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Classical Conditioning

Stimulus - sometimes that produces a reaction or a response from

a person or animal

Classic Conditioning - simple form of learning in which one stimulus (thought of food) response (salivating) usually calling forth another stimulus (actual food) occurs when 2 stimuli have been associated with EACH OTHER.

Ivan Pavlov - 1849 - 1936 - Russian Psychologist

Discovered that dogs also learn to associate 1 thing with another when food is involved

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US - Unconditioned StimulusStimulus that causes a response that is automatic or reflexive reaction in an individual

ex. Loud noises, pin-prick, object rapidly approaching you

UR - Unconditioned Responseautomatic response

behavior that does not have to be learned as a response to a stimulus in the present situation

ex. Tensing the body in response to hearing a loud noise, jumping in response to being pricked by a pin, ducking in response to an object being thrown at you.Pavlov’s experimentUS = food; UR = dog’s salivation

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CS - conditioned stimulusOriginally neutral stimulus—> learned stimulus

CR - conditioned responselearned response to a stimulus that was previously meaningless or neutral.Think of CLASSIC CONDITIONING as “stimulus substitution”

US is replaced by the CS and response stays about the same.

The CR is the same as UR they are elicited by two different kinds of stimuli

Must identify which kind of stimulus elicited the response

If stimulus previously caused the response - USstimulus just learned = CS

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John WatsonInterested in how human emotions are learned Tested am 11 month old baby named ALBERT

Reactions to various stimuliwhite rat, rabbit, masks, balls of cotton

Albert’s response was positive and tried to touch when given a chance

Watson wanted to produce FEAR When ALBERT reached out to touch the rat (CS) Watson produced a loud noise (US) behind the child.

Albert’s response was he CRIED (UR) After 7x’s the sight of the rat (CS) caused ALBERT to cry (CR)

Albert conditioned to ASSOCIATE loud noise with 1 stimuli – ratPositive/Negative learned by Conditioning

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To understand how classical conditioning works need to identify basic principles:

Acquisition - how fast you learn Interstimulus interval - time between CS ( bell) (sight of rat) + US (meat) (loud noise)

Pavlov discovered timing was crucial of the CS. If CS was presented at the same time as the US , too long after it, too long before it, it had LITTLE or NO EFFECT on dog’s behavior

****1st stimulus CS takes on the properties of the 2nd stimulus USExample : Medicine/HONEY

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Extinction - elimination of a CR by presenting only the CS without the US

ex. Pavlov ringing bell without meat ; dog salivated less and stops salivating

US = reinforcementExtinction occurs when reinforcement is withdrawn.

EXAMPLE – GUINEA PIG

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Spontaneous Recovery - reappearance of a CR after extinction

EXAMPLE - GUINEA PIG

Stimulus Generalization - act of responding in the same way to stimuli that seem to be similar even if the stimuli are not identical

ex. Albert conditioned to fear RAT. He also cried when shown other furry objects - rabbit, mask of Santa Claus)

CR (crying) was conditioned to the CS (rat) stimuli similar to the CS often became sufficient to elicit CR

Greater similarity - stronger CR between stimuli

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Stimulus Discrimination - responding differently to stimuli that are not similar to each other.

Ex. Dog conditioned by bell–>stimulus generalization–> salivate in response to a metronome.

If metronome never followed by US and bell always was , the CR to the metronome would stop to occur.

Dog will discriminate between the two.

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Conditioned Taste Aversion - learned avoidance of a particular food

Taste aversion helps us avoid these foods by keeping us away from them

EXAMPLE #5Kidney stone - USsevere stomach pain - URhamburger - CS stomach pain – CRConditioned taste aversion differs from regular classical condition in several respects:

CTA occurs 1 trial requiring onlyOne pairing of the CS with the US instead of several

Interstimulus interval for CTA can be hours rather than seconds.

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2 methods of reducing fears based on the principle of extinction

Flooding - person is exposed to the harmless stimulus until fear responses to the stimulus are extinguished

Usually effective—> Unpleasant

ex. Fear of heights - look out from 6 story window until not afraid Fear of snakes - put in a room with harmless snakes until not afraidCounterconditioning - pleasant stimulus is paired repeatedly with a fearful one, counteracting the fear.

Systematic Desensitizationtaught relaxation techniques exposed to fear but try to relax

ex. Fear of snakesshow picture of snake until can relaxnext phase see a video until can relaxnext show a real snake until can relax

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Operant Conditioning - learning strengthened when behavior is followed by positive reinforcement

Thorndike was observing Trial & Error learning.

EXAMPLE – CAT

Instrumental conditioning - individual is instrumental in emitting, or producing a response.

Thorndike proposed his LAW of EFFECT:Any response that produces satisfaction in a given situation becomes ASSOCIATED with that situation. Situation occurs again. Response is more likely to be repeated.

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Thorndike - LAW OF EFFECTIf we do something and get rewarded we will do it againIf we do it often enough we will form a habit

AcquisitionShaping effective to help subjects acquire or learn a behavior through operant conditioning

Extinction Stronger original learning the longer you will continue to respond

Spontaneous Recovery - occurrence of behavior that had been extinguished, can appear after a rest period.

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BF SKINNER - named behavior = Operant Conditioning

Operant behavior is first emitted more or less as a random act. Behavior becomes Learned or Operantly conditioned only when followed by regular reinforcement.

Reinforcement usually REWARD.EXAMPLE – GLASSES

Shaping - successive approximationgradual process begins with reinforcement of some behavior that gets closer to the final behavior desired

Careful giving and withholding of reinforcement subject can gradually be made to perform complex responses

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Reinforcement - increases the probability that the behavior that precedes it will be repeated

Most effective if it is given immediately after a behaviorIf delayed - power is diminished. People prefer doing certain things more than others.

EXAMPLE – CHILD

PREMACK PRINCIPLEstates any 2 responses, the one that is more likely to occur can be used to reinforce the response that is less likely to occur

Example Premack Principle

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SCHEDULES OF REINFORCEMENT

Continuous Reinforcementevery correct response is reinforced

However - behavior is produced by continuous reinforcement - provides little resistance to a behavior produced by extinction

Example

Partial ReinforcementIntermittent schedule produces a response that takes longer to extinguish than continuous reinforcement

Think of SCHEDULES OF REINFORCEMENT as a CONTINUUM

CR PR No R

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Fixed Ratio (FR) Schedule - Certain number of responses must be made before reinforcement is given

ex. Reinforcement might be given after every 3 responses.

Variable Ratio (VR) Schedule - Number of responses required for reinforcement to occur variesex. Slot Machine

Machine provides reinforcement but can NEVER tell when it occurs. Your response rate is STEADY and HIGH.

Ex. Lottery Ticket - person buys ticket each week in hopes of hitting the winnings.

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Fixed Interval (FI) Schedule - subject receives reinforcement for the first response shown after a given time interval

ex. Subject reinforced ONCE every 2 minutesex. Students study to receive a test grade at the end of

the semester.ex. Children GOOD “ALL” week to receive their

allowance.

Subject tends to rest immediately after a reinforcement and then increases frequency of responding just before the next reinforcement occurs.

Variable Interval (VI) Schedule - Subject is reinforced for the first response given after a particular time interval which is CHANGED for each trial

ex. One trial may have 2 minute interval, next 4 minute interval, 3rd 1 minute interval

ex. Teacher gives unannounced Quiz.

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Primary ReinforcementEffective without having been associated with other reinforcers.

Ex. Food, water - serve as reinforcers without being paired

with other reinforcers

Secondary ReinforcementEffective only after it has been associated with a primary reinforcer

Ex. Why is it reinforcing to find a $20.00. It is valuable to

you because associated with other reinforcers–>food

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Positive Reinforcement -occurs when a pleasant stimulus such as FOOD is presented and strengthens the response it follows

Negative Reinforcement - Occurs when an aversive stimulus is removed and the preceding behavior is strengthened

ex. Remove a painful stone from shoe; felt relief and experienced negative reinforcementex. Escaping from a hot crowded roomex. Taking a Tylenol when you have headache

Positive - as PresentingNegative - as Removing

PR - PRESENTING something pleasantNR - something unpleasant is REMOVED; also increases response

BOTH TYPES INCREASE IN BEHAVIOR

REMEMBER: Reinforcement Always increases the likelihood that the behavior will occur again.

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Punishment - Decreases the likelihood that the behavior preceding it will be repeated

Think of Punishment in 2 distinct formsPresentation of something UNPLEASANT after a behavior will lead to a decrease in the behavior = POSITIVE PUNISHMENT

ex. Scolding a child, assessing a fine

Removal of something PLEASANT after a behavior will usually also lead to a decrease in the behavior = NEGATIVE PUNISHMENT

ex. Taking your car keys, keeping child in school during recess

EFFECTIVE PUNISHMENTVaries widely but dependent on the following characteristics:

PROXIMITY, CONSISTENCY, INTENSITY

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• Proximity – closeness of the aversive stimulus to the punished behavior; the closer the more effective

• Consistency – always follow behavior with punishment

• Intensity – strength of punishment *usually more consistent and intense punishment results in a more EFFECTIVE reduction in the undesired behavior

Reinforcement and Punishment defined by their consequencesINCREASE BEHAVIOR = ReinforcementDECREASE BEHAVIOR = Punishment

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Cognitive Learning learn by thinking about it or watching others.Utilizing mental structures and memory to make decisions about behavior.

2KINDS1. Latent - EC Tolman2. OBSERVATIONAL - Albert Bandura

LatentIndividual acquires knowledge of something but doesn’t show it until motivated to do so.

Observational = social learning theoryReinforcement is largely more in motivation rather than in the learning process itself

Example - cheerleader

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For observational learning to be EFFECTIVE 4 processes must occur:

1.Attention 3. Reproduction2. Retention 4. Motivation

1. Attention - must pay attention to role modelWe do this most often when we are motivated and believe the

behavior has some relevance to us

2. Retention – must store our observations in our memory in symbolic form

3. Reproduction - must be able to convert the symbolic representations that we have stored in our memory into appropriate behavior

4. Motivation - Behavior must be reinforced in order to motivate us to repeat it with any regularity

Observational Learning helps explain the rich cultural diversity shown by people all around the world.

Our customs and perhaps even our styles of thinking are dependent upon our observational experiences

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PQ4R

1. Previewing2. Questioning3. Reading4. Reflecting5. Reciting6. Reviewing