Do we need social interaction?Do we need social interaction?

Harry Harlow’s ‘Surrogate Mothers’ and other experiments

Group 1: Terrycloth mother did not provide food.

Group 2: Wire mother provided food.

Isolation ChambersIsolation Chambers

Pit of Despair

Isolation of MonkeysIsolation of MonkeysPartially and Fully isolated monkeys

Partially isolated (occasional social contact) –• Repetitive circling of cages, blank staring, and

occasional self mutilation

Total social deprivation (6, 12, 24 months)• 6 months = emotional shock when reintroduced:

rocking and clenching, rare anorexia• 12, 24 months = “obliterated the monkeys socially”

All isolated monkeys exhibited little to no recovery

Social LearningSocial Learning

Process of altering behavior observing and imitating the behavior of others.

Observational Learning and Cognitive Learning

“Learning would be exceedingly laborious, not to mention hazardous, if people had to rely solely on the effects of their own actions to inform them what to do.”

• Albert Bandura (1977)

Observational LearningObservational LearningObservational LearningObservational Learning

Learning by observing others.

ModelingModelingThe process of observing and imitating a specific behavior.

Vicarious Reinforcement Vicarious Reinforcement You first engage in a behavior because you saw someone else get rewardedDirectly tied to Operant Conditioning

Mirror NeuronsMirror NeuronsFire both when performing actions and when observing another doing so.NOVA – Mirror Neurons

ModelingModelingFollow the Leader: The behavior of others increases the chances that we will do the same thing

Clapping, looking out the window, copying the styles and verbal expressions of our peers

Observational LearningObservational LearningWatch someone else perform a behavior, then be able to perform the behavior yourself

Learning a game, dance move, sport

Role ModelsRole ModelsRole Models

Do we chose to be a role model?How important are older siblings?parents? peers?

"I don't believe professional athletes should be role models. I believe parents should be role models.... It's not like it was when I was growing up. My mom and my grandmother told me how it was going to be. If I didn't like it, they said, "Don't let the door hit you in the ass on your way out." Parents have to take better control."

• Sir Charles Barkley

Albert Bandura’s Bobo Doll Experiment

Children were exposed to adults displaying aggression toward a bobo doll, and were then observed in a room filled with toys

What happened?Bobo Clip

The beating of Bobo…

TV and ViolenceBefore you turn 18, you will see approx. 18,000 simulated murders on TV & moviesSince the 1960s, more than 3,000 studies have linked television violence to real violence

Results: viewers become desensitized to violence, become more fearfulbehave more violently

Bandura’s Social-Cognitive TheorySocial-Cognitive Theory applies fundamentals of social learning to personality and behavior choices.Social-Cognitive Theory Clip

Extinction of Phobias / Disinhibition

Learning that seemingly threatening experiences can be safe

Phobia treatment (counter-conditioning)Safety of new environment

Application of Social LearningBad news – antisocial models may have antisocial effects on childrenGood news – prosocial (positive, helpful) models can have prosocial effects

Consistency of words and actions.

Social learning plays a large roleParents are extremely powerful models

Children See, Children Do

Latent (Incidental) LearningLearning that occurs without knowledge being immediately expressed

Accidental learning that occurs in the process of another behavior

• Setting the table, putting in a light bulb

Knowledge is there, but does not come out until a reinforcer appears

Cognitive MapsE.C. Tolman studied in 1930sTaught rats a maze through repetition, without providing reinforcement (food)Once a reinforcer was presented for completion of the maze, the rats were just as quick to complete as rats which received food upon every completionA mental picture of a place which allows you to navigate to an unseen destination

Formation of InsightAn insight is a new way to organize stimuli or a new approach to solving a problemOnce insight has occurred, no further training is necessary

Wolfgang KohlerChimps with insightPigeon shows insight

Learned HelplessnessCondition in which a person gives up due to repeated failureSeligman’s electric shock dog studiesHiroto’s study of college students (1974)People feel they have no control over environment; success seems more a matter of luck than skill

Learned Laziness - Condition that occurs if rewards come without effort, a person never learns to work.

Martin Seligman on DepressionLearned helplessness is a leading cause of depressionStability

Temporary vs. StableGlobality

Specific vs. GlobalInternality

External vs. Internal

Behavior ModificationSystematic application of learning principles to change people’s actions and feelings

Involves a series of well-defined steps to change behavior.The success of each step is carefully evaluated to find the best solution for a given situation.

Common in sports training and drug treatment – involves intense drive to become an ideal productModeling, classical conditioning, operant conditioning

Self ControlChanging your own behavior

1. Define the problem specificallyThis can often lead to a change in behavior

2. Behavioral contract

Study HabitsConsiderations: negative emotions, environment, conditioning

Bad HabitsHow are bad habits formed?

ProcrastinationFavoring immediate reinforcement and accepting delayed punishment

Token EconomiesDesirable behavior is reinforced with valueless objects, which can be accumulated and exchanged for valued rewards

Used most commonly in prisons, mental hospitals

Combats attention as reinforcement drawbackDoes this result in long term learning?