Topic 7 - Learning Flashcards
What are the BIG THREE of Learning?
- EVENT-ALONE LEARNING (Habituation)
- Habituation is the process by which we respond less strongly over time to repeated stimuli
SENSITIZATION: Increase in vigour of behaviour that can result from repeated stimulus. Habituation is specific and
- EVENT-EVENT LEARNING (Classical Conditioning)
- Classical conditioning is a form of learning in which a neutral stimulus comes to signal the occurrence of a second stimulus - Behaviour-Event Learning (Instrumental or Operant Conditioning)
- Is learning controlled by the consequences of the organisms behaviour
What is learning?
Learning is defined as a change in an organisms behaviours or thoughts as a result of experience
Event-Alone Learning (Habituation) (One of big three of learning)
Habituation is the process by which we respond less strongly over time to repeated stimuli
Habituation has limits (Repeated exposure to some stimuli can cause SENSITIZATION)
Long-Term Habituation (Over a long period of time, slow and stable)
Short-Term Habituation (Short period of time, fast)
SENSITIZATION: Increase in vigour of behaviour that can result from repeated stimulus. Habituation is specific and SENSITIZATION isn’t specific
British Associationists believed that we acquire almost all of our knowledge via CONDITIONING (Forming associations between stimuli)
Event-Event Learning (Classical Conditioning) (One of the big three of learning)
Pavlov (Originally studied the digestive processes in animals, then he discovered Classical Conditioning “Conditioned Reflexes”)
CLASSICAL CONDITIONING is a form of learning in which a neutral stimulus comes to signal the occurrence of a second stimulus
CS (Conditioned Stim) ex. Bell.
US (Unconditioned Stim) ex. Food. A biologically significant stimulus that already has a response associated w it.
The response associated w US is called UNCONDITIONED RESPONSE (UR)
With enough pairing of the CS with a US, the CS will come to elicit the same response as the paired US. The resultant is known as CONDITIONED RESPONSE (CR)
US’s are effective if they evoke a reasonable strong bodily response
US’s can be classified as APPETITIVE or AVERSIVE (Positive or neg responses)
PRINCIPLES of CLASSICAL CONDITIONING
Acquisition: With repeated pairing, CR becomes more reliable and grows in magnitude. This occurs until the CR reliably follows the presentation of the CS, and the magnitude of the CR is similar to that of the UR.
Asymptote: When the CR reliably follows the presentation of the CS, and the magnitude of the CR is similar to that of the UR
Extinction: When a CS is presented without the US. The CS will slowly lose the ability to elicit a CR
Eye-Blink Conditioning: Brief CS (Tone) followed by shock to cheek or puff of air to eye (US). UR = Blink
Spontaneous Recovery: When a seemingly extinct CR reappears (often in a somewhat weaker form) if the CS is presented again following a delay after extinction
Stimulus Generalization: Once a CS has been established (e.g. it produces a CR reliably), similar stimuli may also produce a CR.
Stimulus Discrimination: occurs when we exhibit a less pronounced CR to CSs that differ from the original CS
Higher-order Conditioning: Conditioning can occur without a US (Came up by Frolov)
APPLICATIONS OF CC:
- Advertising
- Acquisition of fears and phobias (If you hit a gong every time little albert plays with something, he will be scared of it)
- Drug tolerance (People who used drugs in a particular setting, such as always the same room, developed enhanced tolerance to the drug. Responsible for many cases of accidental overdoses
- Fetishes (Sexual attraction to non-lliving things)
- Disgust reactions
Behaviour-Event Learning (Instrumental or Operant Conditioning)
Is learning controlled by the consequences of the organisms behavior (Also called instrumental conditioning)
Stimulus -> Response -> Reinforcer (Outcome)
DIFFERENCE between Operant Conditioning and Classical Conditioning
- Target behaviour for CC is elicited automatically, while it is voluntarily for OP
- Behaviour is a function of stimuli that precede the behaviour for CC, but for OC its the consenquences that follow the behaviour
- Behaviour depends primarily on autonomic nervous system for CC and skeletal muscles for OC
THE LAW OF EFFECT
-Discovered by Edward Thorndike, its the basis for much of operant conditioning
Formed the basis for S-R theories of learning (S= Stimulus, R= Response) Almost everything we do voluntarily is a buildup of S-R bonds according to theorists
Puzzle Boxes
- Trained 27 cats
- They were hungry and placed in a box
- Bowl of food outside
- Faster the cat gets out of the box, faster it gets it food (motivation)
- Found that cats took long time to find the solution the first time
- Showed that learning did not depend on reasoning
- Showed that LEARNING WAS INCREMENTAL
BF SKINNER
-Identified many of the key processes that take place in operant conditioning
- Also created the SKINNER BOX (Operant chamber)
- Skinner boxes electronically record animals activity
- Also automatically provides reinforcement in response to specific actions
TERMINOLOGY
Reinforcement: Any outcome that strengthens the probability of a response.
- Positive Reinforcement: Where the consequence consists of presenting something pleasant
- Negative Reinforcement: Where the consequence consists of removing something unpleasant
Punishment: Any outcome that weakens the probability of a response
- Positive Punishment: PRESENT an UNPLEASANT stimulus to an animal when a particular action is performed
- Negative punishment: TAKE AWAY a PLEASANT stimulus when a particular action is performed
Discriminative Stimulus: any stimulus that signals the availibility of reinforcement
Escape and Avoidance
Based on negative reinforcement
Escape Behaviour: performance of a behaviour terminates an aversive stimulus
Avoidance Behaviour: performance of the behaviour prevents the aversive stimulus from occurring
Shuttle Avoidance (Light appears, then a shock comes, a mice is in the box.) -Mice learns that once light comes on, then shocks coming. Escape THEN avoidance
TWO-PROCESS THEORY of AVOIDANCE
1) CC theory: Light (NS) -> Shock (US) -> Fear (UR)
EVENTUALLY, Light (CS) -> Fear (CR)
- OC Theory: Light (SD) : climb over barrier (R) -> Reduction of fear (Sr)
Schedules of Reinforcement
Continuous Reinforcement (CRF)
Partial Schedules
- Fixed Ratio (FR) vs Variable Ratio (VR)
- Fixed Interval (FI) vs Variable Interval (VI)
Simplest reinforcement schedule
- Reinforce a behaviour every time it occurs
- Each reinforcement strengthens behaviour, so CRF leads to very rapid increases in the rate of behaviour.
Works well, but very rare in nature
Labour Intensive (Need to be around to reinforce EVERY TIME)
Extinction can be thought of as a continuous non-reinforcement schedule
RATIO SCHEDULES
Fixed Ratio Schedule (FR)
-Behaviour is reinforced after it has been occurred a fixed number of times (ex. FR10: animal gets reinforcement after performing the behaviour 10 times)
-Animals on FR schedules perform at a high rate, punctuated w a short pause after reinforcement
CALLED POST REINFORCEMENT PAUSE
(Not fatigue, may be a way for the animal to momentarily escape the aversive aspects of the schedule)
Variable Ratio (VR) schedules
- Animal is reinforced on average around a certain number of responses (VR!0 would mean that the animal is rewarded, on average, every 10 responses)
- Produces steady performance similar to FR schedules
- POST REINFORCEMENT PAUSES, if they occur, are much shorter (because of this, VR schedules produce more behaviour in an hour than FR)
- These schedules commonly occur in nature
INTERVAL SCHEDULES
Fixed Interval Schedules (FI)
-Behaviour is reinforced only when it occurs after a specific period of time (FI10: the first behaviour performed after 10 seconds is reinforced. All behaviours before that time is not reinforced)
-Like FR schedules, FI schedules produce post-reinforcement pauses
(Produces a scallop-shaped curve) (Slow responding to start, responding gets faster as time progresses and gets closer to the specific time)
-Hard to come by in nature
Variable Interval Schedule (VI)
- Like FI schedules, but the interval varies some average (VI-10= On average, responses made after 10sec will be reinforced)
- Produces high, constant rate of responding.
- Seen in nature quite often (Leopards often lie in wait for their prey rather than long stalk it. Sometimes the wait may be short, other times long.)
Applications of Operant Conditioning
ANIMAL TRAINING
-Through operant conditioning, people can train animals to develop learned habits. (Through a procedure known as shaping by successive spproximations)
Overcoming Procrasination
-Found that we can positively reinforce a less frequently performed behavior with a more frequently performed behavior
Superstitious Behaviour
-Skinner claimed that much of our superstitious beliefs are created unintentionally from operant conditioning
Therapeutic Uses
Token economies set up in psychiatric hospitals (Primary vs Secondary reinforcers) (
- Primary reinforcer: an item or outcome that naturally increases a target behaviour
- Secondary reinforcer: a netural object that becomes associated with a primary reinforer
(Children w autism who undergo ABA training emerge with better language and intellect skills than do control groups of children with autism who didnt undergo such training)
