chapter 9
Learning
chapter 9
Overview
Classical conditioning
Classical conditioning in real life
Operant conditioning
Operant conditioning in real life
Learning and the mind
chapter 9
Watson’s extreme
environmentalism
“Give me a dozen healthy infants, well-formed, and my
own special world to bring them up in, and I’ll
guarantee to take any one at random and train him to
be any type of specialist I might select—doctor, lawyer,
artist, merchant-chief, and yes, beggar-man and thief,
regardless of his talents, penchants, tendencies,
abilities, vocations, and race of his ancestors.”
chapter 9
Definitions
Learning
A relatively permanent change in behavior due to experience
Behaviorism
An approach to psychology that emphasizes the study of observable
behavior and the role of the environment as a determinant of behavior
Conditioning
The association between environmental stimuli and the organism’s
responses
objectives
• Describe learning and compare and contrast
behavior and cognitive learning
• Summarize who Ivan PAVLOV IS
• Create Pavlov's experiment using acronyms
• List (4) principals of Classical conditioning
Learning definition
• A process through which experience produces
a lasting change in behavior or mental
process.
• First- needs a lasting change
• See a needle then get injection.
• Next time you see a needle, expect pain=
learned
• Second how can you tell mental process?
Behavioral Learning vs. Cognitive Learning
• Behavioral Focus only on observable stimuli
and responses
• Cognitive- Hidden mental processes with
behavior
Ivan Pavlov 1849-1936
Pavlov info
• Does not like structuralism and functionalists
• Nobel Prize winner, dietician before training
• Was working on digestion then began
researching salivation
• Found dogs would salivate BEFORE food got to
their mouths. Or just hearing footsteps of lab
assistants bringing food
Essentials of Classical Conditioning
• Pavlov focused on reflexes; blinking, salvation
• Reflexive responses can be associated with
new stimuli
• FOR EXAMPLE: Pavlov rang a dinner bell then
gave dog a bit of food
• After a while dog would salivate from the bell
Pavlov's first factor
• Neutral stimulus- Light or bell
• Paired with natural reflex-producing stimulus
(food) Will produce a learned response
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Classical conditioning
The process by which a previously neutral stimulus acquires the
capacity to elicit a response through association with a stimulus
that already elicits a similar response
chapter 9
New reflexes from old
Unconditioned stimulus (US)
Elicits a response in the absence of
learning
Unconditioned response (UR)
The reflexive response to a stimulus in
the absence of learning
Acquisition- Initial learning phase
• Unconditioned Stimulus (US) stimulus that
automatically provokes a reflexive responseFood
• Unconditioned response ( UR)- Saliva
• US-UR= Not learned
chapter 9
New reflexes from old
A neutral stimulus is then regularly paired with an
unconditioned stimulus.
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New reflexes from old
Conditioned stimulus (CS)
An initially neutral stimulus that comes
to elicit a conditioned response after
being paired with an unconditioned
stimulus
Conditioned response (CR)
A response that is elicited by the
conditioned stimulus
Occurs after the CS has been associated
with the US
Is usually similar to the US
Classical Conditioning
• Conditioned stimulus- (CS) Formally neutral
stimulus. ( Tone or sound)
• Salivation now a conditioned response (CR)
chapter 9
Your turn
You are visiting a house to see if you want to buy it. When you
step through the front door, you are met with the smell of
oatmeal chocolate chip cookies—just like your grandmother
used to make. Suddenly you find yourself feeling that this house
is a warm and friendly place. In this scenario, what is the CS?
1.
2.
3.
4.
The smell of oatmeal chocolate chip cookies
The new house
Your grandma
The feeling of warmth and friendliness
chapter 9
Your turn
You are visiting a house to see if you want to buy it. When you
step through the front door, you are met with the smell of
oatmeal chocolate chip cookies—just like your grandmother
used to make. Suddenly you find yourself feeling that this house
is a warm and friendly place. In this scenario, what is the CS?
1.
2.
3.
4.
The smell of oatmeal chocolate chip cookies
The new house
Your grandma
The feeling of warmth and friendliness
chapter 9
Principles of classical
conditioning
Extinction
Higher-order conditioning
Stimulus generalization
Stimulus discrimination
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Extinction
The weakening and eventual
disappearance of a learned
response
In classical conditioning, it occurs
when the conditioned stimulus is
no longer paired with the
unconditioned stimulus.
1st principal of classical conditioning
• Extinction- Occurs when a conditioned
response is eliminated by repeated
presentations of the CS (bell) without the UCS
(food)
• For example- you ring the bell then withhold
the food. After time you stop salivating
chapter 9
Higher-order conditioning
A neutral stimulus can become a conditioned
stimulus by being paired with an existing
conditioned stimulus.
Stimulus Generalization
• If you fear spiders, you probably respond the
same way to spiders of all sizes and markings
• Pavlov’s dogs responded the same to different
sounding bells
Discrimination Learning
• Occurs when an organism learns to respond to
one stimulus but not the stimuli that are
similar
• For example you salivate when you hear Ice
Cream Truck bell. HOWEVER you do not
salivate at the door bell ringing.
• Pavlov used tones with different frequencies
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Stimulus discrimination
The tendency to respond differently to two or more similar
stimuli
In classical conditioning, occurs when a stimulus similar to
the conditioned stimulus fails to evoke a conditioned
response
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What is learned in
classical conditioning?
For classical conditioning to be most effective, the
stimulus to be conditioned should precede the
unconditioned stimulus.
We learn that the first stimulus predicts the second.
Summary
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Learning terms
Pavlov
Experiments
Principals