. However, the required number of responses will vary from trial to trial (i.e., variable). – The number of required responses on any particular trial will vary, but there will be a pre-determined average number of required responses. Copyright Christopher Motz (2024) Schedule of Reinforcement & Patterns of Responses Copyright Christopher Motz (2024) Schedule of Reinforcement & Patterns of Responses In general – Variable schedules tend to be more resistant to extinction than fixed schedules. – Ratio schedules tend to produce more rapid rates of responding than interval schedules. And as the ratio gets higher (i.e., more behaviours per reward), the speed of responding increases. – Variable Ratio schedules (i.e., casino slot machines) tend to produce the highest steady-state responding. Copyright Christopher Motz (2024)  The Conditioning of Complex Behaviours Are we preprogrammed to be sensitive to aversive stimuli? Taste Aversion – do we have a biological predisposition to avoid/dislike foods that have previously been associated with nausea? Is it possible that we, and other animals (i.e., rats), have the “pre-wired” ability to more easily make associations between certain kinds of environmental stimuli? Copyright Christopher Motz (2024)  The Conditioning of Complex Behaviours Are we preprogrammed to be sensitive to aversive stimuli? Conditioning of Flavour Aversions (Garcia & Koelling, 1966) – Tested the drinking behaviour of rats in cages – DV: the amount of water they would drink (compared to normal) – IV: four conditions Copyright Christopher Motz (2024)  The Conditioning of Complex Behaviours Are we preprogrammed to be sensitive to aversive stimuli? Conditioning of Flavour Aversions - Garcia & Koelling (1966) – Rats – taking a sip of water was paired with either (1) a sugary taste, or (2) a buzzing noise with a flashing light – These two “types of water” (i.e., “bright-noisy” water, and “tasty” water) were paired with two types of aversive stimuli (shock, or illness) Copyright Christopher Motz (2024)  The Conditioning of Complex Behaviours Are we preprogrammed to be sensitive to aversive stimuli? The UCS (as a result of drinking water) Electric shocks to feet Nausea (through x-rays or lithium chloride The CS that Buzzing noise Group 1 Group 2 gets paired & flashing with drinking light water Saccharine flavour Group 3 Group 4 Copyright Christopher Motz (2024)  2 4 3 1 Copyright Christopher Motz (2024)  The Conditioning of Complex Behaviours Are we preprogrammed to be sensitive to aversive stimuli? Results: rats in group 1 and group 4 had reduced levels of drinking in a follow up test Proving that not just any CS can be paired with any UCS. – Learning is facilitated when the CS and the UCS make sense together – Rats were able to learn about associations between internal sensations (illness) and novel tastes – The interval between the CS and the UCS can be quite long Copyright Christopher Motz (2024)  Observational Learning Observational Learning (or modeling): learning that occurs without direct experience, solely through observing the actions of others. Albert Bandura – the famous “Bobo doll experiment” Copyright Christopher Motz (2024)  Observational Learning Three factors that influence the effectiveness of a model 1. Characteristics of the model – we are more likely to be influenced by someone who we believe is similar to ourselves 2. Attributes of the observer – people who are low in self-esteem, highly dependent, or highly motivated are more likely to follow a model 3. Reward consequences associated with a behaviour – people are more likely to emulate a model if they believe that such actions will lead to positive results Copyright Christopher Motz (2024)  Observational Learning Learning through observation is not a simple matter of observation. It is an active judgmental and constructive process. Through observation, observers acquire symbolic representations of different ways of doing things, and these ideas serve as guides for their own behaviour. Copyright Christopher Motz (2024)  Observational Learning Processes of Observational Learning 1. Attentional processes – actually paying attention to the model and the activity being performed 2. Retentional processes – after observing, we must retain the memory of the behaviour (a symbolic representation of the behaviour) 3. Motor Production processes – in order to imitate, we must translate the symbolic representation into an action or set of actions 4. Motivational processes – Acquisition (what a person has learned and can do) versus Performance (what a person actually does) Copyright Christopher Motz (2024)  Observational Learning In Observational Learning, the learning occurs without any necessary external reinforcement of the learning (not dependent on reinforcement) However, reinforcement can facilitate the learning process – the individual’s anticipation of reward or punishment influences how they behave Copyright Christopher Motz (2024)  Observational Learning 1. Extrinsic reinforcement – (external) usually arbitrary or socially arranged rather than a natural outcome of the behaviour 2. Intrinsic reinforcement – naturally related to the behaviour (i.e. some behaviours produce a natural physiological effect), or our emotional response to the behaviour. 3. Vicarious reinforcement – when we learn appropriate behaviour from the successes or mistakes of others 4. Self-reinforcement – we can regulate our own behaviour by setting our own standards for conduct and responding to those in self-rewarding or self- punishing ways Copyright Christopher Motz (2024) Bandura’s Original Observational Learning Studies Transmission of Aggression Through Imitation of Aggressive Models (1961) 72 Nursery School children Two adult “models” Three conditions: – control, – aggressive models, – non-aggressive models Copyright Christopher Motz (2024)  Observational Learning In order to clearly demonstrate observational learning, the models performed sufficiently novel patterns of aggressive behaviour (i.e., striking doll with mallet, sitting on doll, tossing it in the air) and verbal aggression (i.e., “sock him” or “hit him down”) Participants’ behaviour toward the model was observed – specific aggressive acts were noted Copyright Christopher Motz (2024)  Observational Learning Results: (average aggression scores) Imitative physical aggression – Male model Female participants = 7.2 Male participants = 25.8 – Female model Female participants = 5.5 Male participants = 12.4 Copyright Christopher Motz (2024)  Observational Learning Bandura’s work on Observational Learning forms the basis of his Social Learning Theory (that we learn social behavior by observing, imitating and being rewarded/punished for our behaviour) More recent research focuses on creating pro-social models for creating collective action for social change (i.e., creating “soap operas” in developing countries that include themes of safe sex as a way of modeling healthy sexual behaviour and thereby preventing the spread of disease) Copyright Christopher Motz (2024)