PSYC104 Lecture Notes - Lecture 5: Learning, Clanging, Histamine
1 Jun 2018
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Learning: An Introduction
EXAMPLE OF LEARNING;
Broken escalator phenomenon –
• Strange sensation of losing balance when stepping on to a moving stairway
that is not working
• Dissociation between knowledge and action
• Even though you might be fully aware that the escalator is not moving, part
of the brain sends signals to the legs and body expecting movement based
on previous experience
o i.e. BASED ON LEARNING
• Visual stimulus of stepping onto an escalator triggers an escalator-specific
movement program, despite the fact we are consciously aware that this is
not required
What is learning about?
• Bright colours and screeching sirens of a fire engine – designed to draw
attention and signals us to get out of the way
• Signalling properties of events – a distinctive red belly of a snake signals the
potential danger of a strike
• Dog learning about manners at the table (begging is not allowed at dinner)
Four types of learning:
1. Noticing and ignoring
• Need to notice important events but learn to ignore events
that occur repeatedly without consequence
• It is formally known as sensitisation and habituation (ignoring)
2. Learning what events signal
• Need to learn when something is about to happen so that we
can prepare for it
• Called classical conditioning
3. Learning about the consequences of our behaviour
• Need to learn the results of our behaviours to avoid making
mistakes and repeat behaviours that produce positive
outcomes (learn when and how to act)
• Called operant conditioning
4. Learning from others
• Need to learn from the results of the behaviours of others
• Called observational learning
Defining learning:
• A elatiel peaet hage i ehaioual potetialit that ous as a
esult of eifoed patie. Kile 96, pg
o i.e. learning is any enduring change in the way an organism responds,
based on its experiences
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
• The ailit to assess the oseuees of oes atios is fudaetal to
survival – an animal must learn an effective hunting strategy to eat and to
elude predators if it is to live to see another day
o Learning has to be flexible (change and adaptation)
o It is also necessary for survival
▪ Huas adapt to lifes deads leaig ad ot
instinct
o Learning can be enduring – but can be altered with future learning
o They key to learning is ASSOCIATION
• Learning cannot be observed directly – it is inferred from behaviour that is
observed
• Conditioning is a process of learning associations between environmental
stimuli and behavioural responses
• The organism has to be motivated – motivation is necessary for learned
behaviour to be performed
o E.g. teenagers do KNOW how to tidy their rooms
What is NOT learning?
• Instincts: ehaious that ou as a esult of the ogaiss geotpe e.g. a
dog digging for a bone)
• Reflexes: behaviours that occur as a result of an automatic reaction to some
environmental change or condition
• Changes in behaviour due to fatigue, drugs, illness and maturation etc.
cannot be classified as learning.
Learning can either be associative or non-associative:
• Associative learning = result of learning to associate one stimulus with
another
o Several pairings e.g. see lightning → hear thunder
o Several pairings later the gathering of storm clouds → panic (dogs)
• Non-associative learning = learning that results from impact of one particular
stimulus
o E.g. habituation → response diminishes with repeated exposure – we
learn to ignore repeated stimuli (false alarm/someone trying to steal a
car)
Habituation occurs over repeated exposures to the same stimulus:
• Long term habituation – organisms notice changes in the environment but
learn to ignore those that occur repeatedly. A novel sound initially makes an
eating cat panic, but if the sound is repeated daily, the cat habituates and
eats without the slightest reaction
• The tendency of an organism to become familiar with a stimulus as a result of
repeated exposure and is the simplest form of learning
Sensitisation:
• Sensitisation occurs when our response to an event INCREASES rather than
decreases with repeated exposure
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
Document Summary
Four types of learning: noticing and ignoring, need to notice important events but learn to ignore events that occur repeatedly without consequence. Habituation occurs over repeated exposures to the same stimulus: long term habituation organisms notice changes in the environment but learn to ignore those that occur repeatedly. Habituation or sensitisation: whether repetition of a stimulus habituation or sensitisation depends on several factors one of which is the intensity of the stimulus, mild habituation. Intense, potentially threatening stimuli = sensitisation: e. g. after a series of car engine problems, a driver may become very alert when there is a change in engine sounds sounds that might formerly have been ignored. Conditioning: we learn to associate a response that we make with its consequences (operant conditioning) Classical conditioning: the learning of a new association between two previously unrelated stimuli, we learn that a stimulus predicts the occurrence of a certain event and we respond accordingly.
