Essentials of Psychology by Saul Kassin CHAPTER 5
Essentials of Psychology, by Saul Kassin CHAPTER 5 : Learning © 2004 Prentice Hall Publishing
Learning Classical Conditioning Operant Conditioning Observational Learning Kassin, Essentials of Psychology - © 2004 Prentice Hall Publishing
Learning Ethology – The study of the behavior of animals in their natural habitat. • Fixed Action Pattern – A species-specific behavior that is built into an animal’s nervous system and triggered by a specific stimulus. Kassin, Essentials of Psychology - © 2004 Prentice Hall Publishing
Learning Ethology • An example of a fixed action pattern can be seen in the stickleback fish. This fish attacks all forms that have a red belly, even those that do not look like a fish. The red belly is the stimulus that triggers this fixed action pattern. Stickleback Models Kassin, Essentials of Psychology - © 2004 Prentice Hall Publishing
Learning Defining Learning • A relatively permanent change in knowledge or behavior that results from experience. – Adaptation by learning is flexible. – Humans adapt to life’s demands by learning and not by instinct. – The key to learning is association. Kassin, Essentials of Psychology - © 2004 Prentice Hall Publishing
Learning Habituation • The tendency of an organism to become familiar with a stimulus as a result of repeated exposure Habituation of Fear – It is the simplest form of learning. – Note here that rats repeatedly exposed to a cat’s odor, and no cat, hid less over time. Kassin, Essentials of Psychology - © 2004 Prentice Hall Publishing
Learning Classical Conditioning – A type of learning in which an organism comes to associate one stimulus with another (also called Pavlovian conditioning). • Classical Conditioning involves learning that one event predicts another. • This type of learning involves • • An unconditioned stimulus An unconditioned response A conditioned stimulus A conditioned response Kassin, Essentials of Psychology - © 2004 Prentice Hall Publishing
Classical Conditioning Pavlov’s Discovery • An unconditioned stimulus (US) – A stimulus (an event) that triggers an unconditioned (involuntary) response. • Examples: food, loud noises, painful stimuli • In Pavlov’s experiments, the US was the food. • An unconditioned response (UR) – An unlearned response to an unconditioned stimulus. • Examples: salivation to food, jumping when hearing a loud noise, moving away from something painful • In Pavlov’s experiments, salivation to the food was the UR. Kassin, Essentials of Psychology - © 2004 Prentice Hall Publishing
Classical Conditioning Pavlov’s Discovery • A conditioned stimulus (CS) – A neutral stimulus (an event) that comes to evoke a classically conditioned (learned) response due to being presented shortly before the US. • In Pavlov’s experiments, the CS was the bell. • A conditioned response (CR) – A learned response to a classically conditioned stimulus. • In Pavlov’s experiments, salivation to the bell was the CR. Kassin, Essentials of Psychology - © 2004 Prentice Hall Publishing
Classical Conditioning Pavlov’s Discovery Pavlov’s Apparatus • Pavlov classically conditioned dogs to salivate. Salivation was measured by a pen attached to a slowly rotating cylinder of paper. Kassin, Essentials of Psychology - © 2004 Prentice Hall Publishing
Classical Conditioning Pavlov’s Discovery • Before Conditioning – Unconditioned Stimulus (US) elicits Unconditioned Response (UR) • Meat powder leads to salivation – Neutral stimulus elicits no particular response • Bell leads to orienting response only, no salivation Kassin, Essentials of Psychology - © 2004 Prentice Hall Publishing
Classical Conditioning Pavlov’s Discovery • During and After Conditioning – Conditioning: Neutral Stimulus is Paired with the Unconditioned Stimulus • Bell rings, then meat powder is delivered • This procedure is repeated several times – After Several Trials of pairing the bell with the food • When Bell rings, dog salivates • The Bell is now a Conditioned Stimulus (CS) • Salivation is a Conditioned Response (CR) Kassin, Essentials of Psychology - © 2004 Prentice Hall Publishing
Classical Conditioning Pavlov’s Discovery Kassin, Essentials of Psychology - © 2004 Prentice Hall Publishing
Classical Conditioning Basic Principles • Acquisition – Formation of a learned response to a stimulus through presentation of an unconditioned stimulus • Extinction – Elimination of a learned response by removal of the unconditioned stimulus • Spontaneous Recovery – Re-emergence of an extinguished conditioned response after a rest period Kassin, Essentials of Psychology - © 2004 Prentice Hall Publishing
Classical Conditioning Basic Principles The Rise and Fall of a Conditioned Response Kassin, Essentials of Psychology - © 2004 Prentice Hall Publishing
Classical Conditioning Basic Principles Temporal Relations in Classical Conditioning • In forward pairing, the CS precedes the US. – Easiest conditioning • In simultaneous pairing, the CS and US occur together. • In backward pairing, the CS follows the US. – Most difficult Time Kassin, Essentials of Psychology - © 2004 Prentice Hall Publishing
Classical Conditioning Basic Principles • Stimulus Generalization – The tendency to respond to a stimulus that is similar to the conditioned stimulus • Discrimination – In classical and operant conditioning, the ability to distinguish between different stimuli Kassin, Essentials of Psychology - © 2004 Prentice Hall Publishing
Classical Conditioning Basic Principles • With repeated pairing, a neutral stimulus can be linked with a CS. Higher-Order Conditioning – The bell (CS) is paired with a black square. • This neutral stimulus becomes a CS. – In the example, the black square elicits salivation. • One CS was used to create another CS. Kassin, Essentials of Psychology - © 2004 Prentice Hall Publishing
Classical Conditioning Pavlov’s Legacy The Conditioning of Little Albert • An 11 -month old boy – named “Albert” – was conditioned to fear a white laboratory rat. – Each time he reached for the rat, Watson made a loud clanging noise right behind Albert. • Albert’s fear generalized to anything white and furry. – Including rabbits and a Santa Claus mask Kassin, Essentials of Psychology - © 2004 Prentice Hall Publishing
Learning Operant Conditioning • Thorndike put cats into puzzle boxes and the time it took for them to escape decreased over the number of attempts. • Law of Effect – Responses followed by positive outcomes are repeated, whereas those followed by negative outcomes are not. Kassin, Essentials of Psychology - © 2004 Prentice Hall Publishing
Operant Conditioning The Principles of Reinforcement • Operant Conditioning – The process by which organisms learn to behave in ways that produce reinforcement. • Reinforcement – Any stimulus that increases the likelihood of a prior response. Kassin, Essentials of Psychology - © 2004 Prentice Hall Publishing
Operant Conditioning The Principles of Reinforcement • Punishment – Any stimulus that decreases the likelihood of a prior response. • Shaping – Using reinforcements to guide an animal or person gradually toward a specific behavior. Kassin, Essentials of Psychology - © 2004 Prentice Hall Publishing
Operant Conditioning The Principles of Reinforcement Types of Reinforcement & Punishment Increases Behavior Decreases Behavior Present Stimulus Positive Reinforcement Punishment (give money) (give chores) Remove Stimulus Negative Reinforcement (take away chores) Negative Punishment (take away money) Kassin, Essentials of Psychology - © 2004 Prentice Hall Publishing
Operant Conditioning The Principles of Reinforcement Schedules of Reinforcement • Simple reinforcement schedules produce characteristic response patterns. • Steeper lines mean higher response rates. • Ratio schedules produce more responses than do interval schedules. Kassin, Essentials of Psychology - © 2004 Prentice Hall Publishing
Operant Conditioning Practical Applications Using Reinforcement to Boost Job Performance • All salesclerks were observed for a 20 -day baseline period. • Then, half were given cash bonuses for good performance, half were not. • The ones given cash bonuses improved job performance. Kassin, Essentials of Psychology - © 2004 Prentice Hall Publishing
Operant Conditioning Practical Applications • Condition Oneself to Break a Bad Habit – Identify specific target behavior to change – Record baseline – Formulate a plan • To increase a behavior, use reinforcement • To extinguish behavior, avoid situations where it occurs or remove reinforcements – Implement the plan, revise as needed – Maintain the change Kassin, Essentials of Psychology - © 2004 Prentice Hall Publishing
Operant Conditioning New Developments Rats in a Maze: Evidence for a Cognitive Map • Tolman trained rats in this maze, with alleys open. • If “Block A” in place, rats chose green (shorter) path. • If “Block B” in place, rats chose blue path. – Green path is also blocked. • Rats take the shortest detours, navigating as if they have an internal map. Kassin, Essentials of Psychology - © 2004 Prentice Hall Publishing
Operant Conditioning New Developments • Latent Learning: Latent Learning that occurs but is not exhibited in performance until there is an incentive to do so. • Some rats found food every time (red line) • Some rats never found food (blue line) • Some rats found food on Day 11 (green line) Kassin, Essentials of Psychology - © 2004 Prentice Hall Publishing
Operant Conditioning New Developments Hidden Cost of Rewards • Preschoolers played with felt-tipped markers and were observed. • Divided into 3 groups: – Given markers again and asked to draw – Promised a reward for playing with markers – Played with markers, then rewarded • Children who drew with the markers to get the reward were now less interested in them. Kassin, Essentials of Psychology - © 2004 Prentice Hall Publishing
Observational Learning – Learning that takes place when one observes and models the behavior of others. • Studies of Modeling – Children and others model both antisocial and prosocial behavior. Kassin, Essentials of Psychology - © 2004 Prentice Hall Publishing
Observational Learning The Process of Modeling Involves: • Attention – One must pay attention to a behavior and its consequences. • Retention – One must recall what was observed. • Reproduction – Observers must have the motor ability to reproduce the modeled behavior. • Motivation – Observer must expect reinforcement for modeled act. Kassin, Essentials of Psychology - © 2004 Prentice Hall Publishing
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