Learning & Memory

1. Learning & Memory Unit 4

2. Learning • B. F. Skinner, who was inspired by the work of Watson and Pavlov, has been one of the most influential people in contemporary psychology • Skinner believed that, to be scientists, psychologists had to study observable actions and focus on the behaviors people and nonhuman animals display

3. What Ideas Guide the Study of Learning? Define classical conditioning. Differentiate between US, UR, CS, and CR. Describe the role of learning in the development and treatment of phobias and drug addiction. Discuss the evolutionary significance of classical conditioning. Describe the Rescorla-Wagner model of classical conditioning.

4. What Ideas Guide the Study of Learning? Skinner and other behaviorists dismissed the importance of introspection and mental states in favor of basic learning principles and scientific approaches to psychology. Learning theories have been used to improve quality of life and to train humans and nonhuman animals to learn new tasks.

5. Learning Results from Experience • Learning: a relatively enduring change in behavior, resulting from experience • Associations develop through conditioning, a process in which environmental stimuli and behavioral responses become connected • classical (Pavlovian) conditioning: learning that two types of events occur together • operant (instrumental) conditioning: learning that a behavior leads to a particular outcome

6. Behavioral Responses Are Conditioned • Watson was influenced by Ivan Pavlov’s research on the salivary reflex, an automatic response when food stimulus is presented to a hungry animal • Pavlov noticed the dogs salivated as soon as they saw the bowls that usually contained food, suggesting a learnedresponse • Twitmyer made a similar observation of the knee-jerk reflex in humans: when paired with a bell, subjects can be conditioned to demonstrate the knee-jerk response without other triggers

9. Pavlov’s Experiments Classical (Pavlovian) conditioning: A neutral object comes to elicit a response when it is associated with a stimulus that already produces that response A typical Pavlovian experiment involves: Conditioning trials: neutral stimulus AND unconditioned stimulus are paired to produce reflex, e.g. salivation Neutral stimulus: anything the animal can see or hear as long as it is NOT associated with the reflex being tested, e.g. ringing bell Unconditioned stimulus (US): a stimulus that elicits a response, such as a reflex, without any prior learning, e.g. food Critical trials: neutral stimulus alone is tested, and effect on the reflex is measured

10. Terminology of Pavlov’s Experiments Unconditioned response (UR): a response that does not have to be learned, such as a reflex Unconditioned stimulus (US): a stimulus that elicits a response, such as a reflex, without any prior learning Conditioned stimulus (CS): a stimulus that elicits a response only after learning has taken place Conditioned response (CR): a response to a conditioned stimulus; a response that has been learned Can you think of any learned associations that have classically conditioned you?

12. Acquisition, Extinction, and Spontaneous Recovery • Pavlov was influenced by Darwinand believed that conditioning is the basis of adaptive behaviors • Acquisition: the gradual formation of an association between the CS and US • The critical element in the acquisition of a learned association is time, or contiguity • The CR is stronger when there is a very brief delay between the CS and the US • For example, scary music begins to play right before a frightening scene in a movie—not during or after

13. Acquisition, Extinction, and Spontaneous Recovery How long do learned behaviors persist? Animals must learn when associations are no longer adaptive extinction: a form of learning that the prior association no longer holds. The CR is weakened when the CS is repeated without the US, and eventually extinguishes Spontaneous recovery: a previously extinguished response reemerges after the presentation of the CS The recovery will fade unless the CS is again paired with the US Extinction inhibits the associative bond, but does not eliminate it

15. Classical ConditioningInvolves More Than Events Occurring at the Same Time • Pavlov’s original explanation for classical conditioning was that any two events presented in contiguity would produce a learned association • Pavlov and his followers believed that the association’s strength was determined by factors such as the intensity of the conditioned and unconditioned stimuli • However, in the mid-1960s, a number of challenges to Pavlov’s theory suggested that some conditioned stimuli were more likely than others to produce learning • Contiguity was not sufficient to create CS-US associations

16. How Does Operant Conditioning Differ from Classical Conditioning? • Define operant conditioning. • Distinguish between positive reinforcement, negative reinforcement, positive punishment, and negative punishment. • Distinguish between schedules of reinforcement. • Identify biological and cognitive factors that influence operant conditioning.

17. How Does Operant Conditioning Differ from Classical Conditioning? Operant (instrumental) conditioning: a learning process in which the consequences of an action determine the likelihood that it will be performed in the future B. F. Skinner chose the term operant to express the idea that animals operate on their environments to produce effects. Edward Thorndike performed the first reported carefully controlled experiments in comparative animal psychology using a puzzle box. Law of Effect: Any behavior that leads to a “satisfying state of affairs” is likely to occur again, and any behavior that leads to an “annoying state of affairs” is less likely to occur again.

21. Reinforcement Increases Behavior • Thirty years after Thorndike, Skinner developed a more formal learning theory based on the law of effect • He objected to the subjective aspects of Thorndike’s law of effect: States of “satisfaction” are not observable empirically • Skinner believed that behavior occurs because it has been reinforced • reinforcer: a stimulus that follows a response and increases the likelihood that the response will be repeated

22. The Skinner Box • An operant chamber that allowed repeated conditioning trials without requiring interaction from the experimenter • Contained one lever connected to a food supply and another connected to a water supply

25. Shaping • Sometimes animals take a long time to perform the precise desired action. What can be done? • Shaping: an operant-conditioning technique that consists of reinforcing behaviors that are increasingly similar to the desired behavior • successive approximations: anybehavior that even slightly resembles the desired behavior • Suppose you wanted to teach yourself to do something. Which behavior would you choose, and how would you go about shaping it?

26. Reinforcers Can Be Conditioned • primary reinforcers: satisfy biological needs such as food or water • secondary reinforcers: events or objects established through classical conditioning that serve as reinforcers but do not satisfy biological needs, e.g. money or compliments

27. Reinforcer Potency • David Premack theorized about how a reinforcer’s value could be determined • The key is the amount of time an organism, when free to do anything, engages in a specific behavior associated with the reinforcer • Premack principle: Using a more valued activity can reinforce the performance of a less valued activity • How do you think you could use this principle on yourself?

28. Both Reinforcement and Punishment Can Be Positive or Negative • Reinforcement and punishment have the opposite effects on behavior • Reinforcement increases a behavior’s probability • Punishment decreases its probability • Both reinforcement and punishment can be positive or negative • This designation depends on whether something is given or removed, not on whether any part of the process is good or bad

29. Positive and Negative Reinforcement • Reinforcement — positive or negative — increases the likelihood of a behavior • positive reinforcement: the administration of a stimulus to increase the probability of a behavior’s being repeated, e.g. a reward • negative reinforcement: the removal of a stimulus to increase the probability of a behavior’s being repeated, e.g. requiring a rat to press a lever to turn off a shock

30. Positive and Negative Punishment • Punishment reduces the probability that a behavior will recur • positive punishment: the administration of a stimulus to decrease the probability of a behavior’s recurring, e.g. receiving a ticket for speeding • negative punishment: the removal of a stimulus to decrease the probability of a behavior’s recurring, e.g. taking away driving privileges for bad behavior

31. Effectiveness of Parental Punishment • For punishment to be effective, it must be reasonable, unpleasant, and applied immediately so that the relationship between the unwanted behavior and the punishment is clear • How might this go wrong? • Punishment often fails to offset the reinforcing aspects of the undesired behavior • Research indicates that physical punishment is often ineffective, compared with grounding and time-outs • Many psychologists believe that positive reinforcement is the most effective way of increasing desired behaviors while encouraging positive parent/child bonding

33. Operant Conditioning is Influenced by Schedules of Reinforcement • How often should reinforcers be given? • continuous reinforcement: a type of learning in which behavior is reinforced each time it occurs • partial reinforcement: a type of learning inwhich behavior is reinforced intermittently • Partial reinforcement’s effect on conditioning depends on the reinforcement schedule

34. Ratio and Interval Schedules • Partial reinforcement can be administered according to either the number of behavioral responses or the passage of time • ratio schedule: Reinforcement is based on the number of times the behavior occurs • interval schedule: Reinforcement is provided after a specific unit of time • Ratio reinforcement generally leads to greater responding than does interval reinforcement

35. Fixed and Variable Schedules • Partial reinforcement can also be given on a fixed schedule or a variable schedule • fixed schedule: Reinforcement is provided after a specific number of occurrences or after a specific amount of time • variable schedule: Reinforcement is provided at different rates or at different times

36. Psychology: Knowledge You Can Use—Can Behavior Modification Help Me Stick with an Exercise Program? • Consider these steps: • Identify a behavior you wish to change • Set goals • Monitor your behavior • Select a reinforcer and decide on a reinforcement schedule • Reinforce the desired behavior • Modify your goals, reinforcements, or reinforcement schedules, as needed

37. Behavior Modification • Behavior modification: the use of operant-conditioning techniques to eliminate unwanted behaviors and replace them withdesirable ones • Token economies operate on the principle of secondary reinforcement. Tokens are earned for completing tasks and lost for bad behavior. Tokens can later be traded for objects or privileges

38. Does Watching Others Affect Learning? • Describe the concept of the meme. • Define observational learning. • Generate examples of observational learning, modeling, and vicarious learning. • Discuss contemporary evidence regarding the role of mirror neurons in learning.

39. Does Watching Others Affect Learning? Teaching someone to perform a complex task requires more than reinforcing arbitrary correct behaviors. We learn many behaviors, including attitudes, through observation.

40. Learning Can Be Passed On through Cultural Transmission • Meme: a unit of knowledge transmitted within a culture • Memes can be conditioned through association or reinforcement, but are often learned by watching the behavior of other people • Through social learning, some behaviors are passed along from one generation to the next

41. Learning Can Occur through Observation and Imitation • Observational learning: the acquisition or modification of a behavior after exposure to at least one performance of that behavior • Observational learning is a powerful adaptive tool for humans and other animals • Can you think of some examples of observational learning in animals?

42. Bandura’s Observational Studies • Bandura’s studies suggest that exposing children to violence may encourage them to act aggressively

44. Media and Violence • The extent to which media violence impacts aggressive behavior in children is debated • Some studies demonstrate desensitization to violence after exposure to violent video games • However, it is difficult to draw the line between “playful” and “aggressive” behaviors in children • There may be extraneous variables that affect both TV habits AND violent tendencies • Based on what you have just learned, how might media impact behavior?

46. Attention and Memory • In 1953, doctors took a radical surgical approach to quiet the seizures of Henry Molaison, aka H.M. • Sadly and unexpectedly, the surgery caused H.M. to lose the ability to remember things over long periods of time • Over the course of 40 years, H.M. participated in countless experiments and became one of the most famous people in memory research

48. What Is Memory? Describe the three phases of memory. Identify brain regions involved in learning and memory. Describe the processes of consolidation and reconsolidation.

49. Memory Is the Nervous System’s Capacity to Acquire and Retain Usable Skills and Knowledge • Identity is made up of memories, including recollections and knowledge of skills • Memories are often incomplete, biased, and distorted • Can you think of an instance where you and a friend or relative have had different memories of the same event? • We have multiple memory systems, and each memory system has its own “rules”

50. Memory Is the Processing of Information • The information processing model compares the working of memory to the actions of a computer • Memory operates over time in three phases: • encoding: the processing of information so that it can be stored • storage: the retention of encoded representations over time • retrieval: the act of recalling or remembering stored information when it is needed