Introduction to Psychology
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Transcript Introduction to Psychology
Introduction to
Psychology
Chapter 8: Learning and
Conditioning
Behaviorism
John Watson
B.F. Skinner
Observable behavior
Learning by association
Reinforcement and punishment
Behaviorism
“Give me a dozen healthy infants, well
formed, and my own special world to bring
them up in and I’ll guarantee to take any one
at random and train him to become any type
of specialist I might select- doctor, lawyer,
artist, merchant, and yes- beggar man and
thief” --John Watson
Learning
Learning: a relatively permanent change in
behavior that can be attributed to experience
The Role of Learning
Do some psychological characteristics result
from learning?
Classical Conditioning
We learn when one event becomes
associated with another
Stimulus-response chains
Stimulus/Response
Stimulus: the presentation of something (i.e.
food, a noise, music, a puppy)
Response: a reaction to the stimulus
Classical Conditioning
The behavioral technique of pairing a naturally
occurring stimulus and response chain with a
different stimulus in order to produce a response
which is not naturally occurring
Example: naturally occurring stimulus and response: loud
noise and flinching
We can pair a different stimulus with a loud noise to
conditioning an unnatural response
Classical Conditioning
Pavlov:
Dogs: to study digestion
Salivation would occur when meat powder was
placed in the dogs’ mouths
Classical Conditioning
Salivation started to occur before the meat
powder was given
The dogs would salivate when Pavlov
entered the room
Classical Conditioning
The dogs started to associate Pavlov’s
entrance with food
Can the dogs be conditioned to associate a
ringing bell with food?
Classical Conditioning:
How does it work?
Unconditioned Stimulus: a naturally occurring
stimulus; it brings about a natural (as
opposed to learned) response
Example: food: a stimulus that would produce a
naturally occurring response
We don’t need to learn to respond to food
Classical Conditioning:
How does it work?
Unconditioned response: a response that
occurs naturally and does not have to be
learned
i.e. salivating to food: a natural response
Classical Conditioning:
How does it work?
Conditioned stimulus: the stimulus brings
about a response due to learning.
Example: a bell (the conditioned stimulus) brings
about salivation due to learning; this wouldn’t
occur naturally
This takes many repeated pairings with the
unconditioned stimulus (the meat)
Classical Conditioning:
How does it work?
Conditioned response: the response that is
not naturally occurring, but has been learned
or conditioned.
Putting it together....
US (meat powder) ------ UR (salivation to meat)
CS (bell)- US (meat powder) ---UR (salivation to meat)
We repeat this pattern many times.....
Then:
CS (bell) ----- CR (salivation to the bell)
John Watson:
Little Albert study
Conditioned the child to fear a bunny
Loud noise
Fear (toward the noise)
Bunny
Fear (toward the bunny)
Little Albert study
US: loud noise
UR: fear (toward noise)
CS: bunny
US: fear (toward bunny)
Classical Conditioning:
Little Albert study
US (loud noise) -------- UR (fear of noise)
CS (bunny) ---- US (loud noise) -- UR (fear of noise)
CS (bunny) --- CR (fear of bunny)
To Review....
Classical conditioning involves learned
through association
We can learn to fear, or respond in some way to
previously neutral stimuli
Higher order conditioning
Extending the conditioning process by a step
Example: clap, ring the bell, then salivation
occurs
we don’t need to present food because the bell
has already conditioned the response
Clapping would eventually cause salivation
Extinction
We can weaken the conditioned response
(salivation to the bell) by removing the
reinforcement
If we never introduce food again, the dogs will
eventually stop salivating to the bell
Spontaneous Recovery
Even after extinction, the learned response
may come back suddenly
There may be food this time
Stimulus Generalization
A similar stimulus to the CS (the bunny) might
trigger the response
We can condition fear of the rabbit, and then we
can condition fear of other, similar stimuli
Stimulus Discrimination
Learned ability to respond differently to
different stimuli
If certain stimuli are no longer associated with the
noise, the fear reaction will not be elicited
i.e. introduce the mouse but no noise, eventually
Albert will fear the bunny, but not the mouse
Real-life application
Phobias: intense, unrealistic fear reactions to
a stimulus or situation
Conditioned emotional response: we learn to fear
certain stimuli
Vicarious classical conditioning: if we see
something aversive happen to someone else
Treatment: Systematic
Desensitization
Slow exposure to the stimulus, paired with
relaxation techniques
Support for this in the research
In contrast:
Flooding: introducing us to the stimulus all at once
Operant Conditioning
We associate responses with their
consequences
Acts that are reinforced will be repeated
Acts that are not reinforced, or punished, will not
be repeated
Operant vs. Classical
Conditioning
Operant Conditioning:
Active
In regard to voluntary
responses
Classical Conditioning:
Passive: it just happens
“Language” of operant
conditioning
Positive = add
Negative = take away
Positive/negative are not necessarily good/bad
Reinforcement
Any event that increases the probability that a
particular response will occur
Positive Reinforcement
Providing a reward (reinforcer) to increase
the probability that the response will occur
again
We add (positive = add) something good
Candy for raising your hand in class
Praise for washing the dishes
Gold stars for doing your homework
Negative Reinforcement
Response is followed by an end to discomfort
or a removal of an unpleasant event (negative =
removal/taking away something)
We will increase the behavior because it results
in the decrease of something unpleasant
Negative Reinforcement
Taking aspirin to alleviate a headache
Leaving early to avoid traffic
Rat presses a lever to stop a shock
We will continue these behaviors because they
result in the end to something unpleasant
Punishment
When a bad or unpleasant event begins
We will be less likely to repeat behaviors that
are punished
Punishment
Positive: adding something aversive so a
behavior will not be repeated
Negative: taking way something positive so a
behavior will not be repeated
**Both are punishments because an
unpleasant event is beginning
Activity: reinforcement and
punishment
worksheet
Superstitions
We repeat them because the appear to be
reinforced
i.e. lucky socks winning a game
Partial Reinforcement
Pattern where only certain responses are
reinforced
i.e. slot machine
More resistant to extinction
Over time, we may be rewarded, so we keep
trying
Are punishments effective?
Based on:
Timing (should be right after the bad behavior)
Consistency (punish it every time)
Intensity (strength of the punishment)
How can we teach kids without using
punishments?
Bandura: Social Learning
Theory
Learning through observation and imitation
Bobo doll experiment
Television and Violence
Lots of violent t.v. is correlated with
aggression
Does not prove causation
Identification with the aggressor?