Learning Chapter 4 Adaptation to the Environment Learning any process through which experience at one time can alter an individual s behavior at a future time Relatively permanent change to an organism s behavior Based on previous experiences the organism has had Learning Processes Classical conditioning Operant conditioning Observational Learning Classical and Operant conditioning originally grew out of a behaviorist paradigm Currently the processes underlying all learning are more effectively thought to be on cognitive principles such as expectancy Behaviorism The attempt to understand observable activity in terms of observable stimuli and observable responses John B Watson 1913 B F Skinner 1938 Classical Conditioning Pavlov s Dogs Digestive reflexes and salivation Psychic secretion Classical Conditioning Can help us understand Emotional Responses Hunger Sexual Arousal Substance Abuse Attitude Formation Empathy A bell ringing A color A furry object Neutral Stimulus Bell Does not normally elicit a response or reflex action by itself Unconditioned Stimulus Food Always elicits a reflex action an unconditioned response Food on the tongue Salivation Blast of air to the eye Eyeblink Loud Noise Startle Unconditioned Response Salivation A response to an unconditioned stimulus naturally occurring Salivation at smell of food Eye blinks at blast of air Startle reaction in babies Conditioned Stimulus Bell The stimulus that was originally neutral becomes conditioned after it has been paired with the unconditioned stimulus Will eventually elicit the unconditioned response by itself Conditioned Response The original unconditioned response becomes conditioned after it has been elicited by the neutral stimulus Classical Conditioning What is being learned S R Theory What is learned is the formation of a direct connection between a stimulus e g Bell and a response e g Salivation This was Watson s view and the view of many American behaviorists S S Theory What is learned is the connection between two stimuli i e the US and the CS This was Pavlov s view The stimulus stimulus connection draws forth a mental representation of food when the bell is sounded This is a less parsimonious theory than S R theory because an intervening variable of mental representation is required an unobservable event That is the S R theory makes one less assumption than S S theory However S S theory seems to be supported in favor of S R theory Robert Rescorla s experiment 1 Condition rats to freeze to a light US loud sound CS light 2 Habituate half of the rats to the loud sound experimental group control group was not habituated 3 Habituation to the sound significantly reduced the freezing in This supports S S theory the habituated rats learned a new the experimental group mental representation Classical Conditioning Phenomenon Extinction Spontaneous recovery Stimulus Generalization Stimulus Discrimination John B Watson and Little Albert Conditioned emotional responses Generalization Extinction Classical Conditioning Conditioned Emotional Response Example Stimulus Generalization Fear of all bathtubs swimming pools etc Stimulus Discrimination No fear of the ocean Extinction How could this fear be extinguished Conditioned Drug Reactions Stimuli associated with a drug s effect can come to elicit the effect Conditioned compensatory reaction Distinctive stimuli associated with morphine can produce hypersensitivity in rats Drug tolerance Distinctive stimuli associated with the drug effect elicits a compensatory reaction counteracting the direct effect of the drug and thereby leading to tendency to increase the dosage Relapse and withdrawal After cravings are gone distinctive stimuli that were associated with a drug can cause compensatory reactions that feel like withdrawal leading in an increase in the likelihood of relapse Early Operant Conditioning E L Thorndike 1898 Puzzle boxes and cats Thorndike s Law of Effect Responses that produce a satisfying effect in a particular situation become more likely to occur again in that situation i e response is strengthened Responses that produce a discomforting effect become less likely to occur again in that situation i e the response is weakened B F Skinner s Operant Conditioning Did not like the term satisfying Reinforcers strengthen behavior through the process of reinforcement Punishers weaken behavior through the process of punishment Operant Conditioning Terms Shaping Consequences Skinner s central theme was that all behavior is controlled by its consequences positive and negative reinforcement positive and negative punishment Discriminative Stimulus signals the availability of a consequence if a particular Sets the occasion for a response to produce a consequence response is made Discriminative Stimuli In a Skinner Box A rat has two levers available to press When a tone sounds and the lever on the right is pressed he gets a 45 mg pellet of food to water When a light comes on and the lever on the left is pressed he gets access Pressing the lever on the right when the light is on OR pressing the lever on the left when the tone sounds produces nothing If he wants to eat he MUST wait for the tone to sound and then press the lever on the right If he wants a drink he MUST wait for the light to come on and then press the lever on the left The tone and light are examples of discriminative stimuli Reinforcement Schedules Continuous 1 to 1 ratio a prize every time Ratio fixed 1 to a prize every time variable to maybe a prize maybe not Interval fixed announced examination variable pop quiz Classical vs Operant Conditioning CLASSICAL Stimulus precedes the response and elicits it Elicited responses Learning as a result of association Pavlov OPERANT Stimulus follows the response and strengthens it Emitted responses Learning as a result of consequences Skinner The Basic Concepts of Learning Theory Classical conditioning elicits response as a result of associating unconditioned stimulus neutral stimulus Operant conditioning emitted response learning is a result of consequences reinforcers punishment Observational Learning Albert Bandura s cognitive theory Observational learning learning by watching others The skills and rituals acquired by each generation are passed on in this way not through deliberate training Observational learning of specific skills and general behavioral styles Bandura has emphasized that people observe others to learn specific skills as well as general styles of behavior