Chapter 6: Learning – Classical and Operant Conditioning, Cognitive and Biological Models

Learning

Learning is defined as any relatively durable change in behavior or knowledge that is due to experience. This chapter explores the major theories and mechanisms of learning, including classical conditioning, operant conditioning, and cognitive models.

Conditioning: Forming Associations Among Stimuli

Conditioning refers to the process by which associations are formed between events in the environment, leading to changes in behavior.

Classical Conditioning

Classical conditioning is a form of learning in which animals come to respond to a previously neutral stimulus that has been paired with another stimulus that elicits an automatic response.

• Neutral stimulus (NS): Does not elicit any particular response initially.

• Unconditioned stimulus (UCS): Stimulus that elicits an automatic response without prior conditioning.

• Unconditioned response (UCR): Automatic response to a nonneutral stimulus that does not need to be learned.

• Conditioned stimulus (CS): Previously neutral stimulus that, after association with the UCS, elicits a conditioned response.

• Conditioned response (CR): Response previously associated with a nonneutral stimulus that is elicited by a neutral stimulus through conditioning.

Example: Pavlov's dogs learned to salivate (CR) to the sound of a bell (CS) after it was repeatedly paired with food (UCS).

Key Terms in Classical Conditioning

• Acquisition: The initial stage of learning when the UCS and NS are paired. Closer pairings in time make stronger associations.

• Extinction: The gradual weakening and disappearance of a conditioned response tendency. Occurs when the CS is presented repeatedly without the UCS.

• Spontaneous recovery: The reappearance of an extinguished (extinct) response after a period of non-exposure to the CS.

• Renewal effect: If a response is extinguished in a different environment than it was acquired, the extinguished response may reappear if the subject encounters the conditioned stimulus in the original environment where acquisition took place.

• Higher order conditioning: The conditioning of a second NS by pairing it with the original CS, without the original UCS.

Special Phenomena in Classical Conditioning

• Conditioned taste aversion: When a neutral stimulus (e.g., a specific food) is paired with an unconditioned stimulus (e.g., food poisoning), resulting in an unconditioned response (e.g., nausea). Usually occurs with one pairing and is specific to food and nausea.

• Conditioned compensatory response: Physiological changes that occur as a result of conditioned cues associated with a particular drug, which increases the tolerance for that drug.

• Stimulus generalization: Occurs when an organism has learned a response to a specific stimulus and responds in the same way to new stimuli that are similar to the original stimulus.

• Stimulus discrimination: Occurs when an organism can discriminate the specific stimulus from other similar stimuli.

• Latent inhibition: Difficulty in establishing classical conditioning to a conditioned stimulus we've repeatedly experienced alone (without the unconditioned stimulus).

Applications and Examples

• Fetishism: Sexual attraction to nonliving things, sometimes explained by classical conditioning.

• Disgust reactions: Disgust reactions are often a product of classical conditioning.

Operant Conditioning

Operant conditioning is a form of learning in which responses (actions or behaviors) are controlled by their consequences. It involves learning of new actions and is typically associated with voluntary behaviors.

• Law of Effect (Edward Thorndike): If a behavior in a specific situation leads to satisfying effects, it is more likely to occur again in that situation. Thorndike theorized that all human behavior occurs by trial and error.

Reinforcement and Punishment

• Reinforcement: When an event following a response increases the organism's tendency to repeat that response in the future.

  • Positive reinforcement: Something was added that strengthened the response.

  • Negative reinforcement: Something was removed that strengthened the response.

• Punishment: When an event following a response decreases the organism's tendency to repeat that response in the future.

  • Positive punishment: Something was added that weakened the response.

  • Negative punishment: Something was removed that weakened the response.

	Added (Positive)	Removed (Negative)
Reinforcement	Positive Reinforcement	Negative Reinforcement
Punishment	Positive Punishment	Negative Punishment

The Skinner Box

The Skinner Box is an apparatus used to study operant conditioning in animals. The goal is to train the animal (e.g., a rat) to press a lever more and more, increasing the pressing response through reinforcement.

Disadvantages of Punishment

• Punishment only tells the child what not to do, not what to do.

• Often creates anxiety, which can interfere with future learning.

• May encourage subversive or sneaky behavior.

• May provide a model for children's aggressive behavior.

Discriminative Stimuli

Discriminative stimuli are cues that influence operant behavior by indicating the probable consequences (reinforcement or punishment) of a response.

• Example: A green light signals it is safe to cross the street.

Acquisition, Shaping, and Extinction

• Shaping: The reinforcement of closer and closer approximations of a desired response.

• Extinction: The gradual weakening and disappearance of a response tendency because the response is no longer followed by reinforcement.

• Extinction burst: Temporary increase in the frequency or intensity of the response when reinforcement is first removed.

• Chaining: Linking several interrelated behaviors to form a longer series, where each behavior becomes a cue for the next.

Reinforcement Schedules

• Continuous reinforcement: Every response is reinforced.

• Intermittent/partial reinforcement: Only some responses are reinforced. This leads to greater resistance to extinction.

Schedule	Description	Example
Fixed Ratio (FR)	Reinforcement after a set number of responses	Food pellet after every 10 lever presses
Variable Ratio (VR)	Reinforcement after a variable number of responses	Slot machine payouts
Fixed Interval (FI)	Reinforcement after a set amount of time	Paycheck every two weeks
Variable Interval (VI)	Reinforcement after a variable amount of time	Random pop quizzes

Additional info: Variable ratio schedules tend to produce the highest response rates and greatest resistance to extinction.

Premack Principle

We can positively reinforce a less frequently performed behavior with a more frequently performed behavior. For example, you can reinforce studying (less preferred) by allowing yourself to watch TV (more preferred) after studying.

Therapeutic Uses of Operant Conditioning

• Token economy: A system for reinforcing appropriate behaviors and extinguishing inappropriate ones using tokens, chips, or points as secondary reinforcers.

• Secondary reinforcers: Neutral objects that become associated with primary reinforcers (e.g., money, praise).

Integrating Classical and Operant Conditioning

• Classically conditioned fear responses are associated with the amygdala.

• Operantly conditioned responses are associated with brain areas rich in dopamine.

Two-Process Theory

Both classical and operant conditioning are needed to explain the persistence of anxiety disorders. For example, people acquire phobias by classical conditioning and maintain them by operant conditioning (avoidance behavior is negatively reinforced).

Phobias and Preparedness

• Phobias: Persistent irrational fears of specific objects or situations that pose no real danger but impact daily functioning.

• Preparedness: The idea that we are evolutionarily predisposed to fear certain stimuli (e.g., snakes, spiders) more than others.

Treating Phobias

• Reversing the effects of conditioning through extinction procedures.

Escape/Avoidance Learning

Escape/avoidance learning involves both operant and classical conditioning. For example, a dog learns to run away (operant response) when a light dims (CS), which predicts a shock (UCS), leading to fear (CR/UCR).

Non-Associative Learning

• Habituation: Learning not to respond to unimportant and repeated stimuli.

• Sensitization: Responding more strongly over time to repeated stimuli, especially if the stimulus is dangerous or irritating.

Radical Behaviourism and S-O-R Psychology

• Radical behaviourism: The view that observable behaviour, thinking, and emotion are all governed by the same laws of learning.

• S-O-R Psychology: The organism's interpretation of stimuli (the 'O' in S-O-R) plays a central role in learning. This approach emphasizes the importance of cognitive processes in learning.

Latent Learning and Cognitive Maps

• Latent learning: Learning that is not immediately expressed in an overt response; it occurs without obvious reinforcement.

• Cognitive map: A mental representation of the physical features of the environment.

Example: Rats in a maze learn the layout even without reinforcement, as shown by their ability to find food quickly when it is later introduced.

Observational Learning

Observational learning occurs when an organism's responding is influenced by the observation of others, who are called models. Behaviors can be reinforced or punished through observation.

• Diffusion chain: Transmission of modeled behavior in which learners become models for others.

• Longitudinal designs: Track individual behavior over time to study the effects of observed behaviors (e.g., aggression in children exposed to violent TV).

Mirror Neurons

Mirror neurons are cells in the prefrontal cortex that become activated by specific motions when an animal both performs and observes that action. They may play a central role in empathy and observational learning.

Implicit Learning

Implicit learning is learning that takes place largely independent of awareness of both the process and products of information acquisition. It is not linked to IQ, extends into old age, and is not impacted by amnesia.

Insight Learning

Insight learning involves grasping the underlying nature of a problem, often resulting in an "aha" moment.

Other Learning Phenomena

• Equipotentiality: The claim that we can classically condition all CSs equally well to all UCSs.

• Instinctive drift: The tendency for animals to return to innate behaviors following repeated reinforcement.

• Sleep-assisted learning: The idea that learning new material while asleep is possible (not supported by strong evidence).

• Accelerated learning: Techniques that claim to allow people to pick up new information at faster speeds (often pseudoscientific).

• Neuroplasticity: Learning occurs within neural pathways.

• Knowledge of actions: We may know how to do a task but be unable to articulate it (e.g., riding a bike).

• Unlearning: Can be difficult due to biases, stereotypes, and habits.

Discovery Learning vs. Direct Instruction

• Discovery learning: Teaching students to figure out scientific principles on their own.

• Direct instruction: Teaching students how to solve problems directly; generally more effective for most learners.

Learning Styles

Learning styles refer to an individual's preferred or optimal method of acquiring new information. Research suggests that most individuals learn best when multiple methods are combined, rather than relying on a single style.

Summary Table: Classical vs. Operant Conditioning

Aspect	Classical Conditioning	Operant Conditioning
Type of Behavior	Involuntary (reflexive)	Voluntary (emitted)
Association	Between two stimuli	Between behavior and consequence
Key Process	Acquisition, extinction, generalization, discrimination	Reinforcement, punishment, shaping, extinction
Example	Pavlov's dogs salivating to bell	Rat pressing lever for food