Quick Question What is something that you have learned: – As a child – As a teenager – Last week
What Is Learning? • Relatively permanent change to an organism’s behavior • Based on previous experiences the organism has had
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Contrasting Major Learning Theories Classical Conditioning
Operant Conditioning
Observational Learning
Type of Behavior Learned
Simple, reflexive behaviors
Complex behaviors
Behaviors useful in a social setting
Process of Learning
Pairing stimuli (that produce a response)
Pairing a Observing the consequence actions of others with a response
Overview of Classical Conditioning Classical Conditioning
Can Help Us Understand:
Type of Behavior Learned
Simple, reflexive behaviors
Process of Learning
Pairing stimuli (that produce a response)
• • • •
Emotional responses Hunger Sexual arousal Substance abuse
Classical Conditioning in the City (Midnight)
(Subway noise)
(Midnight)
(Midnight, even in new location)
(Wake up)
(Subway noise)
(Wake up)
(Wake up)
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Advanced Concepts in Classical Conditioning • Extinction - without the UCS, eventually the CS will no longer produce the CR – If you move away from the subway (UCS), eventually you will no longer wake up at midnight (CS)
• Spontaneous recovery - after time, the conditioned response might recur – Occasionally, you might awake at midnight in your new country home
Advanced Concepts in Classical Conditioning • Generalization - the CR occurs in response to similar conditioned stimuli – All loud sounds wake you up - the subway, your neighbors yelling, your dog barking, your alarm clock
• Discrimination - the CR occurs only in response to one specific CS (requires discrimination training) – Only your alarm clock wakes you up, you learn to sleep through the rest!
Using the Principles of Classical Conditioning, Could You: • Teach a baby to fear books? • Teach a toddler to ride a tricycle? • Help your friend stop smoking cigarettes?
How?
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Overview of Operant Conditioning Operant Conditioning Type of Behavior Learned
Complex behaviors
Process of Learning
Pairing a consequence with a response
Can Help Us Understand: •Animal training •Overjustification effect •School success •To Skinner, the sky was the limit!
Reinforcement vs. Punishment Positive (+)
Negative (-)
Result
Reinforcement
Punishment
Addition of desired stimulus after response
Addition of aversive stimulus after response
Example: Money for good grades
Example: Spanking for bad grades
Subtraction of aversive stimulus after response
Subtraction of desired stimulus after response
Example: A weekend away from bratty brother for good grades
Example: No TV for bad grades
Increased likelihood of response
Decreased likelihood of response
Reinforcement Schedules Interval Ratio (time between responses) (number of responses) Fixed (set reinforcement schedule)
Reinforce a response after Reinforce a response after a set amount of time has a set amount of responses elapsed occur
Reinforce a response around but not at the same time period
Reinforce a response around but not after the same number of responses
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Advanced Concepts in Operant Conditioning • Shaping – Reinforcing responses that are increasingly close to the response you desire
• Overjustification effect – When a reward is given for a response that was not needed to produce the response
Help Train Fido! • How could you use operant conditioning to train a dog to: – Sit – Stop jumping on people – Jump through a hoop
Overview of Observational Learning Observational Learning Type of Behavior Learned
Skills useful in a social setting
Process of Learning
Observing the actions of others
Can Help us Understand: •Skills that cannot be learned by trial and error •Prosocial and antisocial behavior
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Evolutionary Perspective • Species appear predisposed to learn certain things relevant to their past environment – Example: Food preferences - if we get ill after eating a new food, we learn to associate that food with illness and avoid it – Example: Fear - different species are predisposed to fear certain objects that posed a threat in the past (such as snakes for humans and monkeys)
Something You’ve Learned What is something that you have learned: – As a child – As a teenager – Last week
Turn to your neighbor and work together: – What learning theory best explains what you learned at each age?
Assessment • What are the three major types of learning? • Come up with something specific a person might learn using one of these theories of learning
