Chapter 6: Biology - Learning and Conditioning

Psychologist who examine learning from a behavioral perspective define learning as relatively stable, observable changes in behavior.

The principles of learning are the same whether we are talking about animals or humans.

Associative learning occurs when we make the connection or an association between two events. ~Conditioning~ is the process of learning these associations

~Classical conditioning~, organisms learn the association between two stimuli. As a result of this association organisms learn to anticipate events. Example, lightning is associated with thunder and regularly proceeds it. Thus when we see lightning we anticipate that we will hear thunder soon afterward.

~Operant conditioning~ organisms learn the association between a behavior and a consequence, such as an award. As a result of this association organisms learn to increase behaviors that are followed by rewards and To decrease behaviors that are followed by punishment.

Observational learning is different from the associative learning described by behaviorism because it relies on mental processes: the learner has to pay attention, remember, and reproduce what the model did.

Pavlov discovered that neutral aspects of the environment can't attain the capacity to evoke responses through pairing with other stimuli and that bodily processes can be influenced by environmental cues.

~Reflexes~ are such automatic stimulus response connections. They include salivation in response to food, nausea and respond so spoiled food, shivering in response to low temperature, coughing in response to throw congestion, and withdraw in response to pain.

Unconditional stimulus: food Unconditional response: salivating in response to food.

Conditioned stimulus: dog associate the sound of the bell with the food Conditioned response: dog salivating

During Acquisition, the CS is repeatedly presented followed by the UCS. Eventually the CS will produce a response.

Classical conditioning is a type of learning that occurs without awareness or effort, based on the presentation of two stimuli together. For this pairing to work,however, two important factors must be present: Contiguity and contingency

~Contiguity~ the CS(bell ringing) and UCS(food) are presented very close together in time

~contingency~ contingency means that CS must not only precede the UCS closely in time, it must also serve as a reliable indicator that the UCS is on its way. Everytime the bell rings, food comes immediately.

Generalize Seshan has value in preventing learning from being tied to specific stimuli. Dog not only salivating to the tone of the bell but also to other sounds, such as a whistle

Pavlov gave food to the dog only after ringing the bell and not after any other sounds. In this way, the dog learn to distinguish between the bell and other sounds.

Extinction. Without continued association with the unconditioned stimulus, the condition stimulus loses its power to produce the conditioned response.

Spontaneous recovery: the conditioned response can recur after a time delay

As long as the conditioned stimulus is presented alone bell (that is, without the unconditioned stimulus- food), spontaneous recovery becomes weaker and eventually ceases

Classical conditioning has a great deal of survival value for human beings and provides an explanation of fears.

Albert was not afraid of the rat (so the rut is a neutral stimulus or CS closed parentheses. Researchers sounded a loud noise behind his head (the bell is then the UCS).

The noise caused a little Albert to cry (UCR). Albert began to fear The rat even whenn the noise was not sounded (the CR)

Counterconditioning has been used to break apart the association between certain stimuli and positive feelings.

Aversive conditioning is a form of treatment that consists of repeated pairings of a stimulus with a very unpleasant stimulus. For example electric shock and nausea including

To reduce drinking for example, every time a person drinks alcoholic beverage, he or she also consumes a make sure that induces nausea. The alcoholic beverage is the CS and the nausea inducing agent is the UCS.

Placebo effects are observable changes that cannot be explained by the effects of an actual treatment. The principles of classical conditioning can help to explain some of these facts. In this case, the pill or syringe serves as a conditioned stimulus and the actual drug is the unconditioned stimulus.

Classical conditioning can produce ~immunosuppression~, a decrease in the production of anti-bodies, which can lower a persons ability to fight disease.

For example, patients with multiple sclerosis Were given a flavored drink prior to receiving a drug that surpressed the immune system. After this period, the flavor drink by itself lowered immune functioning, similarly to the drug.

The endocrine system is a loosely organized set of glands that produce in circulate hormones. Research. Has shown that placebo pills can influence the secretion of hormones if patients had previous experiences with pills containing actual drugs that affect hormone secretion.

The SNS please in important role in the learned association between condition stimuli and immune endocrine functioning.

~Taste aversion~ a special kind of classical conditioning involving the learned association between a particular taste and nausea

Taste aversion is special because it typically requires only one pairing of a neutral stimulus (it taste) with the unconditioned response of nausea to see there connection, often for a very long time.

Taste aversion can occur even if the "taste" had nothing to do with getting sick .

For example radiation in the chemical treatment of cancer often produce nausea and patience, with the result that cancer patients sometimes develop strong aversion to many foods that they injest prior to treatment

A beautiful woman ( a UCS) producing pleasant feelings (a UCR) with a product (a CS) in hopes that you, the view were will experience those positive feelings towards the product (CR)

A person might develop a tolerance for a psychoactive drug in me a higher and higher dose of the substance to get the same effect. Habituation refers to be decreased responsiveness to a stimulus after repeated presentations.

He mind altering drug is an unconditioned stimulus: it naturally produces a response in the persons body. This unconditioned stimulus is often. Systematically with a previously neutral stimulus (CS).

For instance the physical appearance of the drug in a pill or syringe and the room where the person takes the drugs, or conditioned stimuli that are paired with the UCS of the drug. These repeated pairings should produce a CR

The conditioned response to a drug can be the body's way of preparing for the affects of a drug. In this case the body braces itself for the effects of the drug with a CR that is the opposite of the UCR. Four instance, if the drowned (DUCS) leads to an increase in the heart rate (the UCR), does CR might be a drop in heart rate.

The CS serves as a warning that the drug is coming, in the CR in this case is the body's compensation for the drugs effects. The CR works to decrease the effects of The UCS, making the drug experience less intense.

Some drug users try to prevent her big tuition by burying the physical location of where they take the drug.

Drug user walks into the bathroom, his or her body begins to prepare for and anticipate the drug dose in order to lessen the effects of the drug

Operant conditioning is usually much better than classical conditioning at explaining voluntary behaviors

Organisms learn the association between two stimuli (UCS & CS). Classical conditioning, is a form of respondent behavior, behavior that occurs in automatic response to a stimulus. Classical conditioning explains how neutral stimuli become associated with unlearned, involuntary responses.

In operant behavior occurs spontaneously. The consequences that follow such spontaneous behaviors determine whether the behavior will be repeated.

Contingency in operant conditioning. When a brat pushes a lover (behavior) that delivers food, the delivery of food (consequence) is contingent on that behavior.

Thorndike was studying cats in puzzle boxes. Thorndike puts a hungry cat inside a box and placed a piece of fish outside. To escape from the box it obtain the food the cat had to learn to open the latch inside the box.Eventually the cat stepped on the lever continuously.

The law of that is important because it presents the basic idea that the consequences of her behavior influenced the likelihood of that behaviors recurrence.

Skinner box. The device in the box delivered food pellets into a tree at random. Soon the rat learned that the consequences of pressing 11 was positive: it would be fed

It is possible, to train a dog or another animal to perform highly complex tasks through shaping

Shaping refers to rewarding approximations of a desired behavior.

Operant conditioning relies on the notion that a behavior is likely to be repeated if it is followed by a reward.

Reinforcement refers to those nice things that I will be behavior. Pleasant or rewarding consequences of the behavior fall into two types, called positive reinforcement and negative reinforcement. Both of these types of consequences or experience as pleasant and both increase the frequency of a behavior

Positive reinforcement example: if someone you me smiles at you after you say, hello, how are you? And you keep talking, the small has reinforced you're talking.

Negative reinforcement example your father nagged you to clean out the garage and kept nagging until you cleaned out the garage. Your response. {Cleaning out the garage) removed the unpleasant stimulus (your dads nagging. Taking an aspirin to remove a headache also

A special kind of response to negative reinforcement is avoidance learning. For example, a student who receive one bad grade my dear after always study hard in order to avoid the negative outcome of bad grades in the future.

Experience with unavoidable negative stimuli can lead to a particular deficit in avoidance learning called learned helplessness

Psychologist classified positive reinforcers as primary or secondary based on whether the rewarding quality of the consequence is innate or learned.

food water and sexual satisfaction. Our primary reinforcers Getting An a on a test is a secondary reinforcer

Example, and pigeons were reinforced for packing at a disc of a particular color. The pigeons also picked at discs of similar colors

Discrimination: A guide dog is standing at the corner with her visually impaired human, the human commands her to move forward, the dog might refuse if she sleeps the "don't walk" sign flashing

Extinction: A soda machine that you frequently use starts "eating" your coins without dispensing soda, you quickly stop inserting more coins. Several weeks later you might try to use the machine again, hoping that it has been fixed. Which is spontaneous recovery

~Partial reinforcement~, a reinforcer follows a behavior only a portion of the time. Partial reinforcement characterizes most like experiences. For instance, a golfer does not win every tournament she enters;.

There are four main schedules of partial reinforcement: fixed ratio, variable ratio, fixed interval, and variable interval.

~ratio schedule~ Involve the number of behaviors that must be performed prior to reward. ~ interval schedules~ referred to the amount of time that must pass before a behavior is rewarded.

Fixed schedule- the number of behaviors with the amount of time is always the same. In a variable schedule, the required number of behaviors or the amount of time that must pass changes and is unpredictable from the perspective of Learner

Fixed ratio schedule for example every fifth pizza you purchase you get the sixth one free Variable ratio schedule for example, slot machines

Variable ratio schedule's produce high, steady rate of behavior that are more resistant to extinction than any other three schedules.

Ratio schedules of reinforcement - based on the number of behaviors that occur. Interval reinforcement schedules - are the first behavior after he fixed amount of time has passed

Fixed interval schedule example pets able to tell time, Eagerly sideling up to their food dish at 5 PM in anticipation of dinner.

Fixed interval schedule, the rate of a behavior increases rapidly as the time approaches when the behavior likely will be reinforced. For example a government official who is running for reelection may intensify her campaign activities as election day draws near.

Variable interval schedule is a timetable in which a behavior is reinforced after a variable amount of time has elapsed. Four example pop quizzes

Because it is preferable to predict when a reward will come, behavior is slow and consistent on a variable interval schedule

Punishment:Example a child please with matches and get burned when he likes one; the child consequently is less likely to play with matches in the future.

A response decreases because it's unpleasant consequences.

Positive punishment example spanking a misbehaving child. Negative punishment time out in which a child is removed from a positive reinforcer such as her toys.

Immediate versus delayed reinforcement. You might choose to enjoy yourself now in return for comedian small reinforcers, to study hard in return for delayed stronger or reinforcers such good grades.

Immediate versus delayed punishment. Immediate punishment is more effective then deleted punishment and decreasing the occurrence of the behavior

Applied behavior analysis six to identify the rewards might beat me. From this perspective We can understand all human behavior as being influenced by rewards and punishments.

Albert Bandura believes that if are learning was conducted in such a trial and error fashion learning would be exceedingly tedious and at times hazardous

Many complex behaviors are the result of exposure to component models. By observing other people, we can acquire knowledge, skills,, strategies, beliefs, and attitudes.

Four main processes that are involved in observational learning: attention, attention, motor reproduction, and reinforcement

Retention: is the second process required for observational learning to occur. To reproduce a modest actions he must include the information keep it in memory so that you can retrieve it.

Motor reproduction,, third element of observational learning is the process of imitating the models actions. LimitationsAnd motor development might make it difficult for humans to reproduce the models action.

Reinforcement is a final component of hops emotional learning. Seeing a model attend a reward for activity increases the chances that will repeat the behavior a process called victorious enforcement. Vicarious punishment

Recognize the importance of cognition and believe that learning involves more than environment behavior connections.

~Purposiveness~ of behavior: the idea that much behavior is goal directed.

A rat responding to a Bell ringing before a shock but not a light

Implicitly learning is unreinforced learning that is not immediately Reflected in behavior. Walking around the college campus for the first time.

Inside learning requires that we think outside the box, setting aside previous expectations and assumptions.

Animals, various aspects of their physical make up can influence what they can learn. Sometimes, species typical behaviors or instincts can override even the best reinforcers

The tendency to revert to instinctive behavior that interferes with learning.

Researchers suggest that. Needs for fear of snakes has emerged out of the threat that reptiles likely pose to our evolutionary ancestors.

Culture can influence degree to which learning processes are used. For example Mexican American students may learn more through observational learning, Euro American students may be more accustomed to learn through direct instruction.

Culture can determine the content of learning. We cannot learn about something we do not experience.

Mindset: to describe the way our believes about ability to dictate what goal we set for ourselves, what we think we can learn, and ultimately what we do.

There is two mindset: a fixed mindset, in which they believe that the qualities are carved in stone and cannot change; what a growth mindset, in which they believe the qualities can change and improve through their effort. These two mindset I have implications for the meaning of failure.