Chapter 5

Learning relatively permanent change in behavior brought about by experience or

practice
Relatively permanent when people learn anything, some part of their brain is
physically changed to record what theyve learned (memory process)
Experience or practice changes behavior (painful experience, etc)
Maturation changes controlled by a genetic blueprint due to biology (not practice)
Ex: height, size, child walking
Ivan Pavlov
-

pioneered the empirical study of the basic principles of a particular kind of

learning

studied the digestive system of his dogs

measured the amount of saliva produced by the dogs

Food stimulus; Salvation - response

Reflex unlearned, involuntary response that is not under ones choice/control

Stimulus any object/event/experience that causes a response
Response reaction of an organism
Classical Conditioning
-

learning to make an involuntary response to a stimulus other than the original,

natural stimulus that normally produces the reflex

1. Unconditioned Stimulus unlearned

original, naturally occurring stimulus

stimulus that leads to the reflex response

Pavlovs dogs example: food

Reinforce of the CS-CR association

2. Unconditioned Response

Reflex response to the unconditioned stimulus

Unlearned and occurs because of genetic wiring in the nervous

system

Pavlovs dogs example: salivation to food

3. Conditioned Stimulus learned

Could be associated with Unconditioned stimulus if often paired with it

Originally a neutral stimulus

Learning occurs when neutral stimulus is often paired with

unconditioned stimulus and reflex response produced

Not as strong as UCS

Pavlovs dogs example: dish

4. Conditioned Response

Similar to UCR

DIFF: response given to the CS

DIFF: not as strong as UCR

*Acquisition repeated pairing of the NS and the UCS; process of acquired learning
Summary: Classical Conditioning
-

goal: to create new responses to a stimulus

response: involuntary and reflexive

expectancy:

Stimulus-Response Psychology

Learning to make an involuntary response (reflex)

Ivan Pavlov and the Salivating Dogs

Unconditioned Stimulus Unconditioned Response

Neutral Stimulus Conditioned Stimulus

Neutral Stimulus Unconditioned Stimulus Unconditioned Response

Conditioned Stimulus Conditioned Response

Example: girls smell-guys reaction-scent

Scent: Neutral Stimulus Conditioned Stimulus

Girl: Unconditioned Stimulus

Guy: Unconditioned Response Conditioned Response

Pavlovs Canine Classic or Tick tock tick tock

-

experiment that paired the ticking sound of metronome with presentation of

food

NS: tick tock of metronome

4 Principles in Classical Conditioning

1. CS before UCS
2. CS and UCS must come very close together in time (<5 sec)
3. NS must be paired with UCS several times (so learning takes place)

4. CS must be distinctive from the competing stimuli

Other Concepts in Classical Conditioning:
a. Stimulus Generalization tendency to respond to a stimulus that is only
similar to the original conditioned stimulus with the conditioned response
(hearing similar sound strength of similarity)
b. Stimulus Discrimination tendency to stop making a generalized response to
a stimulus that is similar to the original conditioned stimulus because the
similar stimulus is never paired with the unconditioned stimulus
(getting used to the sound so it no longer has an effect)
c. Extinction disappearance or weakening of a learned response following the
removal or absence of the unconditioned stimulus
d. Spontaneous Recovery the reappearance of a learned response after
extinction
e. Higher-Order Conditioning neutral stimulus becomes a second conditioned
stimulus (original CS UCS)
f.

Conditioned Emotional Response (CER) emotional response that has

become classically conditioned to occur to learned stimuli

Watson, phobias, advertisements (sexy models, cute babies)

g. Banduras Vicarious Learning classical conditioning of a reflex response or

emotion by watching the reaction of another person
h. Conditioned Taste Aversion development of a nausea or aversive response
to a particular taste (up to 6 hours before nauseated)

i.

violates: pairing of the CS and UCS closed timing

violates: several pairings of CS with UCS

used as a tool to stop coyotes from killing ranchers sheep (viceversa)

Biological Preparedness tendency of animals to learn certain associations,

such as taste and nausea, due to the survival value of the learning

conditioned taste aversion (associate taste/visual with illness)

phobic reactions (fear-inducing stimuli, snake bite & fear of snakes)

Why does Classical Conditioning work?

a.

Stimulus Substitution original theory of Pavlov; classical conditioning

occurs because CS became a substitute for the UCS through pairing
close in time

b.

Cognitive theory modern theory of Rescorla; classical conditioning

occurs because the CS provides information on the coming of the UCS
resulting to an expectancy

Operant Conditioning
-

Operant any voluntary behavior

the learning of voluntary behavior through the effects of pleasant and

unpleasant consequences to responses

Thorndike Hungry cat in puzzle box (the experiment)

Law of Effect if an action is followed by a pleasurable consequence, it

will tend to be repeated, and if followed by an unpleasant consequence, it may

be gone
-

BF Skinner

Coined the operant conditioning

Effect of consequences on behavior heart of operant conditioning

Classical: antecedent (what comes before)

Operant: what happens after If I do this, whats in it for me?

Operant Conditioning Concepts

Reinforcement (to strengthen)
-

when following a response, causes that response to be more likely to happen

again

consequence that is in some way pleasurable to the organism (goes back to

Thorndikes law of effect)
i.

Reinforcer any events or objects, that when following a response,

increase the likelihood of that response occurring again

a)

Positive Reinforcement reinforcement of a response by the addition or

experiencing of a pleasurable stimulus (sticker, rewards, affirmation)

b)

Negative Reinforcement reinforcement of a response by the removal,

escape from, or avoidance of an unpleasant stimulus (retention grade to avoid failing)

c)

Partial Reinforcement Effect the tendency for a response that is

reinforced after some, but not all, correct responses to be very resistant
to extinction

d)

Continuous Reinforcement the reinforcement of each and every

correct response

e)

Interval Schedule timing of the response is more important

i.

Fixed IS the interval of time that must pass before reinforcement

becomes possible is always the same (pay check once a week)

ii.

Variable IS the interval of time that must pass before

reinforcement becomes possible is different for each trial or event
(pop quizzes)

f)

Ratio Schedule number of responses is more important (raffle tickets)

i.

Fixed the number of responses required for reinforcement is

always the same (every 10 stamps = free frappe)

ii.

Variable number of responses required for reinforcement is

different for each trial or event (Casino coins in but not sure how
many times to do this before jackpot)

g)

Timing and reinforce only the desired behavior

Punishment

it is the opposite of reinforcement, used to weaken a response

any event or object that, when following a response, makes that response less
likely to happen again
h)

Punishment by application punishment of a response by the addition

or experiencing of an unpleasant stimulus (spanking for disobeying)

i)

Punishment by removal punishment of a response by the removal of a

pleasurable stimulus (losing a privilege like going out)

*Sometimes: negative reinforcement goes with punishment

Making Punishment more Effective
1. Punishment should immediately follow the behavior it is meant to punish
2. Punishment should be consistent
3. Punishment should be paired with reinforcement of the right behavior
*Discriminative Stimulus any stimulus, such as a stop sign or a doorknob, that provides
the organism with a cue for making a certain response on order to obtain reinforcement
Other Concepts In Operant Conditioning

a. Shaping reinforcement of simple steps in behavior that lead to a desired, more

complex behavior (dogs in contests)
b. Successive Approximation small steps in behavior, that lead to a particular goal
behavior
c. Extinction removal of the reinforcement
d. Spontaneous Recovery recurrence of operant responses after extinction
Applying Operant Condition Biological Constraints
j.

instinctive drift tendency for an animals behavior to revert to genetically

controlled patterns

k. behavior modification use of operant conditioning techniques to bring about

desired changes in behavior
a)
l.

token economy desired behavior is rewarded with tokens

applied behavior analysis modern term for a form of functional analysis and
behavior modification that uses a variety of behavioral techniques to mold a
desired behavior or response

m. biofeedback using feedback about biological conditions to bring involuntary

responses (blood pressure and relaxation) under voluntary control
a)

neurofeedback using brain-scanning devices to provide feedback

about brain activity to modify behavior (electroencephalograh)

CC and OC today
The significance of Skinners Cognitive Learning Theories
n. Tolmans Latent Learning learning that remains hidden until its application
becomes useful
o. Seligmans Learned Helplessness tendency to fail to act to escape from a
situation because of a history of repeated failures in the past
p. Kohlers Insight Learning AHA! moment; sudden perception of
relationships among various parts of a problem, allowing the solution to the
problem to come quickly
q. Banduras Observational Learning learning new behavior by watching a
model perform that behavior
r.

Learning/Performance Distinction learning can take place without actual

performance of the learned behavior

Elements of Observational Learning

Attention

Memory

Imitation

Motivation