Born in 1917
key name
John GARCIA
• Discovered idea of Taste
Aversion
• Taste aversion later became
known as the “Garcia Effect
Garcia’s Taste Aversion Studies
• Set up experiment with rats. Exposed
them to sights, sounds, and tastes (CS)
and later also gave them radiation or
drugs that led to nausea and vomiting
(UCR).
• Even if sickened hours later, rats
avoided the particular flavor of water but
did NOT develop aversions to the sights
or sounds.
Importance of
Taste Aversion Studies
1.) Violated behaviorists principle that any
stimulus could serve as a CS.
2.) Shows that nature prepares the members of
each species to learn those things crucial to
their survival.
3.) Are exceptions to classical conditioning rules:
UCS does not always have to follow CS
immediately.
Unit 5: Learning
Topic:
Operant Conditioning
1874-1949
key name
Edward
THORNDIKE
• Proposed the “Law of
Effect” – behaviors followed
by favorable outcomes are
more likely
• conducted puzzle box
experiments on cats
Comparing
Classical Conditioning & Operant Conditioning
• Behavior affected is
usually INVOLUNTARY
• Behavior affected is
usually VOLUNTARY
• Key events are
PRESENTED to the
learner
• Key events are
PRODUCED by the
learner
• Events CAUSE the
behavior
• Events CONTROL the
behavior
• The learner does not
have a choice
• The learner has a
choice
1904-1990
key name
B.F. SKINNER
B.F. = (Burrhus Frederic )
• Most significant name in behaviorism
(behavior is controlled by reinforcement, not your
unconscious)
• Research on operant conditioning
• Creator of the operant chamber (Skinner
Box)
• Author of Walden II
Pigeon ping-pong
Schedules of Reinforcement
(pigeon pecking behavior)
Training a puppy to roll over
B. F. Skinner
Operant Conditioning
Big Bang Theory
Reinforcement
• All Reinforcement
INCREASES THE
LIKELYHOOD that a
particular behavior will
occur.
• Positive Reinforcement:
encourages a certain
behavior by offering a
positive stimulus (reward).
I _______
Negative Reinforcement
(and so do you!)
Negative Reinforcement IS NOT
Punishment
• Negative Reinforcement also
ENCOURAGES a particular behavior by
removing an aversive (negative)
stimulus.
• Punishment: DISCOURAGES a
particular behavior by usually adding an
aversive stimulus.
Examples of Negative Reinforcement*
• Prisoners being released early for good behavior.
(encouraged to be good so negative environment is
removed).
• You cannot drive your car UNTIL you get better
grades. (encouraged to study harder so negative of
not having your car is removed).
• The seatbelt alarm in a car buzzes until you put on
the seatbelt. (encouraged to put on seatbelt so that
annoying sound is removed)
Examples of Punishment:
DISCOURAGES behavior
• You are grounded because
you lied.
• A child is spanked for cussing.
• A teacher forces a student to
stand in the corner because he
interrupted him.
Primary vs. Conditioned Reinforcers
Primary
Conditioned
Innately satisfying
UNLEARNED
Satisfying because they are
associated with a primary reinforcer
LEARNED
food
???
water
???
sex
???
Affiliation (family and friends)
???
Removal of pain
???
Types of Reinforcement
• Continuous Reinforcement: reinforcing the
desired behavior everytime it occurs.
– Learning happens very quickly.
– Extinction happens very quickly if
reinforcement is stopped.
• Partial (Intermittent) Reinforcement:
reinforcing a desired behavior only part of the
time.
– Learning takes longer (slower acquisition)
– TAKES LONGER for extinction to occur.
Operant Conditioning Sim
Schedules of Reinforcement
Fixed-ratio
Reinforcement always occurs after a fixed number of
operant responses
A factory worker may be paid $1 for every 3 T-shirts
they make.
= $1
Schedules of Reinforcement
Variable-ratio
Reinforcement usually occurs after a certain number
of operant responses
A gambler might win the jackpot after just one pull of
the slot machine, or after 52 pulls, or after 2,397
pulls.
Schedules of Reinforcement
Fixed-interval
Reinforcement always occurs after a fixed amount of
time has passed
A factory worker may be paid $1 for every 3 hours
they work.
= $1
Schedules of Reinforcement
Variable-interval
Reinforcement usually occurs after a certain amount
of time has passed
A person on parole may be given a random drug
test. He/she has no idea when they will be asked for
a urine specimen. It could be next week, or a month
from now, or several months from now.
The next drug test will be:
?????????
Immediate vs. Delayed
Reinforcement*
• In rats, if you delay reinforcement, virtually
no learning will occur.
• Although humans do recognize delayed
reinforcement, immediate gratification
sometimes move us into risky behavior.
EX: smoking, drinking, unprotected sex.
Skinner Box (a.k.a.
“operant chamber”)
Skinner tried unsuccessfully
to market and sell the
operant chamber to parents
under the names “Heir
conditioner,” “Air crib” and
“Baby tender”
Shaping*
• Shaping refers to an
operant conditioning
technique in which
reinforcers guide behavior
closer and closer towards
a desired goal.
– Uses successive
approximations.
Shaping pigeon turning behavior
Shaping a dog's behavior
How would you have
trained this cat to
become potty
trained?
(Meet the Parents Clip – Psych in Film)
Behaviorist vs Cognitivist Theories
Behaviorist: Only cares about behavior – what a person does –
what can be observed or proven Learning is
mechanical – you behave the way you do because
of external stimuli – no internal processes are
required (learning by thinking about something or
watching it)
Cogntivist:
Care about what a person knows (instead of
does). Learning serves a purpose. You can learn
by watching or thinking about something.
Cognition’s Effect on
Operant Conditioning
Cognitive map: a mental representation of one’s environment
that is developed without the aid of
reinforcement.
Latent learning:
–
learning that occurs (like cognitive map) that is
not apparent (hidden) until there is an
incentive to justify it.
Ex: rats that were not reinforced while in a
maze could navigate it just as fast when there
was a reward put at the end. If there was no
food at the end, they just roamed through the
maze (they were in no rush to get to the end).
Unit 5: Learning
Topic:
Social Theories of Learning
b. 1925
key name
Albert BANDURA
• Researched social theories of
learning (a.k.a. observational learning or modeling)
• Conducted the famous “Bobo
the clown” experiment
Albert Bandura’s Experiment on
Modeling (Bobo Doll Experiment)
• Experiment that showed children
could easily learn aggression
through observational learning
modeling.
• Frustrated children go to beat on
clown after seeing adult model
do the same.
• After a variety of experiments,
many consider Bandura to be the
father of social learning theory.
Social Learning Theory: Monkey See,
Monkey Do (Observational Learning)
• Observational
learning describes
process of learning
by observing others.
• Modeling is an
example of
observational
learning by which
we imitate a specific
behavior.
Observational Learning/Modeling
Theory Leads to Questions About the
Impact of Television on Viewers
1887-1967
key name
Wolfgang KOHLER
• Insight learning. Argued
that animals do not simply
learn through trial and error
but from insight learning
(a.k.a. the “aha!” moment)
Kohler’s Experiment
PROBLEM: Food has been placed beyond the
reach of the chimps, outside a closed pen.
The chimps behavior all seemed to follow a similar
pattern that suggested to Kohler that the chimps
were demonstrating insight and planning
1. failure
the chimp jumps fruitlessly at bananas that have been hung out of
reach
2. pause
after a period of unsuccessful jumping, the chimp apparently
becomes angry or frustrated, walks away in seeming disgust,
pauses
3. look at the potential tools
the chimp looks at the food in what might be a more reflective way,
then at the toys in the enclosure, then back at the food, and then at the
toys again.
4. the attempt
the animal begins to use the toys to get at the food
Insight is also know as an
“Aha! Moment” or “Lightbulb Moment”