PSYCH Chapter 7 Learning Learning How Do We Learn this law Associative Learning this law a relatively permanent change in an organism s behavior due to experience Learning is more flexible in comparison to the genetically programmed behaviors of Chinooks salmon that know the place to reproduce genetically Three types of learning include operant classical associative We learn by association Our minds naturally connect events that occur in sequence 2000 years ago Aristotle suggested this law of association Then 200 years ago Locke and Hume reiterated Learning to associate one stimulus with another our minds naturally connect events that occur in sequence 2000 years ago Aristotle suggested this law of association Then 200 years ago Locke and Hume reiterated Baby Albert learned to associate loud noises and animals making him fear animals If experience fear associated with sound the sound alone may trigger fear learned response feeds our habitual behaviors o as we repeat behaviors in a given context we begin to think of those actions associated with the context Sea slug Analysia o eating popcorn is associated with the movies o If the sea slugs gills are squirted it repeatedly withdraws its gills and then eventually stops o If the sea slug gets a shock before the squirt it does not stop withdrawing because it associates the reacting It habituates shock with the squirt of water Successful adaptation of animals ot the wild requires nature and nuture as in the case of the wolves Learning to associate one stimulus with another o Noise with an animal o Squirt with a shock Learning to associate a response with a consequence o Sea with a herring if claps or barks Classical Conditioning Learning the association of two stimuli o See lightning and hear thunder eventually will see lightning and wince anticipating thunder Ideas of classical conditioning originate from old philosophical theories However it was the Russian physiologist Ivan Pavlov who elucidated classical conditioning His work provided a basis for later behaviorists like John Watson o Proposed that behavior was not based on mentalistic ideas o Humans and animals learn in the same way o These two concepts are behaviorism Classical conditioning forms associations between stimuli CS and US Classical conditioning involves respondent behavior that occurs as an automatic response to a certain stimulus Ivan Pavlov s Experiments o Noticed that dogs would salivate even at the sight of food o Redirected the dog s salvia to measuring device harnessed and isolated the dog o First slipped the food under the hatch the dog would then salivate o Then put meat powder smell under the dogs nose o Then started classical conditioning with other non related stimuli The ringing of a bell signaled food so when heard the bell would salivate These stimuli were termed neutral events Later a buzzer touching on the leg and sight of a circle would trigger salivating o Unconditioned response uncontrollable response For example the salivation in response to food because cannot control salivation o Unconditioned stimulus This is a stimuli that triggers the unconditioned response uncontrollably The food in the mouth would be an unconditioned response because it triggers salvation Salivation to the bell was conditional on learning the association between the sound and food The previously neutral stimulus that when learned now triggered conditional salivation o Conditioned response o Conditioned stimulus o Acquisition Conditioning does not happen when the unconditioned stimulus comes before the Initial learning of the stimulus response relationship The only reason we learn this association because it helps us prepare for good or bad Conditioning helps an animal reproduce by responding to clues that can help it mate avoid Higher order functioning a new neural stimulus that can become a new conditioned conditioned stimulus events stimulus dangers locate mates etc Needs to become associated with a pre conditioned stimulus Ex female and sexual arousal Light and female Tends to be weaker than the first order conditioning Ex afraid of dogs because once bit by a pitbull The barking of a dog reminds you o Extinction and Spontaneous Recovery of the pitbull and you become slightly afraid Extinction the diminished responding when the CS tone occurs without the US food the result is a waning After a pause the CS reappears spontaneous recovery Proves extinction lessens the response but does not eliminate it The rising curve shows that the CR rapidly grows stronger as the CS and US are repeatedly paired acquisition then weakens as the CS is presented alone extinction After a pause the CR reappears spontaneous recovery o Generalization When a tone that the dog never heard before but was still a tone the dog would salivate If the dog was conditioned CS to be rubbed on the leg rubbing on another body part would illicit the response This is called generalization Can be adaptive Toddlers fear moving cars therefore fear moving trucks o Discrimination The dogs learned to respond to the specific tone that was sounded and not other tones Learning to discriminate between the CS and other irrelevant stimuli In the dismissal of mentalistic processes and behavior Pavlov and Watson overlooked cognitive processes Extending Pavlov s Understanding and biological constraints on learning o Cognitive processes Animals can learn predictability of an event If a rat is shocked when preceded by a tone and a light is sometimes shown the rat will not wince when the light is shown because the tone is a better indicator The more predictable the association the stronger the conditioned response expectancy If an alcoholic s drink is spiked with a nausea inducing drug the alcoholic will not completely blame the sick feeling on the alcohol but rather the drug that is put in it o Biological Constraints predispostions Not all animals associate as well they are constrained by their biology because it is what helps them survive Some animals like rats can develop associations even if the US is triggered well after the CS radiation water and vomiting However cannot develop CR to sounds and sights mainly only tastes Because their biology made them learn that tasting it the best way to identify poison Humans are also more prone to taste aversion If eat mussels and become ill afterward learn to dislike mussels rather than the restaurant the music or the people you were with Pavlov s Legacy since animals of all types
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