Learning • A relatively permanent change in

– behavior, – knowledge, – capability, or – attitude – that is acquired through

experience – and cannot be attributed to

illness, injury, or maturation• Infants do not ‘learn’ how to walk as

basic motor skills and maturation govern every species.

LEARNING

BEHAVIORIST PERSPECTIVEBEHAVIORIST PERSPECTIVE

• Learning----Learning----– Is a relatively permanent Is a relatively permanent

change in behaviorchange in behavior

BASIC ASSUMPTIONS of Behaviorism People’s behaviors are largely the result of their

experiences with environmental stimuli Person is born as a blank slate (Locke’s Tabula Rasa) Environment writes on this slate – conditions individual

Learning can be described in terms of relationships among observable event – Stimuli and responses

Learning is a change in behavior Learning is most likely to occur when stimuli and

responses occur close together in time. CONTIGUITY – events occur together

Many species of animals, including humans, learn in similar ways Rats, pigeons,

Classical Conditioning

A type of learning through which, by association, an organism learns to associate one stimulus with another.

• working with emotional component, INVOLUNTARYINVOLUNTARY operates on the

– involuntary nervous system

– endocrine system

– smooth muscles

– When you are conditioned, you can’t help yourself! You just respond.

• Stimulus– Any event or object in the environment to

which an organism responds

• Response– Any reaction evoked by a stimulus

Classical ConditioningThe Process of Classical

Conditioning• Discovered by accident

during saliva experiment• Observed salivary response

occurring before presentation of food

• when dogs heard footsteps of lab assistants

• heard food dishes rattle• saw the attendant who fed

them• Or spotted their food.

Classical Conditioning

• Unconditioned Stimulus (UCS)– A stimulus that elicits a specific unconditioned response

without learning• Food

• Loud noise

• Light in eye

• Puff of air in eye

• Unconditioned Response (UCR)– A response that is elicited by an unconditioned stimulus

without prior learning.• Salivation

• Startle

• Contraction of pupil to light

• eye blink response

Classical Conditioning

• Conditioned Stimulus (CS)– A neutral stimulus that, after repeated pairing with an

UCS, becomes associated with it and elicits a CR

• Conditioned Response (CR)– The learned response that comes to be elicited by a CS

as a result of its repeated pairing with an UCS.

• Higher-Order Conditioning– Occurs when the CS are linked together to form a series

of signals• The steps leading to a blood draw at a clinic

Steps to a Conditioned Response• Neutral Stimulus (NS) alone No Response

– Tone (NS) Tone (NS) NR NR

• Unconditioned Stimulus (UCS) UCR– Food Food Salivation Salivation

• Tone + Food Tone + Food Salivation SalivationNS + UCS UCR

Paired often enough Tone MEANS FOOD

Steps to a Conditioned Response

• The Tone becomes a CONDITIONED CONDITIONED STIMULUSSTIMULUS ( CS )

• We can get a response without the food ( UCS )

• We now have

CS CS CR CR

Changing Conditioned Responses

• Extinction– The weakening and eventual

disappearance of the CR as a result of repeated presentation of the CS WITHOUT the UCS.

• Spontaneous Recovery – Reappearance of an extinguished

response after exposure to the original CS following a rest period.

Changing Conditioned Responses

• Generalization– The tendency to make a CR to a

stimulus that is similar to the original CS.

• Discrimination– The learned ability to distinguish

between similar stimuli so that the CR occurs only to the original CS but not to similar stimuli

John WatsonJohn Watson and Emotional Conditioning

• In 1919 initiated experiment to prove fear could be classically conditioned.– ‘Little Albert’– Conditioned to be

afraid of• White rats

• Other white objects

Classical Conditioning in Daily Life

Smell and taste are closely associated because the smell of a particular food is a signal for its taste and the physical sensation associated with eating it.

You can imagine how the fresh bread smells, tastes, and its texture by viewing the picture.

Classical Conditioning in Daily Life

• What happens when you smell food?– Stomach rumbles due to

digestive processes that typically follow the smell and taste of food

– Pancreas responds to counteract conditioned rise in blood sugar after a sweet taste on the tongue

Classical Conditioning in Daily Life

• Taste Aversion– The intense dislike and/or avoidance of a

particular food that has been associated with nausea or discomfort.

• Chemotherapy – Chemotherapy treatments can result in a

conditioned taste aversion, – Providing a “scapegoat” target can help

patients maintain a proper diet

Classical Conditioning in Daily Life

• Dental visits– Sound of the drills and suction– Smell of the office– Sight of the chair and light

• Drug use– The CS associated with drug use lead

individuals to seek out those substances– Counselors urge recovering addicts to avoid

any cues (people, places, and things)