CHAPTER 4 LEARNING LECTURE NOTES NOTE You are responsible for all information in the book regardless of whether or not it is covered in this lecture Further you are responsible for all information in the lecture regardless of whether or not it is presented in the lecture notes provided below Chapter 4 o Learning The process of acquiring knowledge A relatively permanent change in behavior or potential behavior that results from experience Not a result of aging or physical development o Noticing and Ignoring Orienting Response An inborn tendency to notice and respond to new or surpising events Habituation The decreased response to a repeated stimulus Sensitization Increased responsiveness or sensitivity to an event that has been repeated o Classical Conditioning CC Ivan Pavlov Psychic Secretions Classical Conditioning a form or learning conditioned and inconditioned stimuli occurs outside of one s control A set of procedures used to investigate how organisms learn about the signaling properties of events It involves learning the relations o Terminology of CC Unconditioned Response UCR An observable response that is produced automatically natural response not learned Example jump when we hear thunder Unconditioned Stimulus UCS SA stimulus that automatically leads to an observable response Example Salivation startle Conditioned Response The acquired response that is produced by the conditioned stimulus in anticipation of the unconditioned stimulus Ex salivating Conditioned Stimulus The neutral stimulus that leads to a conditioned response Ex Footsteps o Forming the Conditioned Stimulus Unconditioned Stimulus Connection A conditioned stimulus will become the signal for the unconditioned stimulus when it provides information about the delivery of the UCS Normal Conditioning For the association to be most effective the conditioned stimulus bell has to be presented before the unconditioned stimulus food Simultaneous Conditioning food and the bell at the same time Backward Conditioning bell after the food o Second Order Conditioning A procedure in which an established conditioned stimulus is used to condition a second neutral stimulus Pavlov s dog associate the bell and the food Advertising associate actors with the advertise o Stimulus Generalization A response to a new stimulus in a way similar to the response produced by an established conditioned stimulus The case of Little Albert the rat and the clanging noise o Stimulus Discrimination Responding differently to a new situation than how one responds to an established conditioned stimulus Natural tendency is to generalize o Extinction Presenting a conditioned stimulus repeatedly without the unconditioned stimulus resulting in a loss in responding o Spontaneous Recovery the recovery of an extinguished response when the conditioned stimulus is presented again after a delay o Operant Conditioning Through Operant Conditioning we learn that our actions rather than a conditioned stimulus lead to particular outcomes o The law of Effect Edward Thorndike The Law of Effect o a response in a particular situation is followed by a satisfying or pleasant consequence then the connection between the response and that situation will be strengthened if a response in a particular situation is followed by an unsatisfying or unpleasant consequence the connection will be weakened o Basically if a behavior is followed by a positive consequence then the behavior is more likely to occur again o Reinforcement Positive Reinforcement when the presentation of an event after a behavior increases the likelihood of that behavior occurring again Appetitive Stimuli money food water likely to have appetite for Negative Reinforcement When the removal of a negative event after a behavior increases the likelihood of the behavior occurring again Negative Reinforcement is NOT A BAD THING o It is still used to INCREASE a behavior by taking something negative away o Punishment Punishment Temporary is used to decrease the likelihood of a behavior o Positive Punishment When the presentation of a consequence after a behavior decreases the likelihood of that behavior occurring again o Negative Punishment When the removal of something after a behavior decreases the likelihood of that behavior o Which is Better Positive Reinforcement something to INCREASE behavior Negative Reinforcement something to INCREASE behavior Positive Punishment something to DECREASE behavior Negative Punishment something to DECREASE behavior o Reinforcement Schedules o o o o Schedule of Reinforcement A rule used to determine when particular behaviors will be reinforced Continuous Reinforcement Schedule When a behavior is followed by reinforcment every time it occurs Partial Reinforcement Schedule When a behavior is followed only some of the time after it occurs Partial Reinforcement Schedules Ratio of actual behavior Interval passage of time Variable Unpredictable Fixed ratio Requires a certain NUMBER of responses before reinforcement occurs The number of responses required before reinforcement is FIXED It produces a STEADY and CONSISTENT rate of responding because the reinforcement is predictable Variable Ratio Schedules Also requires a certain NUMBER of responses before reinforcement However the number required CHANGES and is not fixed It produces HIGH rates of responding because the rewards are unpredictable Fixed Interval Schedule Reinforcement is provided to the first response that occurs after a FIXED amount of TIME has passed The pattern of responding that occurs is THAT IT SLOWS DOWN after reinforcement and then GRADUALLY as the time interval comes to an end Variable Interval Schedule In this type of schedule the amount of TIME before reinforcement CHANGES and is NOT fixed STEADY responding pattern o Shaping Skinner Reinforcements are delivered for successive approximation to the desired response o Observational Learning Ability to learn from the experiences of others o Modeling Bandura Vicarious Learning Vicarious Punishment