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Griggs, Chapter 4 - Unit 3 Lecture

Chapter 4 discusses learning as a change in behavior due to experience, focusing on classical and operant conditioning. It explores key concepts such as unconditioned and conditioned stimuli, reinforcement, punishment, and the biological and cognitive aspects of learning. The chapter also highlights different learning processes, including latent and observational learning, and their implications in behavior modification.

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10 views42 pages

Griggs, Chapter 4 - Unit 3 Lecture

Chapter 4 discusses learning as a change in behavior due to experience, focusing on classical and operant conditioning. It explores key concepts such as unconditioned and conditioned stimuli, reinforcement, punishment, and the biological and cognitive aspects of learning. The chapter also highlights different learning processes, including latent and observational learning, and their implications in behavior modification.

Uploaded by

enoshima.junko2006
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© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Learning

Chapter 4
Learning
A change in behavior due to experience.

 Whattypes of behavior change would


NOT be considered learning?

 Why is learning important?


Different Perspectives
 Behavioral psychologists focus on learning
through classical and operant conditioning.

 Cognitive psychologists studying learning


are interested in the processes involved in
human memory.
The Journey…

 LearningThrough Classical
Conditioning
 LearningThrough Operant
Conditioning
 Biological
and Cognitive Aspects
of Learning
Ivan Pavlov (1849-1936)
Unconditioned Reflexes
UCS  UCR

UCS: (unconditioned stimulus) A stimulus that


elicits a response without prior conditioning.

UCR: (unconditioned response) A response


elicited by an unconditioned stimulus.

What are examples of unconditioned reflexes


in humans?
The Process of Classical
Conditioning
 If a neutral stimulus (NS) is followed closely in
time by an UCS, which elicits an UCR, then the
previously neutral stimulus will also tend to elicit
a similar response.

 Usually, many pairings of the NS and UCS are


necessary for this to occur – this is called
acquisition.
The Process of Classical
Conditioning Continued

 Therefore, after many pairings with the UCS, the


NS becomes a CS (conditioned stimulus) and
the response it elicits is known as a CR
(conditioned response), which is a conditioned
reflex:

CS  CR
Pavlov’s Dog
A Summary of
Classical Conditioning
Pairing of the NS & UCS
 Delay(ed)conditioning: NS still on when UCS
begins; most effective.

 Trace conditioning: NS off before UCS on; to


be effective, very short time between end of
NS and beginning of UCS.

 NSmust be presented first for conditioning to


occur.
Other Respondent Processes
1) Extinction

2) Spontaneous Recovery

3) Generalization/Discrimination
Acquisition, Extinction,
and Spontaneous Recovery
The Classical Conditioning of
“Little Albert”
 Study conducted by John B. Watson and Rosalie
Rayner.

 In this example, what is the

(1) UCS?
(2) UCR?
(3) NS?
(4) CS?
(5) CR?

Did stimulus generalization take place?


Operant Conditioning
 Learning how behavior “operates” on the
environment, or the consequences produced by
behavior.

 Principles researched by B. F. Skinner, and


based on Thorndike’s law of effect:

Rewarded behavior is likely to recur.


Edward L. Thorndike
(1874-1949)
Thorndike’s Puzzle Boxes
B. F. Skinner
(1904-1990)
The Operant Chamber
(aka “Skinner Box”)
Skinner and His Birds
The Principle of Reinforcement
 Any event that increases the probability of a
preceding response.

 positive reinforcement: The presentation of an


appetitive stimulus strengthens behavior that
preceded it.

 negative reinforcement: The removal of an


aversive stimulus strengthens behavior that
preceded it.
Reinforcers
 Any stimulus or event that strengthens the behavior
it follows.

 Can only be classified as such based on the impact


on future behavior

 Primary vs. secondary reinforcers

 What are some potential reinforcers for college


students?

 Are reinforcers and rewards the same thing?


Punishment
 The opposite of reinforcement – a stimulus
following the response decreases the probability
of that behavior.

 positive punishment: The presentation of an


aversive stimulus weakens the behavior that
precedes it.

 negative punishment: The removal of an


appetitive stimulus weakens the behavior that
precedes it.
Positive and Negative
Reinforcement and Punishment

Positive Negative
Appetitive Aversive
Reinforcement stimulus stimulus
presented removed
Aversive Appetitive
Punishment stimulus stimulus
presented removed
Operant Processes – Shaping
& Acquisition
 Shaping occurs when an organism is trained to
make a response it cannot already make by
reinforcing successively closer approximations
to the desired response.

 Acquisition refers to the strengthening of the


reinforced operant response.
Operant Extinction
 Decreasing behavior by withholding
reinforcement for a previously reinforced
response

 Spontaneous recovery possible


Cumulative Recording
 A record of the total number of responses
over time; a visual depiction of the
response rate.

 As the slope of a line in a cumulative


record gets steeper, the response rate is
faster.
How to Understand
a Cumulative Record
Acquisition, Extinction, and
Spontaneous Recovery
Schedules of Reinforcement
 continuous reinforcement: Reinforcing a
desired response every time it occurs
(acquisition).

 partial
reinforcement: Reinforcing a
response only some of the time
(maintenance).
Partial-Reinforcement Schedules

 A ratio schedule is based on the number of


responses made.

 An interval schedule is based on the amount of


time that has elapsed BUT ALSO REQUIRES A
RESPONSE…after a waiting period.

 Schedules may also be fixed or variable.


Fixed Ratio and Variable Ratio
Schedules of Partial Reinforcement
Fixed Interval and Variable Interval
Schedules of Partial Reinforcement
Which is best?
 Ratio schedules lead to higher rates of
responding than interval schedules.
 Variable schedules lead to fewer breaks (no
responding occurring) after reinforcement than
fixed schedules.
 With respect to extinction, it will take longer to
extinguish a response with a partial-
reinforcement schedule than a continuous
schedule.
Biological and Cognitive
Aspects of Learning

Biological Preparedness
in Learning
Latent Learning
Observational Learning
Biological Preparedness
in Learning
 We are biologically prepared to classically
condition more readily to certain types of
stimuli.

 Forexample, taste aversion – we readily


learn to avoid stimuli associated with food
and drink that produce nausea.
Taste Aversion
 Studied by John Garcia and colleagues

 Differencesfrom typical classical


conditioning:

 Only a single pairing of the NS and UCS needed.

 The presentation of the UCS, and thus, the


response, may be significantly delayed.
Instinctual Drift
 The tendency of an animal to “drift back” from a
learned operant response to an object to an
innate, instinctual response.

 Discovered by an animal-training couple named


Breland.

 Thus, organisms more readily learn behavior


that is consistent with their natural behavior.
Latent Learning –
Edward Tolman

 Latent learning is learning that occurs but is not


demonstrated until there is an incentive to do so.

 Demonstrated that rats who had been allowed to


roam in a maze with no reinforcers available had
indeed learned the maze (when reinforcers
became available).
Latent Learning
Observational Learning
 Learning by observing others and imitating
their behavior.

 Also known as modeling.

 Researched by Albert Bandura – the


infamous “Bobo Doll” study.
Observational Learning
 The occurrence of modeling depends in
part on the consequences received by the
model.

 Powerful force  MEDIA

 Prosocial vs. antisocial models

 Possible role of mirror neurons in autism

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