1. What is learning?

2. Classical Conditioning
UNIT 3: Learning
3. Operant Conditioning
4. Cognitive Learning

1. What is learning? 1. What is learning?

•Learning is a relatively enduring change in behavior, •How do we learn?

resulting from experience
Learn about a stimulus in the environment
•How do we learn?
Ex: habituation - A decrease in behavioral response
after repeated exposure to a stimulus

2. Learning Through Association - Classical Conditioning

1. What is learning?
•How do we learn?

Learning Through Association (of 2 stimuli) - Classical

Conditioning

Learning Through Consequences - Operant Conditioning

Russian physiologist
Cognitive Learning Ivan Pavlov
(1849–1936)
discovered classical conditioning

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 2. Learning Through Association - Classical Conditioning 2. Learning Through Association - Classical
Classical conditioning:
Conditioning
the process of learning
by which neutral •unconditioned response (UR) - An unlearned response
stimulus comes to to a stimulus. (innate, natural)
produce a response when
it is associated with a
stimulus that already
•unconditioned stimulus (US) - A stimulus that elicits
produces that response. an unlearned response.
•conditioned stimulus (CS) - A stimulus that elicits a
Neutral stimulus (NS): a response only after learning has taken place.
stimulus that before
conditioning does not •conditioned response (CR) - A response to a
produce a particular
response. conditioned stimulus; a response that has been learned.

2. Learning Through Association - Classical 2. Learning Through Association - Classical Conditioning

Conditioning
Fear can be learned
US possible CS Response h ttp s://www.yo u tu b e.co m/watch ?v=FM n h yGo zL y E

food in mounth salivating

scary movie scene anxious

bitten by a bee fear

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2. Learning Through Association - Classical Conditioning 2. Learning Through Association - Classical Conditioning

•conditioned response (CR) - Does it last? •We also respond to stimuli that are similar to the
original CS - stimulus generalization
No, it weakens when CS is repeated without US
- extinction • Ex: Albert was conditioned to fear white rats, but he
developed a fear of things white and furry
Ex: dogs don’t salivate after several times of no food
coming together with bell tone
•BUT ... We can also differentiate among related stimuli
to respond only to the original CS - stimulus
•BUT ... CR may come back some time after discrimination
extinction - spontanous recovery • Ex: we may learn to fear pit bulls but not golden retrievers

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2. Learning Through Association - Classical Conditioning

•Advertising

Positive feelings (happy, satisfied) à tend to buy

Associate:
? + product à Positive feelings

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smartp h o n e-­‐ch uyen -­‐gi a-­‐chan -­‐dun g-­‐the-­‐he-­‐mo i -­‐
4 3 0 9 0 74.html

2. Learning Through Association - Classical Conditioning 2. Learning Through Association - Classical Conditioning

•Conditioned •Learning by classical conditioning is quite simple,

Taste Aversions passive and automatic

•only explain how new stimuli produce existing

behaviors

•new behaviors ?

3. Learning Through Consequences - Operant

•We also do things for purposes Conditioning
we shape new behaviours to get rewards or avoid
punishment •The process of learning in which the consequences of
a response determine the probability that the response
This way of learning is instrumental will be repeated.
- done for a purpose
•also called instrumental conditioning
à instrumental conditioning or operant conditioning

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 3. Learning Through Consequences - Operant 3. Learning Through Consequences - Operant
Conditioning Conditioning

•Law of effect: •Skinner - a strict behaviorist :

Any behavior that “satisfying state” is unobservable mental process
leads to a “satisfying à objected
state” is likely to occur
again, and any •Instead of that satisfying state increases behavior,
behavior that leads to REINFORCEMENT INCREASES BEHAVIOR
an “annoying state” is or
less likely to occur Thorndike’s Puzzle Box
Cats placed in Thorndike’s puzzle box learned an observable event produces an observable learned response
again. to make their escape through a random process
of trial and error.

3. Learning Through Consequences - Operant 3. Learning Through Consequences - Operant Conditioning

Conditioning
• In Positive Reinforcement: Behaviour Reinforcer Strengthened behavior
a response is strengthened by the introduction of a Child finishes teacher praises likelihood of finishing
stimulus/reward after the response occurs. homework homework increases
positive reinforcer

secondary   candies, games

• In Negative Reinforcement: reinforcer recognition, money
a response is strengthened by the removal of an
unpleasant stimulus/event after the response occurs. primary  
reinforcer water , food, sleep
negative reinforcer

3. Learning Through Consequences - Operant Conditioning 3. Learning Through Consequences - Operant Conditioning
Behaviour Reinforcer Strengthened behavior
• Are you superstitious ?
take aspirin relief from pain likelihood of taking It brings me luck ...
when have aspirin in the future
headeach • How superstition arises ?
By receiving a chance reinforcement
have a walk, yoga likelihood of having a
walk, yoga in the future Behaviour Reinforcer Strengthened behavior
wear a new lucky meet your crush likelihood of wearing
charm to a party by chance the lucky charm frequently

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3. Learning Through Consequences - Operant Conditioning

• In Positive Punishment :
a response is weakened by the introduction of an
aversive stimulus after the response occurs.

• In Negative Punishment :
a response is weakened by the removal of an
reinforcing stimulus after the response occurs.

Source: Nevid, J .S. (2018). Es s entials of Ps ychology: Concepts andApplications (5th Ed). Bos ton: Cengage Learning

3. Learning Through Consequences - Operant Conditioning 3. Learning Through Consequences - Operant Conditioning
• Effectiveness of Punishment ? • Behavior modification:
suppress undesirable behaviors but not eliminate How to overcome Procastination ?
David Premack (1965) research on monkeys: a more
not teach new behaviors frequently performed behavior will reinforce a less frequently
negative emotions, bad modelling performed behavior
spranking / corporal punishment banned
a more frequently performed behavior : watch TV reinforcer
a less frequently performed behavior: do homeworks
• How? unpleasant, reasonable and applied immediately
time-outs, small fines, removal of privileges Then, reinforce yourself with these higher frequency behaviors
positive reinforcement of wanted behaviors instead only after you’ve completed your homework

4. Cognitive learning 4. Cognitive learning

Latent learning occurs without apparent reinforcement
Learning that occurs without the opportunity of and is not displayed until reinforcement is provided.
first performing the learned response or being reinforced
for it. Tolman and Honzik’s study of
latent learning in rats (1932)
Rats were trained to run a
Latent learning maze.
The rats in group 3 weren’t
reinforced until day 11 when
Insight learning they were awarded. They were
learning all along, even though
they weren’t showing it. They
Observational learning had formed a cognitive map.
Source: M ichael S. Gazzaniga. (2018). Psychological science (6th ed.). W.W. Norton & Company.

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 4. Cognitive learning 4. Cognitive learning
Insight learning is the process of mentally working through In Observational (social) learning, we acquire new
a problem until the sudden realization of a solution occurs. behaviors by imitating behaviors we observe in others
Wolfgang Köhler (1927) placed a Albert Bandura (1960s)
bunch of bananas outside the The Bobo doll experiment
animal’s cage beyond its reach. One group saw the adult play quietly
Sultan, who was obviously hungry, and the other group saw the adult
figured out how to get to a banana. attack the doll.
When children were allowed to play
When the problem was solved, with the doll later, those who had
Sultan seemed to experience the seen the aggressive display were
sudden understanding of the solution, more than twice as likely to act
the “Aha!” moment, an insight aggressively toward the doll.

Source: Nevid, J .S. (2018). Es s entials of Ps ychology: Concepts andApplications (5th Ed). Bos ton: Cengage Learning
Source: https ://www.s ciencephoto.com/media/680928/view/chimpanzee-problem-s olving-research.
https ://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dmBqwWlJ g8U

4. Cognitive learning Psychologists generally define learning as a relatively (a)_______

change in behavior that results from (b) _______.
Observational learning - Biological aspect
Conditioned responses are acquired on the basis of classical
Mirror neurons - cells in the brain that are activated conditioning, a form of learning in which a response that is the same as
when one observes another individual engage in an or similar to one originally elicited by an (c) _______ stimulus (US) is
action and when one performs a similar action. made to occur to a (d) _______ stimulus (CS) on the basis of pairing the
two stimuli. Pavlov discovered classical conditioning based on his
experiments on the salivation reflex in dogs in which he demonstrated
that dogs would salivate to a previously (e) _______ stimulus (a bell or
tone) after it was repeatedly paired with an (f) _______ stimulus that
naturally elicits salivation (food placed on the animal’s tongue).

a. Enduring b. experience c. unconditioned d.conditioned

e. Neutral f. unconditioned
Source: M ichael S. Gazzaniga. (2018). Psychological
s cience (6th ed.). W.W. Norton & Company.

(g) _______ is the process by which learned responses gradually weaken

and eventually disappear when the conditioned stimulus (CS) is presented •In Watson and Rayner’s study of “Little Albert,” the child
repeatedly in the absence of the unconditioned stimulus (US). Spontaneous became frightened of a white rat and similar stimuli because
(h) _______ is the return of the conditioned response some time after a. children are naturally afraid of white rats.
extinction.
b. a loud noise occurred whenever the rat was in
Stimulus (l) _______ is the tendency of stimuli that are similar to the Albert’s presence.
conditioned stimulus to elicit a conditioned response. Stimulus c. the rat was repeatedly paired with a neutral stimulus.
generalization enables us to respond in a like way to stimuli that resemble
the original (m) _______ stimulus. Through stimulus (n) _______, d. Albert had a traumatic experience with a rat.
organisms learn to differentiate stimuli such that those that are related to the
conditioned stimulus, but not identical to it, fail to elicit a conditioned (o)
_______. •Give examples of classical conditioning in your daily life.
(g) extinction, (h) recovery, (l) generalization; (m) conditioned; conditioned taste aversions, conditioned fear responses
(n) discrimination; (o) response

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Define operant conditioning, identify the major figures in its Describe different types of reinforcement and define punishment.
development, and describe their contributions. (d) _______ reinforcement strengthens behavior when
Operant conditioning is a form of learning in which the (a) _______ of reinforcement (for example, a reward) is presented after the
behavior influence the strength or likelihood that the behavior will response occurs, whereas (e) _______ reinforcement strengthens
occur. behavior when an unpleasant or painful stimulus is removed
Edward Thorndike developed the law of (b) _______, which holds that after the response occurs.
responses that have satisfying effects will be strengthened whereas
those that lead to discomfort will be weakened. (p) _______ is the introduction of a painful or aversive stimulus
B. F. Skinner developed the principles of (c) _______ conditioning, (or (q) _______ of a rewarding stimulus) following a response,
including the roles of positive and negative reinforcement and of which weakens or suppresses the response.
schedules of reinforcement.
(d) Positive; (e) negative; (p) Punishment; (q) removal
(a) consequences; (b) effect; (c) operant

1.In operant conditioning, learning results from the 3.Studying an extra hour per day for the exam produced an
association of a behavior with impressive grade. What is the likely reinforcer?
a. its consequences. c. cognitions. Receiving the grade
b. conditioned stimuli. d. unconditioned stimuli.
4. In terms of operant learning, how superstition arises ?
2.In negative reinforcement, a behavior is strengthened by
By receiving a chance reinforcement
the
a. introduction of a negative reinforcer.
b. extinction of a positive stimulus. 5. If you take away a child’s toy because the child is banging it
against the wall, what kind of punishment is this?
c. introduction of a positive reinforcer.
Negative punishment
d. removal of an aversive stimulus.

6.What are primary reinforcers?

a.Money b.Compliments c.None of the above

7. Why does latent learning challenge traditional operant conditioning

theories? latent learning takes place without reinforcement

8. In Köhler experiment, the chimp named Sultan learned to reach bananas

by attaching two sticks together. This type of learning is called
a. insight learning. b. latent learning.
c. observational learning d. classical conditioning.

9.In (e) ________ learning, behaviors are acquired by observing and

imitating the behaviors of others. (e. observational)