PSY 101Chapter 6 Learning: change in an organism’s behavior or though as a result of experience; chemical changes that allowed you to learn novel facts (depends on associating one thing with another)Types of learning:1) Habituation: process by which we respond less strongly over time to repeated stimuli (ex: chronic stoners have become accustomed to the sound of their own snoring, they no longer notice it) *fetuses display this as early as 32 weeks2) Sensitization: repeated exposure to stimuli but responds more strongly over time. Occurs more when stimulus is dangerous or irritating or both. -Eric Kandel: neuropsychologist uncovered the biological mechanism of habituationof Aplysia, a 5in sea slug. Touching it in the same spot repeatedly and it begins to ignore the stimulus. Kandel found that this habituation is accompanies by a progressive decrease in release of the neurotransmitter serotonin at Aplysia’s synapses. Helped psychologist unravel the neural bases of learning. -Psychologist studied habituation by measuring sweat using electrical conductivity measure called the skin conductance response. British Associationist: school of thinkers in 19th century believes we acquire virtuallyall of our knowledge through conditioning. Conditioning: forming associations among stimuliPavlov’s Discovery of Classical Conditioning :Initial Exposure to Meat powder- Neutral stimuli: one that didn’t elicit any particular response; metronome, a clicking pendulum that keeps time.- Unconditioned Stimuli (US): a stimulus that elicits an automatic/reflexive response; meat powder- Unconditioned Response (UR): automatic, reflexive response it elicits; salivation*Animal doesn’t need to learn to respond to the unconditioned stimulus; animalsnaturally drool and so the animal generated the UR without training. Response isa product of nature (genes) not nurture (experience)Metronome and Meat powder- Conditioned Stimuli (CS): a previously neutral stimulus that comes to elicit a conditioned response as a result of its associated with an unconditioned stimulus; metronome- Conditioned Response (CR): response previously associated with a nonneutral stimulus that comes to be elicited by a neutral stimulus; salivation*The dog, which previously did nothing when it heard the metronome except turn head, now salivates.-Most cases the conditioned response is fairly similar to unconditioned response butrarely identical to it. *Pavlov found that the dogs salivated less in response to the metronome (the CS) than to the meat powder (the UCS)* CLASSICAL CONDITIONING IS REPLICABLEBefore conditioning: - Habituation/baselineDuring conditioning: - Acquisition- learning phase during which a conditioned response is establishedAfter conditioning: - Extinction-gradual reduction and eventual elimination of the conditioned response after the conditioned stimulus is presented repeatedly without the unconditioned stimulusSpontaneous recovery: sudden reemergence of an extinct conditioned response after a delay in exposure to the conditioned stimulusRenewal effect: sudden reemergence of a conditioned response following extinction when an animal is returned to the environment in which the conditioned response was acquiredStimulus generalization: process by which conditioned stimuli similar, but not identical, to the original conditioned stimulus elicit a conditioned responseStimulus discrimination: process by which organisms display a less pronounced conditioned response to conditioned stimuli that differ from the original conditioned stimulusHigher-order conditioning: developing a conditioned response to a conditioned stimulus by virtue of its association with another conditioned stimulusLatent Inhibition: difficulty in establishing classical conditioning to a conditioned stimulus we’ve repeatedly experienced alone, that is, without the unconditioned stimulusFetishism: sexual attraction to nonliving thingsClassical Conditioning Summary:- Learning can help us prepare for what likely comes next- Process; form association between two paired stimulio One already evokes reflexive responseo One was neutral -Aka, Pavlovian conditioning-Important in Everyday life-Neutral S comes to having meaning and result in a visceral/involuntary responseOperant Conditioning: “ACTIVE BEHAVIOR”-Learning controlled by the consequences of the organism’s behavior-AKA “Instrumental condition” since the organism’s response serves an instrumentalfunction; gets something out of the response, like food, sex, attention, or avoiding something unpleasant.KEY DIFFERENCE BETWEEN OPERANT AND CLASSICAL CONDITIONINGClassical conditioning: - The organism is passive- Responses are reflexes (limited number of possible responses)- Responses are elicited- Reinforcement is unrelated to learning the associationOperant conditioning:- The organism is active, “operating” on the world- Responses are voluntary behaviors (limitless possible responses)- Response are emitted- Reinforcement is contingent on the desired responseClassical conditioning Operant conditioningTarget behavior is… Elicited automatically Emitted voluntarilyReward is… Provided automatically Contingent on behaviorBehavior depends primarily on…Autonomic nervous systemSkeletal musclesLaw of effect: principle asserting that if a stimulus followed by a behavior results in areward, the stimulus is more likely to give rise to the behavior in the futureApplications of Classical Conditioning:- Advertisers repeatedly pair their products with stimuli that elicit positive emotions- Advertisers also make extensive use of higher-order conditioningLearning and Health: Escalation-Conditioned emotional responses: craving*Pavlov’s first experiment was to ring a bell and cause his dog to attack Freud’s catOperant Conditioning-Behavior is governed by consequences-Operant Conditioning: “Active” behavior that is governed by its’ consequences-Thorndike (1874-1949)- Law of effect Responses -> favorable consequences will increase in probability & Rs -> unfavorable consequences will decrease in probability-Behavior is governed by its consequences-Operant conditioning- Process; changing behavior by following it with consequences- Aka instrumental conditioningOperant Conditioning: From simple to complex behavior- B.F. Skinner- Shaping-a technique for establishing a new response by reinforcing successive approximations (usually works forward-closer and closer)- Chaining-a procedure