Limits of learning Flashcards
LIMITS OF LEARNING
Every individual is limited in what behaviours it can perform
based on the physiology its species.
Learned behavior is not passed on to future generations.
Individual differences in learning
Heredity plays a role in learning ability- but is controversial:
* genes contribute to differences within & between
species; but
* environment also plays a role (e.g. enriched early
learning environments)
Critical periods of learning
Stages of development for optimal learning:
* imprinting in birds,
* maternal behavior in primates)
Do they occur in humans?
* first 12 years may be critical for learning language
Neurological damage on limits of learning
- Prenatal exposure to alcohol & other drugs can interfere
with neurological development - Exposure to neurotoxins (substances that damage nerve
tissues) in infancy/early childhood are a threat to
learning ability:
– lead in old paint & drinking water
– Pesticides, herbicides, solvents, medications,
recreational drugs, some foods & food supplements - Head injury (blows to head, shaking child, car accidents,
sports injury) - Malnutrition during fetal development/early childhood
CHANGING HUMAN BEHAVIOUR: CONTINGENCY MANAGEMENT
Behaviour modification refers to all types of behavioural treatment. Contingency management refers to
behavioural therapy or procedures based on principles of operant conditioning that use reinforcement (to
increase frequency of appropriate behaviours) and nonreinforcement (to reduce inappropriate behaviours)
to alter operant behaviour.
3 phases of treatment:
Assessment
Contracting
Implementation
Assessment phase
This phase involves determining baseline levels of appropriate and inappropriate behaviour:
* determine situations in which these behaviours occur
* identify potential reinforcers of appropriate operant/instrumental response
* identify reinforcers that are maintaining inappropriate responses
Direct observation is used to establish baseline levels of target behaviours
Contracting phase
This phase involves defining the exact relationship between the target or operant/instrumental
response and reinforcement, i.e., work out when and how reinforcement will be delivered:
* decide on schedule of reinforcement to be used
* decide who will provide the reinforcer (e.g., nurse, teacher, parent)
* train person who provides reinforcement how to identify and reinforce appropriate
behaviour.
Self-reinforcement can be used if a person wants to change his/her own behaviour, for example, to
modify ‘undesirable’ behaviours
Implementation phase
The third stage involves providing reinforcement contingent upon:
* performance of the appropriate responses OR
* absence of the inappropriate response
Then it is important to determine if the desired change in behaviour occurred during treatment and
continued after treatment
Negative reinforcement
The response is strengthened, because it is followed by removal of an aversive/unpleasant
stimulus.
Negative reinforcement may lead to escape or avoidance learning— a lot of people tend to avoid
awkward or unpleasant situations or difficult problems.
Escape learning
learn/acquire a response that decreases or ends aversive stimulation (e.g., dogs
learn to escape shock by jumping to another compartment in a shuttle box). Escape learning often
leads to avoidance learning.
Avoidance learning
learn/acquire a response that prevents aversive stimulation (e.g., if a light
goes on before shock, a rat will run to another compartment as soon as the light comes on, to avoid
shock.
Mowrer’s Two-Process Theory of Avoidance
This theory integrates principles of classical and operant conditioning.
According to the Two-Process Theory, if you have a phobia of lifts, you acquired the phobia
through classical conditioning:
* in the past— lifts became paired with a frightening stimulus event
* now— if you need to get into a lift, you experience conditioned fear.
If the phobia is severe enough, you take the stairs instead. Taking the stairs is an avoidance
response— this leads to consistent negative reinforcement, by relieving your conditioned fear.
Avoidance is maintained by operant conditioning.
Why are phobias resistant to extinction
- a phobia usually leads to avoidance of the feared object/situation (earns negative
reinforcement for every avoidance response) - avoidance behaviour stops any chance of facing the conditioned stimulus, and thus
extinguishing the phobic conditioned response
‘Positive’ punishment
presentation of an aversive stimulus
‘negative’ punishment
removal of a pleasant stimulus
Side effects of punishment:
- it can suppress other behaviours— not just the one being punished, e.g., children can become
withdrawn, inhibited or less active - it can trigger strong emotional responses— fear, anger, resentment; temporarily disrupts
normal functioning; generates hostility towards the source of punishment (e.g., parent) - physical punishment can lead to increased aggressive behaviour
More effective discipline
if you reinforce desirable behaviour rather than punish undesirable behaviour.
primary punishers (innate)
cold, heat, hunger, thirst, loud noises, environmental stimuli that cause pain, nausea and illness (e.g., pain produced by spanking a child)
secondary punishers (learned or acquired)
through conditioning, neutral stimuli can acquire
secondary punishing properties by association with primary aversive stimuli (e.g., social
disapproval, nasty glances, ridicule, being told off).
3 factors influence effectiveness of punishment:
- severity of punishment— must be severe to produce complete suppression of punished
behaviour - consistency of punishment— must be consistent, i.e., every time inappropriate behaviour
occurs it must be punishment - delay of punishment— punishment must be immediate
INSTINCTIVE DRIFT AND ANIMAL ‘MISBEHAVIOUR’
In the 1960s, Breland and Breland used operant conditioning procedures to train 38 species of animals
(& over 6000 animals) to perform various behaviours for commercial or entertainment purposes. They discovered a number of ‘failures’ to control behaviour, despite repeated food reinforcements due to:
Instinctive drift - occurs when an animal’s innate response tendencies interfere with
conditioning processes.
CONDITIONED TASTE AVERSION
Aversions to food can develop, if eating a particular type of food is followed by nausea (brought about
by food poisoning, illness, or alcohol intoxication). John
Garcia and his colleagues, in a series of rat studies, discovered that taste aversion could only be conditioned: “through the pairing of taste stimuli
and stimuli inducing nausea”
SELIGMAN’S ‘SAUCE BEARNAISE SYNDROME’
Martin Seligman and his wife went out one night, and he ate a steak with Bearnaise Sauce:
* 6 hours later he developed a bad stomach flu and severe nausea
* after that the smell of bearnaise sauce made him feel like vomiting
Seligman realised his taste aversion could have developed by classical conditioning:
* the neutral stimulus (sauce) had been paired with an unconditioned stimulus (the flu), which
caused an unconditioned response (nausea);
* the sauce became a conditioned stimulus eliciting nausea
