Chapter Ten

1. Chapter Ten The Learning Perspective

2. Classical Conditioning • Pavlovian Conditioning • Response acquired by associating one stimulus with another • Basic Elements: Stage 1 (existing reflex) US UR Stage 2 (pairing of stimuli) US UR CS Stage 3 (development of US UR CR) CS CR Stage 4 (completed CS CR conditioning)

3. Issues Affecting Classical Conditioning • Conditioned response (CR) is generally less intense than the unconditioned response (UR) • The greater the frequency of CS–US pairings, the more likely conditioning will take place • If US is very strong, conditioning will take place rapidly

4. Additional Issues in Classical Conditioning • Discrimination—differential responding between classes of stimuli • Generalization—experience of a less intense CR to classes of stimuli similar to CS • Extinction—gradual weakening of CR in response to presentation of CS without US

5. Emotional Conditioning • Situations of classical conditioning in which the conditioned response (CR) is an emotional reaction • Gives rise to likes and dislikes, preferences and biases • Associations of neutral stimuli with events that reflexively cause good or bad feelings

6. Instrumental Conditioning • Also known as operant conditioning • Process whereby behavior that is followed by a “positive state of affairs” is more likely to be done again in a similar situation • Links an action, an outcome, and the likelihood of future action • Recognizes contingency between response and its consequences • “Law of effect” as described by Thorndike

7. Reinforcement and Punishment • Reinforcer = “positive state of affairs” that increase (strengthen) the likelihood of a response • Primary reinforcer—diminishes biological needs • Secondary reinforcer—associated (through classical conditioning) with primary reinforcer • Positive reinforcement—receipt of something positive • Negative reinforcement—removal of something negative • Punishment—Negative or aversive outcome that decreases the tendency of behavior that preceded it • NOT THE SAME AS NEGATIVE REINFORCEMENT • Receipt of something negative • Removal of something positive (time out from positive reinforcement)

8. Additional Issues in Instrumental Conditioning • Discriminative stimulus—a stimulus that is present when a behavior is followed by a reinforcer • Stimulus acts as a switch to turn behavior on and off (cue function) • Important in personality because it provides a mechanism for behavioral complexity • Generalization—responding in a similar way to classes of similar discriminative stimuli • Give continuity to behavior • Provides a basis for explaining traits • Extinction—gradual weakening of response from lack of reinforcer

9. Schedules of Reinforcement • Continuous—behavior always followed by reinforcement • Partial—behavior followed by reinforcement less than every time • More resistant to extinction—partial reinforcement effect

10. Social Reinforcement • Less focus on physical needs in the reinforcement of human behavior, but rather on the effects of smiles, hugs, praise, approval, love, and interest and attention of others • People are most affected by social reinforcement • Social reinforcers don’t require a state of deprivation • Invoke principles of self-reinforcement • Self-reward of desired things • Reaction to own behavior with self-approval

11. Vicarious Emotional Learning • Also called empathy • Experience of emotion from watching another, experience an intense level of the same emotion • Is not the same as sympathy—concern or distress at the suffering of another • Creates opportunities for learning through vicarious reinforcement

12. Vicarious Reinforcement • Seeing a person reinforced for a behavior increases your tendency to do a similar behavior • Seeing a person punished for a behavior decreases your tendency to do a similar behavior • Permits trial and error processes that: • Preserve self-esteem • Allow focus on “learning,” rather than the details of “behaving” • Relies on development of expectancies between behavior and outcomes

13. Expectancies Concerning Outcomes • Outcome expectancy—evaluation of whether a behavior will lead to a desired outcome • Behavior determined by: • Expectancy • Incentive—value of desired outcome (goal) • Difference from traditional conditioning point of view: • Traditional perspective doesn’t assume expectancies matter or have causal influence on behavior

14. Efficacy Expectancies • Albert Bandura • Perceived ability to carry out a desired action • Also known as self-efficacy • Assumption: It’s not enough to know what needs to be done, one must be confident in ability to do it

15. Observational Learning • Acquisition of ability by watching the behavior of another (model) • Requirements • Attention—particularly to the correct aspects of the model’s behavior • Retention—representations in memory • Imaginal coding—creating images and mental pictures • Verbal coding—creating a description • Production Competency—possession of skills required to carry out behavior • Influenced by prior skills and knowledge

16. Acquisition vs. Performance • People don’t always do everything they learn through observation • Issue: What factors influence performance? • Observed rewards increase probability of performance • Observed punishment decreases probability of performance

17. Modeling Aggression • Observational learning—may provide examples of innovative aggressive techniques • Vicarious reinforcement—may suggest that violence is an appropriate way to deal with conflict or disagreement • Desensitization—extinguishing of negative emotional responses to aggression and violence

18. Assessment (Conditioning-Based Approach) • Emphasis on • Behaviors, rather than cognitions • Emotional responses being linked to conditioned stimuli and thus are tied to specific contexts • Direct observation of behavior • Physiological assessment—measures physical aspects of emotional responses (used frequently in research settings) • Behavioral assessment—observations of overt behavior

19. Assessment (Social-Cognitive Approaches) • Emphasizes use of self-reports • Focus on subjective feelings, thoughts and expectancies, rather than objective aspect of situation • Particular interest in responses to specific categories of situations • Guided by recognition that behavior can vary greatly from situation to situation

20. Problems in Behavior (Conditioning) • Phobias—intense irrational fears • Behavioral tendencies that are instrumentally conditioned, but are not functional or adaptive

21. Behavioral Therapy • Phobias • Extinction—avoiding phobic stimulus prevents extinction • Systematic desensitization—a form of counterconditioning involving gradual exposure to increasingly threatening stimuli paired with relaxation techniques • Contingency Management • Alter reinforcement contingencies

22. Problems in Behavior (Social Cognitive) • Problems arise from inappropriate emotional or behavioral tendencies from vicarious or direct learning • Negative expectancies can have broad influence on behavior, particularly when generalized • Skill deficits can reflect incomplete observational learning or inappropriate models

23. Therapy (Socal Cognitive) • Importance of modeling • Therapeutic modeling for persons with skills deficits • Treatment of persons with phobias and fears • Mastery model expresses no fear of feared object • Coping model expresses initial fear, but over comes it • Important role of self-efficacy in producing positive treatment outcomes