Psychology of Music Learning
Miksza
Behaviorism
Part I
• Classical Conditioning
– Assumptions
– Method
– Phenomena
– Counter conditioning
– Figures
There is more detail in this section of the outline than is
presented in Driscoll… it’s good information – but
focus on Part II for the purposes of this class…
Behaviorist Assumptions
• John Watson (Psychology as the Behaviorist Views It,
1913)
– Introduced the term Behaviorism
– Advocated for objective, scientific, observable forms of inquiry
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Equipotentiality
Learning best studied through stimuli and responses
Internal processes largely excluded (radical perspective)
Learning=change in behavior
Empiricist/blank slate
Learning greatly effected by the environment
Parsimony
Classical Conditioning
• Ivan Pavlov (Conditioned Reflexes, 1927)
– Basic Form of 3 Steps
• Neutral stimulus – No response
• Neutral stimulus/unconditioned stimulus paired –
unconditioned response
• Conditioned stimulus – conditioned responses
• Signal learning
• Behavior Elicited – not necessarily
conscious response
Watson’s take…
• Law of frequency
– “The more frequently a stimulus and response occur
in association with each other, the stronger the S-R
habit will become (Ormrod, p. 43).”
• Law of recency
– “The response that has most recently occurred after a
particular stimulus is the response most likely to be
associated with that stimulus (Ormrod, p. 43).”
• Extreme position regarding nature/nurture
issues…
Classical Conditioning Phenomena
• Extinction
– Behavior goes away
• Spontaneous Recovery
– Behavior comes back
• Stimulus Generalization
– Response occurs when presented with ‘similar’ stimuli
• Stimulus Discrimination
– When an individual learns not to generalize a
response to ‘similar’ stimuli
• Higher-order Conditioning
– Another ‘layer’ of pairing stimuli and responses…
More Recent Developments in
Classical Conditioning
• Contingency/contiguity vs. random or
coincidence-like pairing
• Salience of the conditioned stimulus
– Some stimulus/response pairings make more
sense than others
• Cognition a part of the process
– S/R relationships among mental
representations
– Tolerance to drugs
Altering Conditioned Behaviors
• Difficult to do… involuntary
• Extinction
– Problems: unpredictable speed, avoidance, spontaneous recovery
• Counter-conditioning (better than extinction)
– New response – must be incompatible with old response
– Must identify a salient stimulus
– Gradually introduced new stimulus in conjunction with old stimulus
• Threshold method
– Present a stimulus faintly at first and then gradually increase the
strength
• Systematic desensitization
– An example of counter-conditioning that is often applied to anxiety
problems
• Exhaustion
– The stimulus is presented continuously until the individual can no longer
respond in a habitual way
Other key figures…
• Edwin Guthrie
– A stimulus and response relationship can form at full
strength in just one trial
• Clark Hull
– Intervening or organismic variables are also important
to consider
– A departure from radical behaviorist views in that
internal elements were seen as important…
– ‘Drive’ a major factor – laid ground work for early
theories of motivation
Part II
• Operant Conditioning
– Groundwork
– True theory
– Types of reinforcers
– Reinforcement vs. Punishment
– Conditions…
– Phenomena
– Eliminating undesirable behavior
– Limitations of reinforcement
Groundwork for Operant
Conditioning
• Edward Thorndike
– Law of Effect
• Responses followed by satisfaction are
strengthened
• Responses followed by discomfort are weakened
• Originally focused on rewards and punishments
• Later revised without emphasis on punishment
– Emphasized the importance of consequences
in the learning process…
(Ormrod, p. 50)
Operant Conditioning Proper
• B. F. Skinner
– Shifted emphasis from strength of S-R connections…
…to… …simply the strengthening of responses
• A flip-flop of S-R to R-S (…or R-C)
– “A response that is followed by a reinforcer is
strengthened and is therefore more likely to occur
again.”
– “Reinforcer – a stimulus or event that increases the
frequency of a response it follows (Ormrod, p. 52).”
– Rather than ‘elicit’ the focus is now on the individual
‘emitting’ a behavior, or ‘operating’ on their
environment
Types of Reinforcers
• Primary
– Those that satisfy an inherent biological need
or desire
• Secondary/Conditioned
– Those that satisfy all other needs or desires
– Material
– Social
– Activity
– Intrinsic
Positive/Negative Reinforcers vs.
Punishment
• Reinforcer – response increases
• Punishment – response decreases
• Positive reinforcer – present something
positive to increase certain response
• Negative reinforcer – take something away
to increase a certain response
• Punishment – present or take something
away to decrease a certain response
• (see Driscoll, Figure 2.2, p. 37)
Conditions for operant
conditioning…
• Reinforcer occurs after response…
• Reinforcer comes immediately…
• Reinforcer is contingent on the desired
response...
• Magnitude and appeal of reinforcer affects
responses learned…
• Consistency of reinforcement is
important…
Operant Conditioning Phenomena
• Baseline
– Behavior in absence of reinforcer
• Terminal behavior
– Desired response at end of reinforcement program
• Extinction
– When response is no longer followed by a reinforcer and the
behavior ceases
• Superstition
– When reinforcement is random and not contingent on behavior
• Shaping
– Reinforcing successive approximations of a task
• Chaining
– Reinforcing one response at a time, and then a sequence of
responses – simple to complex behaviors
Operant Conditioning Phenomena Continued…
• Stimulus generalization
– Once a response/reinforcer connection is learned an individual
will likely respond similarly to similar reinforcers
• Stimulus discrimination
– When an individual learns under what circumstances a response
will or will not be reinforced…
• Stimulus control
– Cueing/Prompting
• Verbal or non-verbal cues that indicate a desired response (flicking
lights, conducting, etc.)
– Setting events
• Designing an environment that is conducive to the type of response
desired…
• Learned Helplessness
– The passive acceptance of events seemingly beyond
one’s control
Schedules of Reinforcement
• Ratio
– Reinforcements contingent on a certain number of
behaviors
• Interval
– Reinforcement contingent on the passage of time
• Fixed
– Occurrence of reinforcement is consistent
• Variable
– Occurrence of reinforcement is not consistent
• (See Driscoll, Figure 2.5 and 2.6, p. 50 and 51)
Eliminating Undesirable Behavior…
• Extinguishing
– A particular response is no longer reinforced
• Non-contingent consequences
– May be beneficial for those who act out for attention
• Reinforcing other and/or incompatible behaviors
– Differential reinforcement
• Contingency contracts
• Personalized system of instruction
– IEPS and diverse learners
• CAI – Computer Assisted Instruction
Limitations of Reinforcement
• The reinforcer isn’t salient…
• Lack of consistency in reinforcement…
• Cost/benefit analysis results in an
imbalance…
• Shaping a desired behavior too quickly…
• Extrinsic reinforcer may undermine
intrinsic interest…
Basic educational implications
related to Behaviorist principles…
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Practice
Positive learning environment
Methods for breaking bad habits
Assessing learning by looking for
behavioral changes
Part III
• Applied Behavioral Analysis (ABA)
– Essential components
ABA Assumptions and
Pseudonyms…
• Assumptions
– Behavioral issues are related to past and present environmental
circumstances…
– Operant Conditioning concepts
• Reinforcement, extinction, shaping, chaining, stimulus control,
reinforcing incompatible behaviors, etc…
– A=Baseline condition
– B=Treatment/Intervention
– A=Return to Baseline
• Pseudonyms and similar processes
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Behavior Management…
Behavior modification…
Behavior therapy…
Contingency management...
Components of ABA
• Present and desired behavior are specified in
observable, measurable terms (Driscoll step 1)
• Behavior is measured before and during intervention
• Salient environmental/Intervention conditions and/or
reinforcers are identified (Driscoll step 2)
• A specific intervention/treatment plan is developed – with
the individual when appropriate… (Driscoll step 3)
• Treatment monitored for effectiveness and modified
along if necessary… (similar to Driscoll step 4 and 5)
• Efforts made to show how change in behavior can be
generalized to other situations…
• Treatment is phased out eventually…