Classical Conditioning – when a person’s or animal’s old response becomes attached to
a new stimulus.
Learning – a relatively permanent change in behavioral tendency that results
from experience
What are some experiences that you have had that have changed
behavioral tendencies in you? Is all learning positive or can learning also be
negative changes in behavior?
Exercise: Conditioned Responses to Music Soundtracks (Think of some movie
soundtracks; what emotions are evoked from some of them? Are there some songs that
are attached to certain events in your life that evoke specific emotions in you? Take a
couple of minutes and write down the song, the emotion and why.)
1. Classical Conditioning
a) Neutral Stimulus (NS) – a stimulus that has nothing to do with the
response prior to conditioning
b) Unconditioned Stimulus (UCS) – an event that leads to a certain,
predictable response, without any previous training
c) Unconditioned Response (UCR) – a reaction that occurs naturally
and automatically when the unconditioned stimulus is
presented, a reflex
d) Conditioned Stimulus (CS) – a neutral event that elicits a given
response after training when paired with a UCS
e) Conditioned Response (CR) – a learned reaction to a conditioned
Stimulus
f) Classical conditioning helps people and animals adapt to a new
environment, also to avoid danger
g) The acquisition of a CR occurs gradually not all at once
Ivan Pavlov’s Experiment
2. Generalization and Discrimination
a) Generalization – when an animal responds to a second stimulus
that is similar to the original CS without prior training
i. Circle and then an Oval
b) Discrimination – the ability to respond differently to different
stimuli
3. Extinction and Spontaneous Recovery
a) Extinction – the gradual disappearance of a CR when the CS is
presented without the UCS
b) Spontaneous Recovery – when the CR reappears without the UCS
appearing with the CS
4. Classical Conditioning and Human Behavior
a) Baby Albert (Page 249 Case Study)
i. John B. Watson and Rosalie Rayner
ii. The Development of emotional responses in children
iii. Very unethical
b) Bed Wetting
i. Bell and Pad
ii. When the first drop hits the sheets, an alarm goes off
waking the child
c) Taste Aversions – becoming ill after you’ve eaten something.
i. Even if the food hasn’t caused the sickness, you may still
attribute the illness to the food and thus that food
will cause you to feel nauseated when thinking
about it or seeing it
ii. Teacher/student examples
Dr. Zimbardo Video #8
Section 1 Review
Operant Conditioning – learning from the consequences of our behavior
Depending on the effect of these behaviors, the learner will repeat or eliminate
these behaviors (get rewards or avoid punishment)
Differs from Classical condition in two ways
1. The learner must behave in a certain way that produces some
consequence. The learner must take an active role.
2. Learning occurs with automatic, reflexive behaviors as well as a
wide range of voluntary behaviors
B.F. Skinner popularized this type of conditioning with his research
Reinforcement
1. Reinforcement – a stimulus or event that increases the likelihood that behavior
will be repeated
a) Primary and Secondary Reinforcers
i. Stimuli that are associated with receiving rewards or punishment
ii. Primary reinforcers – one that satisfies a biological need such as
sleep, hunger or thirst
iii. Secondary reinforcers – is one that when paired with a primary
reinforcer and through classical conditioning has acquired
value and reinforcement
2. Schedules of Reinforcement (chart on page 254)
a) A stimulus or event that affects the likelihood that a behavior will be
repeated
b) Schedules of Reinforcement
i. Fixed-ratio schedule – reinforcement depends on a specific quantity
of responses, such as rewarding every fourth response
a. Car dealer gets $100 for every 5 cars sold
ii. Variable-ratio schedule – requires that an average number of
responses be made for each reinforcement
a. Playing the slots at a casino
iii. Fixed-interval schedule – reinforcement is available after a predetermined time. Hours, minutes, days but always the same
a. Getting paid every 2 weeks
iv. Variable-interval schedule – the time at which a reinforcer will be
available varies throughout the conditioning procedure.
a. Pop quizzes
3. Shaping and Chaining
a. Shaping – a process in which reinforcement is used to sculpt new
responses out of old. Example: teaching someone to do something it
has never done before and would never do if left to itself.
b. Response Chains– in order to learn a skill, a person must be able to
put various new responses together (responses that follow one
another in a sequence). Each response produces the signal for the
next one
4. Factors that affect learning
a. Feedback – finding out the results of an action or performance
Without it you may repeat the same mistakes over and over, thus
developing a skill incorrectly
b. Transfer
i. Positive transfer - when previously learned responses help you learn a
new task
ii. Negative transfer – when a previously learned task hinders learning
c. Practice – the repetition of a task
Also can use mental practice to improve things without physical
intervention or interaction
5. Aversive Controls
a. Unpleasant consequences to certain behavioral learning
b. Two types aversive stimuli - negative reinforcers and punishers
c. Negative reinforcement – a painful or unpleasant stimulus is removed or is
not applied at all if a certain kind of behavior occurs. This removal of
unpleasant consequences increases the frequency of a behavior.
There are two types:
i. Escape conditioning – the behavior a person engages in causes an
unpleasant event to stop
ii. Avoidance conditioning – the person’s behavior has the effect of
preventing an unpleasant situation from happening
d. Punishment – stopping a behavior by linking it with an action. These
actions (spank, etc.) are punishers
i. An unpleasant consequence occurs and decreases the frequency of
the behavior that produced it
e. Differences between the negative reinforcement and punishment
Negative reinforcement – escape or avoidance behavior is repeated
Punishment – behavior that is punished is not repeated
f. Disadvantages to using aversive stimuli in changing behavior
Can produce unwanted side effects such as rage, aggression and fear
People learn to avoid the person delivering the aversive consequences
g. Punishment is likely to suppress rather than eliminate behaviors
Section 2 Review
Learning behaviors through people modeling behaviors. Social learning
theorists view learning as purposeful, going beyond mechanical responses to
stimuli or reinforcement: Bobo the Clown discussion and video clip
1. Cognitive Learning
a. Cognitive Learning – focuses on how information is obtained, processed
and organized
i. Concerned with the mental processes involved in learning
ii. Cognitive Map – a mental picture of a place or event
iii. Latent Learning – learning not demonstrated by an immediate
observable change in behavior at the time of learning
2. Learned Helplessness
a. Learned Laziness – if rewards come without effort, a person never learns to
work
b. Learned Helplessness – if pain comes no matter how hard someone tries a
person gives up, or if repeated attempts to control a situation fails, the
subject believes that the situation is uncontrollable
i. Believed to be a major cause of depression
ii. Elements of learned helplessness
a. temporary (sick)
b. stability (never will be good)
c. global (subject is just dumb)
a. 2 and 3 are internal
d. external (that was just a bad test)
3. Modeling
a. 3 Types Modeling
i. Modeling – the behaviors of others increases the chances that we will
do the same thing
ii. Observational Learning – imitation
iii. Disinhibition – when an observer watches someone else engage in a
threatening activity without being punished, the observer may find it
easier to engage in that behavior later
4. Behavior Modification
a. Behavior Modification- the systematic application of learning principles
(classical/operant conditionings and social learning) to change
people’s actions and feelings
3 Types of Behavior Modification
i. Computer Assisted Instruction (CAI)
a. Based on Operant Conditioning
b. Breaking down information into smaller units
c. Response chains
ii. Token Economies
a. Children receive secondary reinforcers for
positive things (grades, behavior)
b. Cash in tokens for rewards
iii. Self Control
a. Statistically keep track of behaviors
b. Set up a behavioral contract
aa. Choose a reinforcer and make it depend upon
something
Section 3 Review
Chapter 9 Study Guide
Chapter 9 Review Quiz
Chapter 9 Test