Learning Unit

u07
Learning is a relatively permanent change to an
organism’s behavior due to experience.

• Classical conditioning

• Operant conditioning

• Observational learning
m21 Classical
Conditioning
 Ivan Pavlov
1849 - 1936
1904, Nobel Prize in
Medicine
Originally tried to
study digestion, but
dogs became
conditioning
Unconditional stimulus

Unconditional response

neutral stimulus
NS → Conditioned stimulus

Acquisition

CS → Conditioned response
Spontaneous Recovery
Generalization vs Discrimination
Generalization vs Discrimination
Generalization vs Discrimination
 Modernizing Pavlov
Biological predisposition to certain associations

Universal way to learn

simple worms to humans . . .

like Little Albert
m22 Operant
Conditioning
 Edward Thorndike
The LAW OF EFFECT:
rewarded behavior is likely to be be
repeated.
Corollary:
punished behavior is not likely to be
repeated
 BF Skinner
1904-1990
Built upon the
Law of Effect
Developed
Skinner Box to
test conditioning
in isolation
 BF Skinner
1904-1990
Built upon the
Law of Effect
Developed
Skinner Box to
test conditioning
in isolation
Shaping through successive approximations
Reinforcement
Increases the likelihood of the
preceding event being repeated.
Positive reinforcers add
something desirable
Negative reinforcers
remove something
undesirable
Primary reinforcers Secondary reinforcers
are inherently are learned
desirable
eg money, grades,
food, water, air, praise
and sex
Positive reinforcement
 Negative Reinforcers
• Taking aspirin to relieve a headache
• Hurrying home in the winter to get out of the cold
• Giving in to an argument or to dog’s begging to end it
• Fanning oneself to escape the heat
• Leaving a school play if the play is bad
• Smoking to relieve anxiety
• Faking a stomach ache in order to avoid school
• Putting on a seatbelt to silence the warning buzzer
• Using an umbrella to escape the rain
• Saying “uncle” to stop being beaten
Negative reinforcement
Punishment
Decreases the likelihood of the
preceding event being
repeated
Positive punishment adds
something undesirable
Negative punishment
removes something
desirable
 Schedules of
Reinforcement
Continuous reinforcement
or
Fixed ratio Fixed interval
Variable ratio Variable interval
m23 Observational
Learning
Mirror
neurons fire
both when the
animal acts
and when it
observes a
conspecial
animal act.
 Albert Bandura
1925 - present
Past president of the
APA
Professor at Stanford
“Bobo Doll”
experiment
 Albert Bandura
1925 - present
Past president of the
APA
Professor at Stanford
“Bobo Doll”
experiment
88% of the children mimicked the behavior
observed

40% exhibited the same violent behavior when

shown a Bobo Doll eight months later
 Components of
Observational Learning
• Attention
• Retention
• Reproduction
• Motivation or reinforcement
 Components of
Observational Learning
• Attention
• Retention
• Reproduction
• Motivation or reinforcement
o c i al
Pros
or i or s
b e h av
oc i al
Antis