AP Psychology
Learning
12/2/13
Learning
• Any relatively permanent change in behavior
resulting from experience or training.
• Associative learning: learning that certain events
occur together.
• Observational learning: learning from the
behavior of others.
• Associative learning & observational learning fit
best with what subfield(s) of psychology? (not
behavioral…) Why?
Learning
• Habituation: a decrease in response to a
stimulus after repeated exposure.
• Classical conditioning: associating two stimuli
in order to anticipate events.
• Operant conditioning: associating a behavior
with a consequence, thereby reinforcing
certain behaviors.
Classical conditioning
• Ivan Pavlov (pictured) & John B. Watson
subscribed to behaviorism.
• What is behaviorism?
• How did behaviorism lead to humanistic
psychology?
Ivan Pavlov
• Studying digestion in dogs when he noticed
their salivation before the presentation of
food.
• “Psychic secretion”
• Measured the amount
of saliva produced by
dogs and determined
they had learned when food would come based
on another stimulus—classically conditioned.
Pavlov’s terms…
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Unconditioned stimulus
Unconditioned response
Neutral stimulus
Conditioned stimulus
Conditioned response
• Create a short experiment that labels each of
these parts.
Pavlov’s other terms…
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Acquisition
Extinction
Spontaneous recovery
Generalization
Discrimination
• Come up with an example of each for your
mini-experiment
Classical conditioning & cognition
• Though Pavlov largely rejected the influence
of cognitive psychology on behavior, the
phenomenon of predictability suggests
otherwise
• Varying levels of utility between two
conditioned stimuli
Classical conditioning & biology
• Negative unconditioned responses, even if not
immediate, lead to avoidance.
• Aversions to stimuli develop particularly with
senses that are ecologically relevant (taste for
a rat, sight for an eagle).
Videos!
• Little Albert (done by John B. Watson):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9hBfnXACsOI
• CC 1:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eo7jcI8fAuI
• CC 2:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WfZfMIHwSk
U
Operant conditioning
• Classical vs. Operant?
• Respondent behavior vs. Operant behavior
• Behavior operates based on the environment.
Law of Effect
• Edward Thorndike put a cat in a box.
• Pushing the lever once to get out leads to a
much quicker recurrence next time.
• Law of Effect: Behavior that is rewarded is
likely to recur.
B.F. Skinner
• Did not believe in human free will
• Any behavior is the result of consequences
• Designed experiment with rats in boxes that
made them repeat a meaningless behavior in
order to receive rewards.
• Called “radical behaviorism”: all action is
determined, not free. Emphasizes observable
behavior over any cognitive processes.
Operant chamber (Skinner box)
• A box with a device that produces a reward of
some sort when manipulated.
Operant terminology
• Shaping
• Successive approximations
• Come up with a system to get a freshman to
do your psychology homework using shaping
and successive approximations.
Reinforcement
• An event that strengthens a behavior.
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Positive reinforcement: positive = gain
Negative reinforcement: negative = remove
Primary reinforcers
Secondary reinforcers
Reinforcement
• Immediate vs. delayed reinforcers
• Come up with an example of you favoring
immediate reinforcers, despite a cognitive
realization of delayed gratification’s advantage.
• Continuous reinforcement
• Partial reinforcement (intermittent
reinforcement)
• Greater resistance to extinction?
Reinforcement Schedules
• Fixed-ratio schedule: set # of responses
• Variable-ratio schedule: unpredictable # of
responses
• Fixed-interval schedule: set period of time
• Variable-interval schedule: unpredictable
period of time
Punishment
• A reinforcer that decreases a behavior.
• Positive punishment: positive = add
• Negative punishment: negative = subtract
• Come up with an example of positive
punishment and negative punishment for a
cat that threw a hairball up on you.
Quick activity
• Anagrams!
• Take the word and write down another word
using the same letters.
• Raise your hand when you are finished.
Learned helplessness
• Helpless behavior that does nothing to
eliminate punishment or gain reward.
• In learning, this usually occurs when
punishments (or rewards) are unpredictable
and inescapable, thus causing the organism to
feel helpless and encourage defeatist
behavior.
Learning & incentives
• Cognitive map: a mental representation of
one’s environment.
• Remembering a cognitive map is an example
of latent learning: learning that occurs but
only manifests itself with an incentive.
Learning & incentives
• Intrinsic motivation: “interior” desire
• Extrinsic motivation: “exterior” desire
• Overjustification effect:
Extrinsic reinforcers -> decreased intrinsic
motivation
Extrinsic removed -> behavior disappears
Intrinsic motivation does not return
Extrinsic motivation required for behavior
• Example: pizza for reading books
Videos!
• Rats:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=drnnulHw
5CM
• Operative conditioning:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qy_mIEnn
lF4&feature=PlayList&p=4C9C76AA3D761AA8
&playnext_from=PL&playnext=1&index=30
Learning proposals…
• Due on Friday, 12/6/13.
• Create two examples of learning: one by
classical conditioning and one by operant
conditioning. Rubric on separate paper.
• Need some inspiration? Come up with some
tricks to teach your pet (or little sister).