Learning (8)

Quizlet: http://quizlet.com/69424383/flashcards

Learning= relatively permanent change in organism’s behavior due to experience

• not due to instincts, genetics, maturation, temporary states

How do we learn?

association: minds connect events that occur in sequence (Aristotle, Locke, Hume)

stimulus-stimulus learning= associate one event with another

• squirt sea slug with water, then shock it
• slug learns to anticipate shock, curls up when squirted with water

response-consequence learning: certain behaviors bring about results

• training animals to do tricks- reward them by giving them a treat when they do it right

Ivan Pavlov

classical conditioning: organism associates two previously unassociated stimuli

• dogs salivate when he rings bell, because he always rings bell before feeding

unconditioned stimulus= stimulus that naturally/automatically triggers a response

• not learned, rather, instinctual

unconditioned response= unlearned, naturally occurring response to the unconditioned stimulus

neutral stimulus= does not provoke a response

conditioned stimulus= neutral stimulus becomes associated with unconditioned stimulus, triggering response

conditioned response= learned response to previously neutral stimulus

acquisition= initial stage in conditioning in which association between neutral and unconditioned takes place

1. neutral stimulus usually occurs before unconditioned response
2. ½ second between neutral and unconditioned is preferable

extinction= when unconditioned stimulus does not follow conditioned stimulus, conditioned response decreases, goes extinct

spontaneous recovery= after rest period, association recovers

stimulus generalization: tendency to respond to stimuli that are similar to conditioned stimulus

• tested on dogs: conditioned stimulus on thigh, dogs likely to respond to other stimuli on thigh, even if it is not the original conditioned stimulus

stimulus discrimination: organism can distinguish between conditioned stimulus and other stimuli

• dogs learned to tell different bell tones apart

Cognitive Processes

Watson and Pavlov disregarded cognitive processes, focused on behavior alone

• (watson worked in marketing and used classical conditioning to his advantage)

expectancy= animals learn predictability of a stimulus

• this learning is constrained by the animal’s biology
• it is easier to train a pig to push something with its snout than it is to train it to pick something up with its teeth
• predisposition to learn things that aid in survival
• taste aversions to poisonous things, more easily fear snakes than bunnies

Operant conditioning

• organism acts on environment to receive predicted stimulus

respondent behavior= automatic response to a certain stimulus

law of effect (Thorndike): rewarded behavior is likely to reoccur

• skinner was inspired by this law, developed “operant chamber”
• rat presses bar and is rewarded with food

shaping: procedure that reinforces to gradually guide behavior

• reinforcer= event that always increases frequency of behavior it follows
• primary reinforcer: innately satisfying (food)
• conditioned (secondary) reinforcer: learned because of their association with primary reinforcers
• immediate v. delayed reinforcement: in rats, reinforcer must come directly after action or they will lose track of what they are being rewarded for
• humans are more advanced-- understand delayed reinforcers
• negative reinforcement: strengthens response by removing or reducing undesirable stimuli (snooze button on an alarm clock, tylenol to fight a headache)
• reinforcer schedules
• continuous: get desired response every time you do behavior
• partial/intermittent reinforcement: reinforcers only appear at times
• great resistance to extinction, because organism keeps hoping that they will get lucky next time they perform the behavior

1. fixed-interval schedules: reinforce after a fixed time period
2. variable-interval schedules: reinforce after varying time increments
3. fixed-ratio schedule: reinforces after fixed number of responses
4. variable-ratio schedule: reinforces after random numbers of responses

• punishment= aversive event that decreases behavior
• positive punishment: give negative stimulus
• negative punishment: remove positive stimulus
• note: punishment is very effective, but has negative side effects: unwanted fear of punisher, confusion-if the punishment comes without explanation, justifies aggression, punishable behavior still occurs in the absence of the punisher

Learning by Observation

modeling: observing and imitating a behavior (intelligent animals)

• mirror neurons in frontal cortex are designed for observation and copying
• helps us mirror emotions in others--if someone is sad, we empathize
• Bandura’s Bobo doll experiment: kids imitate violence they see in adults
• antisocial models of behavior from media are bad
• link between media violence and increased aggression in children
• desensitizes us to violence so we don’t react to brutaltity
• prosocial models also work: showing kindness promotes kindness

Skinner’s radical behaviorism

• believed that even mental processes are behaviors caused by conditioning
• cognition is relevant, however

• latent learning: learning becomes apparent only when there is an incentive to show it
• rats memorize mazes even if there is no reward

Motivation

• intrinsic motivation- internal desire to complete a task for its own sake
• extrinsic motivation- complete task for the reward
• rewards are not always motivation: if you pay kids to do a fun task, it becomes less fun

Applications of Skinner

1. teaching machines: shape learning in small steps, reinforcements
2. athletics: trophies for winning, crowd cheering reinforces
3. commission work: the more you sell, the more you make (extrinsic motivation)
4. raising pets and kids: train them to behave using operant conditioning