LEARNING
I.
Learning
A. Relatively permanent change in a
behavior to a given situation brought
about by repeated experiences in that
situation
– Changes can’t be explained by native
response tendencies, maturation, or
temporary states of the person or other
animal (e.g. fatigue, drugs, etc)
B. How do we learn?
1. Associative learning – learning certain
events occur together
2. Habituation- an organism’s decreasing
response to a stimulus with repeated
exposure to it
•
Ex: Ignoring traffic sounds if you live on a busy
street
3. Observational Learning
a. New behaviors are acquired by watching the
behaviors of others
b. Also known as modeling
c. Albert Bandura Bobo doll experiment
II. Classical Conditioning
A. A subject learns to link two or more
stimuli and anticipate events
B. Studied by Ivan Pavlov
C. Unconditioned stimulus (US) - naturally
and automatically triggers a response
– Food stimulus
D. Unconditioned response (UR) unlearned, naturally occurring response
to the US
– Salivation
E. Conditioned stimulus (CS) - originally
irrelevant; comes to trigger a
conditioned response
– Tone
F. Conditioned response (CR) - learned
response to a previously neutral stimulus
– Salivation in response to tone
G. Acquisition - initial stage when one links
a neutral stimulus and an unconditional
stimulus so the neutral stimulus begins
triggering the conditioned response
H. Extinction - diminished responding when
a US doesn’t follow a CS
I. Spontaneous recovery - reappearance of
a weakened CR after a pause
J. Generalization - tendency for stimuli
similar to the CS to elicit similar responses
K. Discrimination - learned ability to
distinguish between a CS and stimuli that
don’t signal a US
III. Operant Conditioning
A. Type of learning in which behavior is
strengthened if followed by a reinforcer
or diminished if followed by a punisher
B. Studied by B.F. Skinner
C. Operant chamber chamber that
contains a bar an
animal can
manipulate to get a
reward
–
Aka “Skinner Box”
D. Shaping - reinforcers guide current
behavior toward the desired behavior
E. Discriminative stimulus - stimulus that
elicits a response after association
with reinforcement
F. Positive reinforcement - increasing
behaviors by presenting positive
stimuli
–
Getting money for good grades
G. Negative reinforcement increasing behaviors by stopping or
reducing negative stimulus
–
Buckling seat belt to remove dinging
H. Reinforcement Schedules
1. Continuous reinforcement - reinforcement
every time a behavior occurs
– Preferable until behavior is mastered
2. Partial (intermittent) reinforcement reinforcement only part of the time
– Most effective in maintaining behaviors that
have already been learned
– Occasionally giving into a child’s tantrum
3. Fixed-ratio schedule - reinforcement only
after a specified number of responses
– Being paid on piecework basis
4. Variable-ratio schedules - reinforces a response
after an unpredictable number of responses
– High rate of response
– Slot machines
5. Fixed-interval schedules - reinforces a response
after a specified time
– Choppy start and stop
– Monthly paycheck
6. Variable-interval schedules - reinforces a
response at unpredictable time intervals
– Slow, steady rate of response
– E-mail
I. Punishment
1. Aversive consequence used to weaken
behavior
2. Positive Punishment - application of an
aversive stimulus after a
response/behavior
– Touching a hot stove (response = touching
stove, stimulus = hot)
3. Negative Punishment - removal of a
reinforcer
– Parents taking away car keys
4. Punishment vs. Negative Reinforcement:
– Punishment decreases behavior
– Negative reinforcement increases behavior
5. Problems of Punishment
a. Power disappears when threat of
punishment is removed
– Speed limit
b. Punishment triggers aggression
c. May trigger fear
d. Often applied unequally
6. Proper Punishment
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
Swift
Certain
Limited in time and intensity
Target behavior, not character
Limited to situation in which response
occurred
f. Not give mixed messages
g. Most effective = negative punishment
IV. Motivation
A. Intrinsic motivation - desire to perform a
behavior effectively for its own sake
B. Extrinsic motivation - desire to perform a
behavior to receive a reward or avoid
punishment