Learning - Chapter 6 Flashcards
Learning
Any relatively permanent change in behaviour as a result of practice or experience. Changes due to growth or maturation are not learning
There are 3 general kinds of learning
Classical conditioning
Operant conditioning
Cognitive learning
Class Conditioning
People (and animals) acquire certain behaviors through classical conditioning
Learning process in which associations are made between an unconditioned stimulus and a neutral stimulus
The work of Ivan Pavlov (1849-1936)
Ivan Pavlov
Russian physiologist first described classical conditioning in 1899
Mainly interested in the role of salivary secretion (the flow of salivation in the dogs mouth as a reflex response to food)
What did Pablo observe?
Pavlov observed that the dogs salivated not only at the sight of the food, but also at the sight or sound of the lab tech who had been preparing the food
Stimuli Based on Pavlov’s Experiment:
(US) Unconditioned Stimulus - food
(UR) Unconditioned Response - saliva
(NS) Neutral Stimulus - bell
(CS) Conditioned Stimulus - bell
(CR) Conditioned Response - salivate to bell
The salivation becomes associated with, and conditioned to, a new stimulus
Stimulus
A stimulus is any event or object that elicits a response from an organism
Neutral Stimulus
Initially does not elicit a response
Unconditioned stimulus (UCS)
Elicits a predictable response without training
Unconditioned Stimulus (UCR)
Automatic or natural research to a stimulus without training
Conditioned Stimulus (CS)
A stimulus is any event or object that elicits a response from an organism
Elicits a response due to being paired with an UCS
Conditioned Response (CR)
The learned reaction to a CS
John Watson
Behaviourism
Developed a conditioned emotional response through the following experiment:
- White rat (NS) + loud bang (UCS) startle response (CR)
- Conditioned baby Albert to fear white rat
Watson’s Advice for Parents
Never hug and kiss them, never let them sit in your lap.
If you must, kiss them once on the forehead when they say good night
Shake hands with them in the morning
Give them a pat on the head if they have made an extraordinarily good job of a difficult task
Stimulus Generalization
Pavlov observed that his dogs salivated to other noises that sounded like a bell
Extinction
A conditioned stimulus-respone association can fade over time or disappear altogether.
If you stop ringing bell with food
Adaptive value. of classical conditioning
Adaptive value: usefulness of certain traits that have evolved in animals & humans & tend to increase their chances of survival.
Fear responses
Fears and phobias largely result from classical conditioning.
Dental phobia - Can generalize anxiety to dental chair, waiting room, dentist’s office building, and external stimuli
Drug Use
Classical conditioning helps explain why certain environmental cues or social situations can lead to continued drug use.
Advertising
Classical conditioning has proved to be a highly effective tool for advertising.
We become conditioned to buy products
Systematic Desensitization
Procedure based on classical conditioning in which a person imagines or visualizes fearful or anxiety-provoking stimuli & immediately uses deep relaxation to overcome the anxiety
Behaviour Psychology
Behavioral psychology is the study of “external” behavior
Behaviour is objective and observable
Behaviour is the response of an organism to stimuli
Behaviour can be controlled by consequences - type of reinforcement following the behaviour
Operant Conditioning
Operant Conditioning is associated with Behaviourism
A type of learning in which behaviour is strengthened if followed by reinforcement or diminished if followed by punishment.
Classical vs. Operant Conditioning
They both use acquisition, discrimination, SR, generalization and extinction.
Edward Thorndike
Law of Effect
Rewarded behaviour is likely to recur
B.F Skinner
Pioneer in his work with operant conditioning
To help his subjects/animals learn different behaviors, he started with shaping, which gradually guides the animal to the desired behavior
Shaping
Skinner used shaping as a technique to teach rats a complicated task
Reinforcement (name the two types)
Skinner developed two types of reinforcement:
1. Positive reinforcement
strengthens a response by presenting a desirable stimuli
2. Negative reinforcement
strengthens a response by reducing or removing something undesirable or unpleasant
Reinforcers (name the two)
Skinner also developed two types of reinforcers:
1. Primary reinforcer
innate stimulus, satisfying a biological need
2. Conditioned (secondary) reinforcer
a stimulus that is learned to be positive; associated with a primary reinforcer
Punishment
Any outcome that weakens/diminishes the probability of a response
Like reinforcement, can be positive or negative
The punishment must be administered quickly after the behaviour for best results
Fixed Ratio
Reinforcement after a specific number of responses
Variable Ratio
Reinforcement after an average number of responses
Fixed Interval
Reinforcement after a specific amount of time
Variable Interval
Reinforcement after an average amount of time
Cognitive Learning
Challenges to behavioral view of classical and operant conditioning
Involve cognitive processes such as attention, expectation, thinking, and memory
Latent Learning
Refers to learning that is not directly observable
Competence vs performance
Learning that is not immediately expressed by a response until the organism is reinforced for doing so
Observational Learning
Changes in behavior and knowledge that result from watching others (no direct experience required)
Social Learning Theory - Bandura
Development / behaviour learned through modeling, observation, imitation and self-efficacy in learning as seen in the work of Albert Bandura.
this has four processes
- Attention to the act or behaviour
- Memory of the act or behaviour
-Ability to reproduce act or behaviour
-Motivation to reproduce act or behaviour
