Objectives: Chapter 6(Learning)Pages 206-2331. Know learning and the major types of learning. Learning is a relatively permanent change in thought or behavior that results from experience. (In other words: NOT reflex-driven behavior.)The major types of learning are Conditioning (1,2) and the Cognitive models of learning (3,4,5):1 - Classical (Pavlovian) conditioning2 - Operant conditioning3 - Latent learning4 - Observational learning (social learning)5 - Insight learning2. Know classical conditioning and its four basic components. Researched by Ivan Pavlov. He noticed that his dogs showed a psychological response to cues associated with food.Classical conditioning is a stimulus and response learning, where stimuli that are paired together become associated. Stimuli: Hear Bell Receive food. Response: Salivation. In Classical conditioning, an unconditioned (unlearned) stimulus (food) triggers and unconditioned response (salivating), or a conditioned stimulus (bell) triggers a conditioned response (salivating).Salivating is an unconditioned response to food, but a conditioned response to a bell. It’s “conditional” upon associative learning.Pavlov discovered the following:The unconditioned stimulus (US) being food, the unconditioned response (UR) being salivating. A natural innate reaction.A neutral stimulus is something without meaning that, when paired with an US over time (such as food), becomes a conditioned stimulus.The conditioned stimulus (CS) became a ringing sound (bell), and the conditioned response (CR) then became salivating.3. Know of acquisition, extinction, spontaneous recovery, generalization, and discrimination. Acquisition – The initial learning of an association between a neutral stimulus and an unconditioned stimulus. The key requirement for successful acquisition is timing. Ideally when the US follows the CS by about 500 ms.Extinction – Repeated presentation of CS without US will eventually eliminate response toCS.Spontaneous recovery – Happens when CS briefly regains its power to elicit the response. (Extinction doesn’t erase learning – it suppresses it.)Stimulus generalization – Tendency to respond to stimuli that are similar to the CS. (Bell Other ringing sound. The white hairy case of Little Albert.)Stimulus discrimination – Ability to distinguish between the CS and other stimuli (Bell =/= Drums.)4. Know which schedule of reinforcement leads to the most enduring behavior. Variable Ratio is the most efficient.Schedules of reinforcement:Ratio: Based on number of responsesInterval: Based on timeFixed: Consistent number of responsesVariable: Changing number of responses or time between reinforcers5. Identify the critical role of behavior in distinguishing classical conditioning from operant conditioning. In Classical conditioning, the emphasis is on automatic (reflexive) responses to stimuli as a result of associative learning. (Essentially involuntary.)In Operant conditioning, the emphasis is on controlled (deliberate) behavior enacted by an organism to influence its environment. (Environmental consequences shape behavior.)6. Know operant conditioning. Past experiences affect present behavior. Behavior can operate on the environment to produce an effect.Being rewarded for good behavior, and punished for bad behavior.7. Know positive reinforcement, negative reinforcement, positive punishment, and negative punishment. Know how punishment and negative reinforcement differ. Reinforcements increase likelihood of behaviorPositive reinforcement – Something pleasant is offered (candy)Negative reinforcement – Something unpleasant is removed (stress)Punishments decrease likelihood of behaviorPositive punishment: Something unpleasant is introducedNegative punishment: Something pleasant is removed8. Outline the evidence that supports latent learning. Latent learning was part of Tolman’s research questioning whether learning occurs even inthe absence of obvious rewards and punishments. Observational learning and insight learning are good examples.9. Know observational learning (specifically as studied by Albert Bandura). Learning that occurs by watching other people’s behavior and observing the resulting consequences. (Younger sibling learning from the mistakes of an older sibling.) What Bandura studied was modeling, the imitation of specific behaviors in children. Part of the social learning (social-cognitive) theory.In Bandura’s Bobo Doll experiment, the independent variable was the type of model (aggressive or not), where the dependent variable was the imitation of aggressive behavior. Point: Observational learning suggests that people (and some other animals) form mental representations of stimuli, behavioral responses, and consequences (reinforcements, punishments) without having direct experience with them.10. Know insight learning. Understand how might this research challenge Thorndike’s assumptions.Edward Thorndike studied the Law of Effect, rewarding and punishing, by placing cats in a box and timing them as they tried to escape. They learned how to escape faster through practice. If a response, in the presence of a stimulus, is followed by a satisfying state of affairs, the bond between stimulus and response will be strengthened.Köhler found that Sultan, his star chimpanzee, discovered how to insert one bamboo stick inside another to create an extra long stick, thereby allowing him to obtain food.What was notable, according to Köhler, was that his chimpanzees appeared to expe- rience the “aha reaction” we discussed earlier. Their solutions to his problems didn’t appear to reflect trial and error, as it did with Thorndike’s cats, but rather insight, the sudden un- derstanding of the solution to a problem.Learning Change in an organism’s behavior or thought as a result from experienceHabituation Process of responding less strongly over time to repeated stimuliClassical (Pavlovian) conditioning Form of learning in which animals come to response to a previously neutral stimulus that had been paired with another stimulus that elicits an automatic respondsUnconditioned stimulus (UCS) Stimulus that elicits an automated response Unconditioned response (UCR) Automatic response to a non-neutralstimulus that does not need to be learnedConditioned response (CR) Response previously associated with a non-neutral stimulus that is elicited by a neural stimulus through conditioningConditioned stimulus (CS) Initially neutral
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