Study Notes: Learning in Psychology (Topic 6)

Learning in Psychology

Introduction

Learning is a fundamental concept in psychology, referring to the process by which experience leads to a relatively permanent change in behaviour or knowledge. This topic covers the mechanisms, types, and influences on learning, including classical and operant conditioning, cognitive approaches, and the impact of biology and media.

Unlearned Behaviours

Reflexes

Reflexes are automatic, involuntary responses to specific stimuli. They are innate and essential for survival, involving primitive parts of the central nervous system (CNS), such as the brainstem.

• Protective function: Reflexes help protect the organism from harm.

• Examples: Pupillary light reflex, startle reflex, withdrawal reflex, scratch reflex.

Instincts

Instincts are innate drives or tendencies that lead to particular patterns of behaviour. They are more complex than reflexes and involve the movement of the organism as a whole.

• Examples: Sexual activity, migration in birds.

• Involve higher brain centers: Instincts require more advanced neural processing.

What is Learning?

Definition

Learning is a relatively permanent change in behaviour or knowledge resulting from experience. It involves acquiring skills or knowledge through both conscious and unconscious processes.

• Types of learning: Habituation, Sensitization

Habituation

Habituation is a decrease in response to a repeated, benign stimulus. It allows organisms to ignore irrelevant stimuli and focus on important changes in the environment.

• Example: A person stops noticing the sound of a ticking clock after a while.

Sensitization

Sensitization is an increased response to a repeated stimulus, often when the stimulus is intense or potentially harmful.

• Example: Becoming more sensitive to a loud noise after repeated exposure.

Classical vs. Operant Conditioning

Classical Conditioning

Classical conditioning is the process by which we learn to associate stimuli and consequently anticipate events. Discovered by Ivan Pavlov through his research on the digestive system of dogs.

• Unconditioned response (UCR): Natural, unlearned reaction to a stimulus (e.g., salivation to food).

• Conditioned response (CR): Learned reaction to a previously neutral stimulus (e.g., salivation to a bell).

Classical Conditioning Process

• Before Conditioning: Food (UCS) → Salivation (UCR); Bell (NS) → No response

• During Conditioning: Bell (NS) + Food (UCS) → Salivation (UCR)

• After Conditioning: Bell (CS) → Salivation (CR)

Components of Classical Conditioning

• Neutral Stimulus (NS): Does not elicit a response initially.

• Unconditioned Stimulus (UCS): Naturally triggers a response.

• Unconditioned Response (UCR): Automatic reaction to UCS.

• Conditioned Stimulus (CS): Previously NS, now triggers response after association.

• Conditioned Response (CR): Learned reaction to CS.

Acquisition, Extinction, and Spontaneous Recovery

• Acquisition: Learning phase where CS and UCS are paired.

• Extinction: Conditioned response decreases and eventually disappears when CS is presented alone.

• Spontaneous Recovery: Reappearance of the conditioned response after a pause.

• Renewal Effect: Response reappears when returned to original environment.

Applications: Classical Conditioning & Marketing

Classical conditioning principles are used in marketing to associate products with positive emotions or experiences.

• Example: Pairing a product with a popular celebrity or pleasant music to elicit positive feelings.

Little Albert Study

John B. Watson applied classical conditioning to study human emotions. In the "Little Albert" experiment, a child was conditioned to fear a white rat by pairing it with a loud noise.

• Stimulus generalization: Albert began to fear similar objects (e.g., dogs, Santa Claus mask).

• Stimulus discrimination: Ability to distinguish between different stimuli (e.g., different alarm sounds).

Fetishes & Classical Conditioning

Sexual fixation on a nonsexual object can develop through accidental pairing of sexual arousal and a neutral stimulus.

• Example: Shoes become associated with arousal after repeated pairings.

Conditioned Taste Aversion

Conditioned taste aversion occurs when an organism learns to avoid a food after a single negative experience, even with long delays between stimulus and response.

• Biological preparedness: Some associations are learned more easily due to evolutionary factors.

• Example: Chemotherapy patients may develop aversions to foods eaten before treatment.

Operant Conditioning

Operant conditioning involves learning to associate a behaviour with its consequences (reinforcement or punishment). Developed by Edward Thorndike and expanded by B.F. Skinner.

• Law of Effect: Behaviours followed by rewards are more likely to occur; those followed by punishment are less likely.

Reinforcement

• Positive reinforcement: Adding something to increase behaviour (e.g., praise, paychecks).

• Negative reinforcement: Removing something to increase behaviour (e.g., turning off a beeping sound when seatbelt is fastened).

Punishment

• Positive punishment: Adding something to decrease behaviour (e.g., scolding).

• Negative punishment: Removing something to decrease behaviour (e.g., taking away a toy).

Effectiveness of Punishment

• Only tells what not to do.

• Can create anxiety and interfere with learning.

• May encourage subversive behaviour.

• Can model aggressive behaviour for children.

Biological Influences on Learning

Biology places limits on what behaviours can be learned through reinforcement. Evolutionary predispositions make certain associations easier to learn (e.g., fear of snakes vs. cars).

• Instinctive drift: Tendency for animals to revert to innate behaviours after repeated reinforcement.

Schedules of Reinforcement

Reinforcement schedules affect how behaviours are learned and maintained.

• Continuous reinforcement: Behaviour is reinforced every time it occurs (fast learning, fast extinction).

• Partial reinforcement: Behaviour is reinforced only occasionally (slower extinction, better maintenance).

Partial Reinforcement Schedules

• Fixed interval: Reinforcement at predictable time intervals (e.g., medication schedules).

• Variable interval: Reinforcement at unpredictable time intervals (e.g., checking social media).

• Fixed ratio: Reinforcement after a predictable number of responses (e.g., factory work).

• Variable ratio: Reinforcement after an unpredictable number of responses (e.g., gambling, tips).

Schedule Type	Interval (Time)	Ratio (Responses)
Fixed	Fixed Interval	Fixed Ratio
Variable	Variable Interval	Variable Ratio

Partial Reinforcement & IPV

Intermittent reinforcement can contribute to complex decision-making in relationships, such as staying with an abusive partner due to occasional positive reinforcement.

Conditioning & Superstitious Behaviour

Superstitious behaviour occurs when a behaviour is accidentally reinforced by coincidence. Both animals and humans can develop superstitions.

• Example: Skinner's pigeons repeated random behaviours, believing they caused food to appear.

• Human examples: Rituals before exams or sports games.

Cognitive Approaches to Learning

Latent Learning

Latent learning occurs without immediate reinforcement and is demonstrated only when there is motivation to do so.

• Example: Tolman's rats developed cognitive maps of a maze without reinforcement, showing learning when incentivized.

• Real-world examples: Navigating new places, cooking skills, social etiquette, driving routes, emergency responses.

Observational Learning

Observational learning involves acquiring behaviours by watching others (models). Both positive and negative behaviours can be learned.

• Key processes: Attention, retention, reproduction, motivation.

• Example: Bandura's Bobo doll experiment demonstrated children imitating aggressive behaviour.

Violence in Television & Media

Exposure to media violence can influence real-world behaviour, especially in children and adolescents.

• Lowered inhibitions: Increased likelihood of violent behaviour.

• Distorted understanding: Nonviolent acts may be perceived as aggressive.

• Desensitization: Reduced emotional response to real-life violence.

Transmission of Bias via Observing Others

Observational learning can transmit biases and attitudes without direct reinforcement. Recent research shows that simply observing biased behaviour can lead to implicit attitude change.

• Example: Observers adopt prejudiced reactions after watching a model interact with social groups.

Summary Table: Types of Learning

Type	Definition	Example
Habituation	Decreased response to repeated stimulus	Ignoring background noise
Sensitization	Increased response to repeated stimulus	Becoming more sensitive to loud noises
Classical Conditioning	Learning associations between stimuli	Pavlov's dogs salivating to a bell
Operant Conditioning	Learning associations between behaviour and consequences	Receiving praise for good grades
Latent Learning	Learning without immediate reinforcement	Knowing a route but only using it when needed
Observational Learning	Learning by watching others	Imitating a parent's behaviour

Key Equations and Concepts

• Law of Effect: $\text{Behaviour} \xrightarrow{\text{Reward}} \text{More likely}$, $\text{Behaviour} \xrightarrow{\text{Punishment}} \text{Less likely}$

• Classical Conditioning: $\text{NS} + \text{UCS} \rightarrow \text{UCR}$, $\text{CS} \rightarrow \text{CR}$

Additional info: These notes expand on the provided slides with definitions, examples, and structured tables for clarity and exam preparation.