Before Class

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Before Class

• Pick up each of the two worksheets on the cart
• Submit any late work you may have for me
• Get a RED book from the shelf
• Begin to work on the Little Albert worksheet
  using page 156 in the book

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Ch. 6 Learning

• Section 1 Classical Conditioning
• Learning is achieved
• through experience.

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Concept of association(s)

• Stimulus something that produces a reaction
• Ex) sad movie

• Response an observable reaction to a stimulus
• Ex) feeling
• Start to cry

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Stimulus ? Response

• This is conditioning a type of learning that
  involves stimulus-response connections in which
  the response is conditional on the stimulus
• Classical conditioning a type of learning in
  which a neutral stimulus comes to elicit an
  unconditioned response when the neutral stimulus
  is repeatedly paired with a stimulus that
  normally causes an unconditioned response
• Confused yet?

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Ivan Pavlov

• Russian physiologist studying digestion in dogs
• Discovered dogs salivated before meat was placed
  on tongue
• Studied problem
• Trained dogs to salivate at the sound of a bell

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The Letters of Learning

• 1) Unconditioned stimulus (US) a stimulus that
  causes a response that is automatic and not
  learned
• Ex) meat

• 2) Unconditioned response (UR) automatic
  response to an US
• Ex) salivation (a natural reflex)

• 3) Conditioned stimulus (CS) a learned stimulus
  because of pairing with an US
• Ex) bell

• 4) Conditioned response (CR) a learned response
  to a stimulus that was previously neutral or
  meaningless
• Ex) salivation

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Adapting to the environment

• Conditioning helps people and animals alike to
  adapt to their environment which is quite useful
  for many reasons

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Taste Aversion

• Learned avoidance of a particular food
• One trial learning
• Only takes one time of getting ill to avoid a
  food

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Extinction

• The disappearance of a CR when an US no longer
  follows a CS
• No meat ? no salivation

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Spontaneous Recovery

• The reappearance of an extinguished response
  after some time has passed
• Usually weaker CR

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Generalization

• The act of responding in the same ways to stimuli
  that seem to be similar, even if the stimuli are
  not identical
• Circle ? other geometric figures

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Discrimination

• The act of responding differently to stimuli that
  are not similar to each other

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Flooding

• A person is exposed to the harmless stimulus
  until fear responses to that stimulus are
  extinguished
• Unpleasant

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Systematic Desensitization

• A pleasant, relaxed state is associated with
  gradually increasing anxiety-triggering stimuli
• Takes longer, more pleasant

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Counterconditioning

• A pleasant stimulus is paired repeatedly with a
  fearful one, counteracting the fear
• Cookie treatment

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Section 2 Operant Conditioning
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Operant Conditioning

• Cause Effect Relationship
• Operant conditioning learning that is
  strengthened when behavior is followed by
  positive reinforcement
• Learning is based on results
• Engage in behavior ? Positive consequences
• Avoid behavior ? Negative consequences

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B. F. Skinner

• Developed the Skinner box
• Rat ? lever ? food
• The food positively reinforced the rat for
  pressing the lever!
• The rat learned to press lever for food.

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Reinforcement

• Reinforcement the process by which a stimulus
  increases the chances that the preceding behavior
  will occur again
• By chance (unintentional)
• Through training (intentional)
• Knowledge of results is key to learning!

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Primary vs. Secondary Reinforcers

• Primary reinforcers reinforcers that function
  due to the biological makeup of the organism
• Ex) food, water, warmth
• (not taught)

• Secondary reinforcers - reinforcers that acquire
  their value through being paired with established
  reinforcers
• Ex) money, attention, social approval (learned)

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Positive vs. Negative Reinforcers

• Positive reinforcers increase the frequency of
  the behavior they follow when they are applied
• Ex) food, fun activities, social approval
• Vary person to person
• Not always effective

• Negative reinforcers increase the frequency of
  the behavior they follow when they are removed
• Ex) discomfort, fear, social disapproval

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Rewards and Punishment

• Rewards
• Increase frequency of the behavior they follow
• Token economy
• Reinforcement is more scientific than reward
• Often used interchangeably

• Punishment an unwanted event that decreases the
  frequency of the behavior they follow when they
  are applied
• Neg. reinforcement encourages
• Punishment discourages
• Ex) ineligibility for student athletes

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Strong punishment can work, but isnt recommended
because

• It doesnt teach alternate acceptable behavior
• It only works if guaranteed
• It pushes people to leave rather than change
• It can create anger and hostility
• It could have undesirable effects
• It could be imitated (cycle of abuse)
• Could backfire (increase, rather decrease,
  undesirable behavior)
• Best bet ? REWARD GOOD BEHAVIOR!!

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Schedule of reinforcement when and how often the
reinforcement can occur

• Continuous reinforcement the reinforcement of a
  behavior every time the behavior occurs
• Best way to learn, BUT..
• Not always practical or possible
• Easily disappears if reinforcement stops

• Partial reinforcement a behavior is not
  reinforced every time it occurs
• Behavior tends to last longer after reinforcement
  ends
• Ex) movies

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2 Types of Interval Reinforcement Schedules
(Based on amount of time)

• Fixed-interval schedule a fixed amount of time
  must elapse between reinforcements
• Regardless of the behavior performed
• Ex) Quiz every Friday

• 2) Variable-interval schedule varying amounts
  of time go by between reinforcements
• Timing of reinforcement is unpredictable
• Ex) Pop quizzes

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2 Types of Ration Reinforcement Schedules (Based
on ratio of response to reinforcement)

• Fixed-ratio schedule reinforcement is provided
  after a fixed number of correct responses have
  been made
• If ratio is too high, its ineffective

• 2) Variable-ratio schedule reinforcement is
  provided after a variable number of correct
  responses have been made
• Unpredictable, so response rate is high

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Extinction in Operant Conditioning

• Extinction results from repeated performance of
  the response without reinforcement
• Behaviors can be spontaneously recovered

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Applications of Operant Conditioning

• Shaping a way of teaching complex behaviors in
  which one first reinforces small steps in the
  total activity
• Ex) teaching a child how to ride a bike

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• 2) Chaining each step of a sequence must be
  learned and must lead to the next until the final
  action is achieved

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• 3) Programmed learning
• - Based on shaping
• - ANY task can be broken down into smaller
  steps, shaped individually, and then combined to
  form the whole task
• - Methods
• - Books, worksheets, computer programs

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• 4) Classroom discipline
• - Extinction
• - More successful with younger children
• - Removal from peer/teacher approval
• - Ex) timeout, ISS room