Chapter 9
Principles of Learning
Principles of Learning
You walk into a kitchen and smell your favorite food.
- What physically happens to you?
- What happens mentally?
What is learning?
Learning
- lasting changes in behavior that occur as a result of practice or past
experiences
- acquiring the ability to do something that you haven’t done before
- use an ability in a different way
Not all behavior is learned
- reflex
blinking when a puff of air hits your eye
crawling
changes in voice (adolescent boys)
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Classical Conditioning
Classical Conditioning
- learning situation in which a certain stimulus brings forth a response that it
did not previously evoke
- Ivan Pavlov
studies the salivating of dogs
How did the experiment work?
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Classical Conditioning
The Experiment
- a dog was placed in an apparatus that would measure the flow of
saliva when being presented with food
- a tube was attached to the mouth to measure saliva
- powdered meat was placed in the dogs mouth
Classical Conditioning
Pavlov’s Dogs
- Unconditioned Response (UCR): Flow of saliva
occurs normally with no learning necessary
- Unconditioned Stimulus (UCS): the meat
normal, unlearned agent for causing salivation
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Classical Conditioning
What is the natural response to each stimulus listed below? (What happens)
Stimulus -------------------------------------------------------------------Response
- a dog sees food ------------------------------>
- a baby hears a loud unfamiliar noise ------------------------>
- you put your hand on a lit candle --------------------------->
- your teacher yells at you ----------------------------->
Are the responses you wrote conditioned or unconditioned? Why?
Design your own example of an unconditioned stimulus followed by an
unconditional response (something you do automatically).
Stimulus: ____________________
Response:
Classical Conditioning
Pavlov’s Dogs
- Next, Pavlov rang a bell just and gave the dog the meat immediately after
- Then he sounded the bell without giving the dog the meat
he found that the dog still salivated even though the dog was not
given the meat
- Conditioned Stimulus (CS): sound of the bell
a new stimulus that originally did not cause a response
- Conditioned Response (CR): salivating at the sound of the bell
a similar response to a new stimuli
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Classical Conditioning
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hhqumfpxuzI (Pavlov’s Dogs)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nE8pFWP5QDM (The Office)
Classical Conditioning
In the following examples, the unconditioned stimulus is paired repeatedly with
a neutral stimulus. What is the response to the pair stimuli?
Unconditioned Stimulus +
Response
1. a dog sees food
=
2. a baby hears a loud
unfamiliar noise
3. a hand is raised to slap
your face
4. you put your hand on
a lit candle
Neutral Stimulus
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a bell rings
a toy appears
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a light flashes
a door slams
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Classical Conditioning
Are the responses you wrote conditioned or unconditioned? Why?
Design your own example of an unconditioned stimulus that is paired with a
neutral stimulus and generate a response.
USC _________________ + NS __________________= R
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Classical Conditioning
Conditioned Response
- What is the Conditioned Response (CR) to each of the conditioned
stimulus (CS)?
Conditioned Stimulus
Conditioned Response
1. the dog hears a bell --------------------->
2. a baby gets a toy ------------------------>
3. a light flashes ---------------------------->
4. a door slams ----------------------------->
5. your teacher taps a pencil ----------->
Are the responses you wrote conditioned or unconditioned? Why?
Design your own using your previous example.
HOMEWORK and QUIZ
WS: Learning to Learn
WS: Classical Conditioning Examples
QUIZ TOMORROW!
Classical Conditioning
Counter-Conditioning
- conditioning the stimulus to a different response
- used to get rid of certain, unwanted behaviors
- EX: alcohol - can be given a drug that makes a person nauseous
- criticized for NOT treating the cause, just the symptoms
EX: weight loss
Avoidance Conditioning
- when an organism is taught to to avoid a stimulus
Classical Conditioning
Baby Albert Experiment
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9hBfnXACsOI
Classical Conditioning
Extinction and Spontaneous Recovery
- extinction: when the learner stops responding to a stimuli
is not always permanent
o EX: War veterans
- spontaneous recovery: reappearance of the conditioned response
without reinforcement after a period of extinction
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Classical Conditioning
Reinforcement
- presenting the UCS immediately after the CS
- faster learning
- Intermittent Reinforcement: occasional rather than continuous
reinforcement
EX: Gambler
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Classical Conditioning
Intermittent Reinforcement Schedules
- ratio schedule: depends on the number of correct responses
2 types
o fixed ratio: reinforced after a set number of correct
responses (every 5th correct response)
o variable ratio: number of responses between
reinforcement varies
- interval schedule: reinforcement is determined between responses (TIME)
2 types
o fixed interval: response is reinforced after a set number
of times
o variable interval: time varies throughout the conditioning
process
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Classical Conditioning
Generalizations
- a conditioned response to stimuli similar to the original stimuli
EX: different tones to Pavlov’s dogs
Discrimination
- tendency to respond to a particular stimulus one way and respond to a
similar one another way
EX: the term “Daddy” being applied to a particular person
Operant Conditioning
Suppose you want to train your dog. How would you train your dog to sit? or
fetch?
Operant conditioning - strengthening a stimulus-response relationship by
following the response with reinforcement
Operant Conditioning
Classical Conditioning
Operant Conditioning
vs.
stimulus -> reinforcement -> response
reinforcement
stimulus -> response ->
Reinforcement is given before the
response
response and helps cause the response
Reinforcement followed a correct
Subject is passive and reacts only when a Subject is active and operates on the
stimulus is introduced
environment
Operant Conditioning
Programmed Learning
- an instruction method that uses the operant conditioning techniques of
presenting an organism with a stimulus
organism responds and receives reinforcement for a correct
response
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Video: Big Bang Theory
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mt4N9GSBoMI
Operant Conditioning
WS: Operant Conditioning
WS: How do we learn?
Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B8vIbuoktew
Operant Conditioning
Shaping Experiment
- I need a volunteer to leave the classroom for a minute….
- Shaping
the experimenter rewards an organism each time it makes a response
that is close to the desired response
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Reinforcement
Positive Reinforcement
- strengthens a response by its presence
- operant conditioning relies on reinforcement
Negative Reinforcement
- strengthens a response with its absence
- a reverse reward
Reinforcement
Secondary Reinforcement
- a stimulus that has been associated w/ something that satisfies a need
- EX: Money
to maintain a family, individuals must provide food, clothing,
shelter etc.
o Money does not give them these things but they can
buy the things with money
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Reinforcement
Role of Punishment
- Punishment: providing negative stimulus after a behavior has occurred