LEARNING

I. Learning

A. Relatively permanent change in a behavior to a given situation brought about by repeated experiences in that situation– Changes can’t be explained by native

response tendencies, maturation, or temporary states of the person or other animal (e.g. fatigue, drugs, etc)

B. How do we learn?1. Associative learning – learning

certain events occur together2. Habituation- an organism’s

decreasing response to a stimulus with repeated exposure to it

• Ex: Ignoring traffic sounds if you live on a busy street

3. Observational Learninga. New behaviors are acquired by

watching the behaviors of othersb. Also known as modelingc. Albert Bandura Bobo doll experiment

II. Classical Conditioning

A. A subject learns to link two or more stimuli and anticipate events

B. Studied by Ivan Pavlov

C. Unconditioned stimulus (US) - naturally and automatically triggers a response– Food stimulus

D. Unconditioned response (UR) - unlearned, naturally occurring response to the US– Salivation

E. Conditioned stimulus (CS) - originally irrelevant; comes to trigger a conditioned response– Tone

F. Conditioned response (CR) - learned response to a previously neutral stimulus– Salivation in response to tone

G. Acquisition - initial stage when one links a neutral stimulus and an unconditional stimulus so the neutral stimulus begins triggering the conditioned response

H. Extinction - diminished responding when a US doesn’t follow a CS

I. Spontaneous recovery - reappearance of a weakened CR after a pause

J. Generalization - tendency for stimuli similar to the CS to elicit similar responses

K. Discrimination - learned ability to distinguish between a CS and stimuli that don’t signal a US

III.Operant Conditioning

A. Type of learning in which behavior is strengthened if followed by a reinforcer or diminished if followed by a punisher

B. Studied by B.F. Skinner

C. Operant chamber - chamber that contains a bar an animal can manipulate to get a reward

– Aka “Skinner Box”

D. Shaping - reinforcers guide current behavior toward the desired behavior

E. Discriminative stimulus - stimulus that elicits a response after association with reinforcement

F. Positive reinforcement - increasing behaviors by presenting positive stimuli

– Getting money for good grades

G. Negative reinforcement - increasing behaviors by stopping or reducing negative stimulus

– Buckling seat belt to remove dinging

H.Reinforcement Schedules

1. Continuous reinforcement - reinforcement every time a behavior occurs– Preferable until behavior is mastered

2. Partial (intermittent) reinforcement - reinforcement only part of the time– Most effective in maintaining behaviors that have

already been learned– Occasionally giving into a child’s tantrum

3. Fixed-ratio schedule - reinforcement only after a specified number of responses– Being paid on piecework basis

4. Variable-ratio schedules - reinforces a response after an unpredictable number of responses– High rate of response– Slot machines

5. Fixed-interval schedules - reinforces a response after a specified time– Choppy start and stop– Monthly paycheck

6. Variable-interval schedules - reinforces a response at unpredictable time intervals– Slow, steady rate of response– E-mail

I. Punishment

1. Aversive consequence used to weaken behavior

2. Positive Punishment - application of an aversive stimulus after a response/behavior– Touching a hot stove (response =

touching stove, stimulus = hot)

3. Negative Punishment - removal of a reinforcer– Parents taking away car keys

4. Punishment vs. Negative Reinforcement:– Punishment decreases behavior– Negative reinforcement increases

behavior

5. Problems of Punishment

a. Power disappears when threat of punishment is removed– Speed limit

b. Punishment triggers aggressionc. May trigger feard. Often applied unequally

6. Proper Punishmenta. Swiftb. Certainc. Limited in time and intensityd. Target behavior, not charactere. Limited to situation in which response

occurredf. Not give mixed messagesg. Most effective = negative punishment

IV.Motivation

A. Intrinsic motivation - desire to perform a behavior effectively for its own sake

B. Extrinsic motivation - desire to perform a behavior to receive a reward or avoid punishment