Chapter 9b Learning Theory

1. Personality Psychology Chapter 9b Learning Theory

2. Learning Perspective • Personality = the sum total of learned behaviors

3. Aspects of Learning Perspective • Principles apply to everyone • Behavior = actions, thoughts, and feelings • Both adaptive and maladaptive behaviors are learned

4. Types of Learning • Classical Conditioning • Instrumental (Operant) Conditioning • Modeling

5. Classical Conditioning: Ivan Pavlov • Earliest animal studies by Ivan Pavlov • Two things required for CC to occur: • must be reflexive action such that response must reliably and automatically occur whenever a given stimulus occurs • stimulus that causes the reflexive response must be paired in time and place with another “neutral” stimulus

6. Classical Conditioning:1st Step • Unconditioned Stimulus (UCS) - “naturally” produces the unconditioned response • Unconditioned Response (UCR) - “natural” response or reflex produced by the UCS

7. Classical Conditioning: 2nd Step • Conditioned Stimulus (CS) - produces the response after repeated pairings (conditioning) with the UCS • Conditioned Response (CR) - same natural response as the UCR, only now it is produced by the CS

8. Successful Classical Conditioning • When CR occurs with the CS, without the UCS • How long does this take to happen? • Depends on emotional significance of original, natural pairing

9. Classical Conditioning: Examples Unconditioned Stimulus Unconditioned Response Conditioned Stimulus Conditioned Response

10. Processes in Classical Conditioning • Higher-order conditioning • Discrimination • Generalization • Extinction • Emotional Conditioning

11. 1) Higher Order Conditioning • A conditioned stimulus (CS) becomes an unconditioned stimulus (UCS) for new learning experience • Once CS-CR connection is established, it is like any other reflex • Ex. Sand that became the CS now takes on UCS properties as it is paired with a neutral stimulus such as water (new CS)

12. 2) Discrimination • Discrimination - learning becomes increasingly specific to a given situation • Learn to distinguish the CS from other similar stimuli • I.e.: afraid of dogs, and learn to distinguish them from cats

13. 3) Generalization • Generalization - expansion of learning from original situation to similar one • Learn to identify CS in all of its forms – generalize to similar stimuli • I.e.: afraid of dogs, generalize to little dogs, big dogs, dogs in movies, hearing about dogs

14. 4) Extinction • The process of weakening the conditioned response (CR) • Unpairing the UCS and CS • Removing what was learned = repeatedly presenting CS without the UCS • Spontaneous Recovery

15. 5) Emotional Conditioning • Classical conditioning in which the CRs are emotional reactions • Our likes and dislikes are based on feelings that are aroused by positive (pleasant) and negative (upsetting) events • upsetting event  negative feelings; occurs on same day you meet stranger = stranger is now evaluated in a negative light • pleasant event  positive feelings; occurs on same day you meet a stranger = stranger is now evaluated in a positive light

16. Emotional conditioning and the development of personality • Attitudes, feelings, and biases constitute individual differences in personality • Different people experience different pairings of stimuli and emotions • Different people may experience same event based on their personal “historical” perspective • These play major role in creating uniqueness of our personalities