Myers’ PSYCHOLOGY
(7th Ed)
Chapter 8
Learning
James A. McCubbin, PhD
Clemson University
Worth Publishers
1
Learning:
p. 308
Learning: relatively
permanent change in an
organism’s behavior due
to experience
Shapes
thoughts
language
motivations
attitudes
Personalities
 emotions
 Even the simplest of
species learn by
associating 2 things2
Association
 We learn by association
 Association: how our minds naturally connect
events that occur in sequence
 How we associate 1 thing with another thing that
happens AFTER it
 Aristotle 2000 years ago & John Locke & David
Hume 200 years ago knew about learning from
association…
 Associative Learning
 learning that two events occur together…expecting
2nd thing to happen if the 1st happens
 two stimuli = a response & its consequences
3
 1) Lightening  2) BOOOM!!! = fear (Response)
Association:
Can be automatic
OR by choice
Event 1
Event 2
Sea snail associates splash with a tail shock
Seal learns to expect a snack for its showy antics
 Learning to
associate 2
events
 Snail: just water,
will habituate
 If shock added,
response is
stronger &
continues…
 Get automatic
response
 Seals: chooses to
do something to
gain something
b/c associates
reward w/ some
activity
(SL 46... eyes!)
4
Classical or Pavlovian
(associative) Conditioning

Learning to
associate 2
stimuli (flash
+ BOOM)
 Conditioning:
process of
learning
associations
3 types:
1. Classical
conditioning
(involuntary)
2. Operant
conditioning
3. Observational
learning if
voluntary
(2 & 3 =
voluntary)5
Operant Conditioning
 We learn to
associate a
response & its
consequence
 If we do
something,
we cause
something
else to
happen
6
Classical Conditioning
 Ivan Pavlov
 1849-1936
 Russian physician/
neurophysiologist
 Nobel Prize in 1904
 Studied digestive
secretions
(salivating reflex)
in animals…
especially using
dogs
7
Classical Conditioning
 Pavlov’s device for
recording salivation
8
Classical Conditioning: Basic Terms
 Unconditioned Stimulus (UCS…aka…US)
 stimulus that unconditionally--automatically and
naturally--triggers a response
 Unconditioned Response (UCR…aka…UR)
 unlearned, naturally occurring response to the
unconditioned stimulus
 salivation when food is in the mouth
 Neutral stimulus (NS): originally irrelevant stimulus
that, after association with an unconditioned stimulus,
becomes the conditioned stimulus
 CONDITIONED Stimulus (CS) & triggers a
conditioned response
 Conditioned Response (CR): learned response to
a previously neutral conditioned stimulus
9
Pavlov’s Classic Experiment:
UCS, UCR; NS; CS, CR
(note: NS not in yr bk but does show up)
Before Conditioning
UCS (food
in mouth)
UCR
(salivation)
During Conditioning
Neutral
stimulus
(tone)
No
salivation
After Conditioning
UCS (food
in mouth)
Neutral
stimulus
(tone)
UCR
(salivation)
CS
(tone)
CR (salivation)
10
 Classical Conditioning
 organism comes to associate two stimuli
 a neutral stimulus (NS) that signals an unconditioned
stimulus begins to produce a response that
anticipates and prepares for the unconditioned
stimulus
 UCS = UCR (naturally occurring)
 NS = no response at 1st
 UCS + NS = UCR
then CS = CR
For Pavlov’s dog & salivation on the board: ID the
following:
UCS
Food
=
UCS +
Food
UCR
saliva
(NS)
bell
=
NS = bell
UCR
then
saliva
CS =
bell
CR
saliva
11
Behaviorism: Look at observable
behaviors ONLY  John B. Watson: Watson was 1
of very 1st behaviorists
 Developed the with the terms
“behaviorism” & “behaviorist”
relating to this type of study
 Viewed psychology as
objective science
 Psychologists still agree
w/ this today
 recommended study of
behavior w/o reference to
unobservable mental processes
 This is Not still accepted
by all psych schools of
thought today
(cognition? emotion?)
12
Neat little trick! 
13
Classical Conditioning
 Acquisition: You acquire (gain) an
association
Initial (1st) stage in classical
conditioning
 Phase associating a neutral stimulus (NS)
with an unconditioned stimulus (UCS) so that
the NS begins to elicit (bring on) a
conditioned response (CR)
 It is how you paired UCS + NS to get CS
 In operant conditioning, the strengthening of
a reinforced response
14
Acquisition of sexual response to
onion breath!! 
UCS
(passionate
kiss)
UCR
(sexual
arousal
)
CS
(onion
breath)
UCS
(passionate
Kiss)
CS
(onion
breath)
CR
(sexual
arousal)
UCR
(sexual
arousal)
15
Conditioning
 Extinction
 Getting rid (diminishing) of a CR
 in classical conditioning, when a UCS
does not follow a CS…may be 1
time…or more…lessens then stops
EX: Dog hears footsteps (bell, etc…..)
but does NOT get the conditioning
stimulus…like the food
 in operant conditioning, when a
response is no longer reinforced
16
Classical Conditioning
 Spontaneous Recovery
 reappearance, after a rest period, of an
extinguished (or extincted) CR
 Generalization
 tendency for stimuli similar to CS to elicit
similar responses
 Discrimination:
only responding to a specific
stimulus
- “can tell the difference between…”
 in classical conditioning, the learned ability to
distinguish between a CS and other stimuli
that do not signal a UCS
17
Classical
Conditioning
Strength
of CR
Acquisition
(CS+UCS)
Extinction
(CS alone)
Spontaneous
recovery of
CR
Extinction
(CS alone)
Pause
18
Generalization
Drops of saliva
in 30 seconds
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
Pelvis
Hind
paw
Thigh
Shoulder
Trunk
Part of body stimulated
Front
paw
Foreleg
19
Nausea Conditioning in Cancer Patients:
Taste Aversion comes from associating
last food ingested (or a situation) b4 throwing
up… learns to avoid that food…or situation
UCS
(drug)
UCR
(nausea)
CS
(waiting
room)
CS
(waiting
room)
UCS
(drug)
UCR
(nausea)
CR
(nausea)
20
Classical conditioning in Cancer patients:
How our brain makes a biological
connection:
Taste Aversion
21
Pavlov’s legacy:
Why it’s still important today:
1) classical conditioning: 1 way that virtually
all organisms learn to adapt to their
environments
2) showed how a mental process such as
learning can be studied objectively, & this
provided a scientific model of isolating
elementary building blocks of complex
behaviors & studying them w/ objective lab
procedures
---------------
Real EX’s: of Classical conditioning:
*Baby w/ intense nausea *“Our song!”
*Anabuse (w/ alcohol)
*good food + flu = ugh!
22
Biological Predispositions: Certain
animals are affected more quickly &
strongly by certain things that help them
to learn to adapt to their environments
-Rats: taste aversion
-Birds: sight aversion
23
Practice:
ID in each given situations
UCS UCR
1. Little Albert
NS CS CR :
2. Ms. Uptight yells at Mary. Now when M. comes to
class, she gets nervous, feels nauseated, & her palms
get sweaty
3. Tom & Ernie think it would be funny to train their
brother’s horse to jump and buck when he hears
“Whoa!”
HOW would they do this??? And ID each of the 5
above…
?: What is the MAJOR way in which Classical & Operant
Conditioning vary?
(V?)
24
Scaring the birds!
“Copying” poisonous or
dangerous animals ...
25
Operant Conditioning
 behavior strengthened if followed by
reinforcement OR diminished (lessened) if
followed by punishment
 Person makes a choice to do something in
order to get something or to avoid something
 Law of Effect
 Thorndike’s principle: rewarded behaviors
are more likely to recur.
 Then Skinner developed “behavior
technology,” that outlined principles of
behavior control
 Thorndike came up with a way to show
this…Thorndike’s Puzzle Box (See DMA: 8) 26
 Operant Behavior: operates (acts) on
environment to produce consequences
 Respondent Behavior (like Pavlov)
 occurs as an automatic response to stimulus
 behavior learned through classical
conditioning is respondent
 Which is which?
Ask: Voluntary response
or an involuntary response?
O or R?
EX’s: -Be quiet for 30 min.?
-Shriek at a loud sound?
-Get nauseated smelling a food that
made you sick once?
-Study harder to pull up a grade?
27
Operant Conditioning
 B.F. Skinner (1904-1990):
most famous of behaviorists
 elaborated Thorndike’s
Law of Effect
 developed behavioral
technology (equipment)
EX: the operant
chamber (Skinner box)
to study responses of
animals
 Wrote Walden Two:
perfect society using
operant principles…also
wrote Beyond Freedom
& Dignity
28
Operant Chamber
 Skinner Box:
Operant chamber
 chamber with a bar
or key that an animal
manipulates to
obtain a food or
water reinforcer
 contains devices
(bar, light, button,
etc.) to record
responses & counter
to keep a record of
responses
 frequently used w/
29
rats & pigeons
Operant Conditioning
Reinforcer: an event that strengthens the behavior it follows
Shaping: operant conditioning procedure in which reinforcers
guide behavior toward closer approximations of a desired goal
-little by little, step by step, w/ small rewards (reinforcers)
along the way until you get the behavior you want
30
Chaining: putting together, in a series, different tasks
that have been shaped, to form a longer task…
*P. 324: Read & find 2 EX’s on that page of shaping
(See DMA: # 9)
31
Operant Conditioning
(p. 325..note a few differences)
32
 Punishment: NOT negative reinforcement!
 aversive event that decreases the behavior that it
follows
 powerful controller of unwanted behavior (p. 328)
33
34
Principles of Reinforcement:
A “Contingency of Reinforcement”
 Primary Reinforcer: innately (?) reinforcing
stimulus….i.e., satisfies a biological need
 Conditioned Reinforcer (a.k.a. secondary reinforcer)
 stimulus that gains its reinforcing power through its
association with primary reinforcer
Schedules of Reinforcement
Continuous Reinforcement
 reinforcing the desired response each time it occurs
 Do 1, get 1
Partial (Intermittent) Reinforcement
 reinforcing a response only part of the time
 results in slower acquisition (takes longer)
35 !)
 But…greater resistance to extinction (stays stronger
Schedules of Reinforcement
 Fixed Ratio (FR)
 reinforces a response only after a specified number
of responses
 faster you respond the more rewards you get
 different ratios
 very high rate of responding
 EX: piecework pay: make 3 dresses, get $5; buy 5
get 1 free
 Variable Ratio (VR)
 reinforces a response after an unpredictable number
of responses
 average ratios
 EX: gambling; or …. maybe…fishing (casts)?
 very hard to extinguish because of unpredictability:
36
…we tend to keep on trying to get it again
Schedules of Reinforcement
 Fixed Interval (FI)
 reinforces a response only after a specified time has
elapsed
 response occurs more frequently as the anticipated
time for reward draws near
 EX: paycheck
 Variable Interval (VI)
• reinforces a response at unpredictable time intervals
• produces slow steady responding
• EX: pop quiz…or fishing (time sitting)?
37
38
Skinner’s 4 Schedules of Reinforcement:
Each black “tic” = a reinforcer
RATIO = gets higher # responses than Interval….
And VARIABLE (unpredictable) = higher than Fixed
Number of
responses
1000
Fixed Ratio
Variable Ratio
Fixed Interval
750
Rapid responding
near time for
reinforcement
500
Variable Interval
250
Steady responding
0
10
20
30
40
50
Time (minutes)
60
70
80
39
40
A Question Answered from AP Psy Listserv:
Is a kid’s “time-out” negative reinforcement OR negative
punishment”… What do YOU think??
Some students might consider "time out" a negative
reinforcement technique, but traditional time out is not
actually a negative reinforcement technique. Sitting a child in a
chair in the corner for a period of time is really omission
training--depriving that child of something he or she wants in
order to teach them not to do the undesired behavior.
Omission training is a form of punishment--not reinforcement.
If getting out of time out were tied to a behavior, then it would
qualify as negative reinforcement. EX: if kids can get out of
time out if they agree to comply with parental requests,
then they would be negatively reinforced to be compliant.
If time out were used as a negative reinforcement technique, then
it would be a more powerful behavior modification technique.
(See p.231)
41
What does each pic have
to do w/ operant
conditioning?
Training Lions
Training Rats
Training Men…

42
Learned Helplessness
Learned helplessness was discovered accidentally by psychologists
Martin Seligman and Steven F. Maier
They initially observed helpless behavior in dogs classically
conditioned to expect an electrical shock after hearing a tone.
Later, the dogs were placed in a shuttlebox with 2 chambers
separated by a low barrier.
Floor was electrified on one side, but not on the other.
Dogs previously subjected to the classical conditioning made no
attempts to escape, even though they could avoid shock simply by
jumping over the low barrier.
In People: EX: child who performs poorly on math tests &
assignments quickly begins to feel nothing he does will have an
effect on his math performance.
Later when faced with math-related tasks, he may experience a
sense of helplessness.
43
Learned Helplessness: WHY even TRY???
44
Cognition & Operant
Conditioning
 Intrinsic Motivation
 Desire to perform a behavior for its own sake
 Comes from something inside of us driving us
 Extrinsic Motivation
 Desire to perform a behavior due to some
possible rewards …or punishments
 Comes from something outside (ex-) driving
us
45
Biological Predispositions (p. 331): like
Classical Conditioning, the ability to be
trained a certain way has limits…
….Ya’ can’t teach pigs to fly… 
Hamsters: Why is it easier to get it to
dig or stand on hind legs than to wash
its face even though it does all
naturally?
What are the biological predisposition of
the following?
Rats?
Cats?
Pigs?
See: Problem w/ pigs & instinctive drift?
46
Skinner’s legacy:
Critics: He dehumanized ppl by saying we could “train”
them to behave however we wanted using
reinforcements…
Also in Beyond Freedom & Dignity -- he didn’t accept
concept of “free-will”…our choices
He completely rejected cognitive psychology as any form
of science…believed it was a newer form of Wilhelm
Wundt’s (“father of psych:” 1st psych lab ,1879: “birthday of psy”)
ideas of introspection, which had been totally
discounted
1) At school: said using computers to teach lets each kid
work at his own pace & reinforces automatically (“Good
job! Go to the next problem!” “Try that one again...”)
2) Techniques at work?
3) At home?
47
Operant vs Classical Conditioning p.335
Note: is Table 8.3 , not 8.2 KNOW this!
48
Observational Learning
 aka “Social Learning”
 learning by observing others
 Modeling
 process of observing and imitating a specific
behavior (Role models)
 Albert Bandura (t-337) (DMA # 11 -Bobo doll)
 Pro-social Behavior
 positive, constructive, helpful behavior
 opposite of antisocial behavior
49
Observational Learning
 Mirror Neurons
 Frontal lobe neurons that fire when we
perform certain actions…
 BUT these also fire when observing
another performing the actions
 Monkey see, monkey do?
 May enable imitation, language learning, and
empathy
Remember the BoBo Doll ... DMA
50
….An individual is likely to act in the same ways that
others act.
…Is seen…. benefit for sports training
….watching experts perform.
51
MIRROR Neurons:
Babies will copy
adults…
Also…remember the
video of one baby
starting to cry…
then another…
& another…
& another… until all
crying?
What were they
showing?
(“E-word???”)
52
53
Over-justification Effect:
Effect of promising
a reward for doing
what we enjoy doing,
such as volunteering
…or a hobby
It then becomes an
extrinsic reward
(you now expect a
reward), not the
intrinsic reward
(b/c I enjoy
it/makes me feel
good) interest, as
motivation
54
Cognition & Operant Cond.
Skinner resisted idea of cognitive learning ,
(figuring out stuff, using past experience &
making new connections…EX: McGyver?)
 Cognitive Map: E.C. Tolman: cogn. learning
 mental representation of the layout of our
environment (DMA velephants 10A video)
 Ex: after rats exploring a maze, then seem to have
developed a cognitive map (DMA 10B video)
 Latent Learning:
Learning occurs, but we don’t realize it until there is
incentive to demonstrate it
(“I just picked it up”)
55
Latent Learning: cuts # of errors
56
Cognitive learning(aka
& Latent learning
Insight)
 Cognitive maps (E.C. Tolman)
EX: Using map & figuring new route
if obstacles block your usual way
 ”Eureka!/AHA!” moments...
 “McGyver” learning: Taking previous info & thru
trial/error, learning new behaviors that work
better
This is a newer aspect—and it ties
operant (previous learning) + observational + thinking
b/c it requires previous learning in order to occur.
57
Which kind of Conditioning is this below?
Explain your answer!
 Darken the room as much as possible if you have outside
windows. Divide into pairs. Watch partner's pupils as you
turn out the lights in the room.
 Ask them what’s expect to be seen. MOST ppl likely to say ,
"Nothing, because it will be dark."
To condition pupils to expand before the lights go out:
• Say "Ready“
• Pause a few seconds, then shut off the lights.
• After 7 or 8 repetitions, should see partner's pupils
enlarge before the lights go out.
58