Learning

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Chapter 6: Learning

Case Study: The Little Albert Experiment video

Section 1: Classical Conditioning

Section 2: Operant Conditioning

Section 3: Cognitive Factors in Learning

Section 4: The PQ4R Method: Learning to Learn

Experiment: Applying What You’ve Learned

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The Little Albert experiment showed that emotional reactions such as

fear can be taught through classical conditioning.

• Eleven-month-old Albert was conditioned to fear a white rat rather than be amused by it.

• Psychologists achieved this by pairing the rat with something that Albert would find instinctively frightening.

The Experiment

Case Study: The Little Albert Experiment

• After they paired the rat with loud noises, Albert showed a fear of the rat even when there was no noise.

• Albert’s fear spread to similar objects.

• By today’s standards, the experiment was unethical.

The Results

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What do you think?

• Do you think you have learned to fear or enjoy certain things because of conditioning or association? Explain.

Learning

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Why do people have an immediate, physical response to a picture of pizza?

Learning

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Have you ever heard a song that was popular a few

years ago?

“takes you back”

…feel a rush of sensations

The song served as a stimulus

(it produced a reaction, or response)

Learning

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• Conditioning is a type of learning that involves stimulus-response connections.

• Classical conditioning is a simple form of learning in which one stimulus calls forth the response that is usually called forth by another stimulus.

• Russian physiologist Ivan Pavlov used dogs in his studies of classical conditioning.

• He trained the dogs to associate the sound of a bell with food.

• They learned that the sound of the bell meant food was coming.

• video

Pavlov’s Dogs

Principles of Classical Conditioning

• Unconditioned stimulus: a stimulus that causes a response that is automatic, not learned

• Unconditioned response: caused by an unconditioned stimulus

• Conditioned response: a learned response to a neutral stimulus

• Conditioned stimulus: a previously neutral stimulus that causes a conditioned response

Stimulus and Response

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Learning

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US: air in eyes

UR: blinking

NS: clicker

CS: click/air

CR: blink on click

Learning

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Taste Aversions

• Taste aversion: learned response to a particular food

• One-trial learning

Spontaneous Recovery

• Spontaneous recovery: Reappearance of an extinguished conditioned response after some time has passed

Extinction

• Extinction: Disappearance of conditioned response when unconditioned stimulus no longer follows conditioned stimulus

Generalization and Discrimination

• Generalization: The tendency to respond in the same way to stimuli that have similar characteristics

• Discrimination: The act of responding differently to stimuli that are not similar to each other

Adapting to the Environment

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Flooding and Systematic Desensitization

• In flooding, a person is exposed to the harmless stimulus until fear responses to that stimulus are extinguished.

effective, but unpleasant

• With systematic desensitization, people learn relaxation techniques and then, while they are relaxed, they are gradually exposed to the stimulus they fear.

takes longer, not as unpleasant

Counterconditioning

• In counterconditioning, a pleasant stimulus is paired repeatedly with a fearful one, counteracting the fear.

example: pair eating with fear

Applications of Classical Conditioning

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Learning

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• In operant conditioning, people and animals learn to do certain things—and not to do others—because of the results of what they do.

• They learn from the consequences of their actions.

• In operant conditioning, voluntary responses are conditioned.

• B.F. Skinner studied operant conditioning by using the “Skinner box.”

• His experiment demonstrated reinforcement, or the process by which a stimulus (food) increases the chances that a preceding behavior (a rat pressing a lever) will occur again.

• Knowledge of results is often all the reinforcement that people need to learn new skills.

• Reinforcers always cause the behavior to occur again (strengthen)

Operant Conditioning and Reinforcement

1

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Primary and Secondary Reinforcers

• Primary reinforcers are reinforcers that function due to the biological makeup of an organism.

• Secondary reinforcers are learned by being paired with primary reinforcers.

(Money is a secondary reinforcer because we have learned that it may be exchanged for primary reinforcers like food and shelter.)

Positive and Negative Reinforcers

• Positive reinforcers increase the frequency of a behavior.

• In positive reinforcement, a person receives something he or she wants following the behavior.

• Negative reinforcers increase the frequency of a behavior when they are removed.

Examples:

(remove mom nagging by rinsing plate)

(remove coach yelling by always hustling)

(remove threat of ticket by not speeding)

Types of Reinforcers

4

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1. Primary reinforcers are those that people and animals do not need to be taught to value, such as food and water.

2. Secondary reinforcers, like money, must be learned.

3. Positive reinforcers, such as food and fun, increase the frequency of the behavior they follow when they are applied.

4. Negative reinforcers increase the frequency of the behavior that follows when they are removed. They are unpleasant, and include discomfort and fear. (something unwanted stops happening after the behavior)

Summarize

The four main types of reinforcers:

Concept Check

6

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Rewards

• Like positive reinforcement, rewards help encourage learning.

• Some psychologists use the term reward interchangeably with positive reinforcement.

(both increase the frequency of a behavior)

What do rats and shoppers have in common? (video)

Punishments

• Punishments are quite different from negative reinforcers.

• Punishments are unwanted events that decrease the frequency of the behavior they follow.

(negative reinforcers increase the frequency of a behavior by being removed)

• Punishments tend to work only when they are guaranteed.

• Most psychologists believe it is preferable to reward children for desirable behavior than punish them for unwanted behavior.

Rewards and Punishments

7

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8

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• The effectiveness of a reinforcement depends on the schedule of reinforcement—when and how often the reinforcement occurs.

• Continuous reinforcement is the reinforcement of a behavior every time the behavior occurs.

• Continuous reinforcement is not always practical or possible.

• The alternative is partial reinforcement, which means a behavior is not reinforced every time the

behavior occurs.

Continuous and Partial Reinforcement

Schedules of Reinforcement

• Fixed-interval schedule: a fixed amount of time must elapse between reinforcements (quiz every Fri)

• Variable-interval schedule: varying amounts of time go by between reinforcements (pop quizzes)

Interval Schedules:

schedules of reinforcement

Learning

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Ratio Schedules:

• Fixed-ratio schedule: reinforcement occurs after a fixed number of responses

(food pellet to rat after every 5 tries)

(free cup of coffee after ten purchases)

• Variable-ratio schedule: reinforcement occurs after a varying number of responses

(food pellets to a rat after one bar press, again after four bar presses, and a third pellet after two bar presses)

(slot machines)

Extinction in Operant Conditioning

• In operant conditioning, extinction results from repeated performances of the response without reinforcement.

Learning

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Learning

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Answer: because timing is unpredictable; reinforcement can come at any time (think pop quizzes)

Continuous: (tend to maintain that behavior only as long as the reinforcer is there)

Why are both variable-interval schedules and variable-ratio schedules successful?

(behaviors learned through partial reinforcement tend to last longer after they are no longer being reinforced than behaviors learned through continuous reinforcement)

Concept Check

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Shaping and Chaining

• Shaping is a way of teaching complex behaviors in which one first reinforces small steps in the total activity.

• Chaining is combining the steps of a sequence to progress toward a final action.

• Chaining can be forward or backward.

• Chaining can be used to teach complex behavior patterns to people and animals.

Programmed Learning

• Programmed learning is based on shaping and chaining.

• Developed by B.F. Skinner, it assumes that any task can be broken down into small steps.

• Programmed learning does not involve punishments.

• Instead, it reinforces correct responses.

Example: Computer “frames” where you can’t move on until you’ve mastered a concept

Three Ways Operant Conditioning Can Be Applied

Learning

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Tying Shoe LacesTying shoes

Pinch the laces.

Pull the laces.

Hang the ends of the laces from the corresponding sides of the shoe.

Pick up the laces in the corresponding hands.

Lift the laces above the shoe.

Cross the right lace over the left one to form a tepee.

Bring the left lace toward the student.

Pull the left lace through the tepee.

Pull the laces away from one another.

Bend the left lace to form a loop.

Pinch the loop with the left hand.

Bring the right lace over the fingers and around the loop.

Push the right lace through the hole.

Pull the loops away from one another.

Learning

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Cognitive Factors in Learning

• Cognitive psychologists focus on the mental aspects of learning and are interested in what people or animals know, not just what they do.

• Cognitive learning is based on the idea that people and animals can learn by thinking or by watching others.

• Cognitive psychologists are interested not only in what people do (as behaviorists are), but also what they know.

Section 3 at a Glance

Learning

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What do tamales have to do with Christmas?

Learning

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• In the past, many psychologists argued we only learn behaviors that are reinforced.

• Today, most psychologists believe that much learning takes place without reinforcement.

• One kind of cognitive learning is latent learning, which is learning that remains hidden until it is needed.

Latent Learning

Cognitive Maps

Mental Pictures

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• Observational learning is knowledge and skills acquired by observing and imitating others.

• Modeling is basically a kind of imitation. (vending machine, new class, etc)

• Vicarious reinforcement is the ability to learn from the experiences of another.

• Observational learning and modeling account for much human learning. (think norms)

Modeling

Observational Learning

• Television is a major source of informal observational learning.

• Most health professionals agree that media violence contributes to aggression.

• Q: are those who watch violent programs more likely to be violent in the first place?

• Soc. Pg. 125

The Effects of Media Violence

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Click on the image to play the Interactive.

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Token Economics• People are “paid” to act correctly by earning rewards that can be

cashed in for treats, merchandise, or privileges.

• Criticism: Doesn’t effectively change behaviors. When token system ends, unwanted behaviors reappear.

Classroom Discipline• Teachers are taught to pay attention to students when they are

behaving appropriately and to ignore misbehavior that is not harmful to themselves or others.

• Why? If misbehavior is ignored, or unreinforced, it should become extinct.

• More effective with young students.

Behavior Modification

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Personal Contracts• A personal contract is a personal behavior modification technique.

• It works by first identifying a behavior you want to change, setting a goal for a new behavior, and creating a system of rewards or punishments that encourage the new behavior.

“I think I’ll change….”Nail biting….snap rubber band, ouch!

Homework…pizza, yum!

Learning

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Pathways to Rewards

Pathways to Rewards is a program that seeks to help improve the lives of

public housing residents in Chicago. The program uses the principles of token

economies and has proved to be highly successful in helping people modify

their behavior through a system of individual goals and rewards.

Psychology in Today’s World (page 177)

• The Pathways to Rewards program is for residents of Henry Horner Homes in Chicago.

• Residents set monthly goals and establish the steps needed to reach them.

• Adults and children may participate in the program.

• Participants earn points for meeting their goals.

• The points can be redeemed for rewards such as merchandise, bill-paying assistance, and health club membership.

• At the end of 2007, 58 percent of eligible residents had enrolled in the program.

Learning

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Learning

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Have educational psychologists created an easy way to study and learn new material?

Page 178

PQ4R

Based on principles of operant

and cognitive learning.

Learning

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Question• You can create learning goals by writing questions about the chapter

after you preview it.

• One way to write questions is to read the headings or the first sentence of each paragraph and write a question about it.

Preview• Previewing a textbook means getting a general picture of the material

before you start to read.

• Many textbooks are designed to encourage previewing.

• Previewing helps form a cognitive map of a chapter.

Preview and Question

PQ4R

Learning

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1. Read

• Read the chapter with the goal of answering the questions you wrote.

• As you read, jot down a few key words that will remind you of the answer.

3. Recite

• After you have answered your questions, recite the answers out loud or silently to yourself.

• You can recite alone or with a study group. Both are effective.

2. Reflect

• Relate new information to old information.

• Relate new information to events in your own life or to people you know.

4. Review

• Learning that occurs regularly and is distributed over time is distributed learning.

• Learning that occurs all at one time is massed learning, or cramming.

Read, Reflect, Recite, and Review

Learning

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Learning

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Distributed Learning: studying

something regularly so the

learning is distributed over a

number of days

Learning

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Massed Learning: trying to learn

everything at once