Understanding Learning: Classical Conditioning, Operant Conditioning, and Observational Learning

1. Chapters 7 & 8: Learning & Memory

2. What the heck is Learning anyhow? • How would you define learning? • How does it happen?

3. Classical Conditioning • Who has heard of this before? • What do you know about it? • Psychologists consider conditioning to be one of the most basic forms of learning • However, Pavlov, the researcher who discovered classical conditioning was not a psychologist

4. Pavlov & the Mutts • He was originally interested in the physiology of digestion • Started noticing that animals experienced ‘psychic salivation’ • From this observation came his most famous contribution to science: classical conditioning

5. Conditioning Simplified • The unconditioned stimulus (UCS) is the thing that evokes the unconditioned response (UCR) • UCS = food • UCR = is the natural response the animal has to the UCS = drooling • Pairing the conditioned stimulus (CS) and the UCR • CS = tone • Tone + drooling • The switch of the UCR to the CR = animal drools in response to the tone

6. More conditioning terminology • Acquisition • Extinction • Spontaneous recovery

7. Generalization and Discrimination Generalization Discrimination

8. Does Conditioning Work in Humans? • Flu and what you last ate • Cancer patients & their treatment rooms • Drug use • Therapy

9. Operant Conditioning • What is it? • B.F. Skinner is the father of operant conditioning

10. Skinner’s Tools Unlike Watson, Skinner concentrated on animal behavior in his research To do his research he built chambers called operant chambers or Skinner boxes

11. Skinner Box

12. How did these boxes shape behavior? What was used as the reward? What was the punishment? What was the operant behavior?

13. Properties of Reinforcing Stimuli Primary reinforcers Secondary reinforcers Timing of reinforcement

14. More about timing: Schedules of Reinforcement • Continuous reinforcement • Partial reinforcement • Fixed ratio • Variable ratio • Fixed interval • Variable interval

15. Punishment • Punishment is an adverse consequence that reduces the likelihood that a behavior will recur • There are two kinds of punishment: • Positive punishment • Negative punishment  Examples?

16. Operant Conditioning and Parenting Do you have any thoughts on how parents can use reinforcement and punishment to shape their kids’ behavior? What are the most effective techniques? You MUST use a combination of both, not just reinforcement or punishment alone

17. Observational Learning • I bet you can guess what this means… • Watching and imitating  modeling • Memes • what are some examples?

18. Biological Basis of Observation • In the frontal lobe of the brain, you have a group of neurons called ‘mirror neurons’ • These neurons don’t just help us learn, they also help us feel empathy

19. Albert Bandura Bandura is the father of social learning theory He says we are likely to imitate the people around us, especially those we see as either similar to ourselves or as successful/admirable The famous Bobo experiment

20. Learning Disabilities • There are 4 general types of learning disabilities • What are some learning disabilities that you guys know about?

21. Memory How would you define it? What is it’s relationship to learning? The three steps of memory

22. Types of Memory Flashbulb memories Sensory memory Short-term/Working memory Long-term memory

23. Types of Memory continued… Explicit (declarative) memory Implicit (procedural) memory

24. Examples of each kind of Memory Where were you and what were you doing when you learned about the attacks of 9-11? Conversation: What did I just say?? Close your eyes and remember these numbers (in order)… Long-term memory – we all know what this is Riding a bike

25. Encoding How do we get information into our brains? Automatic processing Effortful processing

26. ‘Rules’ of Encoding Spacing effect Serial position effect Bad at encoding right before sleep, doesn’t happen during sleep

27. More about Encoding • We have an easier time encoding information that has meaning • We are much better at encoding and recalling images than information • We remember organized material more easily than unorganized info

28. Ways we Organize Mnemonics Chunking Hierarchies

29. Brain Areas Important for Memory • Lashley & the engram • Cerebellum, not cortex for association/conditioning • But cortex IS important for long-term memory storage • The other big ‘name’ in memory is a structure in the limbic system: the hippocampus

30. What about us? We know that memory seems to occur at the synapse. We call lasting changes in the synapse long-term potentiation (LTP)

31. Retrieval • Recall vs. Recognition – what is the difference? • Exposure to one stimulus can increase the speed with which we can retrieve other information • This is called priming - Let’s try an example

33. The effect of mood • We have what is called mood-congruent memory • Any guesses as to what this means?

34. The effect of context • We often associate material that we learn with the environment where we learn it • Ex. Switching seats for an exam • Also, you may have had the experience of being flooded with memories when going to a certain place • Some researchers believe context effects explain the déjà vu phenomenon

35. Amnesia • Amnesia – means memory loss. There are two kinds: • Retrograde amnesia • Anterograde amnesia • Damage to the hippocampus can result in both kinds of amnesia • Anterograde amnesia video

36. The case of H.M. • H.M. was a patient suffering from severe epilepsy • His hippocampus was removed as treatment • His memory was severely impaired, especially bad anterograde amnesia • His short-term/working memory & procedural/implicit memory abilities are somewhat intact

37. What H.M.’s Brain Looked Like

38. Korsakoff’s Syndrome • This syndrome results from prolonged and severe thiamine (vitamin B1) deficiency • Usually the result of severe alcoholism • Results in both kinds of amnesia, apathy, confusion • Confabulation is a hallmark symptom

39. Brain Damage from Alcoholism

40. Alzheimer’s Disease • Progressive memory loss with eventual depression, hallucinations/delusions, sleeplessness and loss of appetite • Caused by generation of plaques and tangles in the brain • Plaques are build up between cells caused by cell death • Tangles are caused by degradation of structures within a cell • Alzheimer's video

41. Alzheimer’s Brains