Learning: Classical Conditioning, Operant Conditioning, and Social Learning Theory

1. Learning: Classical Conditioning, Operant Conditioning, and Social Learning TheoryThe Birth of “Behaviorism” Chapter 8

2. LEARNING • CHANGE DUE TO EXPERIENCE • VERY SIMPLE TO VERY COMPLEX ORGANISMS ILLUSTRATE “LEARNING” • http://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/these-decapitated-worms-regrow-old-memories-along-with-new-heads-9497048/?no-ist

3. LEARNING • Learning is defined as a relatively permanent change in an organism’s behavior due to experience. • Experience is the key element. • From the simple (flatworms) to the complex (humans), learning/training has been measured in many organisms.

4. CONDITIONING: PROCESS OF LEARNING ASSOCIATIONS • 2 TYPES • CLASSICAL & OPERANT • https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H6LEcM0E0io • CLASSICAL: EXTERNAL STIMULUS SIGNALS A REFLEXIVE RESPONSE • DISCUSS: WHAT ARE SOME REFLEXIVE RESPONSES WE CAN BE CONDITIONED TO HAVE?

5. CONDITIONING: PROCESS OF LEARNING ASSOCIATIONS • STIMULI • ILLNESS • THINGS THAT ARE SCARY • THINGS WE LIKE • PEOPLE WE ARE ATTRACTED TO • OUR ENVIRONMENTS • POSSIBLE REFLEXIVE RESPONSES • TASTE AVERSIONS • FEAR/ANXIETY • EXCITEMENT • SEXUAL AROUSAL • SLEEP • HUNGER/THIRST

6. CLASSICAL CONDITIONING • Conditioning is the process of learning associations (the linking of 2 events). • Classical conditioning is the linking of 2 stimuli and thus to anticipate events. The stimulus precedes the response, and the response is often reflexive. • For example, lightening signals thunder and we physically brace ourselves for it. An expanding balloon has been paired with popping so we flinch/squint in preparation.

7. PAVLOV

8. ELEMENTS OF CLASSICAL CONDITIONING • Pavlov a physiologists studying digestive processes. (Won the Nobel prize for his work!) • Surgically attached saliva collection tubes to dogs to measure salivation. Discovered that food causes salivation, but with time, other stimuli would evoke salivation that originally would not. Only through the pairing of food was the connection made and thereby salivating occurred.

9. PAVLOV’S RESEARCH • UNCONDITIONED STIMULUS: FOOD • UNCONDITIONED RESPONSE: SALIVA • CONDITIONED STIMULUS: “BELL” • CONDITIONED RESPONSE: SALIVATING TO BELL

10. The real experiment • A joke

11. ELEMENTS OF CLASSICAL CONDITIONING • Food, unconditioned stimulus (UCS) >> salivating, unconditioned response (UCR) • Metronome ticking (neutral stimulus/NS) + food (UCS) >> salivating (UCR) • Metronome ticking, conditioned stimulus (CS) >> salivating (CR) • You too can experience classical conditioning…

12. How to classically condition yourself: • Go to a room that can be thoroughly darkened with the flip of a switch, have a mirror and a bell. • Ring the bell, turn out the lights, wait 15 seconds, turn the lights back on, wait another 15 seconds, and repeat ~20 times. • Now leaving the lights on, ring the bell and watch your eyes.

13. Important things to remember about classical conditioning: • UCR and CR are the same outcome and are typically reflexive (salivating, eye dilation, fear, arousal) • Unconditioned means occurs naturally, does not have to be learned (loud noises make us startle, food makes us drool: UCS and UCR) • Conditioned means it has to be learned, the stimulus and response do not pair naturally.

14. VOCABULARY RELATED TO LEARNING • ACQUISITION • GENERALIZATION • DISCRIMINATION • EXTINCTION • SPONTANEOUS RECOVERY • HIGHER ORDER CONDITIONING • WORK TOGETHER WITH A PARTNER TO COMPLETE THE VOCAB. TABLE ON PG. 41.

15. Elements of Classical Conditioning • Acquisition: the initial learning of the S-R (stimulus-response) relationship • CS must occur before the UCS for classical conditioning • Not much time can elapse between the two Conditioning serves a function, it helps an animal (humans, too!) survive and reproduce. There are some things that are easier for us to become conditioned to due to “survival of the fittest.”

16. Elements of Classical Conditioning • Higher-order conditioning: When conditioning occurs when the conditioned stimulus (CS, like a bell) is paired with a new neutral stimulus (like a light) and can result in the new neutral stimulus becoming a new conditioned stimulus. • Example: Pair the bell that causes drooling with a light, and eventually the light will cause drooling without it ever being paired with food. • Example: The restaurant that served you the food that made you sick now gives you a queasy feeling.

17. Elements of Classical Conditioning • Extinction: the diminished responding that occurs when the CS no longer signals an impending UCS. After several trials of the tone alone, the salivating would gradually diminished…BUT • Spontaneous recovery: the reappearance of a CR after a rest (no longer being exposed to the conditioned stimulus), suggests the extinction suppresses the CR but doesn’t eliminate it completely.

18. Elements of Classical Conditioning • Generalization: the tendency to respond to stimuli similar to the CS. • “Little Albert” experiment: A loud noise (UCS) that scared him (caused him to cry, UCR). This noise was paired with a white rat several times (CS). Soon the rat caused the same response (crying) without the noise. This same response was seen when exposed to white rabbit, cotton balls, Santa mask, etc. • John Watson & RosaleeRaynor were the researchers • If you would like to know what happened to “Little Albert” go the www.thepsychfiles.com and search “Little Albert.”

19. Elements of Classical Conditioning • Discrimination: the learned ability to distinguish between a conditioned stimulus which predicts a UCS and other irrelevant stimuli. • You would respond differently to a pit bull and a golden retriever • As a young child you learn the difference very quickly between your parents and strangers. • You may be averse to scrambled eggs but no omelettes.

20. Elements of Classical Conditioning • Classical conditioning has been used to explain: • Phobias (a neutral stimulus paired with an anxiety or fear provoking experience resulting in that stimulus evoking fear/anxiety) • Advertisers hope to bank on your arousal by utilizing attractive people and situations to encourage you to purchase their products • Immuno-suppression has been measured in rats using a classically conditioned stimulus. Does this mean we can boost immune responses through classical conditioning?

21. Cognition’s Influence • Pavlov and Watson highly underestimated the role of cognition. • It has been concluded by others that CS>>CR result implies the animal learns predictability and expectancy, which are cognitive constructs. (Rescorla) • If classical conditioning was simply “stamping in” associations, alcohol + nauseating drug would lead to the end of alcoholism, but it doesn’t. Why? (People are aware it is the drug not the alcohol making them sick.)

22. Biology’s Influence • Biological predispositions of each species dispose it to learn the particular associations that enhance its survival. • Taste aversion tests show that the CS and UCS pairing does not have to be close together. (Unless you consider the vomiting experience to be a “revisiting” of the food.) • Rats developed aversions to tastes but not to sights or sounds when sickened. (Garcia) This means that there are some things we cannot easily be conditioned to due to our biology.

23. Biology’s Influence • Natural selection favors traits that aid survival. We fear snakes and spiders but not flowers. Nature prepares us to learn things necessary for survival. • Learning enables animals to adapt to their environments.

24. Pavlov’s Legacy • Classical conditioning is one way virtually all organisms learn to adapt to their environment. • He showed how the process of learning can be studied objectively and scientifically. He revealed a scientific model for studying psychology…BEHAVIORISM

25. Operant Conditioning • Conditioning is the process of learning associations (the linking of 2 events). • Operant conditioning: the association of behaviors with consequences. Organisms are more likely to repeat reinforced (rewarded) behaviors and less likely to repeat punished behaviors.

26. Distinguishing Classical & Operant • Classical conditioning is a pairing of stimuli to get an automatic response (reflexive). • Operant conditioning is the action operating on the environment to produce a rewarding or punishing stimulus/consequence. • To distinguish ask, “Who has control over their behavior?” (We can’t control reflexive responses.) If the organism as some degree of control over the behavior, it is operant conditioning.

27. Elements of Conditioning • Both classical and operant conditioning involve acquisition, extinction, spontaneous recovery, generalization, and discrimination.

28. OPERANT CONDITIONING

29. Elements of Operant Conditioning • Thorndike’s law of effect: If a response in the presence of a stimulus leads to satisfying effects, the association between the stimulus and the response is strengthened. • Though he changed the terminology, this is exactly what Skinner found to be true in terms of “reward” and “punishment.”

30. Elements of Operant Conditioning • BF Skinner and his box

31. Elements of Operant Conditioning • Acquisition of an association will often occur by the process of shaping, especially with simpler animals. • Shaping: procedure in which reinforcers (typically food) gradually guide an animal’s behavior toward a desired behavior.

32. INCREASING BEHAVIORS • REINFORCER IS SOMETHING THAT INCREASES BEHAVIOR. • ALL REINFORCERS ARE REWARDS IN SOME WAY.

33. Elements of Operant Conditioning • REINFORCER IS SOMETHING THAT INCREASES BEHAVIOR. • Positive reinforcement involves presenting a stimulus after some response that is worth repeating. (Praise, stickers, money, attention are all positive reinforcers.) • Negative reinforcement involves the removal of something aversive. (Fastening a seat belt to stop the dinging, aspirin to get rid of a headache, for the parent giving in to stop a tantrum.)

34. Elements of Operant Conditioning • Though simple, some applications and situations are ineffectual. Food is only a reinforcer is the organism is hungry. There must a value in the reinforcer. “Token economy” often quits working with students if over-used. • Overjustification effect: when overuse of reward undermines intrinsic motivation • Something that is reinforcing once may not always be reinforcing. What works for one may not work for another.

35. Elements of Operant Conditioning • Primary reinforcers meet biological needs (ex: food) • Secondary reinforcers may be associated with primary reinforcers (ex: money)

36. Elements of Operant Conditioning • Children who have been taught to delay gratification (choose a big reward tomorrow instead of a little reward right now) become more socially competent and more likely to be high achievers (Mischel & others, 1989) • \\ktadmfs09\staffdocuments\R0201467\My Documents\Learning and memory\Oh, The Temptation on Vimeo.mht • Unfortunately, small and immediate is often more alluring, ie drugs, alcohol, sex, etc. because of the “pleasure center” pathway.

37. Elements of Operant Conditioningschedules of reinforcement • CONTINUOUS: The reinforcement always happens in order to reach acquisition. Used in shaping. • INTERMITTENT: reinforcement is used only some of the time. This is typically used after acquisition has been established. • Can take the form of fixed or variable and ratio or interval

38. Elements of Operant Conditioningschedules of reinforcement • RATIO SCHEDULES: Require the organisms to respond a certain number of times, either fixed or variable. • INTERVAL SCHEDULES: Require the organisms to respond over a certain amount of time, either fixed or variable

39. Elements of Operant Conditioning • Intermittent/variable and ratio (# of trials) reinforcement has the most lasting effect on increased likelihood of repeat behavior: • Think slot machines and gambling (variable-ratio) and is highly related to other addictive behaviors, too! • Occasionally giving in to a tantrum will put a child on an intermittent reinforcement schedule thereby producing the most persistent behavior.

40. Elements of Operant Conditioning • PUNISHMENT DECREASES BEHAVIOR. • There have been numerous studies on the effectiveness of punishments such as spankings. To sum it up, punishment tells you what not to do and reinforcement tells you what to do. • Punishment can also lead to other undesirable effects such as creating fear and teaching aggression.

41. Elements of Operant Conditioning

42. Elements of Operant Conditioning • Learned helplessness: the hopelessness and passive resignation an animal or human learns when unable to avoid repeated aversive events. • People need to know their actions will make a difference or they will give up.

43. Cognition’s Influence • Learning can occur without obvious rewards; rats will explore a maze and learn it. (But they will learn it faster if rewarded.) This is known as latent learning, learning that becomes apparent only when there is some incentive to demonstrate it. (Tolman)

44. Biological Influence • An animal’s natural predisposition constrain its capacity for operant conditioning. People will be far more successful in training animals to do tasks they are naturally predisposed to do.

45. Skinner’s Legacy • Reinforcement and training in schools (token economies)…computerized systems was Skinner’s ideal • Reinforcers influence productivity, so in business, many allow employees to participate in company ownership and reap what they sow. • At home, bill paying/energy conservation, parenting, personal behavior modification.

46. REVIEW: CLASSICAL VS. OPERANT • Whenever Allie takes are dog out for a walk, she always wears the same blue jacket. Eventually her she sees her dog get excited every time she puts on the blue jacket. • A successful rock bank is on tour. They play a lot of their new music, but the crowd doesn’t respond. Then when they play their old hits, the crowd goes while. They make a point to play more old hits than their new music. • When Cindy and Mel first fell in love, they loved to listen to the music of a particular band. Now, 12 years after marriage, they still get warm, romantic feelings when they hear that same band.

47. BEHAVIOR MODIFICATION • Have you ever wanted to quit a bad habit or take up a good habit? What are some effective techniques? • Reward yourself (positive reinforcement) • Punish yourself? (Have you ever used the nasty tasting nail polish to help you stop biting your nails?)

48. Social Learning Theory aka Observational learning • SLT: Learning is purposeful and goes beyond the scope of mechanical S-R relationships. People can learn by simply watching others. • Cognitive learning: focus is on how information is obtained, processed, and organized. What are the thought processes?

49. Observational Learning • Behaviors we learn to mimic simply by observing. Watch someone burn themselves, learn not to touch it. • The process if known as modeling. Monkey see, monkey do! Modeling is a way of learning through observation and mimcry.

50. Observational Learning • Bandura’s Bobodoll experiment…You can find it on YouTube! • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vdh7MngntnI