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Learning

1. Theories of learning include classical conditioning, operant conditioning, and observational learning. Classical conditioning involves associating stimuli to anticipate events, like Pavlov's dogs learning to associate food with a bell. 2. Operant conditioning occurs when voluntary behaviors are associated with consequences, like Skinner's rats learning to press levers for food rewards. 3. Observational learning involves acquiring behaviors by observing and imitating other models, as in Bandura's Bobo doll experiment where children imitated aggressive behaviors they observed.

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71 views

Learning

1. Theories of learning include classical conditioning, operant conditioning, and observational learning. Classical conditioning involves associating stimuli to anticipate events, like Pavlov's dogs learning to associate food with a bell. 2. Operant conditioning occurs when voluntary behaviors are associated with consequences, like Skinner's rats learning to press levers for food rewards. 3. Observational learning involves acquiring behaviors by observing and imitating other models, as in Bandura's Bobo doll experiment where children imitated aggressive behaviors they observed.

Uploaded by

Kent
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Theories of Learning

Classical Conditioning
• We learn to associate two
stimuli to anticipate events
(a stimulus is any event or
situation that evokes a
response)

• We learn that a flash of


lightning signals an
impending crack of
thunder; when lightning
flashes nearby, we start to
brace ourselves.
Pavlov’s Experiments
Pavlov’s Experiments
Pavlov’s Experiments
What happens next?
Classical conditioning
Stimulus Generalization

•The tendency for


stimuli similar to the
conditioned stimulus
to elicit the
conditioned response
Stimulus Discrimination
• The ability to differentiate between a conditioned stimulus and
other stimuli sufficiently different
• If you presented the meat powder with a high- pitched sound,
they would associate that pitch with the meat powder and
salivate. However, they would not salivate in response to low-
pitched sounds.
• The dogs would display stimulus discrimination, the ability to
differentiate between a particular CS and other stimuli
sufficiently different from it.
Extinction &
Spontaneous Recovery
• Extinction is the process by which the CR decreases after
repeated exposure to the CS in the absence of the US.
• Spontaneous recovery is the reappearance of a conditioned
response following its extinction.
Higher-order Conditioning
• With repeated pairings of a conditioned stimulus and a neutral
stimulus, the second neutral stimulus becomes a conditioned
stimulus as well.
Conditioned Taste Aversion
• A form of classical conditioning that occurs when an organism
learns to associate the taste of a particular food or drink with
illness.
• Avoiding foods that induce sickness has adaptive value, meaning
it helps organisms survive, upping the odds they will reproduce
and pass their genes along to the next generation.
Little Albert and
Conditioned
Emotional
Response
Operant Conditioning
• Operant conditioning is a type of learning in which we
associate our voluntary actions with the consequences
of those actions.
• Operant conditioning, a type of learning in which people
or animals come to associate their voluntary actions
with their consequences.
• Whether pleasant or unpleasant, the effects of a
behavior influence future actions. Think
Thorndike and his Cats
LAW OF EFFECT
• Rewarded behavior is likely
to recur and punished
behavior is less likely to
recur.
• Opening the latch and fish
Skinner: Chamber Box
• Skinner placed animals
in chambers, or Skinner
boxes, which were
outfitted with food
dispensers the animals
could activate (by
pecking a target or
pushing on a lever, for
instance) and recording
equipment to monitor
these behaviors.
Operant conditioning
Reinforcement
Increases the frequency of a behavior that precedes it
Strengthens behavior and rewards person

Positive Reinforcement
• Give a reward following the behavior

Negative Reinforcement
• Removal of aversive stimulus following the behavior
Reinforcers
• Primary Reinforcers
• Satisfies biological needs
• Secondary Reinforcers
• They do not satisfy biological
needs but often derive their
power from their connection
with primary reinforcers.
Operant conditioning
Punishment
Decreases the frequency of a preceding behavior

Positive Punishment
• Presentation of aversive stimulus
Negative Punishment
• Removal of positive reinforcer
Operant conditioning
Operant conditioning
Shaping
• Successive
approximations of the
desired behavior are
reinforced.

•
Schedules of Reinforcement
1. Fixed-Ratio: organism is reinforced intermittently
according to the number of responses it makes.
2. Variable-Ratio: the organism is reinforced after every
nth response.
3. Fixed-Interval: the organism is reinforced for the first
response following a designated period of time.
4. Variable-Interval: the organism is reinforced after the
lapse of random or varied periods of time.
A third-grade teacher gives her students prizes for
passing math tests. Not only do the students
improve their math scores, they also begin studying
harder for their spelling tests as a result of this
reinforcement schedule. Their increased studying
of spelling is an example of:
a. classical conditioning.
b. an unconditioned response.
c. an unconditioned stimulus
d. stimulus generalization
A child disrupts class and the teacher writes
her name on the board. For the rest of the
week, the child does not act up. The teacher
used to decrease the child’s disruptive
behaviors.
a. positive punishment
b. negative punishment
c. positive reinforcement
d. negative reinforcement
One basic form of learning occurs during the
process of ______________ , which is evident
when an organism does not respond as
strongly or as often to an event following
multiple exposures to it.
a. insight
b. b. habituation
c. c. classical conditioning
d. d. operant conditioning
Even trout can learn through operant
conditioning, as evidenced by their:
a. innate urge to get food.
b. reaction to an unconditioned stimulus.
c. ability to press a pendulum to get
food.
d. reactions to predators.
The behaviors learned with classical
conditioning are ___________ , whereas
those learned with operant conditioning
are _____________.
a. involuntary; voluntary
b. voluntary; involuntary
c. voluntary; innate
d. involuntary; innate
Every time you open the pantry where
dog food is stored, your dog starts to
salivate. His reaction is a(n)
a. unconditioned response.
b. conditioned response.
c. stimulus discrimination.
d. reaction based on observational
learning.
Your first love wore a musky-scented
perfume, and your heart raced every time
he or she appeared. Even now when you
smell that scent, your heart speeds up,
suggesting the scent is a(n)
a. unconditioned stimulus.
b. conditioned stimulus.
c. conditioned response.
d. unconditioned response.
Little Albert was an 11-month-old baby who
originally had no fear of rats. In an
experiment conducted by Watson and
Rayner, he was classically conditioned to fear
white rats through the pairing of a loud noise
with exposure to a rat. His resulting fear is
an example of a(n)
a. unconditioned stimulus.
b. operant conditioning.
c. conditioned emotional response.
d. biological preparedness
Little Albert was an 11-month-old baby who
originally had no fear of rats. In an
experiment conducted by Watson and
Rayner, he was classically conditioned to fear
white rats through the pairing of a loud noise
with exposure to a rat. His resulting fear is
an example of a(n)
a. unconditioned stimulus.
b. operant conditioning.
c. conditioned emotional response.
d. biological preparedness
_____________ indicates that if a behavior
is followed by a pleasurable outcome, it
likely will be repeated.
a. Latent learning
b. Classical conditioning
c. Biological preparedness
d. The law of effect
Observational Learning
Observational Learning or
Social Learning Theory
Learning processes take place vicariously through
observation
• Observational learning : acquisition of new
behaviors by watching and imitating others
(models)
• Example: You observe an older sibling studying
hard. You observe your sibling’s study behavior
being reinforced by good grades and parental
praise.
Observational Learning or
Social Learning Theory
• According to Bandura (1986), this type of learning
is more likely to occur when the learner:
• (1) is paying attention to the model;
• (2) remembers what she observed (Bahrick, Gogate, &
Ruiz, 2002);
• (3) is capable of performing the behavior she has
observed; and
• (4) is motivated to demonstrate
Latent Learning
EC Tolman, Rats and Mazes
E.C. Tolman

•Cognitive Theory of Learning


• Learning as developing from bits of knowledge
and cognitions about the environment and how
the organism relates to it. This was in contrast to
the theories of Thorndike who thought of
learning as a strict stimulus-response
connection.
Cognitive Maps
• A mental representation of the layout of one’s
environment.
Rats and Mazes
• Tolman conducted experiments with rats
and mazes to examine the role that
reinforcement plays in the way that rats
learn their way through complex mazes.
• These experiments eventually led to the
theory of latent learning
Latent Learning
—Latent learning which describes learning that
occurs in the absence of an obvious reward
—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 or object
does learning become obvious
Intrinsic Motivation
• A desire to perform a behavior for its own sake
Extrinsic Motivation
• Performing a behavior to receive promised reward or avoid
punishment.
Cognitive Dissonance
• This is when a person is trying to reconcile a conflict between
attitudes and actions.
• In trying to do so, they often change their attitudes to support
the actions others see.
• This is why people who like their jobs stay in them even if they
are not pay a lot.
• Or why celebrities complain about being rich and famous.
Biological Predispositions
• Biological constraints predispose organisms to learn associations
that are naturally adaptive.
• People can be taught a lot of behaviors but you can’t teach them
any behavior you desire
Insight Learning
• A sudden and often novel realization of the solution to a
problem.
Instinctive Drift
• When animals reverted to their biologically predisposed pattern.

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