Because learning changes everything.

Psychology
and your Life
Feldman 4e

Chapter 5: Learning

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 Classical
Conditioning
Learning Outcomes
• Describe the basics of classical conditioning
and how they relate to learning
• Give examples of applying conditioning
principles to human behavior
• Explain extinction
• Discuss stimulus generalization and
discrimination

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 The Basics of Classical
Conditioning (1)

Learning: a relatively permanent

change in behavior brought
about by experience
Classical conditioning: a 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
• Palov’s experiment
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 The Basics of Classical
Conditioning (2)

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 The Basics of Classical
Conditioning (3)

Neutral stimulus: before

conditioning, this stimulus does
not naturally bring about the
response of interest (bell)
Unconditioned stimulus
(UCS): stimulus that naturally
brings about a particular
response, without having been
learned (meat)

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 The Basics of Classical
Conditioning (4)
Unconditioned response
(UCR): natural, innate, reflexive
response; unlearned (salivation
to meat)
Conditioned stimulus (CS):
once the neutral stimulus, paired
with a UCS to bring about a
response formerly caused by the
UCS (bell)
Conditioned response (CR): a
response that, after conditioning,
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 Conditioning and Human
Behavior
Human behavior is also learned
through classical conditioning,
particularly emotional responses,
such as fear
• Watson & Rayner’s experiment to
classically condition Little Albert to
show fear of a rat
• Neutral stimulus = rat
• UCS = loud noise
• UCR = fear of the noise
• CS = rat
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 Extinction (1)

Extinction: a previously
conditioned response decreases
in frequency and eventually
disappears
Spontaneous recovery: the
reemergence of an extinguished
conditioned response after a
period of rest and no further
conditioning

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 Extinction (2)

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 Generalization and
Discrimination
Stimulus generalization: a
conditioned response follows a
stimulus that is similar to the
original conditioned stimulus; the
greater the similarity, the greater
the likelihood for generalization
Stimulus discrimination: if two
stimuli are sufficiently different
from each other that one brings
about the conditioned response
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 Operant
Conditioning
Learning Outcomes
• Define the basics of operant
conditioning
• Explain reinforcers and punishment
• Present the pros and cons of
punishment
• Discuss schedules of reinforcement
• Explain the concept of shaping

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 The Basics of Operant
Conditioning (1)

Operant conditioning:
learning in which a voluntary
response is strengthened (more
likely to recur regularly) or
weakened (less likely to recur
regularly), depending on its
favorable or unfavorable
consequences

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 The Basics of Operant
Conditioning (2)

Reinforcement: the process by

which a stimulus increases the
probability that a preceding
behavior will be repeated
Reinforcer: any stimulus that
increases the probability that a
preceding behavior will occur
again
• Primary reinforcer
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• Secondary reinforcer 13
 Positive and Negative
Reinforcers
Positive reinforcer: a stimulus
added to the environment that
brings about an increase in a
preceding response
Negative reinforcer: an
unpleasant stimulus whose
removal leads to an increase in a
preceding response

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 Punishme
nt
Punishment: a stimulus that
decreases the probability that a
preceding behavior will happen
again
• Positive punishment: adding an
unpleasant stimulus to the
environment
• Negative punishment: removing a
pleasant stimulus from the
environment
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 Figure
2 Copyright © McGraw-Hill Education. All rights reserved. No reproduction or
distribution without the prior written consent of McGraw-Hill Education.

Intended When Stimulus is When Stimulus is

Result Added, the Result is Removed or Terminated,
… the Result is …
Positive Negative
Reinforcement Reinforcement
Increase in
behavior
(reinforceme
nt)

Example: Giving a raise for good Example: Applying ointment to relieve an itchy
performance rash leads to a higher future likelihood of
Result: Increase in response of good applying the ointment
Result: Increase in response of using
performance ointment
Positive Punishment Negative Punishment

Decrease
in
behavior
(punishme
nt)
Example: Yelling at a teenager Example: Restricting teenager’s access to
when she steals a bracelet car due to breaking curfew
Result: Decrease in frequency of Result: Decrease in response of
response of stealing breaking curfew

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 The Pros and Cons of
Punishment
Punishment can be effective, but
there are also disadvantages
• Frequently ineffective if not delivered
soon after undesirable behavior
• Physical punishment can send
message of approval & even
encouragement of physical
aggression in other situations
• Sometimes difficult for punisher to
control the degree/amount of
physical punishment…“in the heat of
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 Schedules of
Reinforcement (1)

Schedules of reinforcement:
different patterns of frequency &
timing of reinforcement following
desired behavior
• Continuous reinforcement
schedule: reinforcing of a behavior
every time it occurs (learning occurs
more rapidly)
• Partial (intermittent)
reinforcement schedule: reinforcing
of a behavior some (but not all) of the
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 Schedules of
Reinforcement (2)

Fixed-ratio schedule:
reinforcement is given only after a
specific number of responses are
made (ex.: rat receives a food
pellet every 10th time it presses a
lever)
Variable-ratio schedule:
reinforcement occurs after a
varying number of responses (ex.:
telephone salesperson’s job)
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 Shaping (1)

Shaping: the process of teaching

a complex behavior by rewarding
closer and closer approximations
of the desired behavior
• First, reinforce any behavior that is
remotely similar to the desired
behavior
• Then reinforce only responses that
are closer to the desired behavior
• Then reinforce only the desired
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behavior 20
 Shapin
g
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distribution without the prior written consent of McGraw-Hill Education.
(2)
Concept Classical Conditioning Operant Conditioning
Basic Principle Building associations between a conditioned stimulus Reinforcement increases the frequency of the behavior
and conditioned response. preceding it; punishment decreases the frequency of
the behavior preceding it.

Nature of Based on involuntary, natural, innate behavior. Behavior Organism voluntarily operates on its environment to
behavior is elicited by the unconditioned or conditioned stimulus. produce particular consequences. After behavior
occurs, the likelihood of the behavior occuring again is
increased or decreased by the behavior's
consequences.

Order of events Before conditioning, an unconditioned stimulus leads to Reinforcement leads to an increase in behavior;
an unconditioned response. After conditioning, a punishment leads to a decrease in behavior.
conditioned stimulus leads to a conditioned response.

Example After a physician gives a child a series of painful A student who, after studying hard for a test, earns an
injections ( an unconditioned stimulus) that produce an A (the positive reinforcer) is more likely to study hard
emotional reaction ( an unconditioned response), the in the future. A student who, after going out drinking
child develops an emotional reaction (a conditioned the night before a test, fails the test (punishment) is
response) whenever he sees the physician (the less likely to go out drinking the night before the next
conditioned stimulus). test.

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 Cognitive Approaches to
Learning (1)

Learning Outcomes
• Explain latent learning and how it
works in humans
• Discuss the influence of
observational learning in acquiring
skills
• Describe research findings about
observational learning and media
violence

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 Cognitive Approaches to
Learning (2)

Cognitive learning theory:

focuses on the thought processes
(cognitions) that underlie
learning

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 Latent Learning
Latent learning: Learning in
which a new behavior is acquired
but is not demonstrated until
some incentive is provided for
displaying it
• Cognitive map: mental
representations of spatial locations
and directions

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 Observational
Learning
Observational learning:
learning by watching the
behavior of another person
(model) (Albert Bandura, the
“social cognitive approach”)

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 Violence in the
Media
Research supports the claim that
watching high levels of media
violence makes viewers more
susceptible to acting aggressively
• One study found one-fourth of violent
young male offenders had attempted a
media-inspired copycat crime

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 End of Main Content

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