Learning: Principles
and Applications
Chapter 9
Examples of Learning
1. The cessation of thumb sucking by an infant.
2. The acquisition of language in children.
3. A computer program generates random opening moves for its first 100
chess games and tabulates the outcomes of those games. Starting with the
101st game, the computer uses those tabulations to influence its choice of
opening moves.
4. A worm is placed in a T maze. The left arm of the maze is brightly lit and
dry; the right arm is dim and moist. On the first 10 trials, the worm turns
right 7 times. On the next 10 trials, the worm turns right all 10 times.
5. Ethel stays up late the night before the October GRE administration and
consumes large quantities of licit and illicit pharmacological agents. Her
combined (verbal plus quantitative) score is 410. The night before
theDecember GRE administration, she goes to bed early after a
wholesome dinner and a glass of milk. Her score increases to 1210. Is the
change in scores due to learning?
6. A previously psychotic patient is given Dr. K’s patented
phrenological surgery and no longer exhibits any
psychotic behaviors.
7. A lanky zinnia plant is pinched back and begins to grow
denser foliage and flowers.
8. MYCIN is a computer program that does a rather good
job of diagnosing human infections by consulting a
large database of rules it has been given. If we add
another rule to the database, has MYCIN learned
something?
9. After pondering over a difficult puzzle for hours, Jane
finally figures it out. From that point on, she can solve
all similar puzzles in the time it takes her to read them.
10. After 30 years of smoking two packs a day, Zeb
throws away his cigarettes and never smokes again.
Learning Defined
Learning refers to the relatively permanent
change in a person’s behavior to a given
situation brought about by his (or her)
repeated experiences in that situation,
provided that the behavior change cannot be
explained on the basis of native response
tendencies, maturation, or temporary states of
the person or other animal (e.g., fatigue, drugs,
etc.).
- Hilgard and Bower
Classical Conditioning
Ivan Pavlov is known for coining
the term conditioning
-discovered by accident
 In classical conditioning a
person’s old response becomes
attached to a new stimulus
 Pavlov studied this in dogs
-food, salvation, bells

Classical Conditioning
Tuning fork was the neutral stimulus (does not
initially elicit any part of the unconditioned response
 Food was the unconditioned stimulus (an event that
leads to a certain, predictable response)
 Salivation was the unconditioned response (occurs
naturally and automatically when the unconditioned
stimulus is presented)
 Eventually the tuning fork became the conditioned
stimulus (once neutral event that elicits a given
response after training)
 The salivation then becomes the conditioned
response (learned reaction to a conditioned stimulus)

Classical Conditioning
Classical conditioning helps
animals and humans adapt to
the environment
 Classical conditioning is most
reliable and effective when the
conditioned stimulus was
presented just before the
unconditioned stimulus
 Have you been classically
conditioned?????

Classical Conditioning
Generalization occurs when an animal
responds to a second stimulus similar to
the original CS without prior training
 Discrimination-the ability to respond
differently to similar but distinct stimuli
 Classical conditioning is subject to change
-extinction: gradual disappearance of a
CR when the CS is repeatedly presented
without the UCS
 Car Accident

Classical Conditioning
Watson and Rayner used
conditioning in a case called Little
Albert
-fear rats by using a loud sound
 You go out to eat and you try
something new (ie snails). Then you
go to a loud concert. Later you get
violently ill, causing you to have a
taste aversion to that new food.

Case Study
 Please get with a partner
and open up your book to
page 249
 With your partner read
the case study on “Little
Albert” and answer the
questions
9-point scale from
1 = dislike extremely through
5 = neutral to 9 = like extremely
For the first four questions, dream up a bowl of your favorite soup, one that would
score an unqualified 9.
1. Now imagine that the soup was served to you in an ordinary bowl, but had been
stirred by a thoroughly washed, used flyswatter. How much would you like to eat
that soup?
2. If that flyswatter were brand new, how much would you like to eat the soup?
3. If the soup was first stirred with a thoroughly washed but used comb, how much
would you like to eat it?
4. If the soup was served in a thoroughly washed, used dog bowl, how much would
you like to eat it?
Now fantasize about your favorite cookie, again one that would rate a 9.
5. How much would you like to eat this cookie if you’d dropped it on the grass first?
6. How much would you like to eat it if a waiter had taken a bite first? An
acquaintance? a good friend?

Clearly, the association principle is everything when it comes to food.
The idea that something disgusting has been near a favorite dish puts most
people off, even when the food is germ-free. Here are Rozin’s results.

1. Eighty-two percent of Rozin’s participants rated the “clean-flyswatter
soup” a 4 or less; they would dislike eating it.
2. Fifty-eight percent disliked this bowl of soup. Since the flyswatter is brand
new, it has less of an association with insects. However, the idea that the
soup had been stirred by an object that might meet a fly in the future was
enough to make some people pass it up.
3. Seventy-six percent disliked this soup. Presumably, the thought of human
hair is slightly less disgusting than insect contamination.
4. Seventy-one percent disliked soup served in a dog bowl.
5. Only 34 percent would want to pass up this cookie. There’s no assurance
of perfect cleanliness, but grass itself has few negative associations for most
of us.
6. Eighty-four percent would reject this cookie after a waiter had taken a
bite. Only 31 percent would refuse it after an acquaintance had taken a bite,
and just 16 percent, if a friend had taken a bite.






Association

Findings by Cialdini
◦ Dr. Robert B. Cialdini is Regents’ Professor Emeritus of
Psychology and Marketing at Arizona State University. He
is best known for his book on persuasion and marketing,
Influence:The Psychology of Persuasion.
Examples of Common Conditioned
Responses
UCS
CS
UCR
CR
Drill
Dentist/sound of drill
Tension
Tension
Catchy jingle or slogan
Product (soda)
Favorable feeling
Favorable feeling
Speeding ticket
Flashing police car
lights
Distress
Distress
Let’s Review
What is the difference between a
neutral stimulus and an
unconditioned stimulus?
 How are generalization and
discrimination related to classical
conditioning?
 Under what conditions might a
conditioned response become
extinct?


Robert has been receiving chemotherapy. After
each session, Robert vomits. A year later, Robert’s
cancer has gone into remission, however, the mere
sight of a treatment room causes Robert to
become sick and vomit. This only happens in the
chemotherapy room.
UCS
UCR
CS
Receiving
Chemotherapy
Robert vomits
Sight of a
Sick and vomit
treatment room


CR
Extinction/
Generalization/Discrim
ination
Only happens in the
chemotherapy room
(Discrimination)
We have 10 examples. Create a chart on your
paper to complete these examples.
Not all examples will have something in the final
column.
1. Whenever you see a scary movie you feel scared.
Whenever you watch a scary movie, you always eat
a box of thin mints. Now you find that just seeing
thin mints makes you feel scared.
 2. Every time you take a shower, someone in the
house flushes the toilet causing the water to turn
cold. As a result, you become cold. Now every
time you hear a toilet flush, you get cold. The same
thing happens when you hear a faucet run.
 3. In order to treat bedwetting, a pad that is
sensitive to dampness is placed under the sheets.
When the pad becomes wet, it sounds an alarm and
you wakeup. Eventually, you don’t need the alarm
to wake up; rather, your full bladder will wake you
up.





4.Your significant other often yells at you and makes
you feel bad. When you see this person they make you
very angry so you decide to end the relationship.You
meet another person who looks like your ex. Although
they seems nice, you find yourself hating them for no
reason every time you are around them.
5. It is springtime and the pollen from the flowers
causes you to sneeze. Soon, when you see a flower, you
sneeze.
6. Jack goes to the doctor to have blood taken. When
the needle is inserted, Jack feels pain. Now, when Jack
sees a doctor he becomes uncomfortable. As it turn out,
Jack feels the same way whenever he sees someone in a
white lab coat.
7. Tim has a fluffy down pillow. Often, feathers stick
out of the pillow and they tickle Tim’s nose causing him
to sneeze. Now, each time Tim rests his head on the
pillow, he sneezes. This only happens when Tim sleeps
on his own pillow.
8. When you see food, you become very hungry.
Now, each time you walk into your kitchen, you
become hungry. After a while, you find yourself
becoming hungry anytime you walk into a kitchen.
 9.Your good friend, Joe, orders a meatball pizza. He
loves meatball pizza! He also decides to order a beer.
After dinner, Joe becomes very sick. Now, every
time Joe sees a meatball pizza, he gets a sick feeling
in his stomach. This only happens when Joe sees a
meatball pizza.
 10.You meet Jenny who is an excellent cook. She
cooks great meals and you enjoy them. After having
her bring your meals to you, you find that you like
her as much as you like the food.You only feel this
way around Jenny.

Classical Conditioning
Classical Conditioning
Operant Conditioning
1. Always a specific stimulus (UCS that elicits the
desired response
1. No identifiable stimulus; learner must first
respond, then behavior is reinforced
2. UCS doesn’t depend upon learner’s response
2. Reinforcement depends upon learners behavior
3. Learner responds to its environment
3. Learner actively operates on its environment
Operant Conditioning
 Operant conditioning-learning in
which a certain action is reinforced
or punished, resulting in
corresponding increases or
decreases in occurrence
 Operant conditioning is the study of
how voluntary behavior is affected
by its consequences
In his book The Power of Reinforcement, Stephen Ray Flora illustrates the superiority of reinforcement over punishment
even in teaching children the spelling of a simple word:
 Teacher: “Spell ‘cat’.”
 Student: “k-a-t.”
 Teacher: “No, wrong.”
In this example, suggests Flora, the teacher punishes both the student’s incorrect spelling and effort. The student is
provided no incentive to continue and may be at risk for developing learned helplessness.
 Teacher: “Spell ‘cat’.”
 Student: “k-a-t.”
 Teacher: “Nice try! That is very close! Please try again.”
In this interaction, the teacher identifies the incorrect spelling and reinforces the effort. The student is likely to try again.
However, the teacher has not identified what part of the answer is incorrect. The student’s next spelling might be “k-a-c,”
“c-e-t,” or “k-a-f.” Slow progress may frustrate both teacher and learner.
 Teacher: “Spell ‘cat’.”
 Student: “k-a-t.”
 Teacher: “Nice try! That is very close! Can you think of another letter that makes the ‘ka’ sound?”
 Student: “c”?
 Teacher: “That’s right! Now, spell ‘cat’.”
 Student: “c-a-t!”
 Teacher: “Super! Now spell ‘cat’ again.”
 Student: “c-a-t.”
 Teacher: “Great! ‘C-a-t’ spells cat. Give yourself another point.”
In this final example, the teacher (1) prompted the student to spell, (2) identified the incorrect spelling and reinforced
the child’s effort, (3) identified the location of the error and encouraged error correction, (4) reinforced error
correction and prompted spelling again, (5) reinforced the correct spelling a second time and repeated the correct
spelling. “As this example illustrates,” concludes Flora, “even teaching the spelling of a simple word may require many
embedded instructor-provided reinforcements. Effective teaching of any subject requires copious reinforcement
embedded in a lesson coupled closely to student behavior.”
Operant Conditioning
 Skinner is associated with operant
conditioning
-behavior is influenced by a person’s history
of rewards and punishments
-rats solve puzzles for food
 Food was the reinforcement (stimulus that
follows a response and increases the
likelihood that the response will be repeated
-positive or negative
Skinner Box
Operant Conditioning
Primary Reinforcer-stimulus that is
naturally rewarding, such as food or
water
 Secondary Reinforcer-stimulus such
as money that becomes rewarding
through its link with a primary
reinforcer
 Operant conditioning is heavily
influenced by timing and frequency

Which type of reinforcement(s)?
Positive, Negative, both
Primary or Secondary
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
“Good Work” is written on your English paper
Candy is given to the winner of Bingo
Food is stuck in your teeth so you floss
A bird pecks in the dirt to get a worm
Increases the frequency of behavior they follow
People tell you that you stink when you come
inside from smoking
Value must be learned
Increases the frequency of behavior when they
are removed
Operant Conditioning
 Behavior that is reinforced
every time if occurs is on a
continuous schedule of
reinforcement
 Behavior that is reinforced
intermittently is on a
partial schedule of
reinforcement
-more stable and last longer
Operant Conditioning
Fixed Ratio Schedule is when reinforcement depends on a
specified quantity of responses
-paid for every 10 pizzas made
 Variable Ratio Schedule is when the number of responses
needed for a reinforcement change from one time to the
next
-playing a slot machine
 Fixed Interval Schedule: a pattern of reinforcement in which
a specific amount of time must elapse before a response will
elicit reinforcement
-picking up your pay check
 Variable Interval Schedule : a pattern of reinforcement in
which changing amounts of time must elapse before a
response will obtain reinforcement
-pop quizzes in class

Which type of reinforcement
schedule?
9. You give your dog a treat occasionally when he sits on
command.
10. Only every five minutes will a rat get food for hitting
a lever.
11.Your little sister gets a new toy for every five times she
makes her bed before school.
12. The chicken may get seed every five times, or every
seven times, or any one time he pecks the keyboard.
13. A rat gets a treat for pressing a lever after five minutes
goes by and then not again until 8 minutes goes by and
then not again until 2 minutes goes by.
14. A squirrel gets an acorn every time he gets in the toy
car.
Operant Conditioning
Shaping is a process in which
reinforcement is used to sculpt
new responses out of old ones
 Response chain: learned
reactions that follow one
another in sequence, each
reaction producing the signal
for the next
-learning to swim

Remote Control Students!!!
Operant Conditioning


Aversive Control-process of influencing behavior by
means of unpleasant stimuli
Negative Reinforcement-increasing the strength of a
given response by removing or preventing a painful
stimulus when the response occurs
1) escape conditioning-training of an organism to
remove or terminate an unpleasant stimulus (after)
2) avoidance conditioning-training of an organism to
withdraw from or prevent an unpleasant stimulus
before it starts
(beginning)
Negative Reinforcement
Identify the aversive stimulus and the behavior
that is being strengthened by its removal.
1) Taking aspirin to relieve a headache.
2) Hurrying home in the winter to get out of
the cold.
3) Giving in to an argument or to a dog’s
begging.
4) Leaving a movie theater if a movie is bad.
5) Smoking in order to relieve anxiety.
Operant Conditioning
 Most obvious form of aversive control is
punishment
-unpleasant consequence occurs and decreases
the frequency of the behavior that produced it
 Escape or avoidance behavior is repeated
Punishment behavior isn’t repeated
 Aversive Control creates rage, aggression, fear,
avoidance, and doesn’t teach appropriate
behavior
To Help with Handout:
Flooding - treating phobias in which the patient is exposed
to painful memories or frightening stimuli until he or she
ceases to be anxious.
Example: An arachnophobic patient is locked in a room full of spiders
after discussing the treatment with her therapist and consenting to
it. She is initially terrified, but eventually relaxes when she realizes
that nothing bad is going to happen to her.


Systematic desensitization - client is exposed to the
threatening situation under relaxed conditions until the
anxiety reaction is extinguished

Counterconditioning - counterconditioning just means to
re-teach the individual or pet to have a pleasant feeling and
reaction toward something that he once feared or disliked.

Punishments and Rewards

What are your thoughts? Are punishments and
rewards good????
Let’s Review
Explain how the four schedules of
partial reinforcement work
 What is the difference between escape
conditioning and avoidance
conditioning
 How do positive and negative
reinforcement affect a teenager’s
choice and purchase of clothes?
Provide examples in your answer

Social Learning
 Social Learning is the process
of altering behavior by
observing and imitating the
behavior of others
 Cognitive learning focuses on
how information is obtained,
processed, and organized
Social Learning



Learned helplessness-achieved when
rewards come without effort
1) Less motivated to act
2) Have low self esteem
3) May be depressed
Latent Learning
Modeling is learning by imitating
others
-observational learning (imitation)
and disinhibition (observing a snake
handler can help a person with a
snake phobia)
Social Learning

Important elements of learned helplessness:
1) Stability-person’s belief that they are
helpless because of a permanent characteristic
(bad math test grade=never will be good at
math)
2) Globality- problem is either specific or
global
(I’m just dumb)
3) Internality-persons fault for failure
Social Learning
Behavior modification refers to
the systematic application of
learning principles to change
people’s actions and feelings
 Token Economy-conditioning in
which desirable behavior is
reinforced with valueless objects
with can be accumulated and
exchanged for valuable rewards

Social Learning – Self Control
 How can you help yourself
study better?
-Set up a personal system of
rewards and punishments
-Set up a behavior contract
 1) Go to a new place
2) Work only as long as you are
interested
Let’s Review
How is a token economy an
example of behavior
modification?
 How can you improve your
study habits through
conditioning?
 What principles of modeling
should parents consider when
rewarding and punishing their
children?

Steve
Steve is an atrocious, annoying, loud-mouthed, guy.
 He talks about himself all the time,
 He never listens,
 He only showers once a week (aka he smells),
 He frowns all the time
 He thinks worms are one of the best conversation topics
EVER!!!
He can’t get a date to save his life! Your job is to use
elements of classical conditioning, operant conditioning
and social learning to help teach Steve the appropriate
behaviors that will help him get a date.
~BE SPECIFIC about what behavior you are changing,
what type of learning you are using and the exact
procedure you will follow.