CHAPTER 5 – LEARNING
MODULE 5.1 CLASSICAL CONDITIONING: LEARNING THROUGH ASSOCIATION
After you have mastered the information in this unit, you will be able to:
 Define learning
 Describe classical conditioning Discuss the roles of extinction, spontaneous recovery, stimulus
generalization, discrimination, and higher-order conditioning in classical conditioning
 Explain the stimulus characteristics that strengthen conditioned responses
 Discuss the cognitive perspective on classical conditioning
 Provide some examples of classical conditioning in daily life
Key Terms and Concepts:
Learning
Extinction
Conditioned Emotional Reaction (CER)
Classical Conditioning
Spontaneous Recovery
Unconditioned Response (UR)
Reconditioning
Phobias
Unconditioned Stimulus (US)
Stimulus Generalization
Behavior Therapy
Neutral Stimulus (NS)
Stimulus Discrimination
Conditioned Taste Aversions
Conditioned Response (CR)
Higher-Order Conditioning
Immune System
Conditioned Stimulus (CS)
I.
Principles of Classical Conditioning
A.
Unconditioned stimulus (US)—stimulus that elicits a response from an organism with no
learning needed
B.
Unconditioned response (UR)—a response by an organism to a stimulus that is based on
reflexive behavior (no learning is needed)
C.
Neutral stimulus (NS)—a stimulus from the environment around the organism that does not
initially elicit the response in question
D.
Conditioned stimulus (CS)—a previously neutral stimulus; through pairing with
unconditioned stimulus comes to elicit conditioned response
E.
Conditioned response (CR)—a learned response; through pairing of CS with US becomes the
reaction to an initially neutral stimulus
F.
Extinction—conditioned (learned) response disappears when CS repeatedly presented
without pairing with the US
G.
Spontaneous recovery—conditioned response (CR) may reappear briefly if CS again
presented at a later time
H.
Reconditioning—the quicker relearning of a conditioned response after extinction
I.
Stimulus generalization—CR elicited; is in response to stimuli similar to CS
J.
Stimulus discrimination—CR not elicited; stimuli presented are unlike CS
K.
Higher-order conditioning—previously neutral stimulus comes to elicit CR (after being paired
with a CS that elicits the CR)
L.
Strengthening conditioned responses
1.
Frequency of pairings—the more often the CS is paired with the US, the stronger the
CR will be
2.
Timing—for strongest CR, CS must be presented first and remain during entire
presentation of US
3.
II.
III.
IV.
Intensity of US—stronger level of US will result in quicker conditioning than weak
presentation of US
Cognitive Perspective on Classical Conditioning
A.
Learning not just via CS/US pairing
B.
Rescorla’s research shows CS must be able to reliably predict occurrence of US (thus a
cognitive component in classical conditioning)
Examples of Classical Conditioning
A.
Study of “Little Albert” (conditioning of fear response)
1.
Eleven-month-old boy used as subject (Watson & Rayner, 1920)
2.
Initially not afraid of a white rat presented to him
3.
Did respond naturally with fear to a loud noise
4.
Rat (CS) presented with loud noise (US)—eventually Albert feared the white rat
5.
Albert’s fear generalized to other furry stimuli
B.
Phobias
1.
Excessive fears
2.
May be due to classical conditioning
3.
Behavior therapy—psychological treatment (such as for phobias) based on classical
conditioning principles
C.
Positive emotions—these also may be learned via association (classical conditioning)
D.
Drug cravings—environment (such as a bar, party, or drug-using friends) may trigger desire
for drug due to learned association
E.
Taste aversions—learned avoidance (such as of a food) due to prior unpleasant experience
with it (e.g., nausea or vomiting)
Conditioning the Immune System—animals’ immune systems were suppressed (CR) when they
drank a CS previously paired with an immune response suppressing drug (US)
MODULE 5.2 OPERANT CONDITIONING: LEARNING THROUGH CONSEQUENCES
After you have mastered the information in this unit, you will be able to:
 Explain Thorndike' Law of Effect
 Describe operant conditioning
 Discuss the different types of reinforcers
 Compare and contrast the schedules of reinforcement
 Explain how schedules of reinforcement are related to learning
 Discuss differences in the effects of reinforcement and punishment
 Describe applications of operant conditioning
Key Terms and Concepts:
Law of Effect
Negative Reinforcement
Schedule of Partial Reinforcement
Radical Behaviorism
Primary Reinforcers
Operant Conditioning
Secondary Reinforcers
Escape Learning
Operant Response
Shaping
Avoidance Learning
Reinforcer
Method of Successive Approximations
Punishment
Skinner Box
Behavior Modification
Superstitious Behavior
Schedules of Reinforcement
Token Economy Program
Discriminative Stimulus
Schedule of Continuous Reinforcement
Programmed Instruction
Positive Reinforcement
Computer-Assisted Instruction
I.
II.
III.
IV.
V.
VI.
VII.
VIII.
Thorndike and the Law of Effect
A.
Used animals for research because they were easier to study
B.
Was a student of William James at Harvard
C.
Learning occurs through trial and error
D.
No cognitive component; consequences “stamped in” successful responses
E.
Law of Effect: pleasant consequence increases likelihood behavior will be repeated;
unpleasant consequence decreases
B. F. Skinner and Operant Conditioning
A.
Limit study to observable behavior
B.
Radical behaviorism—all behavior (human and animal) determined by genetics and
environment
C.
Free will is an illusion, myth
D.
Operant conditioning (also called instrumental learning)—consequences of a behavior
determine probability of its recurrence
E.
Reinforcer—pleasant/desirable outcome; increases likelihood behavior will occur again
F.
Skinner box—for testing operant conditioning principles with animals
G.
Superstitious behavior—learned when random behavior is accidentally paired with a
reinforcing consequence
Principles of Operant Conditioning
A.
Discriminative stimuli—signals reinforcement is available if correct response produced by
organism
B.
Positive reinforcement—desirable stimulus introduced after response occurs
C.
Negative reinforcement—undesirable stimulus removed after response occurs
D.
Primary reinforcer—intrinsically reinforcing; satisfies a basic need
E.
Secondary reinforcer—reinforcing value (such as money) learned through association
F.
Shaping—application of successive approximations method
G.
Method of successive approximations—reinforcing broad or general attempts first; then
reinforcing closer and closer steps toward ultimate desired behavior
H.
Extinction—learned behaviors (responses) disappear if not ever paired with a reinforcer
Schedules of Reinforcement
A.
Continuous reinforcement
1.
Every desired response is followed by a reinforcer
2.
Behaviors are learned most quickly with continuous reinforcement
3.
Learned behaviors also most quick to extinguish this way
B.
Partial reinforcement (ratio = number of responses; interval = passage of time)
1.
Fixed-ratio (FR) schedule—reinforcement given after a set number of responses
(after every third, or sixth, or the like)
2.
Variable-ratio (VR) schedule
a.
Reinforcement based on number of responses; actual number varies
b.
Targeted number of responses is an average
c.
Example of VR schedule: slot machine
3.
Fixed-interval (FI) schedule—reinforcement given for desired response produced
after a set amount of time has passed
4.
Variable-interval (VI) schedule
a.
Reinforcement based on passage of time; actual length of time varies
b.
Targeted passage of time is an average
c.
Example of VI schedule: “pop” quizzes in class
Escape Learning—organism learns a behavior in order to escape an aversive stimulus
Avoidance Learning—organism learns a behavior in order to avoid an aversive stimulus
Punishment
A.
Something unpleasant follows a behavior
B.
Introduce an aversive stimulus or remove a pleasant one
C.
Objective: decrease occurrence of undesirable behavior(s)
Applications of Operant Conditioning
A.
B.
IX.
Biofeedback training
Behavior modification—target desired behaviors; strengthen through operant conditioning
(may use a token economy program)
C.
Programmed instruction—reinforce each step in a learning task
Exploring Psychology: Should Parents Use Punishment as a Method of Discipline?
A.
Drawbacks of punishment
1.
May suppress but does not eliminate undesirable behavior
2.
Does not teach more preferable behavior
3.
Can create anger, fear, lowered self-esteem
4.
Used frequently, may become out of control
5.
Does not model desirable behaviors for children (teaches might makes right)
B.
Best approach is to reinforce desirable behaviors
MODULE 5.3 COGNITIVE LEARNING
After you have mastered the information in this unit, you will be able to:
 Define cognitive learning
 Define insight learning
 Define latent learning
 Define observational learning
Key Terms and Concepts:
Cognitive Learning
Insight Learning
Latent Learning
Cognitive Map
Implicit Learning
Observational Learning
I.
Cognitive Learning
A.
Mental processes that cannot be directly observed
B.
Involves thinking, problem solving, mental imaging
C.
Learning without the experience of direct reinforcement
II.
Types of Cognitive Learning
A.
Insight learning
1.
Kohler’s (1927) research with chimpanzee Sultan—Sultan joins sticks to reach
bananas
2.
Problem solving did not occur with step-by-step approximations
3.
Involves the sudden realization of the solution to a problem (“Aha!”) while the
matter is being reworked mentally
B.
Latent learning
1.
Tolman and Honzik (1930) for 10 days do not reward some rats placed in a maze
2.
Eleventh day: now with a food reward, these rats run the maze with even fewer
errors than rewarded rats
3.
Apparent that unrewarded rats learned even though not reinforced
4.
Learning only evident when reinforcement provided later
5.
Cognitive map—mental representation of surrounding world (formed without actual
reinforcement)
6.
Implicit learning—new behaviors are learned without conscious effort
C.
Observational learning (vicarious learning)
1.
Learn from simply watching the behavior (and consequences) of others
2.
Practice and aptitude still very important
3.
Learning most likely to occur when model is similar to learner
4.
Learning most likely to occur when learner witnesses model’s behavior being
reinforced
MODULE 5.4 APPLICATION: PUTTING REINFORCEMENT INTO PRACTICE
After you have mastered the information in this unit, you will be able to:
 Outline the steps involved in putting reinforcement into practice
I.
II.
Applying Reinforcement—the following are useful steps when trying to influence behavior
A.
Identify specifically the target behavior you wish to strengthen
B.
Make sure requests and instructions are clear
C.
Choose a reinforcer that is meaningful to the individual you are working with
D.
Explain how the reinforcer (contingency) will be used once the behavior occurs
E.
Administer the reinforcer
1.
If the desired behavior appears, reward it immediately
2.
If the individual does not perform the behavior, demonstrate and help
3.
Pair the reinforcer with praise
F.
Track the pattern of the desired behavior—how often does it occur?
G.
Gradually wean the individual from the reinforcer, but continue to give praise
Tips for Giving Praise Effectively to Children—(Praise is a powerful social reinforcer)
A.
Make eye contact, smile, give hugs
B.
Connect praise to specific behavior; praise effort
C.
Be sincere and avoid empty flattery
D.
Avoid using same words each time
E.
Keep statements positive, don’t end with a negative comment