PSYC 4520 1st EditionExam #4 Study Guide Lectures: 22-29Lecture 22 (November 3)IntroductionWhat is the basic belief of behavioral psychologists?They believe that a person can modify behavior by applying basic principles of learning.Compare the views of behavioral theorists and social learning theorists.Early behaviorists limited their descriptions to observable behaviors. Social learning theorists expanded the approach to include both observable and unobservable concepts (e.g. thoughts, values, expectancies, individual perceptions). Social learning psychologists also noted that people can learn simply by watching someone else or hearing about someone else’s behavior.What is the appeal of the behavioral/social learning theory?It is simple and rational and allows a lot of space of behavior change. BehaviorismWhat are the origins of behaviorism?In 1913, psychologist John Watson argued that if psychology were to be a science, psychologists must not examine mental states; this was not a legitimate scientific study. Rather, they should study overt behavior, which can be predicted, observed, and controlled. Behaviorism is the 2nd force in American psychology (psychoanalysis is 1st and humanism is 3rd).What was B.F. Skinner’s idea about behaviorism?He coined radical behaviorism. He did not deny the existence of thoughts and inner experience but challenged the extent to which we can observe the inner causes of our behavior. He said that we simply label our behavior rather than find a cause for it; for example, if we are nervous about a party and decide not to go, we cite our anxiety as the reason. However, Skinner said that behavior does not changebecause you feel anxious; the decision to skip the party and the anxiety are both conditioned reactions to the situation. Basic Principles of ConditioningWhat are the ideas of traditional behaviorists?They explain the causes of behavior in terms of learning experiences (conditioning). They do not deny the influence of genetics but downplay its importance relative to conditioning. They say that, to understand the processes that shape our personalities and develop ways to change behaviors, we must examine conditioning principles. Thus, they believe in “nurture” more than “nature.” Behaviorists say that all behavior is conditioned (learned) via classical conditioning (which relies on connections) or operant conditioning (which relies on consequences).Classical ConditioningWhat is classical conditioning?Classical conditioning begins with an existing stimulus-response (S-R) association. Some people cringe (response) whenever they see a spider (stimulus). Our behavior repertoire contains a lot of S-R associations; for example, you may feel faint when you see blood.How did Pavlov demonstrate classical conditioning?He used the S-R association of food and salivation. He presented dogs in his lab with meat powder (stimulus), to which they salivated (response). Because this association existed without conditioning, the meat powder is the “unconditioned stimulus” (UCS) and the salivation the “unconditioned response” (UCR). Then, he paired the unconditioned stimulus with a new, conditioned stimulus (CS). Whenever he presented the meat powder to the dogs, he also sounded a bell. After several trials of presenting the meat powder and bell together, Pavlov sounded the bell without the powder. The dogs began to salivate at the sound of the bell, even though no meat powder had been presented. Salivation was now the “conditioned response” (CR), part of a new S-R association (bell tone-salivation) in the dogs’ behavioral repertoire.What is second-order conditioning?Once the new S-R association is established, it can be used to condition still another S-R association. For example, if you paired a green light with Pavlov’s bell, after a while the dogs would start to salivate whenthe light came on. This process of building one conditioned S-R association on another is called “second-order conditioning.”What is extinction?For a new S-R association to persist, the unconditioned/conditioned stimuli must be paired occasionally/reinforced. When Pavlov presented his conditioned dogs with just the bell tone, the dogs salivated less and less until finally failing to salivate to the tone at all. This gradual disappearance of the conditioned S-R association is called “extinction.”Application: Explaining Psychological DisordersDescribe the case of Little Albert.Watson showed how “abnormal” behaviors are created through normal conditioning. He used classical conditioning to create a fear of white rats in an 11-month-old baby (Little Albert). Watson began with theS-R association between a loud noise and fear: whenever Watson made the noise, Albert would cry/show other signs of fear. Next, Watson showed Albert a white rat, each time accompanied by the loud noise. Soon Albert responded to the white rat the same way he had to the noise, even when the noise was not sounded. Thus, Watson said, what seemed like an abnormal fear of white rats in an infant could be explained by past conditioning.What does Little Albert’s case say about our fears?Behaviorists say that many of our seemingly irrational fears may have been developed similarly. We may not recall when bridges or snakes were ever associated with an existing fear, but these associations couldhave taken place long ago or even without our awareness.Lecture 23 (November 5)Operant ConditioningWhat are the origins of operant conditioning?Researcher Edward Thorndike described the law of effect: behaviors are more likely to be repeated if they have satisfying consequences and less likely to be repeated if they have unsatisfying consequences.What is operant conditioning?Operant conditioning concerns the effect certain consequences have on the frequency of behavior. A consequence that increases the frequency of a behavior is a reinforcement; one that decreases the behavior is a punishment. Positive reinforcement occurs when the behavior increases because it is followed by a reward. Negative reinforcement occurs with the removal of an unpleasant stimulus when the behavior occurs. While classical conditioning begins with an existing S-R bond, operant conditioning uses behaviors the organism emits spontaneously. What is the Skinner box?Skinner put a rat in a chamber and reinforced or punished behaviors. When the rat pressed a bar, Skinner gave it food (positive reinforcement); the rat learned to