Learning

Learning
• Learning is a relatively permanent change in behavior that is
brought about by experience.

• Types of Learning:
• Classical Conditioning
• Operant Conditioning
• Observational Learning
• Trial and Error
• Learning through Insight
 Major Behaviorists
• Ivan Pavlov
• Edward Lee Thorndike
• John B. Watson
• B.F. Skinner
 Habituation
• It is clear that we are primed for learning from the beginning of life.
Infants exhibit a simple type of learning called habituation.
Habituation is the decrease in response to a stimulus that occurs
after repeated presentations of the same stimulus.
• For example, young infants may initially show interest in a novel
stimulus, such as a brightly colored toy, but they will soon lose
interest if they see the same toy over and over. (Adults exhibit
habituation, too: Newlyweds soon stop noticing that they are wearing
a wedding ring.) Habituation permits us to ignore things that have
stopped providing new information.
 Ivan Pavlov a n d Classical Conditioning
One of the most famous people in the
study of learning is Ivan Pavlov.
Originally studying salivation and digestion, Pavlov
stumbled upon classical conditioning while he was
experimenting on his dog.

Classical Conditioning:
Also called learning by association. A type of learning
in which a neutral stimulus comes to bring about a
response after it is paired with a stimulus that naturally
brings about that response.
 Elements of Classical
Conditioning
• Neutral stimulus: A stimulus that, before conditioning, does not naturally bring about the
response of interest.
• Unconditioned stimulus (UCS): A stimulus that naturally brings about a particular response
without having been learned.
• Unconditioned response (UCR): A response that is natural and needs no training (e.g.,
salivation at the smell of food).
• Conditioned stimulus (CS): A once-neutral stimulus that has been paired with an unconditioned
stimulus to bring about a response formerly caused only by the unconditioned stimulus.
• Conditioned response (CR): A response that, after conditioning, follows a previously neutral
stimulus (e.g., salivation at the ringing of a bell)
PAVLOV’S EXPERIMENT
 BASIC PRINCIPLES OF CLASSICAL
CONDITIONING

◾ 1) The C S must come before the U C S

◾ 2) The C S and U C S must come very close together in
time-ideally, no more than 5 seconds apart
◾ 3) The neutral stimulus must be paired with the
U C S several times, often many times before the
conditioning can take place
◾ 4) The C S is usually some stimulus that is distinctive
or stands out from other competing stimuli
Although the terminology Pavlov used to describe classical conditioning may seem
confusing, the following summary can help make the relationships between stimuli and
responses easier to understand and remember:
• Conditioned = learned
• Unconditioned = not learned
• An unconditioned stimulus (UCS) leads to an unconditioned response (UCR). Unconditioned
response pairings are not learned and not trained: They are naturally occurring.
• During conditioning, a previously neutral stimulus is transformed into the conditioned
stimulus.
• A conditioned stimulus (CS) leads to a conditioned response (CR), and a conditioned stimulus–
conditioned response pairing is a consequence of learning and training.
• An unconditioned response and a conditioned response are similar (such as salivation
in Pavlov’s experiment), but the unconditioned response occurs naturally, whereas the
conditioned response is learned.
Principles of Classical
Conditioning
 EXTINCTION
• Extinction learning refers to the gradual decrease in response to
a conditioned stimulus that occurs when the stimulus is
presented without reinforcement. refers to the gradual
weakening of a conditioned response that results in the
behavior decreasing or disappearing. In other words, the
conditioned behavior eventually stops.
 Spontaneous Recovery:

The re-emergence of an extinguished conditioned response after a period

of time and with no further conditioning.
Spontaneous recovery is the reappearance of a Conditioned Response
(CR) that has been extinguished. Pavlov and his classical conditioning
experiments found that spontaneous recovery can occur after a period of
not being exposed to the Conditioned Stimulus (CS).
 GENERALIZATION

◾ Stimulus Generalization: The tendency

to respond to a stimulus that is only similar
to the original conditioned stimulus with
the conditioned response
◾ Example: Feeling of anxiety at the
sound of a dentist drill = anxiety at the
sound of a similar sounding machine
 Stimulus Discrimination

◾ The tendency to stop making a generalized

response to a stimulus that is similar to the
original CS because the similar stimulus is
never paired with the UCS
◾ Example: Coffee grinder causes anxiety
because it sounds like dentist drill, but
stops causing anxiety after a few uses.
 Think
Whenever you come home from work, the first thing you do is feed your dog.
As a result, your dog gets excited as soon as he hears your car pulling up at
the driveway, barking, and running to the door. Eventually, he begins to get
excited as soon as any family member arrives in their car, thinking that he
will get fed as well. Every time he hears any car pull up in the driveway, he
starts barking and running to the door. But if none of the other family
members ever feed the dog as soon as they arrive home, your dog eventually
learns that it is only the sound of your car pulling up at the driveway that's
worth getting excited about.
• (a) What is Stimulus Generalization?
• (b) What is Stimulus Discrimination?
 A P P LY I N G C O N D I T I O N I N G P R I N C I P L E S T O H U M A N
B E H AV I O R WAT S O N A N D T H E LITTLE ALBERT E X P E R I M E N T

◾ John B Watson: Founder of behaviorism-believed that any

behavior could be explained in terms of learning
◾ “Little Albert” experiment paired a baby with a white rat. While
the baby was not initially scared of the rat, Watson paired the rat
with a loud, scary noise (UCS)
◾ The UCS caused the baby to fear the rat. Fear of the noise (UCR)
caused fear or phobia of the rat (CR)
 Classical conditioning in everyday life

1. Conditioned Emotional Response: classical conditioning is not limited to

producing unpleasant emotions such as fears, many pleasant emotional
responses are also acquired through classical conditioning.
 Classical conditioning in everyday life
Classical conditioning in advertisement:
Many advertisers attempt to make their products conditioned stimuli that elicit
pleasant emotional responses by pairing their products with attractive or
popular people.
 Application of classical conditioning

Classical conditioning in business: the practice

of taking customers out to dinner at expensive,
luxurious restaurants takes advantage of the
process of classical conditioning. The provision
of delicious food in a luxurious environment is a
powerful UCS that elicit pleasant feelings that are
likely to be associated with one’s host.
 Application of classical conditioning

Classical conditioning in the world of politics: political candidates

are very well aware about the potential power of classical conditioning.
For e.g., politicians show up at variety of pleasant public events such as
the opening of the new mall, playing with children etc.
OPERANT CONDITIONING
(WHAT’S I N IT FOR ME?)
 Operant Conditioning
• Operant conditioning is learning in which a voluntary response is strengthened
or weakened, depending on its favorable or unfavorable consequences.
• Coined by behaviorist B.F Skinner, operant conditioning is also popularly
known as Skinnerian conditioning. Operant conditioning is a way of learning
that is made possible using punishments and rewards for behavior.
• In simpler words, operant conditioning allows humans to create an association
between a behavior and its consequence.
 Operant Conditioning
• Skinner believed that humans should look at observable, external causes behind
human behavior instead of only focusing on internal motivations. The behaviorist
classified responses into three different types:
• Reinforcers: This kind of response increases the chances of behavior being repeated, it
can be either positive or negative.
• Neutral operant: This kind of response neither increases or decreases the chances of
behavior being repeated.
• Punishers: This kind of response decreases the chances of behavior being repeated.
This is why punishments are used to weaken behavior.
 OPERANT CONDITIONING

◾ An operant is an observable behavior that an

organism uses to “operate” in the
environment.

◾ Operant Conditioning: A form of learning

in which the probability of a response is
changed by its consequences…that is, by the
stimuli that follows the response.
 Reinforcer

◾ A reinforcer is a condition
in which the presentation or
removal of a stimulus, that
occurs after a response
(behavior), strengthens that
response or makes it more
likely to happen again in the
future.
PRIMARY VS S E C O N DA RY REINFORCEMENT

Primary Reinforcer Secondary

Reinforcer
◾ Any reinforcer that is naturally
reinforcing by meeting a basic ◾ Any reinforcer that becomes
biological need, such as hunger, reinforcing after being paired
thirst or touch. with a primary reinforcer.
◾ Similar to the CS in
◾ Similar to the UCR in
classical conditioning
classical conditioning
◾ Example: Praise, tokens, gold
◾ Example: Food=Hunger stars, money
Drive, Liquid=
Thirst
Drive,Touch=Pleasure
 POSITIVE VS NEGATIVE REINFORCEMENT

• Positive Reinforcement
Negative Reinforcement
◾ A stimulus presented after a
◾ The removal of an unpleasant or
response that increases the
probability of that response averse stimulus that increases the
happening again. probability of that response
happening again
◾ Examples: ◾ Examples:
◾ Getting paid money for good ◾ Leaving the house early
grades (behavior) to avoid traffic
(removal of averse stimulus)
◾ Receiving an award for a top
performance
 Punishment
◾ Many people confuse punishment and
negative reinforcement.
◾ Punishment- any event or object
that, when following a response,
makes that response less likely to
happen again
◾ Punishment weakens responses
whereas Reinforcement strengthens
responses
 P U N I S H M E N T BY APPLICATION VS
P U N I S H M E N T BREMOVAL
Punishment by application Punishment by Removal
(Positive (Negative
Punishment) Punishment)
◾ The punishment of a response by the ◾ The punishment of a response by the
addition or experiencing of an unpleasant removal of a pleasurable stimulus
stimulus ◾ Examples:
◾ Examples: ◾ Grounding a child for breaking a rule
◾ Scolding a child for an undesirable behavior
◾ Fining someone for disobeying the law
REINFORCEMENT VS PUNISHMENT
 Schedules of Reinforcement
• A schedule or reinforcement determines when and how
often reinforcement of behavior is given. Behaviorists
discovered that different patterns (or schedules) or
reinforcement had different effects on the speed of
learning and extinction.
 Schedules of Reinforcements
Continuous Reinforcement Schedule
• Giving a child a chocolate every day after he finishes his math homework.
You can teach your dog to sit down every time you say sit by giving it a
treat every time it obeys, or in other words – elicits the correct response.
 Partial Reinforcement ScheduleFixed-Ratio
The definition of partial reinforcement Schedule
as inconsistent or random
reinforcement of responses could Variable-
complicate the matter in a learner’s Ratio
Partial Schedule
point of view. Researchers have reinforceme
classified four basic schedules of nt Schedule Fixed
partial reinforcement that attempt to Interval
cover various kinds of intervals and Schedule
ratios between reinforcements.
Variable-
Interval
Schedule
Fixed–Ratio Schedule:
Reinforcing a response after a specified number of responses (e.g., get a free meal
at a restaurant after filling a frequent diner card with six stamps)
Variable–Ratio Schedule:
Reinforcing a response after an unpredictable number of responses.
Fixed Interval:

Reinforcing a response after a specified period (e.g., your employer pays you every
Friday). Someone getting paid hourly, regardless of the amount of their work.
Variable Interval:

Reinforcing a response at unpredictable time intervals.

Observational Learning
 Observational Learning
Observational learning is the process of learning by watching the behaviors of others.
• The targeted behavior is watched, memorized, and then mimicked.
• Also known as “shaping and modeling,”
• It is most common in children as they imitate the behaviors of adults.
• While at times, we intentionally observe experts to learn new information, observational
learning isn’t always intentional, especially in young children.
• A child may learn to swear or smoke cigarettes by watching adults. They are continually
learning through observation, whether the target behavior is desirable or not.
 What is a model ?
• A model is the person performing the task being imitated. In the example of a child learning to swear, the model
is the parent that said the swear word. The child is using their parent as a model that they observe performing a
behavior.
What makes a good model?
• Humans don’t just imitate anyone. Most often, we mimic people that:
• Are similar to us
• Are in high-status positions
• Are experts or knowledgeable
• Are rewarded for their behaviors
• Provide us with nurturing (parents or guardian-figures)
Four Processes of Observational Learning

• Attention
• Retention
• Reproduction
• Motivation
 1. Attention

• To learn, an observer must pay attention to something in the environment.

They must notice the model and the behavior occurring. Attention levels can
vary based on the characteristics of the model and environment – including
the model’s degree of likeness, or the observer’s current mood.
• For example, if you want to become a VP at your company, it makes sense
that you’d observe the current VP’s (or other renowned VP’s in your industry)
and try to mimic their behavior.
 2. Retention

• Simple attention is not enough to learn a new behavior. An observer must also
retain, or remember, the behavior at a later time.
• To increase the chances of retention, the observer must structure the information in
an easy-to-remember format, so the action can be performed with little or no effort.
• Example. Using our VP example above, let’s say the current VP is giving a
company-wide presentation. You notice that they are calm, confident, engaging,
and use eye contact. You make a list of these attributes and remember them for the
next time you give a presentation.
 3. Reproduction

• Reproduction is the process where the observer must be able to physically perform the behavior
in the real world.
• Often, producing a new behavior requires hours of practice to obtain the skills. You can’t just
watch your VP give a brilliant company-wide presentation, and then use only the observed tactics
in your own presentation 20 minutes later. Those skills take years to craft and perfect.
• Example. Using our VP example again, you’ve observed and identified four skills that the current
VP uses during presentations. To be able to perform these skills yourself, you need to deliberately
practice these skills. Maybe you hold small team meetings to test your skills or you ask team
members for feedback on your presenting skills. In a few months, you will have sharpened your
presenting skills and may be ready to produce a behavior similar to the current VP.
 4. Motivation
• All learning requires some degree of personal motivation. For observational
learning, the observer must be motivated to produce the desired behavior.
• Sometimes this motivation is intrinsic to the observer. Other times,
motivation can come in the form of external reinforcement – rewards and
punishments.
• Example. Using our VP example again, the motivation is intrinsic. You
understand that the path to becoming a VP at your company requires a certain
skill set.
 Bandura Observational Learning
Experiment
Bobo Doll Experiment
• Bandura’s classic Bobo Doll experiment showed that children would mimic violent behaviors, simply by observing others.
• In the experiment, children were shown a video where a model would act aggressively toward an inflatable doll – hitting,
punching, kicking, and verbally assaulting the doll. There were three different endings:
• The model was punished for their behavior
• The model was rewarded for their behavior
• There were no consequences
• After watching the model, children were given a Bobo doll, identical to that in the video. Their behaviors were observed.
Findings: Researchers found that children were more likely to mimic violent behaviors when they observed the model receiving
a reward, or when no consequences occurred. On the flip side – children who observed the model being punished for violence
showed less actual violence toward the doll.
Trial and Error Theory of
Learning
 Definition
• In trial and Error learning, a person learns to perform a
behavior more and more skillfully by repeating behaviors
that result in rewards and avoiding behaviors that result
in punishment.
• Thorndike induces trial and error learning. It is based on
the repetition of response tendencies that lead to success.
 Thorndike’s Puzzle Box
Experiment
• https://www.youtube.c
om/watch?v=hhNxeYY
yCSQ
• Thorndike was interested in studying the
behavior of animals and he started by
• Thorndike conducted working with cats.
an experiment that • He placed each cat inside a device known as
would lay the a puzzle box
foundation for our • The box was designed so that the cat can
understanding of how escape through a door by pressing a lever or
habits form. stepping on a platform.
• For example one box contained lever that
when pressed would open and the cat could
go out and run over to a bowl of food.
• Thorndike tracked the behavior of each cat
 Thorndike’s Puzzle Box
Experiment
• As soon as the cat learnt to press the lever and exit the
door to reach the food, the process of trial and error
learning was observed.
• After 20-30 attempts, all cats escaped the door by
pressing lever in a few seconds which means that with
practice and repetition, each cat understood the hack to
escape.
Findings of the experiment
Laws of Trial and Error
Learning
Laws of Trial and Error
Learning
 Learning by
Cognition (Insight)
 Learning by Cognition
(Insight)
• Through understanding the relationships of different parts of a
problem rather than rest through test and error.
• Tolman was one of the earlier researchers to underline the
importance of cognitive process in learning. Cognitive process means
use of thought processes in learning.
• Learning by mental activity or though is called learning by cognition.
• When you need to get a picture up high on the wall, you pull a chair
over to where you want it, and reach for the picture to take it down.
 Insight Learning
• Insight learning is the sudden realization of a problem’s
solution.
• Insight learning is not the result of trial and error, but
responding to an environmental stimulus, and the result of
observing someone else attempting the problem.
• It is completely cognitive experience that requires the
ability to visualize the problem ad the solution
immediately.
 Kohler’s Experiment of
Learning By Insight
• Experiment- Sultan was placed in a cage. A stick was placed in the
cage and a banana just outside the cage, but outside Sultan’s direct
cage. Sultan made many attempts to obtain the banana but it failed.
It sat down in despair. But, after sometime it suddenly got up, lifted
the stick and used it to draw the banana towards itself.
• In the second stage, kohler placed inside the cage two sticks which
could be joined to eachother. This time the banana was so placed
that it could not b drown by the chimpanzee toward itself with a
single stick. After numerous attempts, sultan joined the two sticks
together and succeeded in obtaining the banana.
3. In the third step, Kohler hung the bananan from the roof
of the cage of such a height as to ensure that sultan could
not reach it even by jumping upwards. A box was also
placed inside the cage. After many attempts, Sultan limbed
up on the box and obtained the bananas.
4. In the final step, Kohler placed two boxes at one place in
the cage the banana was placed at an even high level. At
first, Sultan kept on trying to reach the banana by standing
up one box, but after numerous failures, it placed one box
upon the other and claiming quit obtained the banana.