UNIT 6 - LEARNING

1. UNIT 6 - LEARNING • Module 26 – How We Learn and Classical Conditioning • Module 27 – Operant Conditioning • Module 28 – Operant Conditioning’s Applications, and a Comparison to Operant Conditioning • Module 29 – Biology, Cognition, and Learning • Module 30 - Learning by Observation

2. Introduction: Fact or Falsehood? 1. Lowly animals, like sea snails, behave by instinct and are incapable of learning 2. Humans are the only animals that can learn behaviors merely by observing others perform them 3. The study of inner thoughts, feelings, and motives has always occupied a central place in psychology 4. A person can be more readily conditioned to fear snakes and spiders than to fear flowers

3. Introduction: Fact or Falsehood? 5. With training, pigeons can be taught to discriminate a Bach composition from a Stravinsky composition 6. Negative reinforcement is another term for punishment 7. Psychologists agree that punishment, regardless of its form, has little effect on behavior 8. Animals learn only when rewards are given 9. Animals can learn to make virtually any response if consistently rewarded for it

4. Introduction: Fact or Falsehood? 1. Lowly animals, like sea snails, behave by instinct and are incapable of learning • False 2. Humans are the only animals that can learn behaviors merely by observing others perform them • False 3. The study of inner thoughts, feelings, and motives has always occupied a central place in psychology • False 4. A person can be more readily conditioned to fear snakes and spiders than to fear flowers • True

5. Introduction: Fact or Falsehood? 5. With training, pigeons can be taught to discriminate a Bach composition from a Stravinsky composition • True 6. Negative reinforcement is another term for punishment • False 7. Psychologists agree that punishment, regardless of its form, has little effect on behavior • False 8. Animals learn only when rewards are given • False 9. Animals can learn to make virtually any response if consistently rewarded for it • False

6. Learning: The Basics • Unlike some animals, humans are not born with a 100% genetic blueprint for life. . . • Nature’s most important gift to us may be our adaptability. . . • Our capacity to learn new behaviors enables us to cope with changing circumstances

8. Module 26 – How We Learn & Classical Conditioning 26.1 – Define learning, and identify some basic forms of learning. • Learning: A relatively permanent change in behavior brought about by experience or practice. • What does “relatively permanent” mean? • Upon learning, some part of the brain is physically changed to record what has been learned; a process for memory • Behaviorists believe that learning is measured by observable behavior whereas cognitivists view it as a mental process. Despite the subtle differences between the two, the foundation that learning is based on prior experience remains constant. • How Do We Learn? • We learn by association. Our minds naturally connect events that occur in sequence. Associative Learningis learning to associate one stimulus with another. A Stimulus is any event or situation that evokes a response. • Habituation: an organism’s decreasing response to a stimulus with repeated exposure to it.

9. Module 26 – How We Learn & Classical Conditioning 26.1 – Define learning, and identify some basic forms of learning. • 3 Types of Learning: 1) Classical Conditioning: the repeated pairing of an unconditioned stimulus with a neutral stimulus to produce the same behavior. 2) Operant Conditioning: learning to associate a response with a consequence. 3) Cognitive Learning: the acquisition of mental information, whether by observing events, by watching others, or through language.

10. Module 26 – How We Learn & Classical Conditioning26.2 – Describe the basic components of classical conditioning, and explain behaviorism’s view of learning. • Classical Conditioning: the repeated pairing of an unconditioned stimulus with a neutral stimulus to produce the same behavior. • Background to Pavlov’s Experiment: While researching the digestive systems of dogs in the late 1800s, Ivan Pavlov discovered that the dogs in his study began to salivate when his assistant made a clanging noise on the dogs’ food trays while replenishing their food. Puzzled by this phenomenon, Pavlov began to speculate why this unlearned response, salivation, was occurring without the actual presence of the food or meat powder. He conducted a series of experiments and discovered that his dogs were associating the clanging of the food bowls with the delivery of food.

11. Module 26 – How We Learn & Classical Conditioning26.2 – Describe the basic components of classical conditioning, and explain behaviorism’s view of learning. Elements of Classical Conditioning: 1) Unconditioned Stimulus: (UCS/CS) A naturally occurring stimulus that triggers an involuntary reflex/response 2) UnconditionedResponse: (UCR.CR) An involuntary reflex/response to a naturally occurring or unconditioned stimulus -The relationship between the UCS and UCR must be reflexive and not learned 3) Neutral Stimulus: (NS) a stimulus that does not elicit a response prior to learning. 4)Conditioned Stimulus: (CS) A stimulus that eventually produces a learned reflex response by being paired with the original unconditioned stimulus (USC) -The CS must be a neutral stimulus before conditioning occurs; originally known as the Neutral Stimulus (NS) 5) Conditioned Response: (CR)The learned reflex response to a conditioned stimulus -Generally, the CR replicates the UCR in terms of behavior (though the CR may be slightly weaker)

12. Module 26 – How We Learn & Classical Conditioning26.2 – Describe the basic components of classical conditioning, and explain behaviorism’s view of learning. • Pavlov’s Experiment: During the initial phase of the experiment, Pavlov and his associates placed food or meat powder (unconditioned stimulus, UCS, or US) on the tongue of one of the dogs. The food or meat powder (UCS/US) automatically produced saliva (unconditioned response, UCR, or CR) in the dog’s mouth; the production of saliva is a reflex, an involuntary response elicited from a stimulus. The unconditioned stimulus (UCS) always produces and unconditioned response (UCR) prior to learning. During the second phase of the experiment Pavlov introduced a musical tone, which served as the neural stimulus (NS). A tone (NS) was then presented with the food or meat powder (UCS/US). After repeated pairings, the tone no longer served as the neutral stimulus (NS), but changed to the conditioned stimulus (CS). When the conditioned stimulus (the tone) was presented to the dog, he responded by salivating (CR). Keeping the conditioned stimulus (CS)-conditioned response (CR) connection does require that the unconditioned stimulus (UCS) be presented periodically. To ensure that the bell/tone/object was associated with the salivation (CR), Pavlov would present the meat powder (UCS) with the bell/tone/object (CS) periodically.

13. Module 26 – How We Learn & Classical Conditioning26.2 – Describe the basic components of classical conditioning, and explain behaviorism’s view of learning.

14. Module 26 – How We Learn & Classical Conditioning26.3 – Summarize the processes of acquisition, extinction, spontaneous recover, generalization, and discrimination. • Acquisition • The process of developing a learned response • Occurs when a neutral stimulus (NS) isrepeatedly paired with an unconditionedstimulus (UCS) • The subject learns a new response (CR) to a previously neutral stimulus (CS)

15. Module 26 – How We Learn & Classical Conditioning26.3 – Summarize the processes of acquisition, extinction, spontaneous recover, generalization, and discrimination. • Necessities in Classical Conditioning • The CS must come before the UCS • If Pavlov rang the bell just after he provided the dogs with food, they wouldn’t have become conditioned • The CS & the UCS must come very close together • Ideally no more than 5 seconds apart • The NS must be paired with the UCS several times before conditioning can take place • The CS is usually distinctive from other competing stimuli

16. Module 26 – How We Learn & Classical Conditioning26.3 – Summarize the processes of acquisition, extinction, spontaneous recover, generalization, and discrimination. Stimulus Generalization • The process by which an organism produces the same response to two similar stimuli • The more similar the substitute stimulus, the stronger the generalized response • Pavlov’s Stimulation Experiment

17. Module 26 – How We Learn & Classical Conditioning26.3 – Summarize the processes of acquisition, extinction, spontaneous recover, generalization, and discrimination. Stimulus Discrimination • The process by which an organism produces different responses to two similar stimuli • The subject learns that one stimuli predicts the UCS while the other does not

18. Module 26 – How We Learn & Classical Conditioning26.3 – Summarize the processes of acquisition, extinction, spontaneous recover, generalization, and discrimination. Extinction • The disappearance/diminishing of a learned response • Occurs as the CS loses its power to trigger the CR • The continual presentation of the CS alone will weaken the association between the two stimuli

19. Module 26 – How We Learn & Classical Conditioning26.3 – Summarize the processes of acquisition, extinction, spontaneous recover, generalization, and discrimination. Spontaneous Recovery • The reappearance, after a pause, of an extinguished conditioned response • After a rest period, an extinguished CR spontaneously recovers, but if the CS persists alone, the CR will become extinct again

20. Module 26 – How We Learn & Classical Conditioning26.4 – Explain why Pavlov’s work remains so important, and describe some applications of his work to human health and well-being. • Classical conditioning eventually led to the study of behaviorism • Both Pavlov & Watson considered the consciousness, or the mind, unfit for the scientific study of psychology • (May have underestimated the importance of cognitive processes and biological constraints) • Founded by John B. Watson • Behaviorism focused on objective and observable acts; “nurture” • By manipulating a stimulus, a psychologist can control a learner’s behavioral response • Today, most believe that learning is the result of cognition, which is influenced by both nature and nurture

21. Module 26 – How We Learn & Classical Conditioning26.4 – Explain why Pavlov’s work remains so important, and describe some applications of his work to human health and well-being. • John B. Watson & Rosalie Rayner (1920) • Sought to explain that fears/phobias can be explained through classical conditioning • Established a fear of rats in an 11-month old, Albert • Led to questions about experimental ethics • Little Albert Experiment

22. Module 26 – How We Learn & Classical Conditioning26.4 – Explain why Pavlov’s work remains so important, and describe some applications of his work to human health and well-being. • Little Albert Experiment • NS: White rat (initially elicited no response) • UCS: Loud noise • UCR: Crying/fear • Loud noise (UCS) paired with rat (NS)…creates… • CS: White rat • CR: Crying/fear/Nate • In this case, Albert’s fear is known as a conditioned emotional response (CER) • What about white rabbits? Fur coats? Santa?

23. Module 26 – How We Learn & Classical Conditioning26.4 – Explain why Pavlov’s work remains so important, and describe some applications of his work to human health and well-being. Applications of Classical Conditioning: 1) Treating Phobias • A) Flooding: continuously exposing an individual to the fear-evoking conditioned stimulus to eliminate the conditioned response (fear). Constant exposure to the fear-evoking stimulus in a manner that would not harm that person causes the conditioned stimulus (CS)-conditioned response (CR) association to become extinct. • B) Systematic Desensitization: this basic technique consists of exposing the patient to a series of approximations to the anxiety-producing stimulus under relaxed conditions until finally the anxiety reaction is extinguished. The person is gradually exposed to the fear, while learning to relax during each exposure. • C) Counterconditioning: pairing the fear-evoking stimulus with a pleasant stimulus to reverse the effects of the phobia. By pairing a pleasant stimulus with the fear-evoking stimulus, the hope is to counter the negative effects of the fear-evoking stimulus.

24. Module 26 – How We Learn & Classical Conditioning26.4 – Explain why Pavlov’s work remains so important, and describe some applications of his work to human health and well-being. Applications of Classical Conditioning: 2) Conditioned Taste Aversion: when exposure to a noxious substance causes sickness and results in the individual associating the food with the sickness, making him or her avoid that food in the future. You attribute the feeling of illness to the particular food you ate even though you don’t know for sure if it was the food that caused the illness. (i.e. – livestock owners who are plagued by predatory animals destroying their cattle; pair the noxious stimulus, a stimulus that results in making an animal feel ill, with their cattle, ranchers were able to ward off further attacks by predatory animals on their livestock).