Ch 9 On-Line!

Classical Conditioning & Learning

Learning:
A relatively permanent change in behavior that results from experience.

Classical Conditioning:
A learning procedure in which a neutral stimulus is paired with an unconditioned
stimulus to produce a conditioned response.

Ivan Pavlov-Russian physiologist-studying the digestion of dogs

-dogs were given meat powder at periodic intervals
-dogs began to salivate at the sight of the researchers before they were given the meat
powder
-Pavlov then paired (presented together) the meat powder and a neutral stimulus (a
recognizable action that meant nothing to the dogs), ringing a bell and it caused the dogs
to salivate.
This is called “Classical Conditioning”-the saliva is the conditioned response, the bell is
the conditioned stimulus.

If the bell is the conditioned stimulus what other kind of stimulus is there?

__ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ Stimulus

And the UCS is?

__ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __

If Salivating to the bell is the conditioned response what other kind of response it there?

__ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ Response

And the UCR is?

__________________________________!

Learning-a relatively permanent change in behavior based on experience

Stimulus-something that produces some action in an organism

Response-the reaction to a stimulus

Conditioning at Mr. Mathews’ House!
The Door Bell is _________________.
Fido, Socks, and Me slobbering is _____________.
The Pizza is the __________________.

The Tails, er Tales of two Dogs:

First the Samson Scenario:

I had a little white pup, his name was Samson.

Samson was a sniffer. Every time I'd take that puppy on a

walk, he'd take forever to do his business! Here a sniff, there a
sniff, sniff, sniff, sniff! Come On puppy do your thing!

Know how to condition this pup using:

A leash which you can pull
A clicker

You will have a

Neutral Stimulus (NS) which will be paired with an
Unconditioned Stimulus (UCS)
The NS becomes a Conditioned Stimulus (CS) and illicits a CR
after conditioning.

Aristotle’s Law of Association

*associations-mental connections between two stimuli
Three parts of this law:
1. recall of one object will produce a recall of similar objects (aka meat powder and all
food)
2. recall of one object will produce a recall of things that were experienced at the same
time as the original (Pairing)
3. the more often two things are experienced together, the stronger the association
becomes (this is the basis of __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __!)

Unconditioned response (UCR)-a response that is involuntary (salivating when you smell
food)

Unconditioned stimulus (UCS)-the food that produces salivation is this

Conditioned response (CR)-salivating at a bell (it is not natural and must be conditioned,
get it?)
Conditioned stimulus (CS)-the bell ringing is the stimulus, it is conditioned by
introducing food after it rings

Give me some other examples…

Pavlov’s observations
Time between CS and UCS-the stimulus should occur .5 seconds before the event (bell
before food)

Repetition-the more often the CS and UCS are paired, the stronger the response

Extinction-If the conditioned stimulus is presented without the UCS, the CR fades

Generalization and Discrimination-generalization is grouping things together (allergic

reaction from tomatoes, you avoid apples)
-discrimination-if you are afraid of tigers, you aren’t afraid of kittens
Applications of Classical Conditioning
Three ways psychologists use classical conditioning:
1. Counterconditioning-if you’re afraid of small animals, you’re given a pleasurable food
at the same time you see small animals-pleasure is associated with the stimulus (small
animals)

2. Flooding-forced exposure to the stimulus to decrease the negative response (put an

agoraphobic in a crowd)

3. Desensitization-gradually introducing a stimulus to reduce the undesirable response

(fear of spiders-first look at pictures, then look at one across the room, then look at one
up close, then touch one)

Operant conditioning- Learning in which an action is reinforced or

punished.

Reinforcement- Stimulus or event that follows a behavior and increases a

behavior
Primary and secondary reinforcer-
Primary- Stimulus such as food or water that is naturally rewarding
and satisfying.
Secondary- Stimulus that is rewarding due to a link with a primary
reinforcer.

The 4 schedules of reinforcement-

Fixed Ratio- A pattern of reinforcement which reinforces after a set
number of actions are performed. ex- Migrant farms workers get $1 for
every 4 baskets of strawberries they fill.
Fixed Interval- A pattern of reinforcement that reinforces after a set
amount of time passes. ex- Mr. Mathews gets paid every two weeks.
Variable Ratio- A pattern of rein. in which an unpredictable number of
responses are required for reinforcement. ex- BLACK JACK!
Variable Interval- A pattern of rein. in which an unpredictable amount
of time passes between reinforcements. ex- Hot Potato!

shaping
Aversive control
escape and avoidance conditioning
Punishment- Stimulus or event that follows a behavior and DECREASES
the behavior.
Superstition- occurs when an irrelevant behavior is reinforced or punished.

Stimulus Control in Operant Cond.- Chp. 9

Signals- Differ from Reinforcers
They are not a punishment or reward
Primary Reinforcer- Satisfies basic need
Secondary Reinforcer/ Conditioned Reinf.
Converted Signal
Promise of Primary Reinforcer
Aversive Control= Unpleasant consequences which influence much of our everyday
behavior.
Negative Reinforcers- a painful or unpleasant stimulus is removed or not applied at all,
which increases the frequency of a behavior.
Escape conditioning- a person’s behavior causes an unpleasant event to stop.
Avoidance conditioning- a person’s behavior has the effect of preventing an unpleasant
situation from happening at all.
Punishment- Unpleasant stimulus, which decreases the frequency of the behavior that,
produced it.
Conclusion- Negative reinforcement and punishment operate in opposite ways. In
negative reinforcement, escape or avoidance behavior is repeated, and increases in
frequency. In punishment, behavior that is punished decreases or in not repeated!
Caveats of Aversive Control?
The cycle. Punishment can be a form of attention. Harsh attention is better than no
attention, hence punishment may actually increase the very behavior is desires to reduce.
Negative reinforcer may increase stress and may hamper performance of behavior (shock
testing). Also, avoidance and escape will certainly increase as negative reinforcement is
applied, again decreasing the very behavior it is meant to increase.

Social Learning:
SL is the process of altering behavior by observing and imitation the behavior of others.

Cognitive learning and modeling help makeup what we know as social learning. SL
involves decision making based on available information. Information replaces
reinforcement in social learning.

Cognitive Learning: A form of altering behavior that involves mental processes and may
result from observation or imitation.

Cognitive Map: a mental picture of spatial relationships or relationships among events

Latent Learning: alteration of a behavioral tendency that is not demonstrated by an

immediate, observable change in behavior
Learned Helplessness: Me folding laundry, what’s the Use? I ask you seriously, try
don’t try. There is no Shaping, (rewarding closer and closer approximations of desired
behavior), it’s this aint right, now get upstairs and be prepared for your punishment.
1- Success depends on luck, not skill
2- Subjects have no control over their enviorn
Shoot, if she really wanted to exercise Behavior Modification, she would have employed:
1- Systematic application of learning principles such as
a. Classical Conditioning
b. Operant conditioning
Social Learning
Modeling- Learning by imitating others; copying behavior.

Look at Principal Reidy, he's picking up trash as he walks across campus, why
do you suppose he's doing that?
Look at Mr. Mathews, he's picking up Aluminum cans as he walks across
campus, why is he doing that?

Shaping- The desired behavior is molded by first rewarding any act similar to
that behavior and then requiring ever-closer approximations to the desired
behavior before giving the reward.
You're doing great, you are almost there, keep it up ....
Disinhibition- An observer sees one engage in a dangerous or inadvisable
behavior without being punished the observer may be more prone to repeat
that behavior.
Behavior Modification- Systematic application of learning principles (classical
and operant conditioning) to change people's actions and feelings.
 BM involves a series of well-defined steps to change behavior.
The success of each step is carefully evaluated to find the best solution
for a given situation.

People on Academic or disciplinary probation will be put on contracts. They

must hit certain goals to get certain rights back- All A's, B's and C's and you can
stay. All A's and B's and you can play sports. All A's and you can drive.
That's behavior modification!
No student discipline notices and you can stay
No phone calls or e-mails and you can play sports
No deans, no sdn's, and no calls for 1 month and you can avoid the meds
Behavior Modification is a more broad form of shaping. We aren't just
training one act, we want to train you to be a better YOU!!