AP Psychology

Learning12/2/13

Learning• Any relatively permanent change in behavior

resulting from experience or training.

• Associative learning: learning that certain events occur together.

• Observational learning: learning from the behavior of others.

• Associative learning & observational learning fit best with what subfield(s) of psychology? (not behavioral…) Why?

Learning

• Habituation: a decrease in response to a stimulus after repeated exposure.

• Classical conditioning: associating two stimuli in order to anticipate events.

• Operant conditioning: associating a behavior with a consequence, thereby reinforcing certain behaviors.

Classical conditioning

• Ivan Pavlov (pictured) & John B. Watson subscribed to behaviorism.

• What is behaviorism?

• How did behaviorism lead to humanistic psychology?

Ivan Pavlov

• Studying digestion in dogs when he noticed their salivation before the presentation of food.

• “Psychic secretion”• Measured the amountof saliva produced bydogs and determinedthey had learned when food would come based on another stimulus—classically conditioned.

Pavlov’s terms…

• Unconditioned stimulus• Unconditioned response• Neutral stimulus• Conditioned stimulus• Conditioned response

• Create a short experiment that labels each of these parts.

Pavlov’s other terms…

• Acquisition• Extinction• Spontaneous recovery• Generalization• Discrimination

• Come up with an example of each for your mini-experiment

Classical conditioning & cognition

• Though Pavlov largely rejected the influence of cognitive psychology on behavior, the phenomenon of predictability suggests otherwise

• Varying levels of utility between two conditioned stimuli

Classical conditioning & biology

• Negative unconditioned responses, even if not immediate, lead to avoidance.

• Aversions to stimuli develop particularly with senses that are ecologically relevant (taste for a rat, sight for an eagle).

Videos!

• Little Albert (done by John B. Watson): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9hBfnXACsOI

• CC 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eo7jcI8fAuI

• CC 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WfZfMIHwSkU

Operant conditioning

• Classical vs. Operant?• Respondent behavior vs. Operant behavior

• Behavior operates based on the environment.

Law of Effect

• Edward Thorndike put a cat in a box.

• Pushing the lever once to get out leads to a much quicker recurrence next time.

• Law of Effect: Behavior that is rewarded is likely to recur.

B.F. Skinner

• Did not believe in human free will

• Any behavior is the result of consequences

• Designed experiment with rats in boxes that made them repeat a meaningless behavior in order to receive rewards.

• Called “radical behaviorism”: all action is determined, not free. Emphasizes observable behavior over any cognitive processes.

Operant chamber (Skinner box)

• A box with a device that produces a reward of some sort when manipulated.

Operant terminology

• Shaping• Successive approximations

• Come up with a system to get a freshman to do your psychology homework using shaping and successive approximations.

Reinforcement

• An event that strengthens a behavior.

• Positive reinforcement: positive = gain• Negative reinforcement: negative = remove• Primary reinforcers• Secondary reinforcers

Reinforcement• Immediate vs. delayed reinforcers• Come up with an example of you favoring

immediate reinforcers, despite a cognitive realization of delayed gratification’s advantage.

• Continuous reinforcement• Partial reinforcement (intermittent

reinforcement)

• Greater resistance to extinction?

Reinforcement Schedules

• Fixed-ratio schedule: set # of responses• Variable-ratio schedule: unpredictable # of

responses• Fixed-interval schedule: set period of time• Variable-interval schedule: unpredictable

period of time

Punishment

• A reinforcer that decreases a behavior.

• Positive punishment: positive = add• Negative punishment: negative = subtract

• Come up with an example of positive punishment and negative punishment for a cat that threw a hairball up on you.

Quick activity

• Anagrams!

• Take the word and write down another word using the same letters.

• Raise your hand when you are finished.

Learned helplessness

• Helpless behavior that does nothing to eliminate punishment or gain reward.

• In learning, this usually occurs when punishments (or rewards) are unpredictable and inescapable, thus causing the organism to feel helpless and encourage defeatist behavior.

Learning & incentives

• Cognitive map: a mental representation of one’s environment.

• Remembering a cognitive map is an example of latent learning: learning that occurs but only manifests itself with an incentive.

Learning & incentives

• Intrinsic motivation: “interior” desire • Extrinsic motivation: “exterior” desire

• Overjustification effect:Extrinsic reinforcers -> decreased intrinsic motivationExtrinsic removed -> behavior disappearsIntrinsic motivation does not returnExtrinsic motivation required for behavior• Example: pizza for reading books

Videos!

• Rats: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=drnnulHw5CM

• Operative conditioning: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qy_mIEnnlF4&feature=PlayList&p=4C9C76AA3D761AA8&playnext_from=PL&playnext=1&index=30

Learning proposals…

• Due on Friday, 12/6/13.

• Create two examples of learning: one by classical conditioning and one by operant conditioning. Rubric on separate paper.

• Need some inspiration? Come up with some tricks to teach your pet (or little sister).