PSYC 1000U Lecture Notes - Lecture 6: Little Albert Experiment, Classical Conditioning, Operant Conditioning
October 30, 2017
Learning
Lecture 6
What is learning?
• Evolution
o Changes in behaviour that accumulate across generations are stored in genes
• Learning
o Changes in behaviours that accumulate over a lifetime are stored in central
nervous system
Classical conditioning
Ivan Pavlov
• Learning by associating two stimuli together
o Children learns to fear the nurse that gives needles
• Learning occurs when you recognize that one event predicts another
• Pavlov’s experiments
o Before conditioning, food (unconditioned stimulus, US) produces salivation
(unconditioned response, UR).
o The tone or sound (neutral stimulus) does not
o During conditioning, the neutral stimulus (tone) and the US (food) are paired,
resulting in salivation (UR)
o After conditioning, neutral stimulus (now conditioned stimulus CS) elicits
salivation (now conditioned response CR)
Classical conditioning of fear
John B. Watson – influenced by Pavlov
• Applied classical conditioning principles to humans
o Acquisition of phobias
▪ Little albert
o Development is simply from our environment
▪ We fear hat e’e learned to fear
• Stimulus generalization
o Learned response to stimuli that are similar to original conditioned stimulus (CS)
• Better at learning when one thing happens then the nest happens and if it happens
close in time
• Stimulus Discrimination
o Learned response to a specific stimulus, but not to other similar stimulus
• Extinction
o UCS withheld with CS presented leads to gradual weakening or suppression of
previously conditioned response (CR)
• Spontaneous recovery
o Reappearance of a previously extinguished conditioned response (CR)
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
Document Summary
Lecture 6: changes in behaviour that accumulate across generations are stored in genes, learning, changes in behaviours that accumulate over a lifetime are stored in central nervous system. If behaviour is followed by satisfying response, behaviour will increase. If a behaviour is followed by an unpleasant response, the behaviour will lessen. Reinforcement schedules: when learning a new behaviour, continuous reinforcement is best faster acquisition and extinction, once something is learned, partial reinforcement is best slower acquisition and extinction. Partial reinforcement schedules: ratio every so many, after unpredictable number. Shaping: baby steps toward end goal of what you are trying to do. Observational learning: learning new behaviours or information by etching others and imitating them, kids model what they see. Important process: attention fo(cid:272)us on others" (cid:271)eha(cid:448)iours, retention representation of others behaviour in memory, production processes actually perform actions we observe, motivation need for action we witness, usefulness to us.
