Chapter 7
Conditioning and Learning
I.
Learning
A. Definition: a relatively permanent
change in behavior that can be
attributed to experience
B. Reinforcement – any procedure that
strengthens learning and makes a
response more likely
C. Antecedent – event that occurs
before a response
D. Consequence – event that occurs
after a response
II. Classical Conditioning
Ivan Pavlov
1. Unconditioned Stimulus (UCS) –
naturally occurring stimulus
2. Unconditioned Response (UCR) –
automatic, unlearned response
to UCS
3. Conditioned Stimulus (CS) –
neutral stimulus; paired or
becomes associated with UCS
4. Conditioned Response (CR) –
learned behavior (usually same
as UCR)
A.
B.
UCS
Food
UCR
salivation
CS
Bell
CR
salivation
Extinction – when the CS no longer
follows the UCS, conditioning
extinguishes or stops
Spontaneous Recovery – responds
to CS even in absence of reinforcing
UCS
C.
Generalization – respond in same
manner to similar CS
D. Discrimination – distinguish
between stimuli; respond to one,
but not the other
E. Classical Condition in humans
1. nervous response before an
anticipated unpleasant event
2. phobias – fear results from
learning
 desensitization
3. vicarious conditioning (second
hand) – observe another’s
response and respond the same
way
III. Operant Conditioning
Learning how to associate a response
with its consequence
A. Thorndike’s Law of Effect – a
response is more likely to reoccur if
there is a pleasant consequence
B. Acquiring an operant response
1. “Skinner Box”
2. Shaping – rewarding successive
approximations toward a goal
behavior
3. Extinction – responding stops in
the absence of a reward
4. Negative reinforcement –
aversive stimulus continues until
the desired response is made
5. Punishment – aversive stimulus
applied after an undesired
behavior
6. Positive reinforcement – reward
desired behaviors
C. Operant Reinforcers
1. Primary reinforcers – unlearned;
food, water, sex
2. Secondary reinforcers – all learned;
money, grades, praise
3. Tokens – secondary reinforcers
exchanged for primary reinforcers
4. Premack Principle – any frequent
response can be used to reinforce
an infrequent response
5. Chaining – response chains; a series
of behaviors must occur to get the
reward
Reverse chaining
6. superstitious behavior – reward has
nothing to do with the behavior, but it
is associated anyway
C. Partial Reinforcement
1. continuous reinforcement –
reward desired behavior every
time it occurs
2. partial reinforcement –
reinforcers do not follow every
correct response
3. partial reinforcement effect – any
schedule of partial reinforcement
will be more effective than
continuous reinforcement;
highly resistant to extinction
4. Schedules of partial
reinforcement
a. fixed ratio – reward after set
number of responses
b. variable ratio – number of
responses needed to get a
reward changes and is not
constant
c. fixed interval – reward given
after set amount of time
elapses
d. variable interval – amount of
time between rewards not
constant or set
D. Stimulus Control
Animals learn to respond to certain
stimuli
1. generalization – responding to
objects which are similar in the
same way
2. discrimination – responding to
specific stimuli, but ignoring
others, even if similar
IV. Conditioning
A. Two-Factor Learning
Classical and Operant Conditioning
are frequently seen to work together
B. Feedback – learning from seeing
your own performance
1. conditions for success
a. frequent
b. immediate
c. detailed
2. learning aids
a. programmed instruction
1. requires precise answers
2. gives frequent feedback
3. work at own pace
b. computer-assisted
instruction
1. rapid feedback
2. individually paced
C. types of instruction
1. drill and practice – instantly
provided correct answer
2. instructional games – stories,
competition, sound effects and
graphic to keep interest and
motivation
3. educational simulations – using
imaginary situations and seeing
how your solutions work out
V. Punishment
 reduces the probability that a
response will occur again
 must be given after the undesired
response
 what may be punishing for one may not
work for another
A. Effective punishment
1. timing – punish while undesired
response is occurring or ASAP
2. consistency – punish every time
undesired behavior occurs
3. intensity – sever punishment
usually produces more lasting
results
B. Using punishment
1. best in combination with
reinforcement
2. rules for punishing
a. don’t punish at all if you can
discourage the behavior
some other way
b. punish during or immediately
after misbehavior
c. use minimum punishment
necessary to suppress
behavior
d. be consistent
e. expect anger from the person
being punished
f. punish with kindness and
respect
C. Side effects of punishment
1. persons or situations associated
with punishment become feared
or disliked
2. escape learning – once an
aversive stimulus starts, the
animal will try to get away from it
3. avoidance learning – if there is
some type of warning, the animal
will avoid the aversive stimulus
4. aggression – punishment
produces pain, frustration or
both
VI. Cognitive Learning
Using higher mental processes to
understand, anticipate, and know
A. Cognitive maps – a mental
representation or layout for an
activity
B. Latent Learning – learning in the
absence of reward out of curiosity or
desire
C. Discovery learning – skills learned by
insight or understanding rather than
rote memorization
VII. Modeling
Albert Bandura
Observational Learning – process by
which information is imparted by
example before there is direct
experience
A. Observational Learning
1. Needed
a. attention
b. memory
c. ability to reproduce behavior
d. model is successful or
rewarded
e. appropriate model
f. reinforcement of the imitated
behavior
2. imitating models
a. adult aggression
1. live
2. taped
3. animated
b. “do as I say, not as I do” does
not work
3. T.V.
a. antisocial and illegal
behaviors
b. disinhibits violent behavior
c. inaccurate portrayal of life
d. in children
1. lower reading
development
2. lower creativity
3. stereotyped sex roles
4. increased physical and
verbal aggression
IV. Biofeedback
A. Based on the fact that humans can
learn to control activities thought to
be involuntary
B. Applications
1. headaches
2. lowering blood pressure
3. controlling heart rhythms
4. epileptic seizures
5. hyperactivity in children
6. insomnia
7. general relaxation