General Psychology General Psychology (PY110)(PY110)Chapter 4Learning

LearningLearning

Learning is a relatively permanent change or modification in behavior due to experience or training

Why Do We Learn?Why Do We Learn?

TrainingTrainingTwo main types of training

Behavior

Training type

Innate Classical ConditioningAcquired Operant Conditioning

Classical ConditioningClassical ConditioningDiscovered by Ivan Pavlov - a Russian

physiologist studying digestive processes in dogs

The dogs were strapped into harnesses and had tubes inserted into their cheeks to measure the amount of salivation, the initial step in the digestive process

With time, he noticed that the dogs started to salivate before the meat powder was even put in their mouths, and wanted to know why this was happening

Classical ConditioningClassical Conditioning

(Neutral Stimulus)

Elements and Elements and Procedures Procedures of Classical of Classical ConditioningConditioning

Unconditioned Stimulus

(UCS)

Unconditioned Response

(UCR)

Conditioned Stimulus

(CS)

Conditioned Response

(CR)

Associated Similar

Principles of ConditioningPrinciples of ConditioningExtinction

◦Hey where’s my food?Spontaneous Recovery

◦Maybe I’ll get food this timeStimulus Generalization◦Any bell will do

Stimulus Discrimination◦That’s not the dinner bell

“I don’t know about you,but that bell is starting to

put me off my food”

Acquisition, Extinction, Acquisition, Extinction, and Spontaneous and Spontaneous RecoveryRecovery

Stimulus Generalization Stimulus Generalization and Discriminationand Discrimination

Limitations of Classical Limitations of Classical ConditioningConditioningContinuous

reinforcement required

Extinction occurs quickly

The “Little Albert” StudyThe “Little Albert” StudyJohn Watson conducted a study on an

infant named AlbertWhile Albert was looking at a little white

rat, Watson quietly sneaked behind him and made a loud noise

Albert’s reflexive response, the UCR, was a fear-avoidance response (e.g., crying andtrying to crawl away) to the loudnoise, which was the UCS

After pairing the white rat with theloud noise only 7 times, the white rat became a CS

Operant Conditioning Operant Conditioning

Behaviors that are reinforced (lead to satisfying consequences) will be strengthened, and behaviors that are punished (lead to unsatisfying consequences) will be weakened

Called “operant” conditioning because the organism needs to “operate” on the environment to bring about consequences from which to learn

Learning to associate behaviors with their consequences

Operant ConditioningOperant ConditioningMost famous work conducted by

psychologist B.F. SkinnerUsed apparatus

known as ‘Skinner boxes’ that are still used in experimentation today

The Law of EffectThe Law of EffectOperant conditioning is based on E. L. Thorndike’s Law of Effect Any behavior that results

in satisfying consequences tends to be repeated, and any behavior that results in unsatisfying consequences tends not be repeated

General Learning General Learning Processes Processes in Operant Conditioning in Operant Conditioning Shaping occurs when an animal is

trained to make a particular response by reinforcing successively closer approximations to the desired response◦With humans, this might mean

reinforcing a child the closer he comes to making his bed correctly each morning

Shaping in Operant Shaping in Operant ConditioningConditioning

Imitation (or Modeling)Imitation (or Modeling)Albert Bandura

◦Researched aggressiveness as a learned behavior

◦Children exposed to aggressive adult behavior against Bobo doll

◦Many imitated aggressive behavior

Types of ReinforcementTypes of ReinforcementPositive Negative

Reinforcement

A reward Removal of something unpleasant

Punishment Unpleasant Present

Removal of a reward

Example of ReinforcementExample of ReinforcementA psychologist considering why alcoholics drink can consider two possible reinforcement factors

Positive Reinforcement

Negative Reinforcement

Types of ReinforcementTypes of Reinforcement

Interval Schedules of Interval Schedules of ReinforcementReinforcementFixed Interval

◦Reward arrives on set schedule Work paid with salary

Variable Interval◦Reward arrives sporadically

Ratio Schedules of Ratio Schedules of ReinforcementReinforcementFixed Ratio

◦Reward arrives after performance of task Piece work

Variable Ratio◦Reward will arrive after unknown

number of repetitions of a task Lottery Resistant to Extinction

MotivationMotivation

The Motivation ProcessThe Motivation Process

1. Need2. Drive (awareness)3. Action (direction)4. Need reduction or

Need satisfaction

State ofdeprivation(imbalance)

Theories of MotivationTheories of Motivation

Yerkes-Dodson LawYerkes-Dodson Law

State of Arousal

Diff

icul

ty o

f Tas

k

Best Result

Low

High

High

Low

Yerkes-Dodson LawYerkes-Dodson Law

Increased arousal will aid performance up to a point, after which further arousal impairs performance