Behaviorism Psychological perspective that emphasizing the role of

Behaviorism Psychological perspective that emphasizing the role of learning and experience in determining behavior. A strict behaviorist believes that babies are tabula rasa and the study of psychology should focus purely on observable behaviors and not unobservable thoughts. John Locke Blank Slate, Plato………

Criticisms of Behaviorism Deemphasizes the role of internal thoughts and feelings in behavior; Presents humans as lacking free will Ignores biological predispositions

Associative learning – learning that certain events occur together Classical conditioning – An INVOLUNTARY behavior is determined by what PRECEDES it (Pavlov) Operant conditioning – rewards and punishment; A VOLUNTARY behavior is determined by the anticipation of something that FOLLOWS it. Not a type of associative learning as stated above… Observational Learning

Which is which? 1. 2. 3. A child is attacked by a dog. The child now experiences anxiety around all dogs. You feel hungry in 4 th period most days because it is lunch time. When you enter your 4 th period class on a half day, you feel hungry. You do your homework every night to get good grades and avoid punishment. Video- classical Video- Operant Classical – involuntary, stimulus precedes behavior Operant – voluntary, stimulus follows behavior

Classical Conditioning

Ivan Pavlov’s Experiments Pavlov paired a neutral stimulus (a bell) with a meat powder (which made the dog salivate). Eventually, dog salivates to bell alone

Identifying Parts Unconditioned Stimulus (UCS) Meat powder Unconditioned Response (UCR) Salivation Conditioned Stimulus (CS) Bell Conditioned Response (CR) Salivation * Hint: replace “conditioned” with “learned” to make it more intuitive.

Little Albert John Watson – famous behaviorist Little Albert – 11 month old orphan Showed him a white rat. No fear. Made a loud noise. Albert cried. Showed him a white rat and made a loud noise. Albert cried. Repeated several times. Eventually Albert cried at white rat alone.

Identify the parts Unconditioned Stimulus (UCS) Loud noise Unconditioned Response (UCR) Fear/crying Conditioned Stimulus (CS) White rat Conditioned Response (CR) Fear/crying

Watson on childcare “ Give me a dozen healthy infants, wellformed, and my own specified world to bring them up and I’ll guarantee to take any one at random and train him to become any type of specialist I might select—doctor, lawyer, merchant-chief, and yes, ever beggarman and thief, regardless of his talents, penchants, tendencies, abilities, vocations, and race of his ancestors. ” (1930)

Definitions Acquisition – initial learning of the stimulus-response relationship (learning that bell means meat powder) Extinction – diminished response to the conditioned stimulus when it is no longer coupled with UCS. (stop giving meat powder with bell and dog will stop salivating to bell) Spontaneous recovery – reappearance of an extinguished CR after a rest. Generalization – the tendency to respond to any stimuli similar to the CS (Dog salivates to other noises) Discrimination – the ability to distinguish between the CS and similar stimuli (Dog only salivates to specific tone)

Application to Little Albert If Little Albert generalized, what would we expect to happen? – He might cry at the sight of similar objects (he did – rabbit, dog, sealskin coat, some rumors – Santa’s beard) How could we teach Little Albert to discriminate? – Continually expose him to stimuli similar to the rat, but only make the loud noise when exposing him to the rat How could Little Albert’s conditioning be extinguished? – Continually expose him to a white rat without making the loud noise (unfortunately, this was never done because Little Albert was adopted soon after the original experiments (he would be 83 now if he is still alive – probably scared of rats!) If Little Albert is still alive, his fear of white rats is likely to have been extinguished (no loud noise when he sees a rat). However, occasionally, when he sees a rat, he may find that his heart races for a second or two. What is this called? – Spontaneous recovery

On your own With your partner, practice with the terms by completing the worksheet.

A friend has learned to associate the sound of a dentist’s drill to a fearful reaction because of a painful experience she had getting a root canal. In this example, what is the: – – UCS? UCR? CS? CR? Pain from the drill Fear Sound of the drill Fear

Using the example in question give an example of how each of the following may occur: Extinction: if the pain does not result when the drill is used, the CR (fear) will diminish. Spontaneous recovery: the child returns for a visit the next day and the sound of the drill elicits fear again. Generalization: the child becomes fearful of the sound of any motor Discrimination: the child learns that only the high pitched dentist drill is associated with pain and not a low pitch hum of the vacuum cleaner.

A BMW commercial has lots of pretty people in it. People who watch the commercial find the people pleasing to look at. With repeated viewing, they begin to associate the car with the pleasant feeling. UCS? UCR? CS? CR? Pretty people Feeling good Sight of BMW Feeling good

You get in a car accident and find you are afraid to get in a car. UCS? UCR? CS? CR? Pain of the accident Fear Presence of car Fear

You go to a fancy restaurant and decide to try an appetizer you’ve never tried before – escargot. After dinner, you go to a concert and get violently ill (from a stomach virus that’s been going around). From then on, you can’t even look at snails without feeling sick. UCS? UCR? CS? CR? Stomach virus Feeling sick Sight of snails Feeling sick

You are cruising on 440 at 75 mph when you see flashing police lights behind you. You pull over and the policeman gives you a ticket. You get in insane amounts of trouble from your parents. The next time you see flashing police lights, your heart rate speeds up. UCS? Getting in trouble from parents UCR? Increased heart rate CS? Flashing lights CR? Increased heart rate

Name one practical application of classical conditioning. Stop drug or alcohol addiction by pairing a nausea-producing drug with the drug of addiction. Extinguish a drug addiction by administering a drug that blocks the pleasant feeling normally elicited by the drug. If a child is afraid of rabbits because one bit him when he was young, you can expose the child to rabbits in safe environments repeatedly until the behavior is extinguished. Extinguish feelings of anxiety associated with trauma (PTSD). Treatment of anxiety or depression by pairing a relaxed state with a gesture. Pair some behavior with an immune response so that an immune response can be triggered by a voluntary thought or behavior.

Cancer patients and chemotherapy. Cancer patients tend to associate the nausea produced by chemotherapy with the hospital setting. – – UCS – chemotherapy UCR – nausea CS – hospital CR – nausea

Cognitive Processes It was once thought that cognitive processes weren’t involved in classical conditioning. Now we know better. For example, therapists give alcoholics drink containing a nauseaproducing drug to condition them to avoid alcohol. Because clients KNOW that the drug is what is actually causing the nausea, it doesn’t work so well.

Biological Predispositions It was once believed that conditioning occurred the same in all animals (and therefore you could study human behavior by studying any animal) and that you could associate any neutral stimulus with a response. Not so. Animals have biological predispositions to associating certain stimuli over others Example – You eat a novel food and later get sick. You will be conditioned to associate the taste of the FOOD with getting sick (and thus avoid that food in the future), but NOT the music playing in the restaurant, the plate it was served on, or the perfume your neighbor was wearing. It is much easier to condition someone to have a fear of snake than of flowers. Birds hunt by sight and will more quickly become conditioned to the SIGHT of tainted food

Operant Conditioning Rewards and punishment

Classical vs. Operant Conditioning Classical Conditioning Behavior is determined by what PRECEDES it. Operant Conditioning Behavior is determined by anticipation of what FOLLOWS it. Involuntary Voluntary Dog salivates after a tone. Dog sits in anticipation of getting a treat.

Classical or Operant? A very bright (mildly painful) light is turned on a rat. The rat has learned that he can turn off the light by pressing a lever on the other side of his cage. As soon as the light comes on, the rat runs across the room and presses the lever.

Classical or Operant? When a mother strokes her infant’s skin, the stroking creates pleasure responses in the baby. After this goes on for many days, the baby begins to show pleasure responses simply at the sight of her mother (even before being touched).

Classical or Operant? Imagine you have a friend who keeps the temperature in her home so high that each occasion on which you visit her you find yourself perspiring. The last time you visited her, you noticed that you began to perspire and became uncomfortable as soon as you saw her house (even before you got inside).

Operant Conditioning Thorndike • • Puzzle Box Law of Effect- responses closely followed by satisfaction will become firmly attached to the situation and therefore more likely to reoccur when the situation is repeated. Skinner • Skinner Box Shaping

Reinforcement Schedules 1. Continuous Reinforcement: Reinforces the desired response each time it occurs. 2. Partial Reinforcement: Reinforces a response only part of the time. Though this results in slower acquisition in the beginning, it shows greater resistance to extinction later on.

Schedules of Reinforcement Continuous reinforcement refers to reinforcement being administered to each instance of a response Partial reinforcement lies between continuous reinforcement and extinction

An Example of Continuous Reinforcement Each instance of a smile is reinforced

Schedules of Reinforcement Continuous Reinforcement – A schedule of reinforcement in which every correct response is reinforced. Partial Reinforcement – One of several reinforcement schedules in which not every correct response is reinforced. Which method do you think is used more in real life?

Schedules of Reinforcement Ratio Version – having to do with instances of the behavior. Ex. – Reinforce or reward the behavior after a set number or x many times that an action or behavior is demonstrated. Interval Version – having to do with the passage of time. Ex. – Reinforce the participant after a set number or x period of time that the behavior is displayed.

4 Basic Schedules of Reinforcement Fixed-interval schedule Variable-interval schedule Fixed-ratio schedule Variable-ratio schedule

Fixed-Interval Schedule Fixed-interval schedule – A schedule in which a fixed amount of time must elapse between the previous and subsequent times that reinforcement will occur. No response during the interval is reinforced. The first response following the interval is reinforced. Produces an overall low rate of responding Ex. I get one pellet of food every 5 minutes when I press the lever

Fixed Interval Reinforcement

Variable-Interval Schedule Variable-interval Schedule – A schedule in which a variable amount of time must elapse between the previous and subsequent times that reinforcement is available. Produces an overall low consistent rate of responding. Ex. – I get a pellet of food on average every 5 minutes when I press the bar.

Variable Interval Reinforcement

Fixed-Ratio Schedule Fixed-ratio Schedule – A schedule in which reinforcement is provided after a fixed number of correct responses. These schedules usually produce rapid rates of responding with short post-reinforcement pauses The length of the pause is directly proportional to the number of responses required Ex. – For every 5 bar presses, I get one pellet of food

An Example of Fixed Ratio Reinforcement Every fourth instance of a smile is reinforced

Fixed Ratio Reinforcement

Variable-Ratio Schedule Variable-ratio Schedule – A schedule in which reinforcement is provided after a variable number of correct responses. Produce an overall high consistent rate of responding. Ex. – On average, I press the bar 5 times for one pellet of food.

An Example of Variable Ratio Reinforcement Random instances of the behavior are reinforced

Variable Ratio Reinforcement

TYPE MEANING OUTCOME Fixed Ratio Reinforcement depends on a definite number of responses Activity slows after reinforcement and then picks up Variable Ratio Number of responses Greatest activity of needed for reinforcement all schedules varies Fixed Interval Reinforcement depends on a fixed time Activity increases as deadline nears Variable Interval Time between reinforcement varies Steady activity results

Comparisons of Schedules of Reinforcement FORM OF REWARD INFLUENCE ON PERFORMANCE Fixed interval Reward on fixed time basis Leads to average and irregular performance Fixed ratio Reward tied to specific number of responses Moderately fast Leads quickly to extinction of very high and stable performance behavior Variable interval Reward given after varying periods of time Leads to moderately high and stable performance Slow extinction of behavior Variable ratio Reward given for some behaviors Leads to very high performance Very slow extinction of behavior SCHEDULE EFFECTS ON BEHAVIOR Fast extinction of behavior

FI, VI, FR, or VR? 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. When I bake cookies, I can only put one set in at a time, so after 10 minutes my first set of cookies is done. After another ten minutes, my second set of cookies is done. I get to eat a cookie after each set is done baking. After every 10 math problems that I complete, I allow myself a 5 minute break. I look over my notes every night because I never know how much time will go by before my next pop quiz. When hunting season comes around, sometimes I’ll spend all day sitting in the woods waiting to get a shot at a big buck. It’s worth it though when I get a nice 10 point. Today in Psychology class we were talking about Schedules of Reinforcement and everyone was eagerly raising their hands and participating. Miranda raised her hand a couple of times and was eventually called on. 1. FI 2. FR 3. VI 4. VI 5. VR

FI, VI, FR, or VR? 6. Madison spanks her son if she has to ask him three times to clean up his room. 7. Emily has a spelling test every Friday. She usually does well and gets a star sticker. 8. Steve’s a big gambling man. He plays the slot machines all day hoping for a big win. 9. Snakes get hungry at certain times of the day. They might watch any number of prey go by before they decide to strike. 10. Mr. Bertani receives a salary paycheck every 2 weeks. (Miss Suter doesn’t ). 11. Christina works at a tanning salon. For every 2 bottles of lotion she sells, she gets 1 dollar in commission. 12. Mike is trying to study for his upcoming Psychology quiz. He reads five pages, then takes a break. He resumes reading and takes another break after he has completed 5 more pages. 6. FR 7. FI 8. VR 9. VR 10. FI 11. FR 12. FR

FI, VI, FR, or VR? 13. Megan is fundraising to try to raise money so she can go on the annual band trip. She goes door to door in her neighborhood trying to sell popcorn tins. She eventually sells some. 14. Kylie is a business girl who works in the big city. Her boss is busy, so he only checks her work periodically. 15. Mark is a lawyer who owns his own practice. His customers makes payments at irregular times. 16. Jessica is a dental assistant and gets a raise every year at the same time and never in between. 17. Andrew works at a GM factory and is in charge of attaching 3 parts. After he gets his parts attached, he gets some free time before the next car moves down the line. 18. Brittany is a telemarketer trying to sell life insurance. After so many calls, someone will eventually buy. 13. VR 14. VI 15. VI 16. FI 17. FR 18. VR

Ratio Schedules 1. Fixed-ratio schedule: Reinforces a response only after a specified number of responses. e. g. , piecework pay. 2. Variable-ratio schedule: Reinforces a response after an unpredictable number of responses. This is hard to extinguish because of the unpredictability. (e. g. , behaviors like gambling, fishing. )

Interval Schedules 1. Fixed-interval schedule: Reinforces a response only after a specified time has elapsed. (e. g. , preparing for an exam only when the exam draws close. ) 2. Variable-interval schedule: Reinforces a response at unpredictable time intervals, which produces slow, steady responses. (e. g. , pop quiz. )

Schedules of Reinforcement

Punishment Decreases the likelihood of a behavior to recur. Positive punishment (means applied to) Negative punishment (means take away from)

Problems with Punishment it models aggression as a way to solve problems breeds anger in the recipient doesn’t provide an alternative behavior. Therefore, the behavior only goes away when the punisher is around.

What is the difference between Neg. Reinforcement and Punishment? ? ? Video clip

Examples!!!! Video clip 1 Video clip 2 Review of the difference between Classical and Operant Conditioning.

Cognitive (Latent) Learning that depends on mental activity that is not directly observable – Example of learning by watching Involves such processes as attention, expectation, thinking, and memory

Latent Learning and Cognitive Maps Latent learning is learning that takes place before the subject realizes it and is not immediately reflected in behavior A cognitive map is latent learning stored as a mental image

Insight and Learning Sets Insight is when learning seems to occur in a sudden “flash” as elements of a situation come together Learning sets refer to increasing effectiveness at problem solving through experience, i. e. , organisms “learn how to learn”

Bandura's Bobo doll study (1961) indicated that individuals (children) learn through imitating others who receive rewards and punishments. Video and design of experiment. Courtesy of Albert Bandura, Stanford University Bandura's Experiments

Social Cognitive Theory Learning a behavior and performing it are not the same thing – Tenet 1: Response consequences (such as rewards or punishments) influence the likelihood that a person will perform a particular behavior again in a given situation. Note that this principle is also shared by classical behaviorists. – Tenet 2: Humans can learn by observing others, in addition to learning by participating in an act personally. Learning by observing others is called vicarious learning. The concept of vicarious learning is not one that would be subscribed to by classical behaviorists. – Tenet 3: Individuals are most likely to model behavior observed by others they identify with. Identification with others is a function of the degree to which a person is perceived to be similar to one's self, in addition to the degree of emotional attachment that is felt toward an individual.

Learning by Observing The likelihood of acting on vicarious learning occurs when we see the consequences of other people’s behavior Vicarious reinforcement or vicarious punishment affects the willingness of people to perform behaviors they learned by watching others The person being watched is the model. Hence modeling. (Live models and symbolic models)

Mirror Neurons Video Reprinted with permission from the American Association for the Advancement of Science, Subiaul et al. , Science 305: 407 -410 (2004) © 2004 AAAS. Neuroscientists discovered mirror neurons in the brains of animals and humans that are active during observational learning.

Applications of Observational Learning Unfortunately, Bandura’s studies show that antisocial models (family, neighborhood or TV) may have antisocial effects.

Positive Observational Learning Bob Daemmrich/ The Image Works Fortunately, prosocial (positive, helpful) models may have prosocial effects.

Learning by observation begins early in life. This 14 -month-old child imitates the adult on TV in pulling a toy apart. Meltzoff, A. N. (1998). Imitation of televised models by infants. Child Development, 59 1221 -1229. Photos Courtesy of A. N. Meltzoff and M. Hanuk. Imitation Onset

Cognitive Learning in Nonhumans are capable of classical and operant conditioning Nonhumans are also capable of latent learning (not demonstrating that learning has occurred until a reinforcement is made available) Research has also demonstrated that animals are capable of observational learning

Learning by Observation ©Herb Terrace The monkey on the right imitates the monkey on the left in touching the pictures in a certain order to obtain a reward. © Herb Terrace It is not just humans, that learn through observing and imitating others.

Review Stuff Difference b/t CC and OC