Psychology A Journey Second Edition Dennis Coon Chapter

Psychology: A Journey, Second Edition, Dennis Coon Chapter 6 Conditioning and Learning

Psychology: A Journey, Second Edition, Dennis Coon Chapter 6 Learning: Some Key Terms • Learning: Relatively permanent change in behavior due to experience – Does NOT include temporary changes due to disease, injury, or maturation – Reinforcement: Any event that increases the probability that a response will recur • Response: Any identifiable behavior – Internal: Faster heartbeat – Observable: Eating, scratching

Psychology: A Journey, Second Edition, Dennis Coon Chapter 6 Major Types of Learning • Classical Conditioning: Event-Event learning – Pavlov and his dogs; Watson and Little Albert • Operant Conditioning: Behavior-Consequence learning – Thorndike; Skinner • Observational Learning: watch and imitate – Bandura and Bo. Bo doll experiment

Psychology: A Journey, Second Edition, Dennis Coon Chapter 6 Classical Conditioning and Ivan Pavlov • Russian physiologist who initially was studying digestion • Used dogs to study salivation when dogs were presented with meat powder • Also known as Pavlovian or Respondent Conditioning • Reflex: Automatic, nonlearned innate response e. g. , an eyeblink

Figure 6. 2 Psychology: A Journey, Second Edition, Dennis Coon Chapter 6 FIGURE 6. 2 An apparatus for Pavlovian conditioning. A tube carries saliva from the dog’s mouth to a lever that activates a recording device (far left). During conditioning, various stimuli can be paired with a dish of food placed in front of the dog. The device pictured here is more elaborate than the one Pavlov used in his early experiments.

Psychology: A Journey, Second Edition, Dennis Coon Chapter 6 Classical Conditioning Terminology Unconditioned Stimulus (US) • An event that consistently and automatically elicits an unconditioned response Unconditioned Response (UR) • An action that the unconditioned stimulus automatically elicits Conditioned Stimulus (CS) • Initially a neutral stimulus. After repeated pairings with the unconditioned stimulus, the CS elicits the same response as the US. Conditioned Response (CR) • The response elicited by the conditioned stimulus due to the training.

Figure 6. 3 Psychology: A Journey, Second Edition, Dennis Coon Chapter 6 FIGURE 6. 3 The classical conditioning procedure.

Psychology: A Journey, Second Edition, Dennis Coon Chapter 6 Principles of Classical Conditioning • Acquisition: Training period when a response is reinforced (the CS is followed closely by the US) • Expectancy: Expectation about how events are interconnected • Extinction: Weakening of a conditioned response through removal of reinforcement • Spontaneous Recovery: Reappearance of a learned response following apparent extinction

Figure 6. 4 Psychology: A Journey, Second Edition, Dennis Coon Chapter 6 FIGURE 6. 4 Acquisition and extinction of a conditioned response.

Psychology: A Journey, Second Edition, Dennis Coon Chapter 6 Extinction & Spontaneous Recovery

Psychology: A Journey, Second Edition, Dennis Coon Chapter 6 An example of a conditioned emotional response (fear)

Psychology: A Journey, Second Edition, Dennis Coon Chapter 6

Psychology: A Journey, Second Edition, Dennis Coon Chapter 6 Classical Conditioning in Humans • Phobia: Intense, unrealistic, irrational fear of a specific situation or object (e. g. , arachnophobia; fear of spiders; see the movie!) • Conditioned Emotional Response: Learned emotional reaction to a previously neutral stimulus • Desensitization: Exposing phobic people gradually to feared stimuli while they stay calm and relaxed

Psychology: A Journey, Second Edition, Dennis Coon Chapter 6 Operant Conditioning (Instrumental Learning) • Definition: Learning based on the consequences of responding; we associate responses with their consequences • Law of Effect (Thorndike): The probability of a response is altered by the effect it has; responses that lead to desired effects are repeated; those that lead to undesired effects are not • Operant Reinforcer: Any event that follows a response and increases its likelihood of recurring • Conditioning Chamber (Skinner Box): Apparatus designed to study operant conditioning in animals • Response-Contingent Reinforcement: Reinforcement given only when a particular response occurs

Figure 6. 9 Psychology: A Journey, Second Edition, Dennis Coon Chapter 6 FIGURE 6. 9 The Skinner box. This simple device, invented by B. F. Skinner, allows careful study of operant conditioning. When the rat presses the bar, a pellet of food or a drop of water is automatically released.

Psychology: A Journey, Second Edition, Dennis Coon Chapter 6 Timing of Reinforcement • Operant reinforcement most effective when given immediately after a correct response • Superstitious Behavior: Behavior that is repeated to produce reinforcement, even though it is not necessary • Shaping: Molding responses gradually to a desired pattern by reinforcing successive approximations to the target response • Successive Approximations: Ever-closer matches

Figure 6. 10 Psychology: A Journey, Second Edition, Dennis Coon Chapter 6 FIGURE 6. 10 Reinforcement and human behavior. The percentage of times that a severely disturbed child said “Please” when he wanted an object was increased dramatically by reinforcing him for making a polite request. Reinforcement produced similar improvements in saying “Thank you” and “You’re welcome, ” and the boy applied these terms in new situations as well.

Psychology: A Journey, Second Edition, Dennis Coon Chapter 6 Operant Extinction • Definition: When learned responses that are NOT reinforced gradually fade away

Psychology: A Journey, Second Edition, Dennis Coon Chapter 6 More Operant Conditioning Terms • Positive Reinforcement: When a response is followed by a reward or other positive event and the effect is to increase the likelihood of it recurring (e. g. , praising desired behavior) • Punishment: Any event that follows a response and decreases the likelihood of it recurring (e. g. , a spanking)

Psychology: A Journey, Second Edition, Dennis Coon Chapter 6 Types of Operant Reinforcers • Primary Reinforcer: Nonlearned and natural; satisfies biological needs (e. g. , food, water, sex) • Secondary Reinforcer: Learned reinforcer (e. g. , money, grades, approval) • Social Reinforcer: Learned desires for attention and approval • What did critics of Skinner say? – Free will vs. determinism

Psychology: A Journey, Second Edition, Dennis Coon Chapter 6 Modeling or Observational Learning (Albert Bandura) • Model: Someone who serves as an example in observational learning • Occurs by watching and imitating actions of another person or by noting consequences of a person’s actions – Occurs before direct practice is allowed

Psychology: A Journey, Second Edition, Dennis Coon Chapter 6 Steps to Successful Modeling • • Pay attention to model. Remember what was done. Be able to reproduce modeled behavior. If a model is successful or his/her behavior is rewarded, behavior more likely to be imitated. • Bandura created modeling theory with classic Bo-Bo Doll (inflatable clown) experiments • Skinner (shaping) vs. Bandura (modeling)

Psychology: A Journey, Second Edition, Dennis Coon Chapter 6 Self-Managed Behavioral Principles • • Choose a target behavior Record a baseline Establish goals Choose reinforcers Record your progress Reward successes Adjust your plan as you learn more about your behavior