SOSC1960
Discovering Mind and Behavior
Lecture 4
Learning
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Learning
A relatively permanent change in behavior (or
behavioral capacity) brought about by
experience
Nature vs Nurture
Behavior is shaped by experience
(nurture)
Pavlov’s Classical Conditioning
Skinner’s Operant Conditioning
Bandura’s Social Cognitive Theory
Media violence
Using learning principles in therapy
Classical conditioning
Stimulus – Response connection
Type of learning in which a neutral stimulus
comes to bring about a response after it is
paired with a stimulus that naturally brings
about that response
Pavlov (1927)
a stimulus that, before conditioning, does not
naturally bring about the response
a stimulus that naturally brings a natural, reflexive response that
about a particular response needs no training
without having been learned
a response that, after conditioning, follows
a previously neutral stimulus
a once neutral stimulus that has been
paired with an unconditioned stimulus to
bring about a response formerly caused
only by the unconditioned stimulus
Fears
“Little Albert” experiment (Watson, 1927)
Fears
“Little Albert” experiment (Watson, 1927)
Fears
Tall building
Building Collapse
What are the implications for people who have
experienced traumatic events? Fear toward
environmental features which were present in
the traumatic events.
Classical conditioning in ads
Linking a product with a stimulus
(unconditioned stimulus) which naturally
brings about a positive feeling (unconditioned
response)
Using celebrities
Extinction
Occurs when a previously conditioned response
decreases in frequency and eventually
disappears
The conditioned stimulus is no longer paired
with the unconditioned stimulus
During Conditioning
Bell (CS)
Salivation (CR)
Food (UCS)
After Conditioning
Bell (CS) Salivation (CR)
Extinction
Bell (CS)
Stimulus generalization
Occurs when a conditioned response follows a
stimulus that is similar to the original
conditioned stimulus
The more similar the two stimuli are, the more
likely generalization is to occur
The more similar a stimulus is to the conditioned
stimuli, the more likely this new stimuli can trigger
the conditioned response
Baslam (1988)
Operant conditioning
Operant conditioning
A type of learning in which a response is
strengthened or weakened, depending on its
favorable or unfavorable consequences
The organisms operate on the environment to
produce a desirable results
Studying operant conditioning
Operant chamber (or Skinner box)
A small enclosure in which an animal can make
a specific response that is recorded while the
consequences of the response are
systematically controlled
Operant conditioning
Behavior becomes more likely if it brings good
consequences (reinforcement)
Behavior becomes less likely if it brings bad
consequences (punishment)
Positive reinforcement:
a behavior is followed by a pleasant stimulus
Negative reinforcement:
a behavior is followed by the removal of an unpleasant stimulus
Positive punishment:
A behavior followed by an unpleasant stimulus
Negative punishment:
A behavior followed by the removal of a pleasant stimulus
Cognitive approaches to learning
Behavior can be learned without
reinforcement or direct experience
Studying learning in terms of thought
processes that underlie it
Re-introduce the “mind” into the learning
processes
Observational learning
Very often, we do not or could not learn by
trial-and-error
E.g., the danger of crossing the road
E.g., the penalty of committing criminal offences
Observational learning
A process in which an individual learns new
responses by observing what others (a model)
do and what happens to them for doing it,
instead of through direct experience
Learning through imitation
particular likely when the model is similar &
reinforced
Bobo Doll
Bandura, Ross, & Ross (1963)
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Media violence
Release of violent game GTA triggers real assault
Media violence
Violence in television and video games
“Media copycat” killings (e.g., Columbine High
School)
Many evidence showing that watching high
levels of media violence makes viewers more
susceptible to acting aggressively
Brief exposure to violent dramatic presentations on TV or in
films causes short-term increases in youths’ aggressive
thoughts, emotions, and behavior, including physically
aggressive behavior serious enough to harm others.
Anderson et al. (2003)
The current physical aggression, verbal
aggression, and aggressive thoughts of young
people are correlated with the amount of
television and film violence they regularly watch
High levels of exposure to violent TV
programs in childhood are associated with
aggression in later childhood, adolescence, and
even young adulthood
Anderson et al. (2003)
Using learning principles in therapy
Therapy approaches which build on the
basic processes of learning
Assumptions
Behavior, normal or not, is a product of
learning
What has been learned can be unlearned
Aversive conditioning (or aversion therapy)
Reducing the frequency of undesired behavior
by pairing an aversive, unpleasant stimulus
with the undesired behavior (e.g., alcohol
abuse, smoking, gambling, sexual deviance,
overeating)
Alcohol abuse
Conditioned
stimulus
(Alcohol) Unconditioned
Unconditioned stimulus Conditioned stimulus
(Antabuse) stimulus (Alcohol)
(Antabuse)
Unconditioned Unconditioned Conditioned
response response response
(nausea, vomiting) (nausea, vomiting) (nausea, vomiting)
Before Conditioning During Conditioning After Conditioning
39
Smoking
Rapid smoking
Focused smoking
Operant conditioning
Token system
Tangible reinforcers in the form of tokens that
can later be exchanged for desired objects or
privileges
Observational learning/ modeling to treat
phobia
E.g. Children who were afraid of rabbits seeing
a model (the Fearless Peer) playing with a
rabbit
Required Readings
Chapter 6
