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Chapter Overview
 Basic Concepts and Classical Conditioning
 Operant Conditioning
 Biological Constraints on Conditioning
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Basic Learning Concepts and Classical
Conditioning
 What is learning?
 Process of acquiring through experience new information
or behaviors
 How do we learn?
 Through association: Certain events occur together
(Classical conditioning); Stimuli that are not control are
associated and response is automatic (respondent
behavior)
 Through consequences: Association between a response
and consequences is learned (Operant conditioning)
 Through acquisition of mental information that guides
behavior: Cognitive learning
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Classical Conditioning
 Watson
 Influenced by Pavlov
 Theoretical goal of science of psychology is prediction
and control of behavior
 Behaviorism
 Psychology (1) should be an objective science that
(2) studies behavior without reference to mental
processes.
 Most research psychologists today agree with (1) but
not with (2).
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Classical Conditioning
 Pavlov
 Studied digestive system; first Russian Nobel Prize
(1904)
 Demonstrated associative learning via salivary
conditioning
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Basic
 Classical conditioning: Type of learning in which one
learns to link two or more stimuli and anticipate events
 Neutral stimulus (NS): In classical conditioning, a
stimulus that elicits no response before conditioning
 Unconditioned response (UR): In classical
conditioning, an unlearned, naturally occurring response
(such as salivation) to an unconditioned stimulus (US)
(such as food in the mouth)
 Unconditioned stimulus (US): In classical conditioning,
a stimulus that unconditionally—naturally and response
(UR)
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Classical Conditioning
 Acquisition
 Initial stage, when one links a neutral stimulus and an
unconditioned stimulus so that the neutral stimulus begins
triggering the conditioned response.
 Extinction
 Diminishing of a conditioned response; occurs in classical
conditioning when an unconditioned stimulus (US) does
not follow a conditioned stimulus (CS)

Spontaneous recovery
 Reappearance, after a pause, of an extinguished
conditioned response
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Idealized Curve of Acquisition, Extinction, and
Recovery
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Classical Conditioning
 Generalization
 Tendency, once a response has been conditioned, for
stimuli similar to the conditioned stimulus to elicit
similar responses
 Discrimination
 Learned ability to distinguish between a conditioned
stimulus (which predicts the US) and other irrelevant
stimuli
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Generalization
 Pavlov demonstrated
generalization by
attaching miniature
vibrators to various parts
of a dog’s body.
 After conditioning
salivation to stimulation
of the thigh, he
stimulated other areas.
 The closer a stimulated
spot was to the dog’s
thigh, the stronger the
conditioned response.
(From Pavlov, 1927.)
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Classical Conditioning: Pavlov’s Legacy
 Consensus among psychologists that
classical conditioning is basic learning form
 Many other responses to many other stimuli can be
classically conditioned in many other organisms
 Pavlov demonstrated how a learning process can be
studied objectively
 Classical conditioning is a basic form of learning that
applies to all species
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Applications of Classical Conditioning
 Pavlov’s principles are used to influence
human health and well-being
 Areas of consciousness, motivation, emotion, health,
psychological disorders, therapy
 Addicts counseled to avoid stimuli that may trigger
cravings
 Pairing particular taste with drug that influences
immune responses may eventually lead to response
from taste alone.
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Applications of Classical Conditioning
 Pavlov’s work also provided a basis for Watson’s
ideas that human emotions and behaviors,
though biologically influenced, are mainly
conditioned responses.
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Applications of Classical Conditioning
 Pavlov’s work provided a basis for Watson’s
ideas that human emotions and behaviors,
though biologically influenced, are mainly
conditioned responses.
 Watson applied classical conditioning principles
in his studies of “Little Albert” to demonstrate
how specific fears might be conditioned.
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Operant Conditioning
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Operant Conditioning
Behavior operates on
the environment to
produce rewarding or
punishing stimuli.
Organisms are
associate their own
actions with
consequences.
Actions followed by
reinforcement increase;
those followed by
punishments often
decrease.
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Skinner and Skinner’s
Experiments
 Skinner
 Expanded on
Thorndike’s law of
effect
A Skinner box
Inside the box, the rat presses a bar for
a food reward. Outside, a measuring
device (not shown above) records the
animal’s accumulated responses.
 Developed behavioral
technology and
principles of behavior
control
 Designed and used the
Skinner box for
experiments and
recorded responses
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Operant Conditioning
 Everyday behaviors are continually
reinforced and shaped.
 Reinforcement: Any event that strengthens a
preceding response
 Shaping: Gradually guiding toward closer and closer
approximations of the desired behavior
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Operant Conditioning: Types of Reinforcers
Positive reinforcement
Increases behaviors by presenting positive
reinforcers
Positive reinforcer
Is any stimulus that, when presented after a
response, strengthens the response
Negative reinforcement
Increases behaviors by stopping or
reducing negative stimuli
Is any stimulus that, when removed
after a response, strengthens the
response.
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Operant Conditioning: Types of Reinforcers
 Primary: Is unlearned; innately reinforcing
stimuli
 Conditioned (secondary): Gains power through
association with primary reinforcer
 Immediate: Occurs immediately after a behavior
 Delayed: Involves time delay between desired
response of and delivery of reward
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Operant Conditioning: Reinforcement Schedules
 Reinforcement schedule
 Includes pattern that defines how often a desired response
will be reinforced
 Continuous reinforcement schedule
 Involves reinforcing the desired response every time it
occurs
 Partial (intermittent) reinforcement
 Includes schedule reinforcing a response only part of the
time; results in slower acquisition of a response but much
greater resistance to extinction than does continuous
reinforcement
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INTERMITTENT REINFORCEMENT SCHEDULES
 Skinner’s (1961) laboratory pigeons produced four
reinforcement schedules. (Reinforcers are indicated by
diagonal marks.)
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Schedules of Reinforcement
Fixed
Variable
Ratio
Every so many: reinforcement
after every nth behavior, such
as buy 10 coffees, get 1 free, or
pay workers per product unit
produced
After an unpredictable
number: reinforcement after
a random number of
behaviors, as when playing
slot machines or fly fishing
Interval
Every so often: reinforcement
for behavior after a fixed time,
such as Tuesday discount
prices
Unpredictably often:
reinforcement for behavior
after a random amount of
time, as when checking for a
Facebook response
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Operant Conditioning
 Punishment administers an undesirable
consequence or withdraws something desirable in
an attempt to decrease the frequency of a behavior
(a child’s disobedience).
 Positive punishment
 Presenting a negative consequence after an undesired
behavior is exhibited, making the behavior less likely to
happen in the future
 Negative punishment
 Removing a desired stimulus after particular undesired
behavior is exhibited, resulting in reducing behavior in
future
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Four Major Drawbacks of Physical
Punishment
Punished
behavior is
suppressed, not
forgotten. This
temporary state
may (negatively)
reinforce
parents’
punishing
behavior.
Punishment
teaches
discrimination
among
situations.
Punishment can
teach fear.
Physical
punishment may
increase
aggression by
modeling
aggression as a
way to cope with
problems.
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Skinner’s Legacy: Applications of Operant
Conditioning
 At school: Computer and adaptive learning
software used in teaching and learning
 In sports: Behavioral methods implemented in
shaping behavior in athletic performance
 At work: Rewards successfully used to increase
productivity
 At home: Basic rules of shaping used in
parenting
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Reinforcing Desired Behavior and Extinguishing
Undesired Ones.
State a realistic
goal in
measurable
terms.
Decide how,
when, and where
you will work
toward your goal.
Monitor how often
you engage in
your desired
behavior.
Reduce the
rewards
gradually.
Reinforce the
desired behavior.
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Contrasting Classical and Operant
Conditioning
Classical Conditioning
Operant Conditioning
Basic idea
Organism associates events.
Organism associates behavior and
resulting events.
Response
Involuntary, automatic.
Voluntary, operates on
environment.
Acquisition
Associating events; NS is paired with US
and becomes CS.
Associating response with a
consequence (reinforcer or
punisher).
Extinction
CR decreases when CS is repeatedly
presented alone.
Responding decreases when
reinforcement stops.
Spontaneous
recovery
The reappearance, after a rest period, of
an extinguished CR.
The reappearance, after a rest
period, of an extinguished
response.
Generalization
The tendency to respond to stimuli similar
to the CS.
Organism’s response to similar
stimuli is also reinforced.
Discrimination
The learned ability to distinguish between
a CS and other stimuli that do not signal a
US.
Organism learns that certain
responses, but not others, will be
reinforced.
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Biopsychosocial Influences on Learning
Psychological influences:
• Previous experiences
• Predictability of associations
• Generalizations
• Discrimination
Biological influences:
Social-cultural influences:
• Genetic predispositions
• Unconditioned responses
• Adaptive responses
• Culturally-learned preferences
• Motivation, affected by presence of
others
Learning
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Biological Constraints on Conditioning
 Limits on classical conditioning
 Garcia and Koelling’s taste-aversion research
 Animals and humans seem biologically prepared to
learn some associations rather than others
 Conditioning is stronger when the CS is ecologically
relevant
 Genetic predisposition to associate CS with a US that
follows predictably and immediately is adaptive
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Biological Constraints on Conditioning
 Limits on operant conditioning
 Nature limits species’ capacity for operant
conditioning
 Biological constraints predispose organisms to learn
associations that are naturally adaptive
 Instinctive drift occurs as animals revert to biologically
predisposed patterns
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Cognition Processes and Classical
Conditioning
 Mental information that guides behavior is
acquired through cognitive learning.
 Animal learning of predictability of event (Rescorla
and Wagner, 1972)
 British children conditioning of ice-cream associated
characters (Field, 2006)
 Adult gut-level liking for characters associated with
positive stimuli (Olson and Fazio, 2001)
 Stronger likes and dislikes when notice and
awareness of associations learned (Shanks, 2010)
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Cognition Processes and Operant
Conditioning
 Skinner
 Discounted importance of cognition
 Evidence of cognitive processes
 Animal response on fixed-interval reinforcement
schedule
 Development of cognitive map in rats (latent learning)
 Destruction of intrinsic motivation by excessive
rewards
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Learning by Observation
 Observational learning
 Higher animals learn without direct experience by
watching and imitating others
 Bandura
 Pioneer researcher of observational learning
 Modeling
 Bobo doll experiment
 Vicarious reinforcement and vicarious punishment
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The Famous Bobo Doll Experiment
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Mirrors and Imitation in the Brain
 Mirror neurons
 Include frontal lobe neurons that some scientists
believe fire when performing certain actions or when
observing another doing so.
 Brain’s mirroring of another’s action
 May enable imitation and empathy
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EXPERIENCED AND IMAGINED PAIN IN THE BRAIN
Brain activity related to actual pain (left) is mirrored in the
brain of an observing loved one (right).
Empathy in the brain shows up in emotional brain areas,
but not in the somatosensory cortex, which receives the
physical pain input.
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Applications of Observational Learning
 Prosocial effects
 Behavior modeling enhance learning of
communication, sales, and customer service skills in
new employees
 Modeling nonviolent behavior prompts similar
behavior in others
 Across seven countries, viewing prosocial media
increased later helping behavior
 Socially responsive toddlers tend to have strong
internalized conscience as preschoolers
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Applications of Observational Learning
 Antisocial effects
 Abusive parents may have aggressive children
 Watching TV and videos may teach children
 Bullying is effective tool for controlling others
 Free and easy sex has little later consequences
 Men should be tough; women should be gentle
 Violence-viewing effect