TOPIC 7: Learning and Behaviour Flashcards
Behaviourism founded by J.B. Watson (1878-1958)
- emphasized observable behaviours
- environment forms and modifies behaviours
Learning
is a change in behaviour, ability, or knowledge that results from experience.
Associative learning
is a change that results from experience that leads us to link stimuli or events together.
Classical Conditioning
(a.k.a. respondent conditioning)
Ivan Petrovich Pavlov (1849-1936)
Ivan Petrovich Pavlov (1849-1936)
Russian physiologist
- performing research on the physiology of digestion
- measured dogs’ salivation to meat powder
- however, the dogs became “psychic,” salivating when technician entered the room, or when they heard his footsteps
- studied how stimuli (meat powder and footsteps) became associated with each other
• isolated dog in a room
• repeatedly rang bell and presented food
• measured dog’s salivation to food
• then measured salivation response to bell alone
Unconditioned Stimulus(UCS)
stimulus that elicits a reflexive response without any previous learning
Unconditioned Response(UCR)
reflexive response automatically elicited by a certain stimulus, with no prior learning
Conditioned Stimulus(CS)
initially neutral stimulus (NS) that elicits a response after association with a UCS
Conditioned Response(CR)
learned response elicited by an initially neutral stimulus which has been associated with a UCS
Pavlov’s original terms
Pavlov’s original terms were unconditional (meaning “not dependent on”) and conditional (meaning “depending on”)
Principles of Classical Conditioning
- sensitization
- habituation
- dishabituation
- acquisition
- extinction
- spontaneous recovery
- stimulus discrimination
- stimulus generalization
sensitization
repeated presentations of stimulus cause increase in response
e.g., your attention is captured by the sound of a dripping faucet
habituation
repeated presentations of stimulus cause decrease in response. Effects a response but sensory adaptation effects the receptors sensitivity
e.g., you pay less attention to the sound of rain
dishabituation
after presentation of a novel stimulus, habituated response reappears
e.g., the sound of thunder makes you aware of the sound of rain again
acquisition
learning UCS-CS association, and subsequent responses
- best when CS precedes UCS by 0.5 s
- backward conditioning
backward conditioning:
CS follows UCS; not very effective
extinction
repeated presentations of CS without UCS causes weakening and eventual disappearance of CR
spontaneous recovery
after apparent extinction and rest pause, CS causes reappearance of CR
stimulus generalization
tendency to produce a CR in response to a stimulus similar to CS
CS (yellow light) + UCS (air puff) → UCR (eye blink)
Orange light → CR (eye blink)
stimulus discrimination
ability to distinguish and respond selectively to two different stimuli
CS+ is always followed by UCS
CS- is never followed by UCS
CS+ (yellow light) + UCS (air puff) → UCR (eye blink)
CS- (orange light) + no air puff → no eye blink
conditioned fear and anxiety
phobias
CS (sight of dentist) + UCS (pain) → UCR (fear)
conditioned emotional responses
e.g., advertising:
CS (product) + UCS (attractive person) → UCR (pleasant emotion)
conditioning physiological responses (Bovbjerg et al., 1990)
e.g., immunosuppression:
CS (waiting room) + UCS (chemotherapy drug) → UCR (suppressed immune system)
Classical Conditioning Pros & Cons
PROS:
- universal principles
- objective means of studying complex behaviours
CONS:
- mentalistic explanations may be required
universal principles
can be applied to animals from earthworms to people
Robert Rescorla & Allan Wagner (1972)
- goal: condition rats to fear a tone
Group. A: tone + shock 20 times → fear response
Group. B: tone + shock 20 times, mixed randomly with tone alone & shock alone 20 times → no fear response
Conclusion: amount of pairing is not as important asexpectation the UCS follows the CS. notallstimuli follow the “rules of learning”
Operant behaviours
Operant behavioursoperate on the environment and produce consequences
- What is the relevance of consequences of behaviour?
- How can behaviours not naturally elicited be learned?
- How do you get a chimpanzee to do karate?
B.F. Skinner (1904-1990)
- elaborated on E.L. Thorndike’s (1874-1949)Law of effect: reinforced behaviour is more likely to recur
- created the operant conditioning chamber (or Skinner box): allows control of environmental contingencies
- A-B-Cs
A-B-Cs
specificantecedentsignals that a certainbehaviourwill produce a particularconsequence
discriminative stimulus
Adiscriminative stimulussignals that a response will be followed by a consequence
- may be overt
- may be covert
covert
an internal experience
e.g., feeling hungry (→ eat → feel full)
overt
an objective stimulus
e.g., hearing your phone ring (→ answer it → talk to your friend)
Reinforcement
strengthens or increases probability of behaviour it follows
positive reinforcement
behaviour followed by presentation of an appetitive stimulus; this increases the behaviour
negative reinforcement
behaviour followed by removal of an aversive stimulus; this increases the behaviour
Punishment
weakens or decreases probability of behaviour it follows
positive punishment
behaviour followed by presentation of an aversive stimulus; this decreases the behaviour
negative punishment
behaviour followed by removal of an appetitive stimulus; this decreases the behaviour
Reinforcement conditions
- primary reinforcer
- secondary (orconditioned)reinforcer
- operant extinction
- immediate ordelayed
primary reinforcer
innately satisfying appetitive stimulus
secondary (orconditioned)reinforcer
learned, via association with primary reinforcer
operant extinction
weakening and eventual disappearance of behaviour because it is no longer reinforced
immediate ordelayed
humans respond to delayed reinforcement; but small, immediate ones may outweigh large, delayed ones
Walter Mischel & colleagues (1970; 1972): “The Marshmallow Test”
- participants: 4- and 5-year-olds at Bing Nursery School on Stanford University campus, starting in the 1960s
- child placed in a room with no distractions
- identified most desirable treat: marshmallows or pretzels
- experimenter confirmed that child preferred two marshmallows to just one
- child was given one marshmallow–and was promised a second marshmallow, if they waited until the experimenter returned in 15-20 minutes before eating the first one
results:
- 65% were able to wait, 35% were not
- children’s self-distraction strategies.
delay of gratification
considered to be an index ofself-control, one facet of personality
Mischel & colleagues (1989, 1990):
- tracked the children over time
- found long-term differences between the groups
- delay time positively correlated with:
- higher SAT (Scholastic Aptitude Test) scores (by 210 points)
- greater social and cognitive competence
- better ability to cope with stress/frustration
- increased educational attainment
- longer-term marriages
- higher incomes
- greater career satisfaction
- better health
- lower incidence of drug use
- more fulfilling lives
- delay of gratification is a better predictor of a child’s grades in school than __
Schedules of reinforcement
- Continuous
- intermittent
Continuous
reinforcement given for each response
PROacquisition is rapid
CONextinction is rapid
intermittent
only some responses are reinforced
CONacquisition is slower
PROextinction takes longer
fixed ratio (FR)
reinforcement given after a set number of responses
variable ratio (VR)
reinforcement after random number of responses (number deviates around a mean)
fixed interval (FI)
equal pause after each reinforcement
variable interval (VI)
variable length pause after each reinforcement (length deviates around a mean)
when is punishment most effective
(a) it followsevery undesirable behaviour, and
(b) does soimmediately after
operant generalization
responding to similar discriminative stimulus
operant discrimination
responding to one particular discriminative stimulus, but not another
shaping
reinforcing successive approximations of a desired target behaviour–typically, a complex one
chaining
reinforcing one behaviour then giving the opportunity to perform the next one to produce a sequence of behaviours
behaviour modification
- identify and clearly define the behaviour you are targeting for change
e. g., increase a desirable behaviour: exercise, defined as walking - self-monitor: record your behaviour baseline
e. g., use a Fitbit to track your steps - set goal for your behaviour in measurable terms
e. g., walk at least 10,000 steps every day - systematically apply behaviour change procedure
e. g., positive reinforcement: only have dessert if you walk 10,000 steps - gradually reduce incentives
e. g., switch from pie with ice cream, to fruit, to sugarless gum
Operant Conditioning Pros & Cons
PRO
- behaviour is affected by consequences
CONS
- learning can take place without reinforcement or punishment.
- reinforcement may not increase a given behaviour.
- operant principles don’t work equally on all behaviours
Instinctive drift
learned behaviours “drifted” back to species-typical behaviours
- biological predispositions may be difficult to overcome
Components ofSocial Learning Theory(Bandura, 1977)
- Attention
- Retention
- reproduction
- Motivation
modeling
learning to reproduce behaviour exhibited by a model–not by direct reinforcement/punishment
Attention
how closely person pays attention to model’s behaviour
- factors: interest value, arousal, expectations
retention
how well person remembers model’s behaviour
- factors: memory strategies, cognitive level
Reproduction
how well person can reproduce model’s behaviour
- factors: complexity of behaviour, person’s physical skills
Motivation
how motivated person is to imitate model’s behaviour
- factors: incentives, vicarious incentives
