Learning and Conditioning

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/genpsych1/

Compiled by
Bro. Hans Moran, FSC
Psychology Department,
USLS
Learning
 A relatively permanent change in behavior that
results from practice.
 Relatively permanent – short changes in behavior are
not learning.
 Change in behavior – this is because it is behavior is
observable and measurable.
 Changes in ones mental learning cannot be seen,
heard, touched, tasted, or smelled.
 We measure mental learning by one’s performance
(behavior) in tests which are measurable.
 Learning is through practice!
Not Learning
 Changes in behavior that are due to
maturation
 Changes in behavior due to temporary
conditions (such as fatigue or induced states
of consciousness) are not learning.
Exercise 1
 Identify if the following is learning or not learning
1. Not playing with fire because you got burnt.
2. Young boys did not like girls as they grow older
they like girls.
3. A girl with a broken heart says she will not fall in
love again but in a week, she is now entertaining
another guy.
4. In grade 2 you are taught multiplication tables and
Higher multiplication is repeated in grades 3 and 4.
Exercise 1
5. You sprained your right wrist so you start
using your left hand to do more things.
6. Senior citizens change their behavior of
grooming themselves less and less.
7. You change your behavior of coming late to
class because you always miss the quiz given
at the beginning of class.
Perspectives of Learning
1. Behaviorist 2. Cognitive Perspective
Perspective  Learning is a sudden
• Aka Associative Learning insight into understanding
• Learning is about the the patterns of principles
change in behavior and and problem solving
increasing or decreasing
behavior.
 Based on the Cognitive /
Mental process of how the
• Based on one response
mind thinks
behaviors to stimuli
Schools of Learning
1. Reductionist 2. Non Reductionist
 Learning can be  Learning cannot be
reduced into different reduced to simple parts
parts and should be seen as
 Behaviorist a whole process of
Perspective sudden insight
Associative Learning
 It is called associative learning because one
associated or forms a connection between the
external stimulus and one’s response or reaction
 Stimulus – something from one’s environment
which one sees, hears, tastes, touches, smells
 Response – a persons’ reactionary behavior to what
he sees, hears, smells, tastes and touches
Associative Learning
Stimulus Response

Association or Bond
Two Main Associative Theories
1. Classical Conditioning
 Association is learned by pairing before the
stimulus
2. Operant Conditioning
 Association is strengthened by reinforcement
after the response
Exercise # 1 – Match the columns
1. What is a relatively A. Non-reductionist
permanent change in B. Cognitive
behavior? C. Learning
2. Which perspective D. Behaviorist
emphasizes behavior?
3. Which perspective E. Reductionist
emphasizes our mental
capability?
4. Learning can be reduced to
parts.
5. Learning is a whole
process.
Classical Conditioning
By Ivan Pavlov
Classical Conditioning
 Learning based on Signals (a signal is a signs
or a stimulus)
 Made By Ivan Pavlov
 Based his theory on his observation and
studies on dogs
Pavlov’s Experiment
Stage 1
Natural Stimulus Natural
(Instinctual)
Response

Neutral Stimulus No Response

Stage 2

Natural Natural
Stimulus Response
Neutral Before
Pairing
Association
Stimulus
Conditioning

After a Number of Practices

Stage 3

Conditioned Conditioned
Stimulus Response
(Bell) (Salivation)
Application
 Advertising uses classical conditioning a lot.
 They often pair their product to a natural
stimulus so as to create a desire for their
product.
 The response is to have a desire for their
product
 In the following pictures can you identify the
natural stimulus.
Exercises 2
1. Who made the Classical Conditioning Theory?
2. What is anything that causes you to react or
respond?
3. What kind of stimulus instinctually causes one to
have a response?
4. What is paired with natural stimulus?
5. What do we can a formerly neutral stimulus that
now causes one to have a response?
General Principles
 Generalization
 Discrimination
 Extinction
 Spontaneous Recovery
Generalization
 All stimuli that are similar are responded to in
a similar fashion
White
White Cat Conditioned
Rat Response

White White FEAR

Rabbit Shirt

Generalized
Discrimination
 Being able to differentiate between one
stimuli and another similar stimuli
White No Fear
White Cat
Rat
Conditioned
White White
Response
Rabbit Shirt

Generalized
FEAR
Extinction
 The weakening of conditioned response
Natural Stimulus Natural
Neutral Response
Stimulus
After a Number of Practices
Conditioned
Neutral Conditioned
Stimulus
Stimulus Response

After a Number of presentation of Conditioned Stimulus without Natural

Stimulus
Conditioned No Response
Stimulus
Classical Conditioning - Pavlov
 Spontaneous Recovery – After the non-
presentation of the conditioned stimulus for a
long period of time, when it is presented
again, the conditioned response automatically
appears.
 Dogs and can opener story
Secondary Conditioning Reflexes
 The bonding or pairing of an new conditioned
stimulus with an old conditioned stimulus.
Natural Stimulus Natural
Neutral Response
Stimulus
Conditioned Conditioned
Neutral2 Stimulus Response
Stimulus
Conditioned Conditioned
Stimulus 2 Response
Exercise 3
1. Similar stimulus causes A. Secondary Reflex
similar responses. B. Spontaneous Recovery
2. Differentiating different C. Discrimination
stimuli
D. Generalization
3. Weakening the response E. Extinction
4. Doing the behavior again
after not seeing the
stimulus for a long time.
5. Higher order conditioning
Identify the Natural Stimulus (NS), the Natural
Response (NR), and the Conditioned Stimulus.
1. In order to be able to punish my cat even when I'm
not near enough to reach him, I have paired the
sound of a clicker with getting squirted with water.
Now the sound of the clicker causes him to startle.
2. My cat never gets on the furniture when I am
around.
3. When I first start teaching about a concept, I'll
praise any answer that is close to the right answer.
Identify the Natural Stimulus (NS), the Natural
Response (NR), and the Conditioned Stimulus.
4. The smell of fresh bread baking makes my
mouth water.
5. In the beginning the freshmen students do
not know how to act and behave in our
school, but after exposure to the upper
classmen, the freshmen learn how to act
properly in school.
Strengths & Weakness
 Classical conditioning is good to make a
person start responding to a stimulus which
they did not respond to before
 The strength of the bond depends on the
number of times repeated
 Weakness is that once they respond to a
stimulus, the method does not necessarily
increase or decrease the number of times they
respond to a stimulus.
Operant Conditioning
Operant Conditioning
 Learning in which responses are strengthened
or weakened
 Strengthened because of positive
consequences
 Weakened because of negative experiences
E L Thorndike – Connectionism
Theory
 Also called S-R Theory (Stimulus Response
Theory), S-O-R-Theory (Stimulus-Organism-
Response Theory)
 Stimulus Response Bond, Connection or
association

Stimulus Response
Bond
 The stronger the bond – the greater the chance
that when the stimulus is presented the
response will happen

Stimulus Response

Stimulus Response ?
Law of Effect
 Law of Effect
 If the response is followed by a satisfier the bond
becomes stronger

Stimulus Response Satisfier

Stronger Bond
 This is the same as the reward and
punishment
 But REMEMBER , Thorndike used the words
SATISFIERS and ANNOYERS!
 Satisfiers and Annoyers come AFTER the
response.
 This is where Pavlov and Thorndike differ.
Law of Trial ro Error
 Law of Trial or Error: Stimuli followed by an
annoyer encourages people to try another
response until a satisfier comes
Response Annoyer

Stimulus Response Satisfier

Response Annoyer
Response Annoyer
Exercise 4
1. Who made the A. Annoyer
Connectionism Theory? B. SR Theory or SOR Theory
2. What is another name for C. Satisfier
the Connectionism theory? D. A Strong Bond
3. The one responds to a E. Thorndike
stimulus often, what type
of bond is exists between
the S & R?
4. What should follow after
the response to make the
bond stronger?
5. What follows a response
that makes a person look
for another response?
Operant Conditioning
Burhuss F. Skinner
Operant Conditioning
 3 Components
1. Context or situation in which a response
occurs (stimulus)
2. Response (behavior)
3. Reinforcement
Skinner Box
 Reinforcement
Stimulus Response

Operant Behavioral responses occur naturally.

We need to know the situation that starts the
response - the stimulus.
When the response occurs, reinforcing this
response increases or decreases the frequency
of the response.
Levels of Reinforcers
Reinforcer Levels
1. Primary – Reinforcer that are natural and do
not need to be learned
 Food, Sex, Drink, etc.
 Can you think of other primary reinforcers?
2. Secondary – Learned Reinforcer
 Money, Achievement, Success
 Can you think of other secondary reinforcers
 Polarity of Reinforcers
 Positive Reinforcer
 PRESENTED after the response is made
 It is NEW and was not there during the presentation of the
stimulus
 Rewards, Punishments, Spanking, etc.
 Negative Reinforcer
 A reinforcer withdrawn or taken away after the response
has been made (it was there even before the stimulus)
 Taking away of freedom, pain taken away, joy taken away
Positive Reinforcement

stimulus response Positive

Reinforcement

White Press Pellet or food

Botton lever Electric Shock
Negative Reinforcement

Preexisting Negative
Stimulus Response
event Reinforcement

Love and Withdrawal of

Exams Failure
Attention Love and
Attention
Exercise 5 – Can you identify the
polarity?
1. Michael was spanked by his father for disobeying
his mother.
2. Mary answered the question of the teacher, the
teacher smiles and says “good”.
3. Steve was playing with his toy gun when he hit his
brother, his mother got mad and got the toy from
Steve.
4. When Joseph got an A in his exams so that his
parents will stop nagging for him to study more
often.
Remember
 Positive is something new added
 Negative is taking away or withdrawing
something
 Now let us return to the exercise.
Can you identify the polarity?
5. Joey was bored in class so he started to day dream
during the lecture.
6. Helen was a shy student so whenever she started to
say something in class her classmates would praise
her as a result her recitation increased.
7. The class waited for their teacher’s usual negative
comments about their work, when she did not
comment, the class was happy and proud of their
work.
8. Sophia felt embarrassed and guilty about playing a
joke on her mother so she started to help in the
household work to ease her guilt feelings.