Psychological Foundations Learning Learning Unlearned Behavior Learned Behavior

Psychological Foundations Learning

Learning Unlearned Behavior Learned Behavior • Instinct: unlearned knowledge, • Learning: change in behavior involving complex patterns of or knowledge that is the result behavior; instincts are thought of experience to be more prevalent in lower • Associative learning: form of animals than in humans learning that involves • Reflex: unlearned, automatic connecting certain stimuli or response by an organism to a events that occur together in stimulus in the environment

Types of Learning • Classical conditioning: Organisms learn to associate events—or stimuli—that repeatedly happen together • Operant conditioning: Organisms learn to associate events—a behavior and its consequence (reinforcement or punishment) • Observational learning: the process of watching others and then imitating what they do

Classical Conditioning

Higher-Order Conditioning

Processes in Classical Conditioning The rising curve shows the conditioned response quickly getting stronger through the repeated pairing of the conditioned stimulus and the unconditioned stimulus (acquisition). Then the curve decreases, which shows how the conditioned response weakens when only the conditioned stimulus is presented (extinction). After a break or pause from conditioning, the conditioned response reappears (spontaneous recovery).

Classical Conditioning: Stimulus Discrimination and Generalization • Stimulus discrimination: ability to respond differently to similar stimuli • Stimulus generalization: demonstrating the conditioned response to stimuli that are similar to the conditioned stimulus • Habituation: when we learn not to respond to a stimulus that is presented repeatedly without change

Classical Conditioning and Behaviorism Behaviorists believe that human behavior is primarily the result of conditioned responses The perspectives on learning in this module come from behaviorism

Operant Conditioning Law of effect: behavior that is followed by consequences satisfying to the organism will be repeated and behaviors that are followed by unpleasant consequences will be discouraged • (a) B. F. Skinner • (b) Skinner box

Operant Conditioning: Reinforcement and Punishment Reinforcement Punishment Positive Something is added to increase the likelihood of a behavior. Something is added to decrease t he likelihood of a behavior. Negative Something is removed to increa se the likelihood of a behavior. Something is removed to decreas e the likelihood of a behavior.

Primary and Secondary Reinforcers • Primary reinforcer: has innate reinforcing qualities (e. g. , food, water, shelter, sex) • Secondary reinforcer: has no inherent value unto itself and only has reinforcing qualities when linked with something else (e. g. , money, gold stars, poker chips) • Shaping: rewarding successive approximations toward a target behavior

Reinforcement Schedules Description Result Example Fixed interval Moderate delivered at predictable response rate with time intervals (e. g. , after 5, significant pauses 10, 15, and 20 minutes). after reinforcement Hospital patient uses patientcontrolled, doctortimed pain relief Variable interval delivered at unpredictable Moderate yet time intervals (e. g. , after 5, steady response 7, 10, and 20 minutes). rate Checking Facebook Fixed ratio delivered after a predictable number of responses (e. g. , after 2, 4, 6, and 8 responses). High response rate with pauses after reinforcement Piecework Variable ratio delivered after an unpredictable number of responses (e. g. , after 1, 4, 5, and 9 responses). High and steady response rate Gambling

Response Patterns for Different Reinforcement Schedules

Latent Learning that occurs but is not observable in behavior until there is a reason to demonstrate it • Cognitive map: a mental picture of the layout of the environment

Observational Learning We can learn by watching others • Model: person whose behavior that serves as an example • Vicarious punishment: observer sees the model punished, making the observer less likely to imitate the model’s behavior • Vicarious reinforcement: observer sees the model rewarded, making the observer more likely to imitate the model’s behavior

Practice Problem Give an example of something you have learned through classical conditioning and identify the UCS, UCR, CS, and CR. In what ways is this different from operant conditioning?

Quick Review • Compare and contrast the three basic forms of learning —classical conditioning, operant conditioning, and observational learning? • How does classical conditioning work? Include NS, UCR, CS, and CR • What are the processes of acquisition, extinction, spontaneous recovery, generalization, and discrimination? • In operant conditioning what is the difference between reinforcement and punishment?

Quick Review • What is shaping? • What is the difference between primary and secondary reinforcers? • How do different reinforcement schedules impact behavior? • What are latent learning and cognitive maps? • What are the steps in the modeling process for observational learning?