PSY402 Theories of Learning

1. PSY402Theories of Learning Chapter 10 – Animal Misbehavior

2. Operant Conditioning • Nature of reinforcement: • Premack’s probability differential theory • Response deprivation theory • Behavioral economics: • Behavioral allocation – blisspoint • Choice behavior – Herrnstein’s matching law. • Momentary maximization theory • Delay-reduction theory

3. Probability-Differential Theory • Premack – a reinforcer can be any activity that is more likely to occur than the reinforced behavior. • Manipulators vs eaters • High probability behaviors can be used as reinforcers of low probability behaviors. • Frequency of the reinforcer decreases when it is made contingent on another response.

4. Response Deprivation Theory • Timberlake & Allison – deprivation occurs when an activity is used as a reinforcer and is not freely emitted. • The activity is reinforcing because it satisfies the deprivation created. • The animal tries to return to its pre-deprivation level of responding. • Activities can be reinforcing even if their baselines were not higher.

5. Behavioral Allocation • Blisspoint (paired basepoint) – the free operant level of two responses. • Unrestricted responding with two choices of behaviors. • Blisspoint is used to figure out how much behavior an animal will engage in to obtain a reward. • Animals try to get as close to the blisspoint as possible.

6. Problems with Contingencies • Blisspoint is established by looking at behavior before a contingency is established. • The established contingency must take blisspoint into account or it may not increase desired behavior.

7. Choice Behavior • Herrnstein’s matching law – describes how animals act when they have two or more choices. • Different responses have different schedules of reinforcement. • Responding to each choice is proportionate to the reinforcement for each choice – after learning. • This can be expressed mathematically.

8. Delayed Gratification • Why does anyone choose a smaller reward part of the time? • Animals and people typically choose a small immediate reward over a larger delayed reward. • Large rewards are selected when: • The choice is made in advance of reward. • Reinforcers are not visible or reward is already present (pleasurable activity).

9. Complexities of the Matching Law • Maximizing law – sometimes the aim is to obtain as many rewards as possible. • Explains FR-10 vs FR-40 schedules. • Doesn’t work for VI vs VR schedules. • Momentary maximization theory – choose best alternative at the time. • Delay reduction theory – choose what will get the reward the fastest.

10. Limits to Learning • How general are the laws of learning? • Skinner’s rules work in both lab and real-world settings, across species. • Learning doesn’t explain all aspects of behavior. • Organization of behavior already exists within an organism. • Learning modifies that organization.

11. Behavior Systems Approach • Timberlake – learning changes the integration, tuning, instigation or linkages within a behavior system. • Different cues are salient to different behavior modes. • Variations in learning occur across species because their behavior systems are different. • Variations in behavior are the result of predispositions and constraints.

12. Animal Misbehavior • Breland & Breland – trained 38 species of animals for Busch Gardens. • Elicitation of foraging and food-handling instincts interferes with performance of operant routines. • Instinctive drift • Pig and piggy bank • Raccoons and food-washing

13. Explaining Misbehavior • Does misbehavior result from operant food reinforcement or classical conditioning? • Timberlake’s appetitive structure view – both kinds of learning contribute to animal misbehavior. • Pairings with food are necessary but not sufficient to evoke misbehavior.

14. Schedule-Induced Behavior • Superstitious behavior – induced by FI schedules. • Animal associates whatever it is doing at the time with the reinforcement. • Ritualistic, stereotyped behavior during the interval. • Two kinds of behavior: • Terminal – reinforcer-oriented • Interim – follows reinforcement.

15. Effects with Humans • Superstitious gambling behavior. • Schedule-induced behavior may be related to alcoholism: • Excessive drinking, eating, smoking may occur immediately after reinforcement. • Weak and inconsistent in humans. • Develops rapidly in humans, stops quickly

16. Flavor-Aversion Learning • Long-delay learning – does not depend on contiguity. • Preparedness – certain stimuli are innately more likely to be associated with a UCS than others. • Visual cues more salient to birds • Taste cues more salient to rats • Salience depends on when the animals seeks its food (nocturnal or not).

17. Applications • Cancer chemotherapy (UCS) causing nausea may be associated with hospital food (CS). • Preexposure to food without the toxic drug or drug without food may help prevent food aversions. • Coyotes and wolves can be taught to avoid attacking and eating sheep using flavor-aversion learning.

18. Explanations • Learned-Safety theory – an evolved mechanism unique to flavor-aversion to protect animal. • Ingestional neophobia – small quantities consumed at first. • Concurrent-Interference view – long delay occurs because the animal doesn’t eat anything else for a while

19. Imprinting • Lorenz – social attachment process where young ducks follow their mother. • Ducks imprint to: • Moving objects with lifelike motion • Vocalizing objects, short rhythmic sounds, not high-pitched • Objects that are the right size

20. Other Factors in Imprinting • Harlow – baby primates attach to soft terry cloth rather than wire. • Rocking rather than stationary • Warm rather than cold • Ainsworth – attachment to a responsive mother. • Occurs more easily during sensitive period of animal’s life. • 6 to 12 months for humans

21. Other Kinds of Imprinting • Sexual preferences – occurs early in development, long before sexual maturity, not modifiable later. • Food preferences – preferences established early and permanent. • People prefer familiar foods • Food aversions develop between 6 & 12 yrs

22. Nature of Imprinting • Both instinctive and associative processes are involved. • Associative-learning view – objects become familiar before fear system matures • Familiar objects reduce fear later, so become preferred due to relief. • Harlow’s studies contradict this. • Some objects are more imprintable.

23. Instinctive View of Imprinting • Organisms contain an innate schema of the imprinting object • Evolutionary pressure to learn the right thing. • Response is hard to change. • Extinction does not lead to loss of preference. • Abused primates and children cling to abusive mothers despite punishment.

24. Avoidance of Aversive Events • Species-specific defense reactions (SSDR) – instinctive responses to specific dangers. • Rats – running, freezing, fighting. • Cues predicting danger also select the specific response. • Escape and avoidance behaviors are learned more readily when they incorporate SSDR.