The Learning The Learning Perspective: Unit VIPerspective: Unit VI

The Learning PerspectiveThe Learning Perspective

• Our environment and past learning experiences shape our behavior

• 2 views on learning– BEHAVIORISIM VS SOCIAL-

COGNITIVE

BehaviorismBehaviorism

• Emphasizes the role of the environment on our behavior

• All our behaviors are the results of conditioned responses

• Omits silly things like your “mind” & “will”

Famous BehavioristsFamous Behaviorists

• Pavlov• Watson• B.F. Skinner

• Dominant approach to learning until the 1960’s

BehaviorismBehaviorism

• Conditioning – a basic type of learning that involves associations between stimuli and the organisms response

• 2 types of learning – Classic conditioning & Operant

conditioning

Social-Cognitive LearningSocial-Cognitive Learning

• Continues to recognize the importance of environment on our behavior

• Does not omit our thinking processes from our behaviors

• Expands on behaviorism to include – Cognition– Observation– Perceptions– Expectations

Social-Cognitive LearningSocial-Cognitive Learning

• 2 main types of learning– Latent and Observational learning

Behaviorism: Behaviorism: Classical Classical

ConditioningConditioningIt all started with:

Ivan Pavlov

Unconditioned Stimulus (UCS): a stimulus that naturally and automatically triggers a response.

Unconditional Response (UCR): the unlearned, naturally occurring response to the UCS.

Conditioned Response (CR): the learned response to a previously neutral stimulus.

Conditioned Stimulus (CS): an originally irrelevant stimulus that, after association with the UCS, comes to trigger a response.

““Little Albert”Little Albert”

Behaviorism: Operant Behaviorism: Operant ConditioningConditioning

• A type of learning in which behavior is strengthened if followed by reinforcement or diminished if followed by punishment.

B.F. SkinnerB.F. Skinner

ShapingShaping

• A procedure in Operant Conditioning in which reinforcers guide behavior closer and closer towards a goal.

Operant Conditioning Operant Conditioning Chamber – “Skinner Box”Chamber – “Skinner Box”

Conditioning

ReinforcerReinforcer• Any event that STRENGTHENS

the behavior it follows.

Two Types of Reinforcement:

Positive and Negative

Positive ReinforcementPositive Reinforcement

• Strengthens a response by presenting a stimulus after a response.

Negative ReinforcementNegative Reinforcement

• Strengthens a response by reducing or removing an aversive stimulus

A rat is placed in a cage and immediately receives a mild electrical shock on its feet. The shock is a negative condition for the rat. The rat presses a lever and the shock stops. The rat receives another shock, presses the lever again, and again the shock stops. The rat's behavior of pressing the lever is strengthened by the consequence of stopping the

shock

Type of ReinforcersType of Reinforcers

• Primary reinforcers – function due to the biological makeup of the organism

Type of ReinforcersType of Reinforcers

• Secondary reinforcers – must be learned– Acquire their value

through associations with established reinforcers

– Money, attention, social approval

PunishmentPunishment• An event that

DECREASES the behavior that it follows

Does punishment work?

Reinforcement SchedulesReinforcement Schedules

Reinforcement SchedulesReinforcement Schedules

• 2 Types of Reinforcement Schedules

• 1. Continual reinforcement - Reinforcing the desired response every time it occurs

• 2. Partial reinforcement - Reinforcing a response only part of the time

Partial ReinforcementPartial Reinforcement

• Fixed-ratio Schedules - A schedule that reinforces a response only after a specified number of responses

Example: I give cookie monster a cookie every FIVE times he sings “C is for cookie”.

Partial ReinforcementPartial Reinforcement

• Variable-ratio Schedule - A schedule of reinforcement that reinforces a response after an unpredictable number of responses.

Example: I give Homer a donut at random times when he says “DOH!!!”