Behavioral Learning

1. Behavioral Learning

2. What is Behaviorism? • The study of observable behavior and the role of the environment as a determinant of behavior

3. What is learning in Psychology? • Any relatively permanent change to behavior that comes about as a result of experience

4. What is conditioning? • A basic kind of learning that involves associations between environmental stimuli and the organism’s responses

5. Classical Conditioning and Pavlov • All begins with Ivan Pavlov 1849-1936 • Physiologist studying digestion in dogs • Notes that salivation began to take place without exposure to meat powder • New response acquired through experience • Pavlov called this a conditional reflex (based on conditions of the environment) • Devoted the rest of his life to this

6. Key ideas in Classical Conditioning • Unconditioned Stimulus (US)- elicits a response reflexively • Unconditioned Response (UR)-reflexive response to a stimulus • Neutral Stimulus-can be paired with a US to elicit UR • This leads to a Neutral Stimulus becoming a Conditioned Stimulus (CS) which elicits a Conditioned Response (CR) when a behavior takes place

7. Classical Conditioning • US=>UR • US+Neutral Stimulus=>UR • Allows learning to take place transferring Neutral Stimulus to Conditioned Stimulus (Classical Conditioning) • CS=>CR

8. Principles of Classical Conditioning • Extinction-occurs if CS is presented without US for too long. Leads to end of the CR. • CR can come back for short periods later called spontaneous recovery • Higher-Order Conditioning-A new Neutral Stimulus can be paired with a CS to present the same CR (often times not as strong) • Stimulus Generalization-If a CR has been created for a CS other similar stimuli may produce the CR • Discrimination- A CR can be conditioned to observe the differences between 2 similar stimuli by presenting US in one case and not in the other

9. Important Understanding of Classical Conditioning • Neutral Stimulus must be presented before the US to allow for true conditioning to occur • What is being learned is how to use Neutral Stimulus as a predictor of the US (probability)

10. Classical Conditioning in Real Life • John Watson- The first to recognize real life implications. • Pairings can be made to produce emotions • Positive • Used heavily in advertising • Negative • Irrational Fears (Phobias) • Ex. Watson’s Study with Little Albert and his work with counterconditioning • Irrational fear can be created and destroyed

11. Taste and odor can also be tied to classical conditioning • Food more often associated with illness biologically than other sensory information • Medical treatments can also have similar aversive impacts

12. Operant Conditioning • Centers on the idea that behavior becomes more or less likely depending on its consequences • Deals with voluntary responses rather than reflexive responses (i.e. classical conditioning)

13. Radical Behaviorism • Starts with Thorndike’s Doctoral Studies on Cats show behavior that is satisfying is “stamped in” while behavior that doesn’t gain satisfying results is “stamped out” • Moves to Skinner who argues that to understand behavior one must focus on external causes of an action as well as its consequences • Argued against free will in favor of determinism • “My behavior at any moment has been nothing more that the product of my genetic endowment, my personal history, and the current setting.”

14. Operant Conditioning • Centers around 3 types of Consequences: • Neutral-doesn’t alter response • Reinforcement-Strengthens response, makes it more likely to recur • Punishment-weakens response or makes it less likely to occur • Primary Reinforcers and Punishers-deal with essentials that are hard-wired • Secondary Reinforcers and Punishers-deal with what has been learned • Secondary reinforcers and punishments have often received their power by being paired with primary reinforcers and punishments

15. How does Operant Conditioning Work • Important to remember: • Positive=something being given • Negative=something being taken away • Reinforcement • Behavior=> Positive or Negative Reinforcement=>Increase in Behavior • Positive Reinforcer- Increases behavior by generating a pleasant consequence • Negative Reinforcer-Increases behavior by removing and unpleasant situation

16. Punishment • Behavior=>Positive or Negative Punishment=> Decrease in Behavior • Positive Punishment-Something unpleasant occurs following behavior • Negative Punishment-Something Pleasant is removed following behavior

17. Principles of Operant Conditioning • Thousands of studies have been done • Most use animals and the Skinner box • Skinner believed environment was a place where organisms reinforce and punish each other reciprocally. • Several key techniques and applications discovered in this fashion • Extinction • Immediate vs. Delayed Consequences • Stimulus Generalization and Discrimination • Learning on Schedule • Shaping

18. Extinction • A procedure that causes a previously learned response to stop • Occurs when reinforcer that maintained the response is removed • Initial response is to increases behavior, but ultimately leads to a slow down and secession of behavior

19. Immediate vs. Delayed Consequences • The sooner a reinforcer or punishment follows a response the greater its effect • Too long an interval can lead to confusion on what is being reinforced • Dealing with extinction of certain behaviors can be difficult because of their immediate reinforcement

20. Stimulus Generalization and Dicrimination • Similar stimuli can be generalized by a subject when reinforcing behavior • Train them to discriminate by presenting both stimuli and rewarding only one • A discriminative stimulus can be used to allow a subject to know when they can be reinforced (light in a Skinner Box) • Leads to stimulus control

21. Learning on Schedule • Continuous Reinforcement- Develops a behavior • Reward each time desired behavior occurs • Intermittent Reinforcement-Prevents extinction • Only reinforce some responses not all of them once desired behavior has been achieved • Ratio Schedules- based on fixed # of respones • Interval Schedules-based on fixed amounts of time • Can be fixed or variable • Creates 4 different types of learning curves

22. Shaping • Starts with reinforcing a tendency in the right direction • Then gradually require more responses that are similar to the final • Successive approximations

24. Operant Conditioning in Real Life • Used in real world via Behavior Modification • Extremely promising in working with cases of Autism

25. Pros and Cons of Punishment • Punishment works with self-harming and destructive behavior and Criminal Behavior • Punishment fails for several reasons • Administration of punishment inappropriately • Recipient responds with anxiety, fear or rage • Effectiveness is often temporary, and depends on presence of the punishing person • Misbehavior often hard to punish immediately • Conveys little information • Can bring attention and instead reinforce

26. Problem with reward • People can respond to intrinsic reinforcers as well as traditional extrinsic reinforcers • Extrinsic reinforcers can udermine intrinsic reinforcers

27. The World Through Behaviorists Eyes • Superstition is coincidental reinforcement • Hard to extinguish because of intermittent reinforcement • Skinner made pigeons superstitious • Insight • Based on organism’s reinforcement history