Chap 4 beh.

LEARNING THEORIES

Chapter objectives
Identify some of the main characteristics that distinguish classical conditioning from operant conditioning Describe the Premack principle and give an example of its use in everyday life Explain why poker machines are so effective in holding players attention Describe how a teacher can use antecedent-behaviour-consequence (A-B-C) information to manage behaviour
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Chapter objectives (contd)

Give an example of applied behaviour analysis (ABA) in the classroom

Review the main theories discussed in the chapter and identify the common threads that connect them

Chapter 4 concept map

Behavioural explanations of learning

Behaviourists see learning as a connection between a stimulus (something that affects the senses) and a response (a reaction to the stimulus) Contiguity is the association of two events that are always closely paired or that repeatedly occur at about the same time Tabula rasa is the notion that infants are a blank slate that is, born with no understanding, but with an innate ability to perceive sensations and build associations

Classical conditioning
Classical conditioning is the association of an automatic response with a new stimulus Pavlov experimented with dogs, using different stimuli (such as a bell or tuning fork) to trigger a salivation response

Pavlovs arrangement for the study of salivary conditioning

Principles of classical conditioning

1 The dog salivates naturally while eating food (unlearned behaviour): food is an unconditioned stimulus (US) salivation is an unconditioned response (UR) 2 A tuning fork sounds before food is presented to the dog 3 The dog learns to associate food with the sound, and salivates each time the sound occurs: the sound of the tuning fork is a conditioned stimulus (CS) salivating to the sound of tuning fork (a learned behaviour) is a conditioned response (CR)

Watson and behaviourism

Watson built on Pavlovs work Watson explained behaviour in terms of S-R associations Watson argued that it was not necessary to study thoughts, feelings, intentions or meanings in order to understand behaviour Infants are seen as being born with innate reflexes and emotional reactions As infants develop, other S-R associations form

Strengths and limitations of classical conditioning

Strengths
Positive impact on research methodology, in that it drew attention to observation and measurement of behaviour
Therapists use classical conditioning principles to modify behaviour and to address problems such as panic or irrational fear
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Limitations
Not all behaviour follows the model identified by classical conditioning

Some actions are initiated by an impulse or conscious intent that may not be under the direct control of an external stimulus
It is not always possible to find responses that can provide a starting point for instruction (such as when a child is mute at the time speech should be emerging)

Operant conditioning
Operant conditioning uses positive or negative consequences to strengthen or weaken voluntary behaviour Concerned with behaviour that is conscious, intentional or voluntary

A learners behaviour triggers a sequence of events that leads to a positive or negative outcome, and to learning

Thorndike and trial-and-error learning

Learning involves the formation of associations between stimulus and response When a learner is placed in a problemsolving situation, the correct response will be learned through being reinforced

Law of effect: responses that have satisfying outcomes are likely to be strengthened and repeated
Law of exercise: connections between actions and new consequences are strengthened the more they are repeated

Skinner and operant conditioning

Skinner acknowledged the principles of classical conditioning However, Skinner argued that these failed to account for behaviours individuals initiate spontaneously

Principles of operant conditioning

Operants are self-initiated behaviours Respondents are elicited, or reflex reactions produced, when an individual responds to recognised stimuli in the environment

Reinforcement increases or strengthens the likelihood of a behaviour recurring, through use of contingent feedback

The A-B-C of operant conditioning

Behaviour is an ongoing chain of activity involving events that immediately precede behaviour and follow it Antecedent

Behaviour

Consequence

Types of consequences
Punishment is an event that weakens or reduces behaviour Reinforcement is an event that strengthens behaviour: positive reinforcement increases the likelihood of a behaviour occurring by presenting a reward immediately following the behaviour negative reinforcement increases the likelihood of a behaviour being repeated by removing an unpleasant or disliked object or activity

Types of reinforcers
Primary reinforcers are naturally occurring, unconditioned or unlearned stimuli that are innately rewarding for an individual (e.g. food) Secondary reinforcers are conditioned or learned rewards (e.g. a smile, praise, good grades) Premack principle: any behaviour that is enjoyed and occurs often can be used to reinforce unenjoyable behaviours that do not occur often (e.g. If you eat your vegetables, then you can have your dessert)

Operant conditioning in the classroom

Discourage inappropriate behaviour through extinction that is, withdraw all reinforcement by ignoring a behaviour until it stops Once behaviours have been learned: maintenance ensures continued performance of a learned behaviour generalisation occurs when individuals learn to respond to stimuli that are similar to but not the same as those triggering the original response (e.g. when students learn how to subtract numbers in maths, generalisation occurs if they can apply subtraction to a distance problem in geography)

Reinforcement schedules in the classroom

Continuous reinforcement: providing reinforcement continuously through a lesson (this has limited effectiveness) Intermittent reinforcement: rewarding behaviours intermittently with a view to reducing the rate at which rewards are given: ratio schedules: a reward is given in a predetermined ratio to the number of responses interval schedules: a reward is delivered after a predetermined period of time

Helping students learn through operant conditioning

Shaping: reinforcing gradual approximations of a desired behaviour Chaining: each behaviour in the chain of behaviours functions as a reinforcer for the previous act and as a stimulus for the next Cueing: a specific stimulus is used as a cue for eliciting a desired response (contd)

Helping students to learn through operant conditioning (contd) Prompting: providing an additional stimulus to elicit a desired response Modelling: demonstrating a desired response for someone to imitate (a form of prompting) Task analysis: breaking a task into a series of manageable steps to assist learning

Applied behaviour analysis (ABA)

Using behavioural principles to change behaviour The primary focus is on behaviour (e.g. academic, social, motor-skill) that is observable and quantifiable Steps in ABA: 1 specify the target behaviour and goals 2 develop and implement an intervention plan 3 monitor the results of the intervention, and institute changes as required

Strengths and limitations of operant conditioning

Strengths
Provides educators with simple but effective strategies to teach new skills and behaviours quickly and efficiently Particularly helpful for teaching action sequences (e.g. cleaning teeth, driving a car)
Helpful for managing undesirable behaviour, especially in classrooms
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Limitations
Neglects the contribution of cognition and cognitive skills to learning

Inadequate for explaining complex forms of behaviour such as problemsolving There are concerns about the impact of long-term dependence on extrinsic forms of reinforcement
There are ethical issues concerning some forms of punishment and some aversive techniques

Social learning theory and observational learning

Social learning theory (Bandura, 1977) is an extension of behavioural explanations of learning Recognises individual contributions (mental or psychological) to learning Reciprocal determinism: the interactive, complementary system formed by people and environments sees behaviour as the product of reciprocal interaction between internal influences (cognitive, personal), external influences (instructional procedures, physical settings), and the behaviour itself (actions, utterances)

Strengths and limitations of social learning theory Strengths

Extends behavioural theories to encompass a broad range of factors, both internal and external
Recognises the learners active contribution to behaviour change Highlights the power of learning by observation and imitation (such as through TV or computer games)
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Limitations
It is difficult to know the long-term impact of observational learning

It is not clear why children imitate some behaviours and not others
Distinguishing between the impact of positive and negative modelling can be difficult

Cognitive behaviour modification and self-regulation

Cognitive behavioural techniques are similar to social learning theory they acknowledge the role of environmental, cognitive and personal factors Cognitive behaviour modification uses behaviour-modification strategies that emphasise a combination of behavioural (observable) and cognitive (unobservable) aspects of learning

Strengths and limitations of cognitive behavioural modification

Strengths
Acknowledges importance of cognition in learning

Limitations
May be impractical; the use of selfregulation to control behaviours requires commitment and self-discipline Support is usually needed from an experienced psychologist or therapist to design, implement and monitor a program There are concerns about meeting ethical requirements in some cases

Chapter review
Behavioural explanations of learning: contiguity classical conditioning operant conditioning Social learning theory and observational learning Cognitive behaviour modification and self-regulation