PSYC 405 Lecture Notes - Lecture 3: Reinforcement Learning, Behaviorism, Verbal Behavior
27 Aug 2016
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Watson said it is a learned from a certain stimulus. Increase likelihood of behavior through the addition of positive reinforce or removal of negative reinforce. Can explain even complex behaviors as a chain of reinforced stimulus response conditionings. Decline of behaviorism- animal behavior: many complex behaviors that do not require previous experience. Thought to be encoded in the animal"s genes: fixed action patterns. Complex behaviors with no practice or reward: critical learning periods. A window of opportunity during which a particular type of learning will be easy for the organism. If missed however the learning will be difficult or even impossible. 6-8 years old is the critical period for language learning. Failures of behaviorism: problems with complex human behaviors such as language: Chomsky"s criticisms of skinner"s verbal behavior which argued for language learning by imitation and reinforcement: the generative nature of language - innate rule capacity. 19th century- brain to a telephone switch board.
