PSYC1011 Lecture 14: Animal Learning - What is Learning
What is learning?
Outline
1. What is learning?
a. Why do we study "animal" learning in psychology?
2. Types of learning
a. Associative
b. Non-associative
3. Non-associative learning
a. Habituation
b. Sensitisation
What is learning?
• How animals cope with their environment and adapt to it when it changes
o Changes in behaviour as a result in changes in environment
• Advantages in survival
o Obtaining food
o Reproduction
o Avoiding predation
• Disadvantages
o Learning the 'wrong' lesson
o Learning something too strongly
▪ Leading to impairment of normal functioning
▪ E.g. phobias
o Mental health problems
▪ Number one health problem in developed countries
▪ Costs more than all cancers combined
▪ In terms of years lost to disability
• Learning is likely involved in some of these disorders
• Anxiety disorders (phobias, PTSD)
• Individuals with mental health problems may learn about the world in a different way
• Could affect how they interact with others
• And response to treatments
• Why should we study 'animal learning'
o Continuity of Species
▪ Animals evolve the same features to solve the same problem
▪ Same behaviours and brain function and structure is useful for all species
▪ Embryonic shape is all similar - all required for the same thing
o Potential applications
▪ Research can help us understand:
• Our likes and dislikes
• Due to learning in early infancy?
• Anxiety disorders
• And treatments
• Neural bases of learning and memory
• Finding drugs that can improve memory
Learning
• A change in behaviour as a result of experience
▪ Sources in behaviour change
• Maturation
• Learning
• Fatigue
• Stimulus change
• Motivational effects
• A relatively enduring change in the neural mechanisms of behaviour resulting from experience
with environmental events specifically related to the behaviour
Types of learning
• Associative
o Pavlovian (classical) conditioning
o Instrumental conditioning
▪ Association between two things
▪ Connect two or more things
• Non-associative
▪ No learning association
▪ Only one thing happening continuously
▪ Repeated experiences - causes change in behaviour
o Habituation
▪ A decrease in response after repeated experience with a stimulus
• Get rid of the familiar
• Focus limited capacity of memory/information on important things
o Sensitisation
▪ An increase in response
• Like feelings of annoyance
• Aplysia
▪ Siphon - 'mouth' / hose that sucks water in, collecting food and water
▪ Squirts water into the siphon
• Response - contracts
• Relaxes, and squirts again
Document Summary
Outline: what is learning, why do we study animal learning in psychology, types of learning, associative, non-associative, non-associative learning, habituation, sensitisation. Leading to impairment of normal functioning: e. g. phobias, mental health problems, number one health problem in developed countries, costs more than all cancers combined. Learning is likely involved in some of these disorders: anxiety disorders (phobias, ptsd) Learning: a change in behaviour as a result of experience, sources in behaviour change, maturation, motivational effects. Stimulus change: a relatively enduring change in the neural mechanisms of behaviour resulting from experience with environmental events specifically related to the behaviour. Types of learning: associative, pavlovian (classical) conditioning. Focus limited capacity of memory/information on important things: sensitisation, an increase in response. In the post-synaptic neuron: simplified molecular cascade of memory. Levels of arousal to music is measured: high levels of arousal at the beginning, arousal decreases with time, amygdala, processes emotion, right = end arousal and neural processing.
