AP PSYCHOLOGY UNIT 6:

Learning

Learning: Definition Learning is a relatively permanent change in behavior or

behavioral potential that is due to experience in the environment.

1. Relatively permanent to rule out behavioral changes that result from fatigue or

motivational changes Example: Throwing side arm in sports- fatigue or learned? Exception: Short-Term Memory recall ability only lasts about

30 seconds without rehearsal – learning happens, but it’s not “relatively permanent”

“A relatively permanent change in behavior or behavior potential due to experience.” (cont.) 2. Change in behavior or behavior potential

Behavioral potential is included because learning often takes place without immediately being shown in behavior (i.e. is Latent- Learning in class).

learning may create the potential for behavior change when the conditions are right – e.g. when there is an incentive (i.e. getting an A)

3. Due to Experience in environment rule out changes that result from maturation (return to

definition) Complication: maturation usually works together with

experience to change behavior. It speeds up the learning process (i.e. ability to walk- experience and maturation)

Learning: Learning vs. Maturation It is hard to separate experience from

maturation and say something is purely learned or purely genetic.

Maturation is generally seen as preparing a species to learn a skill rapidly

Maturation vs. Learning?

Do salamanders learn to swim?

Classic Experiment by Carmichael

Experimental Group Control Group

Salamander eggs were placed in chloretone solution, a chemical that prevents movement but permits normal growth.

Salamander eggs were placed in tap water.

Did I learn or just mature?

Maturation vs. Learning?

Do salamanders learn to swim?

Classic Experiment by Carmichael

Experimental Group Control Group

Do salamanders learn to swim?

Classic Experiment by Carmichael

Experimental Group Control Group

When salamanders in the Control group reached an age when they were swimming normally, the animals in the Experimental group were tested by placing them in tap water and waiting for the paralyzing chemical to wear off.

Maturation vs. Learning?

Classic Experiment by Carmichael

This experiment has been considered to be a clear example of maturation; it is said that the salamanders immediately started to swim normally.

On close examination, the results could be seen as evidence for either maturation or learning.

But

Maturation vs. Learning?

Classic Experiment by Carmichael

Carmichael noted that from the first twitch until normal swimming occurred, there was a period of about 45 minutes in which the animals showed increasingly complex swimming movements.This could be seen as evidence for very rapid learning.

It could be said the chemical was gradually wearing off and no learning occurred.

Or

Who knows…

Associative Learning A simple form of learning in which we

comprehend that certain events occur together

We will learn about several types:HabituationSensitizationClassical or Pavlovian ConditioningOperant or Instrumental or Skinnerian

Conditioning

Habituation and Sensitization:Adaptive Functions

HabituationDecreased response to a stimulus

judged to be of little or no importanceWe engage in this type of learning so

we can tune out unimportant stimuli and focus on what matters

Return to Development and Babies? Sensitization

Increased response to a stimulus when we are anticipating an important stimulus

We engage in this type of learning so we are prepared for dangerous situations

Both concepts demonstration learning

CLASSICAL CONDITIONING

WOOF.

Classical Conditioning: Definition and History Learning in which a response naturally caused by one

stimulus comes to be elicited by a different, formerly neutral stimulus:

1. Unconditioned Stimulus (UCS) Unconditioned Response (UCR)2. Neutral Stimulus (NS) + UCS UCR3. Conditioned Stimulus (CS) Conditioned Response (CR)

Ivan PavlovAccidentally discovered classical conditioningHis experiments on digestion in dogs turned into research on learni

ngAlso worked with conditioning a defensive reflex

What did the dog “habituate” to?What had he become sensitized to?

Elements of Classical Conditioning Unconditioned stimulus (UCS)

A stimulus that naturally and automatically causes a specific response in an organism

And example of a UCS would be food Unconditioned response (UCR)

The response caused by a UCSThe UCR is automatic and unlearnedAn example of a UCR is salivation in response to

food

Elements of Classical Conditioning Conditioned stimulus (CS)

A formerly neutral stimulus (NS) that is paired with a UCS and eventually causes the desired response all by itself

An example of a CS is the bell in Pavlov’s studies

Conditioned response (CR)The learned response to the CSAn example is salivation in response to the

bell

Classical Conditioning: Pavlov’s Experiment

Before Conditioning

Food (UCS)

Salivation (UCR)

Bell (NS)

No Response

Classical Conditioning: Pavlov’s Procedure

During Conditioning

Bell (NS)

Food (UCS)

Salivation (UCR)

Classical Conditioning: Pavlov’s Procedure

After Conditioning

Bell (CS)

Salivation (CR)

Classical Conditioning In Humans

UCS = Loud Noise

UCR = Fear of Noise

NS = Rat

CS = Rat

CR = Fear of Rat

The “Little Albert” experiment demonstrated a classically

conditioned fear of white fluffy things

Real or not, Santa is scary!!!!

Classical Conditioning in Humans:Class Demonstration

Lick your finger and dip it into your cup of lemonade powder, but DO NOT EAT IT.

When you hear the tone, immediately eat the powder on your finger, and then dip your finger back into the cup to prepare for the next trial.

You must eat some of the powder immediately after each tone, but not any other time.

After several “learning” trials, you will be instructed to simply listen to the tone without eating the powder.

What happens? Label the UCS, UCR, NS, CS and CR in your notes based on the demo.

I’d say something, but, sadly, I have no

mouth.

New Learning Based on Old:Higher Order Conditioning Once a neutral stimulus becomes a conditioned

stimulus, it may function as an unconditioned stimulus to elicit new learning.

For instance, in Pavlov’s experiment, once the bell produced the salivation response in the dogs, it could be paired with a new neutral stimulus, such as a red light, until the dogs learned to salivate to the red light alone.

However… The new neutral stimulus would have to

be presented at a different time than the now CS for learning to occur

i.e. if a dog learns that the metronome predicts the shock, and the metronome is SIMULTANEOUSLY paired with a light, the light alone will not predict the behavior.

Classical Conditioning: Key Variables In order for Classical Conditioning to work the

following variables must exist:

STRENGTH - Stimuli (UCS, NS) must be noticeable enough to provoke a response.

TIMING - UCS and NS must be paired close together so that an association is made between the two. Best case: NS precedes UCS.

FREQUENCY - UCS and NS must be paired together many times so that an association is made between the two and the NS can come to elicit the same response as the UCS.

Classical Conditioning: Predictability Blocking – previous learning prevents

conditioning to a second stimulus when the two stimuli are presented together

Kamin’s Work – rats that learned to fear a tone which had been followed by a shock. When the tone was simultaneously paired with a light and followed by the shock, the rats failed to fear the light alone.

Backward Conditioning – NS may come before OR after UCS, but not before AND after.

Rescorla’s Work – tone could either mean be fearful or relax, depending when it occurred with shock (signals it has ended)

Classical Conditioning:Extinction and Spontaneous Recovery Extinction –

After a period of time passes when CS is not paired with UCS, CS returns to being an NS

e.g. Baby Albert would eventually cease to be afraid of white fluffy things after they were not paired with a horrible and frightening noise (Mary Cover Jones)

Spontaneous Recovery – Just because extinction occurs, does it mean that the learning is gone?

No! After extinction, it is not unusual to see the recurrence of the conditioned

response This proves the learning never disappeared; it was just obscured by new

learning - like interference

Classical Conditioning:Generalization and Discrimination

Generalization – An organism may learn to respond

not only to the CS, but also to other stimuli that are similar to the CS.

e.g. Baby Albert was conditioned to fear a white rat, but also feared cotton balls, rabbits, white sweaters, etc.

Discrimination – Organisms can also learn to decipher

between similar stimuli when only particular stimuli are paired with a UCS.

Classical Conditioning in the Real World:Taste Aversion and the Garcia Effect Some learning mechanisms are so

powerful they do not require frequency of pairings.

Taste Aversion – Occurs when organism becomes ill

following consumption of a particular food. Organism may never be able to eat the

food again. WHY? Discrimination and Generalization?

Garcia Effect – Using principles of taste aversion, John

Garcia put this phenomenon to good use Sprinkled carcass of sheep with a

chemical that caused illness in coyotes Coyotes did not attack the livestock

following this experience

No more livestock? Now what?

Classical Conditioning in the Real World:Preparedness and Contrapreparedness Some conditioned responses

come naturally, others do not. Preparedness

Conditioned behaviors that work well with organism’s instinctive behaviors and are easy to train

e.g. phobia of snakes or spiders Contrapreparedness

Other conditioned behaviors go against the organism’s instinctive behaviors and are difficult or impossible to train.

e.g. phobia of chairs or tables?

Scary.

Not Scary.

Classical Conditioning in the Real World:Treating Phobias

Many phobias are learned responses and can be unlearned This can be done gradually or all at once Systematic Desensitization

Therapist and client generate “fear hierarchy” of situations that are increasingly threatening

Client then learns relaxation techniquesClient experiences “in vivo” therapy to directly experience

each item on fear hierarchy to gradually unlearn his/her fear Flooding

Client faces worst-case scenario involving fearIf they can survive this, they have no reason so be fearful

every day

OPERANT CONDITIONING

Skinner BoxSkinner “Crib” containing

Skinner’s childThe Ultimate Skinner Box

Operant Conditioning Learning in which an organism

engages in a spontaneous behavior which is followed by a consequence - a reward or punishment

Organism learns to perform behavior in order to gain a reward or avoid a punishment

Law of Effect If a behavior is reinforced, it is MORE likely

to occur If a behavior is punished, it is LESS likely to

occur

History of Operant Conditioning

E.L. Thorndike Researched cats in a puzzle box Cats learned to escape from box to attain a reinforcement of food

B.F. Skinner Created a device called a Skinner Box to train organisms using operant conditioning Also did research on superstition (pigeons) and connected it to the principles of

operant conditioning

Elements of Operant Conditioning

ReinforcerA stimulus or event that

follows a behavior and makes that behavior more likely to occur again

PunisherA stimulus or event that

follows a behavior and makes that behavior less likely to occur again

Types of Reinforcement Positive reinforcer

(+)Adds something

rewarding following a behavior, making that behavior more likely to occur again

Giving a dog a treat for fetching a ball is an example

Negative reinforcer (-)Removes something

unpleasant from the environment following a behavior, making that behavior more likely to occur again

Types of Reinforcement Primary reinforcer

Adds something intrinsically valuable to the organism

Giving a dog a food for shaking hands

Secondary reinforcer Adds something with

assigned value to the organism

Giving a person $100 for each “A” on their report card

Types of Punishment Positive Punishment (+)

Adds something undesirable to decrease a behavior

Spanking a child for swearing

Negative Punishment (-) Removes something

desirable to decrease a behavior

Taking a child’s toy away for swearing

Also called omission training

Types of Punishment Primary Punishment

Method of decreasing behavior is directly threatening to organism’s survival

Beating a prisoner for trying to escape

Secondary Punishment Method of decreasing

behavior is undesirable, but not life-threatening

Taking away a prisoner’s recreational privileges for trying to escape

Complex Behaviors and Shaping Some behaviors are too complex to occur

spontaneously For these behaviors, shaping must be

usedShaping reinforces successive approximations to t

he desired behaviorOrganism eventually learns what the desired

behavior is in small stepsSimilar to playing “hot and cold”Our class demonstration?

Preparedness and Contrapreparedness in Operant Conditioning

Some changes in behavior are easily trained Preparedness

Conditioned behaviors that work well with organism’s instinctive behaviors and are easy to train

e.g. Brelands’ “Dancing Chicken”- scratch pattern Contrapreparedness

Other conditioned behaviors go against the organism’s instinctive behaviors and are difficult or impossible to train.

e.g. Brelands’ raccoon – “washing” pattern

Reinforcement vs. Punishment? Punishment not as effective as

reinforcement Does not teach proper behavior, only

suppresses undesirable behavior Causes upset that can impede learning May give impression that inflicting pain

is acceptable

Effective Punishment? Effective punishment must be

SWIFT○ Should occur as soon as possible after the

behaviorCERTAIN

○ Should occur every time the behavior doesSUFFICIENT

○ Should be strong enough to be a deterrentCONSISTENT

○ Should apply to all individuals the same way

Impact of Punishment When punishment is given

haphazardly, learned helplessness can result.Learned Helplessness occurs

when NO MATTER WHAT THE ORGANISM DOES, it cannot change the consequences of behavior.

Martin Seligman’s experiment with dogs showed that dogs given a series of inescapable shocks stopped trying to escape the shocks even when given the opportunity to escape later.

Another example would be finding that whether or not you study for your calculus tests, you fail, so you stop trying altogether.

Alternatives to Punishment An alternative to punishment if known as

AVOIDANCE TRAININGthe organism is given a “warning” before

punishment occurs so it may change its behavior in order to avoid an unpleasant consequence like a punishment.

Ex: “Counting to three” before punishment is delivered to provoke a child to stop misbehaving.

Behavioral Change Using Biofeedback Biofeedback is an operant technique

that teaches people to gain voluntary control over bodily processes like heart rate, “focus”, and blood pressure

When used to control brain activity it is called neurofeedback

Schedules of Reinforcement Continuous reinforcement vs. Intermittent

reinforcement? Interval schedules

Reinforcement depends on the passing of timeFixed-interval schedule

○ Reinforcement follows the first behavior after a fixed amount of time has passed

○ An example would be receiving a paycheck every two weeks

Variable-interval schedule○ Reinforcement follows the first behavior after a variable

amount of time has passed○ An example would be pop quizzes

Schedules of Reinforcement Ratio schedules

Reinforcement depends on the number of responses made

Fixed-ratio schedule○ Reinforcement follows a fixed number of behaviors○ For example, being paid on a piecework basis

Variable-ratio schedule○ Reinforcement follows a variable number of behaviors○ An example would be playing slot machines○ Yields the most rapid response rate

Subject does not know when reward is coming - works consistently

Subject must WORK to get reward

Response Patterns to Schedules of Reinforcement Which schedule

yields the fastest response rate?

What happened in our class demonstration?

Intrinsic and Extrinsic Motivation Reinforcement can sometimes come from within

and be intrinsically motivatede.g. Playing on a swing set is intrinsically

motivated in children Reinforcements can also be extrinsically

motivated, or come from an exogenous sourcee.g. Adults get paid for going to work – no pay, no

work. What happens when we give extrinsic

reinforcements for intrinsically motivated behavior?

Implications?

Compare and Contrast:Classical and Operant Conditioning

Cognitive Learning

Cognitive Learning Sometimes learning involves more than

simply reacting to stimuli – it involves THINKING!

Cognitive LearningLearning that depends on mental activity that is not

directly observableInvolves such processes as attention, expectation,

thinking, and memory While behaviorists typically focus on learning

that is based on reactions, cognitive psychologists explain learning in terms of additional mental processes.

Generative Learning and Insight Generative learning

Using what you know to figure out something you don’t

E.g. realizing a new song is by a favorite group of yours

InsightAfter thinking about a problem for a bit, you

suddenly figure it outE.g. Kohler’s chimps; “Genius” Chimp;

Kohler's chimps

Latent Learning and Cognitive Maps Latent learning

Edward Chance Tolman and the “Tolmaniacs”learning that takes place before the subject

realizes it and is not immediately reflected in behavior

Taking a test on material learned over the course of a few weeks

Cognitive mapping latent learning stored as a mental image

Demonstration of Latent Learning and Cognitive Mapping

Latent LearningLatent Learning: A Classic Experiment(Tolman & Honzik,

1930)Three groups of rats were given practice trials in a maze, 1 trial per day.

The maze consisted of a series of components shaped like the letter T.

A trial started when the rat was placed in the Start box and ended when he entered the Goal box, after which he was removed from the maze.

Latent LearningLatent Learning: A Classic Experiment(Tolman & Honzik,

1930)

TSTART

TTTi

TT

...

GOALWhen the rat went up the stem of the T, he reached a choice point.If he turned one way, he came to a dead end.If he turned the other way, he came to the entrance of the next component.

Latent LearningLatent Learning: A Classic Experiment(Tolman & Honzik,

1930)

TSTART

TTTi

TT

...

GOAL

Each time the rat turned into the dead end, it was counted as an error.The measure of performance (dependent variable) was the number of errors on a trial.If learning occurred, the number of errors should decrease as more and more trials were given.

Latent LearningLatent Learning: A Classic Experiment(Tolman & Honzik,

1930)GROUP 1: On every trial, these rats received food when they reached the goal box.GROUP 2: These rats never received food. They were simply removed from the maze when they got to the goal box.GROUP 3: These rats got no food on Trials 1 to 10. But on Trial 11, and every trial afterwards, they received a food reward.

Latent LearningLatent Learning: A Classic Experiment(Tolman & Honzik,

1930)

1 10 11 17Trials (1 Trial per Day)

Aver

age

Erro

rs0

2

4

6

8

1

0 GR 1 — GR 2 — GR 3 —The day-to-day decrease in errors represented a “relatively permanent change in behavior” that resulted from practice.

This was clear evidence for learning.

Latent LearningLatent Learning: A Classic Experiment(Tolman & Honzik,

1930)

1 10 11 17 Trials (1 Trial per

Day)

Aver

age

Erro

rs0

2

4

6

8

1

0 GR 1 — GR 2 — GR 3 —

Group 2 got no food but still improved slightly. Removal from the maze was a small reward.There was little evidence for learning.

Latent LearningLatent Learning: A Classic Experiment(Tolman & Honzik,

1930)

1 10 11 17 Trials (1 Trial per

Day)

Aver

age

Erro

rs0

2

4

6

8

1

0 GR 1 — GR 2 — GR 3 —

Getting no food on Trials 1 – 10, Group 3 performed like Group 2 through Trial 11.

Latent LearningLatent Learning: A Classic Experiment(Tolman & Honzik,

1930)

1 10 11 17 Trials (1 Trial per

Day)

Aver

age

Erro

rs0

2

4

6

8

1

0 GR 1 — GR 2 — GR 3 —

On the next trial, Group 3 matched Group 1, and then did even better!

Latent LearningLatent Learning: A Classic Experiment(Tolman & Honzik,

1930) InterpretationGroup 3 learned the route to the maze on Trials 1 to 10 but didn’t show it because there was no motivation to perform.

They outperformed Group 1 because the shift from no reward to reward made the reward seem larger by comparison. This is called “positive contrast.”

Latent LearningLatent Learning: A Classic Experiment(Tolman & Honzik,

1930) ConclusionWe must observe a change in behavior to say that learning has occurred, but if no change occurs, we can draw no conclusion. Learning may be present “beneath the surface.”

This supports a distinction between learning and performance.

Learning Sets and Trial and Error Learning Learning sets/Learning to Learn

refers to increasing effectiveness at problem solving through experience

organisms “learn how to learn”Figuring out how to study best

Trial and Error LearningLearn by your mistakes

Learning by Observing Social Learning Theory or

Observational Learning Theory focuses on what we learn from observing other peopleAlbert Bandura’s Bobo Doll

experiment (new link)Children imitated adult role model - adult

models behavior and child imitatesNon-human animals have even been

shown to learn through observation!Modeling refers to process of observing

and imitating a specific behavior Prosocial and Antisocial

behavior?Evil Bobo Doll

Why, BanduraWHYYYY?

Wired for Imitation: Mirror Neurons Mirror neurons are specialized neurons in the frontal lobe

that not only fire when we are engaged in certain actions, but ALSO when we watch others perform those actions.

These neurons form the basis of imitation, empathy and our social nature.Yawning, smiling, laughing, etc.Monkey study?Impact of Vicarious reinforcement and punishment?

What happens to your brainWhen you watch Cheesy Lifetime movies

Learning by Observing