Learning

• People only learn when they consciously try to learn. False

• If you reward a child for something, they will always keep False
doing it.

True or
• You can never teach an old dog new tricks, especially when False
it comes to learning complex tasks.
• If you watch someone fail at something, you’ll probably True

False?
learn how not to do it.
• Humans can’t learn from their mistakes unless they are False
aware of the mistake immediately.
• Watching a scary movie can make your heart race because True
your brain associates the sound with danger.
• Learning something new automatically makes your brain False
bigger.
Learning
• Learning is a process by which experience produces relatively enduring changes in
behavior or capabilities.
• Types of learning:
• Classical conditioning
• Operant conditioning
• Observational learning
Classical
Conditioning Associating one stimulus
with another
 • Associating one stimulus with another
Classical • Classical conditioning: when a neutral stimulus
produces a response after being paired with a
Conditioning stimulus that naturally produces a response
Pavlov’s
Pioneering
Research
Pavlov’s Pioneering
Research
• Physiologist studying
digestion in dogs
• accidental and important
discovery: dogs began to
salivate before food was
presented
Pavlov’s
Apparatus for
Studying
Classical
Conditioning
Basic
Elements of
Classical
Conditioning
• In classical conditioning, a previously neutral stimulus (such as the
sound of a bell) is paired with an unconditioned stimulus (such as the
presentation of food).
• After several trials associating the two, the conditioned stimulus (the
sound) alone can produce a conditioned response.
 • Unconditioned stimulus (US): Something that
reliably produces a naturally occurring reaction in
an organism
Basic • Unconditioned response (UR): Reflexive
reaction that is reliably produced by an
Elements of unconditioned stimulus

Classical • Conditioned stimulus (CS): Stimulus that is

initially neutral and produces no reliable

Conditioning response in an organism

• Conditioned response (CR): Reaction that
resembles an unconditioned response but is
produced by a conditioned stimulus
Why do some
dogs seem to
know when it’s
dinnertime?
The Basic Principles
of Classical STRONG
Conditioning

• Acquisition: Phase of Strength

classical conditioning when of CR
the CS and the US are
presented together
• One-trial or single-trial
learning
• The sequence and time
interval of pairing affects
conditioning: forward, WEAK
backward, simultaneous Time PAUSE
When comparing forward, simultaneous,
and backward pairing in classical
conditioning, what is the order of learning
speed from fastest to slowest?
The Basic Principles
of Classical STRONG
Conditioning

• Acquisition: Phase of Strength

classical conditioning when
the CS and the US are of CR
presented together
• Extinction: Gradual
elimination of a learned
response that occurs when
the US is no longer
presented WEAK
• Spontaneous recovery: Time PAUSE
Tendency of a learned
behavior to recover from
extinction after a rest period
The spontaneously recovered CR is weaker
than the initial CR and extinguishes more
rapidly in the absence of UCS.

True/False?
The Basic Principles of Classical Conditioning

• Generalization: Process by which the CR is observed even though

the CS is slightly different from the original one used during
acquisition
• Discrimination: Capacity to distinguish between similar but
distinct stimuli
Conditioned Emotional
Responses:
The Case of Little Albert

• Watson and Rayner (1920)

conditioned Albert to fear a
white rat (by striking a steel bar
whenever he was presented
with the rat).
• Little Albert also showed
stimulus generalization.

Conditioned stimulus
Conditioned
Emotional
Responses:
The Case of
Little Albert
 • Classical conditioning involves a cognitive

Rescorla – process where animals learn to expect the

outcome (such as food) based on the predictive

Wagner
value of the conditioned stimulus (CS).
• Conditioning can occur without conscious
awareness of the relationship between the CS and
Model US.
• Conditioning is easier when CS is an unfamiliar.
Neural Mechanisms of Classical Conditioning
• Eyeblink Conditioning
• CS (tone) paired with US (air puff) causes a reflexive eyeblink.
• After repeated pairings, the CS alone triggers the eyeblink.
• Cerebellum plays a crucial role in eyeblink conditioning.
• Research with rabbits showed that cerebellum damage impairs the eyeblink response.
• Neuroimaging studies show cerebellum activation in healthy individuals during eyeblink
conditioning.
• Fear Conditioning
• CS (tone) paired with US (electric shock) elicits a fear response (freezing, increased heart rate).
• The amygdala is involved in fear conditioning in humans, rats, and other animals.
• Amygdala produces both behavioral (freezing) and physiological (heart rate increase) responses during
fear conditioning.
• Disruption of amygdala connections to the midbrain blocks these responses.
Test yourself

A dog salivates to food but not to light. After the light is paired with food
for 15 learning trials, the dog salivates when the light is presented alone.
After many light-only trials, the dog stops salivating to the light. The next
day, when the light is turned on (without the food) the dog salivates.
Match the numbered term to the correct item:
1. Conditioned stimulus a. Salivation to the food
2. Unconditioned stimulus b. Salivation to the light
3. Spontaneous recovery c. The food
4. Unconditioned response d. The light
5. Extinction e. Salivation to the light stops
6. Conditioned response f. Salivation to the light resumes
Operant
Conditioning
Learning Through
Consequences
Thorndike’s
Law of
Effect
Thorndike’s Law
of Effect
• Instrumental behavior: requires an
organism to do something, solve a
problem, or manipulate the environment.
• Thorndike's Puzzle Box Experiment
• Used a wooden crate with a door that
opened when a concealed lever was
triggered correctly.
• The cat inside tried various behaviors
to escape, but only the correct
behavior (pulling the lever) resulted in
freedom and food.
• Over time, the cat learned to repeat
the correct behavior and stopped
engaging in ineffective actions.
Thorndike’s Law of Effect
• In Thorndike’s puzzle box experiment:
• Effective behaviors (triggering the lever) led to rewards (food and escape).
• Ineffective behaviors (scratching, meowing, sniffing) gradually became
less frequent.
• Law of Effect:
• Behaviors followed by satisfying consequences are more likely to be
repeated.
• Behaviors followed by discomfort are less likely to be repeated.
 • Classical Conditioning (Pavlov):

Thorndike’s • The US (food) is delivered regardless of the

animal’s behavior.

Law of • Learning occurs through association of

stimuli.

Effect: • Instrumental Conditioning (Thorndike):

Comparison with • The animal’s behavior directly affects what
happens next (if the behavior is correct, the
Classical reward is given).
Conditioning • Learning occurs through consequences of
actions (reinforcement or lack of).
Skinner and Operant
Conditioning
• Operant conditioning: a type of
learning in which behavior is
influenced by the consequences
that follow it.
• Skinner box: a controlled
environment used to study operant
behavior
Reinforcement and Punishment in Operant
Conditioning
• Reinforcement: Increases the likelihood of a
behavior.
• Punishment: Decreases the likelihood of a
behavior.
• Positive: A stimulus is added.
• Negative: A stimulus is removed.
Reinforcement and Punishment in Operant
Conditioning
• Positive Reinforcement: Presenting a
rewarding stimulus (e.g., food) increases
behavior.
• Action: The rat presses the lever.
• Consequence: A food pellet is dispensed
(reward).
• The rat is more likely to press the lever again in
the future because it received a pleasant
stimulus (food).
Reinforcement and Punishment in Operant
Conditioning
• Negative Reinforcement: Removing an
unpleasant stimulus (e.g., turning off a
shock) increases behavior.
• Action: The rat presses the lever.
• Consequence: The shock is turned off
(unpleasant stimulus is removed).
• The rat is more likely to press the lever in the
future because it learned that pressing the
lever removes the unpleasant shock.
Reinforcement and Punishment in Operant
Conditioning
• Positive Punishment: Presenting an
unpleasant stimulus (e.g., electric shock)
decreases behavior.
• Action: The rat presses the lever.
• Consequence: An electric shock is delivered
to the rat (unpleasant stimulus added).
• The rat is less likely to press the lever in the
future because of the unpleasant stimulus
(shock).
Reinforcement and Punishment in Operant
Conditioning
• Negative Punishment: Removing a
rewarding stimulus (e.g., taking away a toy)
decreases behavior.
• Action: The rat presses the lever.
• Consequence: The rat receives food pellets
after pressing the lever. However, this time, the
experimenter decides to remove the food
pellets immediately when the rat presses the
lever.
• The rat is less likely to press the lever in the
future because the rewarding food stimulus
was taken away (negative consequence).
Reinforcement and Punishment in
Operant Conditioning
The Effectiveness of Reinforcement vs.
Punishment
• Reinforcement:
• More effective in promoting learning.
• Encourages the organism to repeat the desired behavior.
• Punishment:
• Stops the undesirable behavior but doesn’t teach the correct behavior.
Primary and Secondary Reinforcers
• Primary Reinforcers
• Biologically-based stimuli that satisfy basic physiological needs and are
naturally reinforcing.
• Food (satisfies hunger), Water (quenches thirst), Comfort (provides physical
ease), Shelter (provides protection), Warmth (provides heat, necessary for
survival)
• Secondary Reinforcers
• Learned reinforcers that gain their reinforcing power through association
with primary reinforcers.
• Money (associated with acquiring primary reinforcers like food or shelter),
Verbal approval (like praise or a compliment, associated with positive
reinforcement)
Primary and Secondary Punishers
• Primary Punishers
• Biologically-based stimuli that cause discomfort or pain, naturally discouraging
behavior.
• Electric shock (causes pain and discomfort), Extreme heat or cold (causes
physical discomfort), Loud noises (startling and discomforting)
• Secondary Punishers
• Learned stimuli that become punishers through their association with primary
punishers.
• Negative social feedback (like scolding or criticism, often associated with
unpleasant consequences), Speeding tickets (discourages the behavior of
speeding)
Immediate vs. Delayed Reinforcement and
Punishment
• The timing of reinforcement significantly affects its effectiveness.
• Immediate reinforcement is more effective than delayed
reinforcement.
• Immediate reinforcement helps link behavior to reward.
• Immediate punishment is more effective in stopping undesired
behavior.
Schedules of Reinforcement
• Continuous reinforcement: every response is reinforced.
• Partial (intermittent) reinforcement: only portion of the responses are
reinforced.
• Ratio schedules
• Interval schedules
Schedules of Reinforcement
• Continuous reinforcement: every response is reinforced.
• Partial (intermittent) reinforcement: only portion of the responses are reinforced.
• Ratio schedules: certain percentage of responses are reinforced
• Fixed-ratio schedule: reinforcement is given after a fixed number of
responses
• Variable-ratio schedule: reinforcement is given after a variable number
responses
• Interval schedules: certain amount of time must elapse between reinforcements
• Fixed- interval schedule: reinforcement is given after a fixed time period
• Variable- interval schedule: reinforcement is given based on average time
intervals
Schedules of Reinforcement
• Continuous reinforcement
• Produces more rapid learning
• However, extinguish more rapidly, because sudden shift to no
reinforcement is easier to perceive
• Partial (intermittent) reinforcement
• Learned more slowly
• However resistant to extinguish
• Fixed schedules often lead to bursts of behavior near reinforcement.
• Variable schedules produce more consistent behavior due to
unpredictability of reinforcement.
 • Process in operant conditioning where reinforcement
is provided for successive steps that gradually lead
to a desired behavior.
• Instead of expecting an animal to perform the entire
behavior right away, reinforcement is given to smaller
steps to get progressively closer to the target
behavior.
Shaping • How it works?
• Initial Behavior: Start by reinforcing any behavior
that's remotely related to the target behavior.
• Gradual Refinement: As the behavior progresses,
reinforce closer approximations to the final goal.
• Final Behavior: Continue reinforcing until the
organism performs the desired behavior
consistently.
 • Superstitious behaviours occur when an
organism behaves as though there is a
causal relationship between its actions and
a reinforcement, even though the
Superstitious reinforcement is accidental.

Behavior • Skinner’s Experiment with Pigeons

• Pigeons were placed in boxes where food was
delivered every 15 seconds.
• The pigeons developed odd behaviours (e.g.,
turning in circles, pecking in corners) because
these actions were accidentally reinforced by the
food delivery.
 Test yourself
Match each numbered term to the correct situation on the right:

1. Positive reinforcement a. A person feels pain when they touch a hot stove, which
2. Primary punisher discourages them from touching it again.
3. Fixed ratio schedule b. A vending machine gives a snack every time you insert
4. Superstitious behavior money.
5. Negative reinforcement c. A student tries a new coffee shop, the coffee is great,
6. Continuous reinforcement and she returns next week.
d. A factory worker is paid after every 10 products they
assemble
e. A basketball player wears the same socks every game
after winning while wearing them, believing the socks
brought luck.
f. A driver fastens their seatbelt to stop the annoying
"fasten seatbelt" warning sound in their car.
Tolman’s Cognitive Approach
• Skinner’s operant conditioning
• based on stimulus-response relationships.
• stimulus-driven: the environment provides a stimulus, and the organism
responds based on the consequences that follow.
• Edward Tolman’s approach
• focuses on cognitive processes involved in learning.
• means–ends relationship: the idea that an animal learns that a specific
response (the means) will lead to a specific outcome (the end).
Tolman’s Cognitive
Approach
• Latent Learning: Learning occurs,
but it is not demonstrated until
later when a reward is introduced.
• Rats explore the maze without
reinforcement and no
improvement in the performance.
• When reinforcement introduced,
improvement in navigating a maze.
• Animals learn cognitively and
demonstrate what they’ve learned
when a reward or need arises.
Tolman’s Cognitive Approach
• Cognitive maps are mental representations of the environment
that help organisms navigate.
• Tolman’s rats didn’t just learn specific stimulus-response
associations (e.g., pressing a bar leads to food); they learned
the layout of the maze and how different paths related to the goal.
Dopamine, Reinforcement, and Learning
• Dopamine’s role in reinforcement
• crucial for reward processing in the brain.
• drives behaviors associated with survival and reproduction.
• biological rewards (e.g., food, sex) are more pleasurable when tied
to dopamine release.
Observational
Learning When others show the
way
 • Observational learning: learning occurs by
Observational watching the actions of others.
• Teachers, parents, supervisors often help us
Learning learn by intentionally modeling skills.
• We could also learn fears, prejudices, likes and
dislikes and social behavior by watching others.
Bandura’s Bobo Doll Experiment
• Bandura believed that people learn behaviors
through observation, imitation, and modeling, not
just through direct experience.
• Children watched adults behave aggressively or
non-aggressively toward the Bobo doll.
• Children in the non-aggressive model group
exhibited calmer behavior.
• Children exposed to aggressive models were more
likely to imitate aggressive actions.
Bandura’s
Bobo Doll
Experiment
Bandura’s
Bobo Doll
Experiment
 • Learning is a process that results in relatively permanent True
changes in behavior due to experience.
• Classical conditioning involves learning through False
consequences.
• Pavlov’s dogs started salivating before food was presented True

True or because they associated the bell with food.

• In classical conditioning, an unconditioned stimulus (US)
initially produces no response.
False

False? • Extinction in classical conditioning refers to the

disappearance of the conditioned response when the
conditioned stimulus is presented alone repeatedly.
True

• The case of Little Albert demonstrated that emotional True

responses could be conditioned.
• Generalization occurs when a conditioned response is True
observed even though the stimulus is slightly different from
the original one.
 • Thorndike’s Law of Effect states that behaviors followed by True
satisfying consequences are more likely to be repeated

• Operant conditioning was first introduced by Ivan Pavlov. False

True or
• Positive reinforcement decreases the likelihood of a False
behavior occurring.
• Negative punishment involves removing a rewarding True

False?
stimulus to decrease behavior.
• Fixed-interval schedules provide reinforcement after a set False
number of responses.
• In shaping, behaviors are gradually reinforced toward a True
target behavior.
• Superstitious behavior occurs when an organism True
mistakenly believes that a certain action causes a
reinforcement.
 • Tolman’s research suggested that learning is False
purely based on stimulus-response
relationships.
• Observational learning occurs when behaviors True
are learned by watching others.

True or • Bandura’s Bobo doll experiment demonstrated

that children imitate aggressive behavior seen in
True

False?
adults.
• Dopamine plays no role in reinforcement and False
learning.
• Delayed reinforcement is always more effective False
than immediate reinforcement.