Foundations of Psychology: Part 2

1. Foundations of Psychology:Part 2 Intro to Psych Class #4 2/6/14

2. Behaviorism • Made famous by BF Skinner • In the 60s and 70s, his books were bestsellers • He could often be found on talk shows

3. Behaviorism • The Core Beliefs of Behaviorism • Strong view on learning • Everything you know/are is the result of experience • There is no human nature • What matters to what you are is what you learn & how you’re treated

4. Behaviorism • The Core Beliefs of Behaviorism • Anti-mentalism • Behaviorists are obsessed with science • Stimulus, response, reinforcement, punishment, environment • The internal mental states were considered unscientific

5. Behaviorism • The Core Beliefs of Behaviorism • Species differences • No differences across species • Might admit a human can do things a rat or pigeon can’t, but will say it’s because a human lives in a richer environment • Studied animals to research their theories

6. Behaviorism & Learning • 3 Learning Principles • Habituation • Classical Conditioning • Operant/Instrumental Conditioning Were thought to explain all of human behavior

7. Habituation • Definition: decline in the tendency to respond to stimuli that are familiar due to repeated exposure • Simplest form of learning • Important: noticing something new and deciding if it’s safe or not • You’ll stop noticing once it’s been around for a while • Important for studying those that can’t talk (animals and babies)

8. Classical Conditioning • Definition: Learning of an association between one stimulus and another stimulus • 2 types of conditioning: • Unconditioned • Conditioned • Made famous by Ivan Pavlov & his dogs

9. Pavlov & Classical Conditioning • Pavlov studied saliva in dogs • Would put food powder in the dogs’ mouth to get them to drool • Noticed dogs would start drooling when the person who fed them came in to the room • Added the ringing of a bell when the food person arrived • Noticed that only the ringing of the bell would make the dogs start to drool

10. Pavlov & Classical Conditioning • Questions! • What is the stimulus that caused the dogs to drool? • The food • What type of response is it when the dogs drool for food at the beginning of the experiment? • Unconditioned. The dogs already knew by instinct to drool at the sight of food • What type of response is it when the dogs drool at the sound of the bell? • Conditioned. They learned that the bell meant food, and food makes them drool

11. Pavlov & Classical Conditioning

12. Pavlov in Real Life Classical Conditioning as depicted on “The Office” Want an Altoid?

13. Little Albert • Little Albert was a baby who was classically conditioned to fear white lab rats http://youtu.be/FMnhyGozLyE

14. Classical Conditioning & the Human Response • Behaviorists argued that classical conditioning underlies certain aspects of human responses • Fear • Like Little Albert • Behaviorists believe this is how phobias are developed • Also forms the basis of the theory on how to make phobias go away • Unlearn the conditioned response • Hunger • Created in response to cues in the environment • Smoking and/or drinking • Fetishes • Associating objects or acts with the achievement of sexual pleasure Classical Conditioning can be used to shape the focus of our desires

15. Classical Conditioning Where does classical conditioning show up? • The clip from The Office • A Clockwork Orange • Main theme is classical conditioning • Hyper violent character • Forced to watched horrible images • Fed meds to make him nauseous • What is the intended result of the classical conditioning in A Clockwork Orange? • What is the unconditioned stimulus? • What is the unconditioned response? • What is the conditioned stimulus? • What is the conditioned response?

16. Operant/Instrumental Conditioning • Definition: Learn the relationships between what you do and the rewards or punishments of those actions • Different from classical conditioning: you don’t do anything in classical conditioning to learn. Here, you CHOOSE to learn the conditioning • The Law of Effect: The tendency to perform an action is increased when rewarded; tendency decreases if not rewarded

17. Operant/Instrumental Conditioning • Reinforcement • Positive: give the subject something they want (treats, an object, etc) • Negative: withhold treat, give back object not wanted, etc • How often should reinforcement be used? • Ratio: a reward a certain number of times it’s done (every 5th time) • Interval: reward given for a period of time • Variable: reward is given at different tines (every 8th time, every 4th time) • Fixed: reward is given on a schedule (every 6th time) Operant Conditioning in effect! http://youtu.be/Mt4N9GSBoMI

18. Behaviorism • 3 General Principles of Behaviorism • Humans have no innate knowledge, all you need is learning • Human psychology can be explained without mental states like desires & goals • These ideas apply across all domains and species Every one of these principles is mistaken

19. Behaviorism • Why are they mistaken? • Lots of scientific evidence showing innate knowledge and desires in people • Talking about mental states is not unscientific. Many sciences are all about the unobservable or unseen (like physics!) • Animals don’t need reinforcement or punishment to learn. Reward helps, but isn’t necessary • Not all stimuli & reinforcements are created equal • The Garcia Effect • Food aversions: Believing a food has made you sick and you develop an aversion to it (when you know it hasn’t) • The Garcia Effect is specific to food and nausea (another negative reaction like a shock won’t cause an aversion)

20. Phobias • Classical conditioning responsible for phobias? NOT! • Certain phobias are part of our evolution • Humans & chimps are prone to being afraid of snakes • Phobias you’re likely to develop have less to do with your personal history and more to do with your evolutionary history

21. Legacy of Behaviorism • The dominance of Behaviorism in psychology has faded, but it leaves an important legacy • Mechanisms like habituation, classical conditioning, and operant conditioning are real and scientifically verifiable, but they don’t explain everything • Behaviorists have provided powerful techniques for training, particularly for the nonverbal (animals, young children & babies, severely autistic or mentally retarded)