ECC PSY 100 Chapter 5 Learning.pptx

Learning

Learning

•

_{A process that leads to an enduring change in}

behavior or knowledge.

– _{Comes from our experiences.}

•

_{For example: You can learn this material by}

experiencing

it in class and at home.

– _{Anyone afraid of anything that they haven’t always}

been?

Learning

• _{Many ways to learn information.}

• _{Conditioning – The process of learning associations}

between environmental events and behavioral responses.

– _{Basically: We learn how the environment and our behavior are}

connected and act in predictable ways as a result.

– _{Applies to a major portion of how we learn throughout our}

lives.

• _{Two types:}

– _{Classical Conditioning}

Classical Conditioning

•

_{Developed by Ivan Pavlov}

•

_{Originally studying the role of saliva in digestion}

in dogs.

•

_{“Accidentally” discovered that the dogs would}

eventually salivate uncontrollably to the sound of

the feeding bell, before they were actually

presented with food.

•

_{This led to the development of}

_Classical

Classical Conditioning

•

_{Classical Conditioning}

– _{Learning through repeatedly pairing a neutral}

Classical Conditioning

•

_{Components of Classical Conditioning:}

– _Stimuli:

• _{Neutral (NCS)}

• _{Unconditioned (UCS)} • _{Conditioned (CS)}

– _Response:

Classical Conditioning

•

_Stimuli:

– _{Neutral (NS): Stimulus that does not cause any}

response before it is paired with the unconditioned stimulus.

– _{Unconditioned (UCS): Stimulus that occurs naturally} • _{CAUSES THE UCR}

• _{(e.g. Thunder)}

– _{Conditioned (CS): Stimulus that causes the}

“conditioned response”.

Classical Conditioning

– _Response:

• _{Unconditioned (UCR): A response that occurs naturally}

– _{CAUSED BY UCS}

– _{(e.g. Salivating, Jumping when startled, etc…)}

• _{Conditioned (CR): The learned response to the}

Pavlov’s Experiment

• _{NS – Bell} • _{UCS – Food}

• _{CS – Bell after pairing bell + food repeatedly}

• _{UCR – Salivating at food} • _{CR – Salivating at bell}

• _{The goal is to turn the UR into a CR.}

Another Example

•

_{http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eo7jcI8fAuI}

•

_NS?

•

_UCS?

•

_CS?

Another Example

•

_{NS: “That was easy”}

•

_{UCS: Being shot with a toy gun (painful)}

•

_{CS: “That was easy”}

•

_{UCR: Jumping at the feeling of pain.}

•

_{CR: Jumping in anticipation of pain after}

Factors That Affect Conditioning

•

_Timing:

– _{VERY IMPORTANT}

– _{Conditioning most effective when the neutral}

stimulus (the intended CS) is presented immediately before the UCS.

• _{Bell THEN food.}

• _{If food is given before the bell the dogs will never learn}

that the bell means they will get food.

Factors that Affect Conditioning

•

_{Stimulus Generalization}

– _{Occurs when stimuli that are similar to the original}

conditioned stimulus also elicit the conditioned response, even though they have never peen paired with the unconditioned stimulus.

– _{Basically, things that are similar to the CS can also}

cause a CR unintentionally.

Factors that Affect Conditioning

•

_{Stimulus Discrimination}

– _{Occurs when you only exhibit a CR to a specific CS,}

and not other similar stimuli.

– _{Generally indicative of good and specific}

conditioning.

– _{For example: Being afraid of fluffy white rats, but}

Remember!

•

_{Steps of Classical Conditioning:}

•

_{1. US->UR}

Classical Conditioning in the Real World

•

_Problem:

– _{Coyotes prey on sheep belonging to farmers}

•

_{How could you use classical conditioning}

Classical Conditioning in the Real World

•

_Solution:

– _{Gustavson and Gustavson (1985)}

• _{Took sheep meat (CS)}

• _{Sprinkled meat with chemical (US) to cause upset}

stomach (UR)

• _{After becoming sick from the altered meat the coyotes}

The Birth of Behaviorism

• _{As a result of Pavlov’s experiments, Behaviorism became a large}

focus in psychology.

– _{Only cares about observable, measurable behaviors – not our thoughts.}

• _{Founded by John Watson.}

– Believed that virtually all human behavior is a result of conditioning and learning.

– _{“Give me a dozen healthy infants, well-formed, and my own specified}

world to bring them up in and I’ll guarantee to take any one at random and train him to become any time of specialist I might select – doctor, lawyer, artist, merchant-chief, and yes, even beggar-man and thief,

regardless of his talents, penchants, tendencies, abilities, vocations, and race of his ancestors”.

Operant Conditioning

•

_{Developed by B.F. Skinner}

•

_{Operant – Any behavior that generates}

consequences.

– _{The nature of the consequences are unimportant,}

only that they occur.

•

_{Operant Conditioning}

– _{Learning based on associating one’s own voluntary}

Operant Conditioning

•

_{Different from Classical Conditioning}

– _{Classical Conditioning}

• _{Focused on association between stimuli}

– _{Operant Conditioning}

Thorndike and the Law of Effect

• _{Thorndike’s Law of Effect}

– _{If a response in a particular situation is followed by a}

satisfying consequence, it will be strengthened

– _{If followed by an unsatisfying consequence it will be}

weakened

• _{Thorndike’s Puzzle Box}

–

OC: Discriminative Stimulus

•

_{Discriminative Stimulus}

– _{Stimulus situation that sets the occasion for a}

response to be followed by a reinforcement or punishment

– _{“Sets the occasion” for a response to be rewarded}

• _{Being in class (Discriminative Stimulus) sets the}

occasion for question-asking to be rewarded.

• _{A ringing phone (Discriminative Stimulus) sets the}

OC: The Nature of Reinforcement

• _{Reinforcement – consequences that increase the}

likelihood of a particular response happening again

– _{Positive – an event that increases the likelihood of a}

response

• Example: getting a candy bar for asking a question in class

– _{Negative – an event that, when removed, increases the}

likelihood a response

• _{Example: seat belt alarm in a car that only stops when the seat}

OC: The Nature of Punishment

• _{Punishment – Consequences that decrease the}

likelihood of responding in a similar way again

– _{Positive punishment - an event that decreases the}

likelihood of a response when presented after the response

• Example: Scolding a child for running in the street

– _{Negative punishment - an event that, when removed,}

decreases the likelihood a response

OC: The Use of Punishment

• _{Punishment may not always be appropriate} – _{Only teaches what NOT to do}

– _{Doesn’t teach the appropriate behavior}

• _{Also, what we may think is punishment may not be} – _{Crying child who wants attention}

• We punish the child but in turn are giving him what he wants – attention. This can actually reinforce the unwanted behavior.

• _{Learned Helplessness}

– _{Exposure to inescapable and uncontrollable aversive events produces}

passive behavior.

• _{When we can’t escape or control punishment then we tend to become passive}

Schedules of Reinforcement

•

_{Partial reinforcement}

– _{Reinforcement is only given sometimes after the}

response

– _{Four types:}

Partial Reinforcement Schedules

•

_Fixed-Ratio

– _{A fixed number of responses is required for}

reinforcement

– _{Example: one piece of candy for every 8 correct}

answers

– _{Elicits steady, consistent responding because the}

Partial Reinforcement Schedules

•

_{Variable-Ratio}

– _{A certain number of responses is required for}

reinforcement, but the number changes

– _{Example: one piece of candy after one correct}

answer, then every 3 answers, then 2, then 5…..

– _{Elicits high rates of responding because do not}

know when next reward will occur.

Partial Reinforcement Schedules

•

_{Fixed-Interval}

– _{Reinforcement is given for responses that occur}

after a fixed amount of time

– _{Example: 5 minutes after asking questions, a}

correct answer gets one piece of candy

– _{Elicits low response rates – no reason to respond}

Partial Reinforcement Schedules

• _{Variable-Interval}

– _{Reinforcement is given for responses that occur after a}

certain amount of time, and the time changes

– _{Example: 5 minutes after questions, an answer gets one}

piece of candy; 2 minutes later, 10 seconds….

– _{Example: calling someone, getting busy signal – you need}

to call back, but not clear how long needs to pass

– _{Elicits high response rates because not predictable when}

Shaping

•

_{How do you train a response that never occurs}

in the first place?

•

_{Shaping – Reinforcement is delivered for}

Shaping: Example

• Reinforcing a mouse to push a lever:

– 1. Simply turning toward the lever will be reinforced

– 2. Only stepping toward the lever will be reinforced

– 3. Only moving to within a specified distance from the lever will be reinforced

– 4. Only touching the lever with any part of the body, such as the nose, will be reinforced

– 5. Only touching the lever with a specified paw will be reinforced

– 6. Only depressing the lever partially with the specified paw will be reinforced

Biological Constraints on Learning

•

_{Can’t teach just any response in any situation}

– _{Biological constraints limit responses that can be}

taught.

•

_{Raccoons and coins}

– _{Can use learning principles to teach a raccoon to}

pick up a coin but it’s biological responses will lead it to rub and dunk the coin – never put it in the

Biological Constraints on Learning

•

_{Instinctual Drift}

– _{Behaviors that go against animals biological drives}

can be learned

– _{However, over time these behaviors will erode}

OC: The Nature of Reinforcement

•

_{Primary Reinforcers:}

– _{A stimulus that acts as a natural reinforcer and}

requires no prior learning experiences.

•

_{Conditioned Reinforcers (Secondary}

Reinforcer):

– _{A stimulus that acts as a reinforcer because of}

prior learning experiences

What Does Classical and Operant

Conditioning Boil Down To?

• _{Behavior Modification}

– The primary use of operant and classical conditioning is behavior modification.

– However; we learn many original behaviors without purposefully engaging in conditioning.

• _{If we learn behaviors from conditioning, and modify}

behaviors from conditioning…do we actually have any active role in our lives or are they

predetermined based on the stimuli we encounter?

Practical Uses: Classical Conditioning

•

_{Classical Conditioning:}

– _{http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nE8pFWP5QD}

CC

•

_{Neutral Stimulus – Sound of “Windows”}

shutting down.

•

_{UCS – Offer Altoid}

•

_{UCR – Realize needs an Altoid.}

•

_NS+UCS

•

_{NS = “Windows” shutting down makes Dwight}

Practical Uses: Operant Conditioning

•

_{Operant Conditioning:}

– _{http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=euINCrDbbD4}

Learning from Others: Observational

Learning

• _{It would be extremely dangerous to only learn about the}

consequences our behavior through simple trial and error

• _{Observational Learning - Learning by observing the}

experience of others

– _{Has great adaptive value}

• _{Chimpanzees in the wild learn how to use stone tools to crack}

open nuts by observing older chimps eating

• _{Also, cats can to wash their food from watching other cats}

Learning From Others: Modeling

•

_{Modeling – Tendency to imitate the behavior}

of significant others

•

_{Vicarious reinforcement – When the model is}

reinforced for an action, the viewers

Modeling: Bobo

•

_{Bandura and the Bobo doll}

– _{http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vdh7MngntnI}

•

_{Children modeled their behavior after the}

adult

Properties of Learning

•

_{Extinction and Spontaneous Recovery.}

– _{Extinction – Weakening and disappearance of the}

conditioned behavior.

• _{In Classical Conditioning: Presenting the neutral}

stimulus without following it with the UCS.

• _{In Operant Conditioning: Providing inconsistent}

consequences for the same behaviors.

– _{Spontaneous Recovery – The reappearance of a}

How Is This Useful?

•

_{Conditioned Fear Responses}

•

_{Conditioned Taste Aversion}

•

_{Re-Conditioning of maladaptive behaviors.}

•

_{Helps us understand the world around us.}

•

_{Helps us determine what to do in vague}

situations.

•

_{Allows us to shape our environment to better}