CHAPTER 6 - LEARNING

Learning – the process through which experience modifies pre-existing behavior and understanding

CLASSICAL CONDITIONING – LEARNING ASSOCIATIONS BETWEEN STIMULI

* Repeatedly pair a neutral stimulus with another stimulus that already triggers an unlearned response (e.g., reflex)

* Eventually, the once-neutral stimulus can, by itself, trigger a response similar to that original unlearned response

* Components

o UCS = unconditioned stimulus
o CS = conditioned stimulus
o UCR = unconditioned response
o CR = conditioned response
o Neutral stimulus

* Process

o Phase I – before conditioning has occurred
       
* UCS (     	           ) --> UCR (      			          )

* Neutral stimulus (         	         ) --> no response


o Phase II – the process of conditioning

* Neutral stimulus (              ) --> repeatedly presented with --> UCS (       	)


o Phase III – after conditioning has occurred
       
* CS (             ) --> CR (         			         )


* Other concepts of Classical Conditioning

o Extinction –



o Reconditioning – 


o Spontaneous recovery – 


o Stimulus generalization – 


o Stimulus discrimination – 



OPERANT CONDITIONING – LEARN ASSOCIATIONS BETWEEN RESPONSES AND THE STIMULI THAT FOLLOW THEM

* B.F. Skinner – an organism learns a response by trying actions that operate on the environment

* The likelihood that responses will reoccur is influenced by the earlier consequences of those responses

* Good things following a behavior will make it more likely to reoccur

* Bad things following a behavior will make it less likely to reoccur

* Components

o Operant – response that __________________ on environment


o Reinforcer – ______________________ that operant behavior will occur again


o Positive reinforcement – ______________ a stimulus that ___________ response


o Negative reinforcement - ____________ an unpleasant stimulus will likely _____________ the probability of that response recurring


* Escape conditioning - 


* Avoidance conditioning - 


o Learned helplessness – 



o Discriminative stimuli – 



o Stimulus generalizations –



* Forming and Strengthening Operant Behavior

o Shaping – procedure that involves reinforcing responses that come successively closer to desired response  (e.g., elevator phobia)


o Primary vs. secondary reinforcers -



SCHEDULES OF REINFORCEMENT

* Continuous reinforcement schedule –


* Partial reinforcement schedule


* Fixed ratio (FR) – reinforce after every specific, fixed number of responses


* Variable ratio (VR) – reinforce after a changing number of responses


* Fixed interval (FI) – reinforce first response after a specific, fixed time interval


* Variable interval (VI) – reinforce first response after a time interval of changing length




PUNISHMENT

* The presentation of an __________ stimulus or the removal of a ___________ stimulus that _____________ the frequency of a response


* Drawbacks of punishment

o Merely _____________ behavior

o Side effects (associate punishment with punisher)

o Must be given _____________, each time a behavior occurs

o Not informative

o May lead to __________ behavior

* How to use punishment

o Specify why it is given, and that it is the ____________ being punished

o Must be sufficiently _____________ and ______________

o Identify and positively reinforce _______________ responses


OBSERVATIONAL LEARNING – LEARNING BY OBSERVING (I.E., SOCIAL LEARNING)

* Models –



* Vicarious learning –




RECAP

Classical conditioning – learning associations between stimuli (UCS, UR, CS, CR)
Operant conditioning – learning associations between behavior and consequences

	Ask yourself:
	(1)  is the consequence increasing OR decreasing future probability of behavior?
	(2)  is something being presented or taken away?
	(3)  where does it fit in the grid below?


Increases behavior

Decreases behavior
Something presented



Something taken away





ADDITIONAL LEARNING OBJECTIVES

* Define habituation and explain why it is an example of non-associative learning. (see Learning About Stimuli)

* Discuss how attention influences which stimulus is linked to the unconditioned stimulus. Define and give an example of second-order conditioning. (see Second-Order Conditioning)

* Describe the relationship between classical conditioning and phobias, predator control, and diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease. (see Some Applications of Classical Conditioning)

* Define the law of effect. (see From Puzzle to Skinner Box)

* Define and give an example of latent learning and a cognitive map. (see Latent Learning and Cognitive Maps)

* Define insight. Discuss the differences in what is learned in classical conditioning, instrumental conditioning, and insight. (see Insight and Learning)

* Describe the research on the effects of television violence. State what conclusions are most reasonable, based on the evidence available. (see Thinking Critically:  Does Watching Violence on Television Make People More Violent?)

* Describe the representation of learning in neural networks. (see Linkages:  Neural Networks and Learning)

* Describe differences in classrooms across cultures. Define active learning and give an example (see Classrooms Across Cultures; see also Active Learning)

* Describe the roles of practice and feedback in skill learning. (see Skill Learning)