Principles of Learning

© West Educational Publishing

Principles of Learning

CHAPTER 7When we think of learning, we most often think of the formal type that occurs in school. Learning, how-ever, takes place continuously every day.

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classical conditioning - making unavoidable physical associations

operant conditioning - learning caused by the consequences of actions we perform

social learning - learning that results from watching other people

cognitive approach- learning that emphasizes the rational and problem-solving thought processes

Four Types of Learning

1

2

3

4

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Pavlov would later win a Nobel Prize for his work on the digestive system of dogs.

Classical conditioning can be defined as what happens when a neutral stimulus evokes a response that was originally produced by another stimulus.

An illustration of Pavlov’s classic experiment appears on the next slide.

Pavlov and Classical Conditioning

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Pavlov’s Dog Experiment

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Receives Food (UCS)

Sight of the Experimenter (NS)

Salivates (UCR)

Salivates (CR)

Design of Steps in Classical Conditioning Experiment

UCS = unconditioned stimulusUCR = unconditioned response

NS = neutral stimulusCS = conditioned stimulusCR = conditioned response

Receives Food (UCS)+

Sight of the Experimenter (CS)

Salivates (UCR)

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Conditioned fear experiments such as Albert’s experience would never occur

today because of the existing ethical

standards.

Conditional Training: Albert and Peter

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A sudden loud noise (UCS)

Startled and began crying (UCR)

Rat (NS) Startled and began crying (UCR)

Rat (CS) Startled and began crying (CR)

John Watson

Watson took a a baby named Albert and conditioned him to be afraid of white furry objects using Pavlov’s techniques.

A sudden loud noise (UCS)+

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Mary Cover Jones used an early form of desensitization to prove that fears (phobias) could be unlearned.

Peter, a young boy, had an extreme fear of rabbits. Jones gave Peter his favorite food while slowly bringing the rabbit closer and closer. Eventually Peter no longer panicked around rabbits.

Mary Cover Jones

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Stimulus Generalization

A response can be generalized to other like stimuli.

ExtinctionIf a stimulus is never reinforced, then the response will go away.

Spontaneous Recovery

After extinction, a response will suddenly reappear.

Variations Within Classical Conditioning

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B.F. Skinner and Operant Conditioning

Operant conditioning can be defined as a behavior that is learned (or avoided) as a result of its consequence.

Reinforcement is a key component. If the behavior is followed by a pleasurable response, then the behavior will reoccur. (I tell a joke… people laugh…I tell the joke again to a different group of people.)

A rat in a Skinner Box

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Operant Conditioning Processes

Primary Reinforcement is unlearned and usually necessary for survival. Food is the best example of a primary reinforcer.

Secondary Reinforcement is anything that comes to represent a primary reinforcer such as praise from a friend or a gold star on a homework assignment.

Punishment weakens a response by following it with something unpleasant.

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Generalization is a behavior that spreads from one situation to a similar one. (A baby will call Daddy “Dada.” When the baby sees any man, the baby calls out “Dada.”)

Discrimination is the reverse of generalization. Some stimuli have pleasant consequences and some do not. (A baby gradually learns that only one person responds with a smile when called “Dada.”)

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Extinction occurs when a response is no longer followed by reinforcement so that a person will gradually stop making that response. (Tell a joke. If people do not laugh, you’re not likely to tell the joke again.)

In shaping, successively closer versions of a desired response are reinforced (as in learning to play tennis).

In chaining, each part of a sequence is reinforced; the different parts are put together into a whole (as in learning the steps to a dance).

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Do you want to stop a bad habit?

Wear a rubber band around your wrist.

Every time you engage in the bad habit, snap the

rubber band!

What conditioning process is represented by this example?

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Schedules of Reinforcement

Variable Ratio

A person must perform different (variable) acts beforereinforcement is given. (Children in a school band selling candy have to ask every person because they don’t know who might buy the candy.)

Fixed Ratio

The number of responses and reinforcement never varies. A dentist gets paid according to how many cavities are fixed.

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Variable Interval

The amount of time varies between reinforcements. Performance is steady but sluggish. (A person goes fishing and is waiting for the fish to bite.)

Fixed Interval

A set amount of time goes by before the reinforcement occurs. Performance is irregular and increases only before the reinforcement. (A worker gets paid every two weeks.)

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Albert Bandura and Social Learning

According to Bandura, we imitate the activities and behaviors of those around us. Between the stimulus and the response is the “inner person.”

Much social learning is observational. Children model their behavior after watching.

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This series of photographs shows children observing and modeling aggressive behavior.

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Cognitive Approach

This approach emphasizes abstract and subtle learning that could not be achieved through conditioning or social learning alone.

Some learning is not intentional, but occurs almost accidentally—a situation called latent learning.

Expectancies are beliefs about our ability to perform an action and to get the desired reward. Expectancies affect learning.

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E.C. Tolman argued that animals and people use cognitive maps to figure out where they are in the environment. He showed that they use strategies to analyze and (sometimes) to communicate information.

Cognitive Maps

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Summary of Main Topics Covered

Classical Conditioning

Operant Conditioning

Social Learning

Cognitive Approach

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Principles of Learning

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