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”