PSYCHIATRY-1F

DR. OLIVER
OCTOBER 17,2018

LEARNING
• It is change in behavior resulting from repeated
practice.
• Both the environment & the behavior interact to
produce the learned change.
• Learning principles are often deeply involved in
the etiology and maintenance of psychiatric
disorders because so much of human behavior
(including overt behavior, thought patterns, and
emotion) is acquired through learning.
• To assess whether or not learning has occurred,
an aspect of performance is measured:
o Example: the accuracy of a motor skill
(shooting hoops) or a mental skill (doing
long division)
Learning vs. Performance
Performance – an aspect/concept where learning
is measured (ex. Exams) IVAN PAVLOV: CLASSICAL CONDITIONING
TYPES OF LEARNING • occurs when neutral stimuli are associated with
1. CLASSICAL CONDITIONING a psychologically significant event.
o Learning results from the contiguity or • The main result is that the stimuli come to evoke
temporal proximity of environmental a set of responses or emotions that may
events contribute to many clinical disorders, including
o If events occur together in a pattern, anxiety and drug dependence.
then you learn that their contiguity go • Results from the repeated pairing of a neutral
together. (conditioned)stimulus with an unconditioned
2. OPERANT CONDITIONING stimulus (one that evokes a response)
o Learning results from the consequences • The time relation between the presentation of the
of a person’s actions CS and US varies for optimal learning and
o Whether or not you learned is dependent ranges from a fraction of a second to several
upon whether your action is rewarded seconds.
or not • The dog experiments of Ivan Pavlov
3. SOCIAL LEARNING THEORY ◼ Unconditional Stimulus (UCS)
o Classical + Operant Conditioning ✓ Food: unconditionally elicits
o Reciprocal interaction between the salivation before the experiment
person & environment begins.
◼ Conditional Stimulus (CS)
CLASSICAL CONDITIONING ✓ Bell: only elicits the salivary
response conditional on the bell-
food pairings.
◼ Conditional Response (CR)
✓ Salivation (towards the bell +
food): New response to the bell
◼ Unconditional Response (UCR)
✓ Salivation ( towards the food ):
Natural Response to the food
itself.

o 1. UCS (food) → UCR (salivation) ;

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o 2. CS (bell) + US (food) →CR Harvard University from 1958 until his

(salivation) retirement in 1974
o 3. CS (bell) → CR (salivation) Born: March 20,1904 – Susquehanna Depot
August 18,1990- Cambridge
RELATED CONCEPTS • Developed by B.F. Skinner (1904-1990)
1. EXTINCTION • occurs when a behavior (instead of a stimulus)
o When the CS is constantly repeated is associated with a psychologically significant
without the UCS, the response evoked event.
by the CS gradually weakens until it • Learning occurs as a consequence of the
eventually disappears; learner’s action.
2. STIMULUS GENERALIZATION • The learner is not passive like in classical
o A process whereby a CR is transferred conditioning
from one stimulus to another that is • The learner behaves in a way that produces a
similar. reward.
o John Broadus Watson & the case of • Example: pushing a lever will produce food (rat
Little Albert (Phobias) presses a lever to earn food pellets.)
3. DISCRIMINATION • In this case, as opposed to Pavlov’s, the behavior
o The process of recognizing & is said to be an operant because it operates on
responding to differences between the environment.
similar stimuli o food pellet is a reinforcer—an event that
o Opposite of stimulus generalization increases the strength of the behavior of
which it is made a consequence.
LEARNING CAN BE VIEWED AS A BALANCE o MAJOR idea: rat’s behavior is
BETWEEN DISCRIMINATION &
“VOLUNTARY”, it is not compelled to
GENERALIZATION.
make the response (It can perform
THE CASE OF “LITTLE ALBERT”: whenever it wants to, lawfully
CLASSICAL CONDITIONING IN HUMANS controlled by its consequences)

Other rewards: approval, praise, good grades or any

other response that satisfies the learner’s need

KINDS OF INSTRUMENTAL or
OPERANT CONDITIONING

Primary Reward The simplest kind; the learned

Conditioning response is instrumental in
obtaining a biologically significant
reward ( food, water)
(e.g. reward – singing for your
supper)
Escape Conditioning The organism learns a response
that is instrumental in getting out
of some place it prefers not to be
OPERANT CONDITIONING (e.g. Volunteering to go to the
market in order to get out of the
house)
B.F. SKINNER: OPERANT CONDITIONING
Burrhus Frederic ”B.F.” Skinner was an
American psychologist, behavorist, author,
inventor and social philosopher. He was the
Edgar Pierce Professor of Psychology at Avoidance The kind of learning in which a
Conditioning response to a cue is instrumental in
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avoiding a painful experience o Example: Giving money to a child for

good grades
Organisms learn to perform actions
that prevent the delivery or
presentation of an aversive event. 1. Positive Reinforcement
o The process by which certain
(e.g. Volunteering to go to the market consequences of a response increase the
early so you do not have to eat
breakfast with your dad and avoid a
probability that a response will occur
scolding) o Occurs when an action produces a
Secondary Reward The kind of learning in which positive event.
Conditioning instrumental behavior to get at a o You add (+) something (ex. Awards)
stimulus has no biological usefulness 2. Negative Reinforcement
itself but has in the past been o The process by which a response that
associated with a biologically useful leads to the removal of an aversive
stimulus stimulus is increased
(e.g. Wanting to go to piano lessons o Occurs when an action prevents or
because the teacher’s place is near eliminates a negative event.
your favorite fast food place. )
o It is not punishment
o You remove (-) something (ex.
RELATED CONCEPTS Exemption)
• REINFORCER 3. Punishment
o Anything that maintains a response or o An aversive stimulus that is presented
increases its strength specifically to weaken or suppress an
o Term used synonymously with undesired response
REWARD o Reduces the probability that an
o However, undesired response will recur
▪ RESPONSES ARE
REINFORCED, SUBJECTS FORMS OF PUNISHMENT
ARE REWARDED

THE REWARD CIRCUIT SCHEDULE OF REINFORCEMENTS

(PROGRAMMING)

• Continuous Schedule or Contingency

Management
o Every response is reinforced
• Intermittent Schedule or Partial
Reinforcement
o Reinforces a response only a fraction of
the time
o Fixed-Ratio – every 10 responses
▪ Every xth , action is reinforced.
o Variable Ratio – no regularity
What drives circuit? PLEASURE (reward)
▪ There is an average ratio, but
the number of responses
TYPES OF REINFORCERS
required for each successive
A. Primary reinforcer varies.
o Independent of previous learning o Fixed Interval – every 10 minutes
o Example: need for food or water ▪ The first response after “x”
B. Secondary seconds have elapsed is
o Based on previously rewarded learning reinforced.
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o Variable Interval – no regularity

▪ There is an interval requirement RELATED CONCEPTS
for each reinforcer, but the
length of that interval varies. a) Aversive Control
o Behavior is changed to avoid a noxious
TRIAL AND ERROR LEARNING stimulus
• First described by Edward Thorndike b) Escape Learning & Avoidance Learning
• A learner attempts to solve a problem by trying o Getting out of a place where the
out different actions until one proves to be organism does not want to be
successful o Anticipatory response (disaster
preparedness during typhoon)
EDWARD THORNDIKE’S LAW OF EFFECT c) Shaping Behavior
o Changing behavior in a deliberate &
• Certain responses are reinforced by reward, & predetermined way
the organism learns through these experiences d) Adventitious Reinforcement
• When the action leads to a positive outcome, the o Coincidental pairing of response &
action is strengthened; conversely, when the reinforcement
action leads to a negative outcome, we have
punishment, and the action is weakened. e) Premack’s Principle
• When the action decreases the probability of a o David Premack
positive event, behavior also declines. o A behavior engaged in high frequency
• Suggested that responses closely followed by can be used to reinforce a low frequency
satisfaction will become firmly attached to the behavior
situation and therefore more likely to reoccur
when the situation is repeated. PREMACK’S PRINCIPILE
• Conversely, if the situations is followed by
o DAVID PREMACK: PREMACK’S
discomfort, the connections to the situation will
PRINCIPLE
become weaker and the behavior of response is
o For any individual, reinforcers can be identified
less likely to occur when the situation is
by giving the individual a preference test in
repeated,
which she or he is free to engage in any number
of activities.
THE STIMULUS-RESPONSE THEORY o Main implication: a person’s reinforcers can be
discovered by simply looking at how he or she
✓ Thorndike began the studies of animal learning allocates his or her activities when access to is
that led to his theory of CONNECTIONISM. free and unconstrained.
✓ Experiment consisted of putting an animal in a o In operant conditioning, this principle states that
“problem box” and then rewarding the animal a commonly occurring action can be used
with a small piece of food of it presented a lever effectively as a reinforcer for a less commonly
and escaped. occurring one.
✓ With repetition, the amount of time it took the o Example: A parent requiring a child to clean his
animal to perform the required task declined. room before he can watch television. In this
Thorndike called this process LEARNING. case, television, an activity that probably does
not require reinforcement, is used as a reinforcer
✓ THORNDIKE’S THOERY OF LEARNING: for cleaning the room, which in the context of
o Application of a given stimulus, elicits a this example the child would not do without
response. reinforcement.
o The bond between stimulus and
response is “stamped in” by giving of
rewards.
o Learning is enhanced by both
REPETITION AND REWARD.
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that the same stimulus will elicit the same

SOCIAL LEARNING THEORY response again in the future.

ALBERT BANDURA: SOCIAL LEARNING

THEORY SPEECH AND LANGUAGE CENTERS
• Reciprocal Determinism
• Behavior results from the interplay between PIERRE BROCA AND CARL WERNICKE :
cognitive & environmental factors SPEECH AND LANGUAGE CENTERS
• Relies on imitation, role modeling,
identification • Identified specific areas of the brain involved
in the development & retention of speech &
language

COGNITIVE LEARNING
• COGNITION is the process of obtaining,
organizing, and using intellectual knowledge.
• It implies understanding the connection between
cause & effect; between an action & the
consequences of the action.
Frontal lobe- Broca’s area – expression of
• Behavior can change through techniques in language
which persons learn by listening or reading Superior temporal – Wernicke’s area-
instructions comprehension of language
• Involves Information Processing:
o Input → Storage → Output (measured &
most important)
o Recall → Action

NEUROPHYSIOLOGY OF LEARNING
THE DRIVE REDUCTION THEORY
CLARK HULL : DRIVE-REDUCTION THEORY OF
MOTIVATION
• Habits are strengthened when a response further THE DUAL STREAM MODEL OF SPEECH AND
reduces a drive associated with an aroused need LANGUAGE
(hunger, thirst, pleasure) HICKOCK and POEPPEL : DUAL STREAM
• In order to survive in its environment, an MODEL OF SPEECH AND LANGUAGE
organism must behave in ways that meet these
survival needs. “When survival is jeopardy, the
organism is in a state of need (when biological
requirements for survival are not being met) so
the organism behaves in a fashion to reduce that
need, “Hull explained.
• In a stimulus-response relationship, when the
stimulus and response are followed by a
reduction in the need, it increases the likelihood

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Erik Kandel – nobel prize winner- > Classical

THE NEUROBIOLOGY OF LEARNING Conditioning in Aplasia
ERIC KANDEL: NEUROBIOLOGY OF LEARNING
• Habituation causes an organism to stop
responding reflexively as a result of repeated
MEMORY FORMATION AND STORAGE
stimulus (The stimulus keeps on being presented
until you become habituated to it) •Senses take in environmental stimulus
• Sensitization can cause a reflex response to •Stimulus transformed into a memory trace or
become more sensitive so that a subthreshold Input link
stimulus can already produce a response
o The cellular changes •Information is stored.
underlying sensitization •Different types of information in different brain
begin when a sensory Storage areas
neuron activates a
modulatory interneuron
which enhances the strength •Information is recalled from storage when
of synapses within the Retrieval needed to act
circuitry responsible for the
reflex.

STORAGE OF MEMORY
A. Short-Term Memory
o Also called Immediate memory,
working memory, primary memory,
buffer memory
o Limited capacity/temporary (5-9 bits of
information)

o
Adversely affected by stress or too much
input
B. Long-Term Memory

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o Also known as recent memory, recent

past memory, remote memory,
secondary memory
o Have more time to link/process with
many locations in the cortex
o Repeated reliving of a memory enhances
its permanence (the longer you do it, the
longer it will stay in storage; the more
information you store, the slower the
retrieval)

PAPEZ’S CIRCUIT

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THE MAKING OF MEMORY

LONG-TERM POTENTIATION (LTP)

**No need to study the pathophysiology

✓ Mechanism for mammalian long-term memory

✓ Established quickly and lasts for a long time
✓ Occurs prominently in the HIPPOCAMPUS (a
structure important for memory)

CLASSIFICATION OF MEMORY

A. By Temporal Direction
o Prospective (plans; going forward)
o Retrospective (past; going backward)
B. By Information Type
a. Declarative
i. Only kind of memory affected
by Amnesia.
ii. Conscious recollection of facts
and events
iii. Explicit, involves conscious
recall
iv. Hippocampus – area most
involved
(NOTE: Nondeclarative memory:
includes:
▪ Skills and habits
▪ Priming
▪ Simple Classical
Conditioning
▪ Nonassociative learning
b. Procedural
i. Implicit (you don’t talk about it
but you know it), motor skills
ii. Cerebellum, basal ganglia
(areas most involved)
c. Topographic
i. Orientation in space
ii. Hippocampus (area most
involved)
Ex: going back to your
classroom

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