Chapter 6

Learning

Slides prepared by Randall E. Osborne, Texas State University-San Marcos

PSYCHOLOGYSchacter

Gilbert

Wegner

PSYCHOLOGYSchacter

Gilbert

Wegner

6.1

Defining Learning: Experience That Causes a Permanent

Change

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6.1 Defining Learning

- Learning – Experience that causes a permanent change

- Habituation•gradual reduction in responding

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6.1 Learning and Behaviorism

- Behaviorism: 1930s – 1950s

- Observable, quantifiable behavior

- Mental activity is irrelevant and unknowable

PSYCHOLOGYSchacter

Gilbert

Wegner

6.2

Classical Conditioning: One Thing Leads to Another

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6.2 Classical Conditioning

- Classical conditioning• Unconditioned

stimulus (US)• Unconditioned

response (UR)• Conditioned

stimulus (CS)• Conditioned

response (CR)

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6.2 Classical Conditioning

- Basic principles of classical conditioning• Aquisition• Extinction• Spontaneous recovery• Generalization• Discrimination

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6.2 Conditioned Emotional Responses

- John Watson- “even complex behaviors are the result of

conditioning”- 9-month-old “Little Albert”- Stimuli—white rat; dog; rabbit; burning

newspaper• Showed curiosity• Then shown stimulus (rat) and loud noise when he

reached to touch it—result was fear• Soon sight of rat caused fear

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6.2 Conditioned Emotional Responses

- Watson’s goals:• Complex reactions can be conditioned using Pavlovian

techniques• Emotional responses (such as fear) are learned and not

result of unconscious processes“Give me a dozen healthy infants, well-formed, and my own specified world to bring them up in and I’ll guarantee to take any one at random and train him to become any type of specialist I might select – doctor, lawyer, artist, merchant-chief and, yes, even beggar-man and thief, regardless of his talents, penchants, tendencies, abilities, vocations, and race of his ancestors.”

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6.2 Classical Conditioning

- Neural elements•Amygdala—central nucleus

- Cognitive elements•expectation

- Evolutionary elements•survival (such as food aversions)•adaptiveness•biological preparedness

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6.2 Rescorla-Wagner Model of Classical Conditioning

PSYCHOLOGYSchacter

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6.3

Operant Conditioning: Reinforcements from the

Environment

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6.3 Operant Conditioning

- E. L. Thorndike (1874-1949)

- Instrumental behaviors

- Puzzle box

- Law of effect

- Watson originally rejects need for reward

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6.3 Operant Conditioning

- B. F. Skinner- Operant conditioning- Operant chamber- Reinforcer

• Positive• Negative

- Punishment• Positive• Negative

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6.3 Operant Conditioning

- Primary reinforcement

- Secondary reinforcement

- Primary punishment

- Secondary punishment

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6.3 Operant Conditioning

- Which reinforcers are more effective?

- Premack principle• “no TV until the homework is done”

- Relatively reinforcing•Water to reinforce a thirsty rat for exercising•Nonthirsty rat drinking in order to exercise

- Overjustification effect

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6.3 Operant Conditioning

- Discrimination

- Generalization

- Importance of context

- Extinction

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6.3 Operant Conditioning

- Schedules of reinforcement• fixed-interval (set

time)• variable-interval

(avg. time)• fixed ratio (set

number)• variable ratio

(avg. number)

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6.3 Operant Conditioning

- Ratio schedules•high rates of responding because number of

rewards received is directly related to the number of responses made

- Intermittent-reinforcement effect• resist extinction

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6.3 Shaping

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6.3 Operant Conditioning

- Superstitious behavior• reinforcement of

accidental behavior• “this stench causes

home runs!”

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6.3 Operant Conditioning—Neural Elements

- Pleasure centers• nucleus accumbens• medial forebrain• hypothalamus• involve dopamine

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6.3 Operant Conditioning—Cognitive Elements

- Edward Tolman (1886-1959)

- Means-ends relationships

- Latent learning

- Cognitive map

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6.3 Operant Conditioning—Evolutionary Elements

- Rats trained to let in T-maze to get food

- Next day turned right (contrary to conditioning)

- Why?• rats are foragers•adaptive foraging strategy is to NOT search for

food the same place twice

PSYCHOLOGYSchacter

Gilbert

Wegner

6.4

Observational Learning: Look at Me

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6.4 Observational Learning

- Learning without direct experience

- Bandura’s bobo dolls

- Adult models

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6.4 Observational Learning

- Social learning

- Cultural norms

- Viewing media violence

- Mirror neurons

PSYCHOLOGYSchacter

Gilbert

Wegner

6.5

Implicit Learning: Under the Wires

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6.5 Implicit Learning

- Implicit learning

- Ways to study implicit learning• artificial grammar• can learn “rules”

even without being taught rules

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6.5 Implicit Learning

- Characteristics of implicit learning•smaller individual differences than explicit•unrelated to IQ•changes little across lifespan• resistant to disorders that impair explicit

strongly suggests that explicit and implicit learning use different neural pathways

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6.5 Implicit Learning—More on Characteristics

- Resistant to disorders that impair explicit• strongly suggests that

explicit and implicit learning use different neural pathways