AP Psychology

Social and Cognitive Learning

Cognitive Learning

• Cognitive theorist argue that CC / OC have a cognitive component

• Pavlov’s contiguity model– The strength of the association between two

events is closely linked to the number of times that they have been paired

Cognitive Learning

• Rescorla’s contingency model– Robert Rescorla– Took into account more complex circumstances– It is necessary for one event to reliably predict

another for a strong association between the two to result

– A is contingent upon B when A depends upon B and vise versa

Cognitive Learning• overjustification effect • occurs when an expected external incentive

such as money or prizes decreases a person's intrinsic motivation to perform a task

• people pay more attention to the external reward for an activity than to the inherent enjoyment and satisfaction received from the activity itself

Cognitive Learning• overjustification effect • The overall effect of offering a reward for a

previously unrewarded activity is a shift to extrinsic motivation and the undermining of pre-existing intrinsic motivation.

• Once rewards are no longer offered, interest in the activity is lost; prior intrinsic motivation does not return, and extrinsic rewards must be continuously offered as motivation to sustain the activity

Cognitive Learning

• Behaviorists believe that CC and OC explain almost all learning

• Cognitive psychologists believe that the behaviorist underestimate the importance of cognitive processes

• Argue that cognitive or mental processes such as thinking and perception also play a key role in learning

• Insight Learning / Insight Learning

Insight Learning• Wolfgang Kohler (1887-1967)• Sultan (chimpanzee)• Suspended bananas just outside the reach of

Sultan• Sultan did not solve through trial-and-error

(like rats and pigeons)• Sultan studied the problems and in a flash of

insight used a stick to knock down the fruit

Insight Learning Studies

Insight Learning - Sultan

Insight Learning

• Insight Learning – sudden understanding of how to solve a problem

• Behavior could not be explained by either CC or OC

Latent Learning

• Edward Tolman (1898-1956)• Rats in a maze

Latent Learning

• Latent = hidden• Learning that becomes evident only once a

reinforcement is given for demonstrating it

Latent Learning• Group 1 of rats ran through a maze to obtain

food• Group 2 of rats explored the maze without

receiving food• Some time later…– Tolman compared the two groups to determine

how quickly they could find the food at the end of maze

– Tolman reported that the second group of untrained rats found the food as quickly as the first group of trained rats

Latent Learning

Latent Learning

• Tolman said the untrained rats developed a “cognitive map” or “mental maps” of the maze

• They used this latent or hidden learning to rapidly find the food

• Latent learning is not outwardly used until the situation calls for it

Observational Learning• Occurs through watching others and then

imitating or modeling the observed behavior• Aka… Social Learning, Vicarious Learning• Biological Basis – mirror neurons in the

cerebral cortex– fires both when an animal acts and when the

animal observes the same action performed by another

Observational Learning• Modeling - process of observing and imitating

a specific behavior• Two basic components– Observation and Imitation

• Example…Hitting a baseball– Observation – watching the older brother, a young

boy learns to hit a baseball– Imitation – next, he picks up a bat and tries to

imitate that behavior

Bobo Doll Studies• Albert Bandura (1925)• Group 1-2 - Allowed 4-year old children to

separately watch a live or televised adult model aggressively kick, punch, and shout at a large inflated Bobo doll

• Group 3 – control group did not watch aggressive models

Bandura – Bobo Doll• Bandura then allowed the children to play in a

room with several toys including a Bobo doll• Group 1-2 (children who watched live or

televised aggressive model) were much more likely to imitate the aggressive behavior that the control group (Group 3)

• Children are more likely to imitate actions of a role model or someone of higher status

Observational Learning• Powerful influence on behavior• Examples…– A high school BB player attends a summer camp

taught be college players. The HS player returns home an incorporates their moves, trash talk, and training practices in his game

– Parents want to teach their 5-year-old twins to share a bedroom. The parents model sharing by demonstrating such cooperative behaviors as making the bed, hanging up clothes, and sweeping the floor

Abstract Learning• Involves understanding concepts (such as tree

or same) rather than learning to press a bar or peck a dish in order to secure a reward

• Believe some of the animals in Skinner boxes were able to understand some concepts

Abstract Learning

• Example…• Pigeons have been shown a particular shape

(square or triangle) – In one trial they were awarded when they pecked

the same shape– In another they were awarded when they pecked

a different shape* Suggests that pigeons “understand” concepts and are not simply forming SR connections