Learning/Behaviorism

Operant and Observational learning

Operant conditioning

• Association between a behavior and a consequence

E.L. Thorndike

• Puzzle box paradigm– Learning curve for escape

• Law of effect– Successful behaviors are likely to be repeated

B.F. Skinner

• Major pioneer of behaviorism– All responses can be

scientifically measured

• Skinner box– Used to shape

complex behaviors

Learning and association between a response and a consequence

• Consequence must follow a behavior

• Reinforcement - increases the likelihood of the response

• Punishment - decreases the likelihood of the response

Reinforcement

• Positive reinforcement +– Adds something desirable

• Negative reinforcement -– Takes away something unpleasant– NOT punishment!!

Reinforcement

• Primary reinforcers - innately satisfying

• Secondary (conditioned) reinforcers - associated with satisfaction

Punishment

• Positive punishment +– Adds something unpleasant

• Negative punishment -– Takes away something desirable

Punishment

• Not simply the opposite of reinforcement

• Creates several unwanted side effects– Suppresses all behaviors– Creates fear– Teaches/increases aggression & cruelty

Extinction

• In the absence of a consequence, behavior will diminish

Shaping

• Complex behaviors are created by reinforcing successive approximations of the desired behavior– Each response that comes closer to the

desired behavior is rewarded– Discreet segments of the behavior eventually

comprise the whole behavior

Reinforcement schedules

• Affect speed and retention of learning

• Continuous reinforcement

• Partial reinforcement– Fixed ratio– Variable ratio– Fixed interval– Variable interval

Generalization and discrimination

• Generalization– Organism makes the response beyond the

reward-related context

• Discrimination– Organism learns the context in which the

behavior will result in the consequence

Applications of operant conditioning

• Behavior modification– Applied behavioral therapy– Animal training– Teaching children good behaviors and basic

skills– Increasing employee productivity

Classical and Operant conditioning

• Contrast– Classical conditioning creates an automatic response– Operant conditioning teaches an association between

behavior and consequence

• Compare– Associative learning, involving:

• Acquisition• Extinction• Generalization• Discrimination

– Both influenced by biological and cognitive predispositions

Biological predispositions

• Learning is constrained by biology– Associations are learned when they are

naturally adaptive– Training that override biological tendencies is

short-lived• Example: Performing pig

Biological predispositions

• Animals learn associations between biologically relevant stimuli very quickly– John Garcia - taste aversion & one-trial

conditioning

Cognitive processes - Latent learning

• Depends on and demonstrates cognitive processes in operant conditioning

• Tolman’s hungry rats

• Memory processes store the learning– Not all learning is an immediate behavioral

response to a stimulus or potential consequence

Cognitive processes - Motivation

• Affects behavioral performance

• Intrinsic motivation– Intrinsic rewards

• Extrinsic motivation– Extrinsic rewards

Motivation

• Rewards may undermine intrinsic motivation– Humans have a tendency to view external

rewards as the motivation to perform a task– Intrinsic interest is diminished

• Rewards for good work do not diminish intrinsic motivation– Reward based on confidence and pride in

hard work can support intrinsic motivation

Motivation

• Rewards undermine intrinsic motivation by turning a naturally rewarding situation into a “job”– People focus on external rewards– Obscures the value of intrinsic rewards

Observational learning

• Animals and humans learn through watching and imitating others

• Part of typical development

Observational learning

• Observational learning utilizes mirror neurons– Neurons in the frontal cortex– Respond to observation of activity and

emotion

Albert Bandura

• Observational learning relies on watching another’s behavior and observing the outcome

• Bobo doll study

Positive observational learning

• Modeling/observation of prosocial behaviors increases the occurrence of those behaviors– Children who observe regular prosocial

behaviors engage in those behaviors and exhibit prosocial attitudes

– Adult behavior can also be influenced by prosocial behaviors

Negative observational learning

• Modeling/observation of negative behaviors can have antisocial effects – Children exposed to violence are more

aggressive• Immediate and delayed effects of exposure to

violence• Likelihood of abused children becoming abusers

Negative observational learning

• Television is a model of many negative behaviors– Correlation– Causation

• Effects of media violence on attitudes and behaviors– Imitation

• Media provides a script

– Desensitization• Overexposure diminishes the meaning of violence