GENERAL PSYCHOLOGY

eliannyr317

CH04.ppt

Home >Psychology homework help >GENERAL PSYCHOLOGY

PowerPoint Presentations for

Philip G. Zimbardo Robert L. Johnson Vivian McCann

Prepared by

Beth M. Schwartz
Randolph College

This multimedia product and its contents are protected under copyright law. The following are prohibited by law: any public performance or display, including transmission of any image over a network; preparation of any derivative work, including the extraction, in whole or part, of any images; any rental, lease, or lending of the program.

Seventh Edition

Chapter 4

Learning and Human Nature

Learning vs. Instincts

Learning

A process through which experience produces lasting change in behavior or mental processes

Habituation

Learning not to respond to repeated presentation of a stimulus

Instincts

Motivated behaviors that have a strong innate basis

Behavioral Learning

Forms of learning that can be described in terms of stimuli and responses (e.g., classical and operant conditioning)

Learning

Mere Exposure Effect

Learned preference for stimuli to which we have been previously exposed

What Sort of Learning Does Classical Conditioning Explain?

Classical conditioning is a basic form of learning in which a stimulus that produces an innate reflex becomes associated with a previously neutral stimulus, which then acquires the power to elicit essentially the same response.

Key Question 4.1: What sort of learning does classical conditioning explain?

Classical Conditioning

Neutral Stimulus

Any stimulus that produces no conditioned response prior to learning

Acquisition

Initial learning stage in classical conditioning
Conditioned response (CR) becomes elicited by the conditioned stimulus (CS)

Basic Features of
Classical Conditioning

Unconditioned Response (UCR)

Unconditioned Stimulus (UCS)

Conditioned Response (CR)

Conditioned Stimulus (CS)

The Essentials of Classical Conditioning

Unconditioned Response (UCR)

Unconditioned Stimulus (UCS)

Conditioned Response (CR)

Conditioned Stimulus (CS)

The stimulus that elicits an unconditioned response

The Essentials of Classical Conditioning

Unconditioned Response (UCR)

Unconditioned Stimulus (UCS)

Conditioned Response (CR)

Conditioned Stimulus (CS)

The response elicited by an unconditioned stimulus without prior learning

The Essentials of Classical Conditioning

Unconditioned Response (UCR)

Unconditioned Stimulus (UCS)

Conditioned Response (CR)

Conditioned Stimulus (CS)

A previously neutral stimulus that comes to elicit the conditioned response

The Essentials of Classical Conditioning

Unconditioned Response (UCR)

Unconditioned Stimulus (UCS)

Conditioned Response (CR)

Conditioned Stimulus (CS)

A response elicited by a previously neutral stimulus that has become associated with the conditioned stimulus

Figure 4.1 Basic Features of Classical Conditioning
Before conditioning, the food (UCS) naturally elicits salivation (UCR). A tone from a tuning fork is a neutral stimulus (NS) and has no effect. During conditioning (the acquisition phase), the tone (NS) is paired with the food (UCS), which continues to elicit the salivation response (UCR). Through its association with the food, the previously neutral tone becomes a conditioned stimulus (CS), gradually producing a stronger and stronger salivation response (CR).
Source: Zimbardo, P.G., & Gerrig, R. J. (1999). Psychology and Life, 15th ed. Boston, MA: Allyn and Bacon. Copyright © 1999 by Pearson Education. Reprinted by permission of the publisher.

Figure 4.1

Classical Conditioning

Extinction

Weakening of a conditioned response in the absence of an unconditioned stimulus

Spontaneous Recovery

Unexpected reappearance of an extinguished conditioned response after a time delay

Acquisition, Extinction, and Spontaneous Recovery

Classical Conditioning:
Generalization and Discrimination

Stimulus Generalization

The extension of a learned response to stimuli that are similar to the CS

Stimulus Discrimination

Learning to respond to a particular stimulus but not to similar stimuli

Applications of Classical Conditioning

Conditioned Fear (Little Albert)

Counterconditioning

Conditioned Food Aversions

Biological Predispositions:
A Challenge to Pavlov

Conditioned aversions involve both nature and nurture.

Garcia & Koelling (1966):

Selective CS-UCS connection
Innate disposition to associations

Why are some stimuli-consequence combinations readily learned while other combinations are highly resistant to learning?

What any organism can or cannot learn in a given setting is due in part to its genetic preparedness.

How Do We Learn
New Behaviors by
Operant Conditioning?

In operant conditioning, the consequences of behavior—such as rewards and punishments—influence the probability that the behavior will occur again.

Key Question 4.2: How do we learn new behaviors by operant conditioning?

How Do We Learn
New Behaviors by
Operant Conditioning?

Operant Conditioning

Learning in which the probability of a response or changed by its consequences—that is, by the stimuli that follow the response

How Do We Learn
New Behaviors by
Operant Conditioning?

Law of Effect

Responses that produced desirable results would be learned or “stamped” into the organism.

Reinforcer

Condition (involving either the presentation or removal of a stimulus) that occurs after a response and strengthens that response

Skinner’s Radical Behaviorism

B.F. Skinner believed that the most powerful influences on behavior are its consequences.

“The power of reinforcement”

Operant Chamber

Barlike apparatus that delivers reinforcers and punishers contingent on an animal’s behavior

The Power of Reinforcement

Positive Reinforcers

Stimulus presented after a response; increases the probability of that response happening again
Positive = add or apply

Negative Reinforcers

Removal of an unpleasant stimulus; increases the probability of that response happening again
Negative = subtract or remove

Contingencies of Reinforcement:

Varying the timing and frequency of reinforcement

Continuous Reinforcement

Reinforcement schedule in which all correct responses are reinforced

Intermittent (Partial) Reinforcement

Reinforcement schedule in which some, but not all, correct responses are reinforced

Schedules of Reinforcement

Ratio Schedules

Reinforcement depends on the number of correct responses.

Interval Schedules

Reinforcement depends on the time interval elapsed since the last reinforcement.

Fixed Ratio (FR)

Fixed Interval (FI)

Variable Ratio (VR)

Variable Interval (VI)

Schedules of Reinforcement

Fixed Ratio (FR)

Fixed Interval (FI)

Variable Ratio (VR)

Variable Interval (VI)

Reinforcement is contingent on a certain, unchanging number of responses.

e.g., factory workers getting paid after every ten cases of product are completed

Schedules of Reinforcement

Fixed Ratio (FR)

Fixed Interval (FI)

Variable Ratio (VR)

Variable Interval (VI)

Reinforcement presented after a certain number of responses, but that number varies from trial to trial

e.g., slot machine pay-offs

Schedules of Reinforcement

Fixed Ratio (FR)

Fixed Interval (FI)

Variable Ratio (VR)

Variable Interval (VI)

reinforcement presented after a certain fixed amount of time, regardless of number of responses

e.g., weekly or monthly paychecks

Schedules of Reinforcement

Fixed Ratio (FR)

Fixed Interval (FI)

Variable Ratio (VR)

Variable Interval (VI)

Reinforcement presented after a certain amount of time, but that amount varies from trial to trial

e.g., random visits from the boss, who delivers praise

Patterns of Responding

The Power of Reinforcement

Primary Reinforcers

Reinforcers that fulfill basic biological needs or desires, such as food and sex, that have an innate value to an organism

The Power of Reinforcement

Secondary (Conditioned) Reinforcers

Stimuli, such as money or tokens, that acquire their reinforcing power by their learned association with primary reinforcers

Factors that Can Influence
the Effectiveness of Reinforcement

Instinctive Drift

Innate response tendencies interfere with learned behaviors; innate tendencies can override behaviors learned through reinforcement
E.g., attempting to train your cat to not scratch the furniture

Premack Principle-

A preferred activity can reinforce a less preferred activity
E.g., children sitting quietly in class in order to go out for recess

Punishment

An aversive consequence that diminishes the strength of the response it follows

How does this differ from negative reinforcement?

Punishment

Positive Punishment

Application (+) of an aversive stimulus after a response

Negative Punishment

Removal (-) of an attractive stimulus after a response

Both attempt to decrease the likelihood
that a behavior will reoccur.

Four Kinds of Consequences

STIMULUS

Table 4.1 Four Kinds of Consequences
Three important points to keep in mind as you study this table:
1. “Positive” and “negative” mean that a stimulus (consequence) has been added (presented) or subtracted (removed). These terms have nothing to do with “good” or “bad, pleasurable or painful.”
2. We can often predict what effect a particular consequence will have, but the only way to know for sure whether it will be a reinforcer or a punisher is to observe its effect on behavior. For example, although we might guess that a spanking would punish a child, the attention might actually serve as a reinforcer to strengthen the unwanted behavior.
3. From a cognitive viewpoint, we can see that reinforcement consists of the presentation of a pleasant stimulus or the removal of an unpleasant one. Similarly, punishment entails the presentation of an unpleasant stimulus or the removal of a pleasant one.

When Does Punishment Work?

When presented without delay
When consistent
When limited in duration and intensity
When the consequence is logical
When limited to the specific situation at hand
When no mixed messages are sent
When negative punishment is used

Uses and Abuses of Punishment

Problems associated with punishment:

Power of use usually disappears when threat of punishment is removed
Rewards can override/overpower the punishment
Often triggers escape or aggression
Teaches legitimate use of aggression to influence others
May inhibit learning new and better responses
Is often applied unequally

A Checklist for Modifying Operant Behavior

Consider combining the following:

Positive reinforcement
encourage desirable behaviors
Punishment
use logical consequences, swiftly, without undue harm
Negative reinforcement
Extinction
control all possible reinforcers

Classical and Operant
Conditioning Compared

Classical and Operant Conditioning Can Work Together

How Does
Cognitive Psychology
Explain Learning?

According to cognitive psychology, some forms of learning must be explained as changes in mental processes rather than as changes in behavior alone.

Key Question 4.3: How does cognitive psychology explain behavior?

How Does
Cognitive Psychology
Explain Learning?

Insight Learning

Cognitive learning, in which problem solving occurs by means of a sudden reorganization of perception

Cognitive Maps: Tolman

A mental representation of a physical or mental “space”
Support that learning was mental, not purely behavioral

How does cognitive psychology explain learning?

How Does
Cognitive Psychology
Explain Learning?

Latent Learning

When learning occurs without reinforcement and without any hint that learning took place
Further support for cognitive explanation of learning vs. the behavioral explanation

Observational Learning:
Bandura’s Challenge to Behaviorism

Observational Learning

Form of cognitive learning
New responses are acquired after watching others’ behavior and the consequences of their behavior.

Observational Learning Applied to Social Problems around the Globe

In Mexico, popular soap Ven Conmigo improved adult literacy.
Populations Communications International is a nonprofit that created television dramas around the world promoting:
Women’s rights
Safe sex
Preventing HIV
Unwanted pregnancies

Brain Mechanisms and Learning

Long-Term Potentiation

Biological process involving physical changes that strengthen the synapses in groups of nerve cells
Believed to be the neural basis of learning

Brain Mechanisms and Learning

Extinction

Forgetting unimportant associations
Neurotransmitters block memories.
glutamate; norephinephrine

Brain Mechanisms and Learning

Brain Circuitry for Different Types of Learning

Simpler circuits
classical conditioning and operant learning
Complex learning
concept formation, insight learning, and observational learning

Brain Mechanisms and Learning

Observational Learning and Mirror Neurons

Neurons that help us imitate others’ behaviors

Behavioral Learning and
Cognitive Learning Compared