Learning - Dimensions Family Therapy
July 23, 2018 | Author: Anonymous | Category: N/A
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Learning
Learning • Any enduring change in behavior based on experience • Enduring change in behavior – If behavior does not change then learning did not take place
• Experience – We encounter some form of a learning event
Learning Theory • Experience shapes behavior – Touch a hot stove
• Learning is adaptive – Never touch a hot stove again
• We can discover the laws of learning through systematic experimentation
Classical Conditioning • Unconditioned stimulus (UCS) – Anything that stimulates an automatic (reflexive) response • Food
• Unconditioned reflex (UCR) – Automatic response • Hunger
Classical Conditioning • Conditioned stimulus (CS) – Pair a neutral item with a UCS – McDonald's golden arches (neutral) & french fries (UCS)
– The golden arches become a conditioned stimulus (CS) for the french fries
Classical Conditioning • Conditioned response (CR) – The UCR (desire for french fries) becomes associated with the CS (golden arches) – Hunger (UCR) leads to a desire to eat at McDonalds (CR)
Ivan Pavlov • Ivan Pavlov noticed a peculiar phenomenon while studying the digestive systems of dogs • When presented with food (UCS) a dog would salivate (UCR) • Pavlov decided to ring a bell (neutral stimulus) just before presenting food to a dog
• The sound of the bell (CS) quickly led to the dog salivating
Classical Conditioning • Pavlov’s discovery, classical conditioning, can account for a great deal of behavior • For example, quickly write down three words to describe a Ferrari sports car • Your responses were the results of classical conditioning
Little Albert • Little Albert was a normal, well adjusted, 9 month old • Albert was given objects by John Watson including: – a white lab rat – a white coat – other things that incorporated the color white
• Watson tested Albert’s response to a loud noise (UCS) by banging on a steel bar directly behind his head
• Albert reacted by jumping, falling forward, and whimpering
Little Albert • Two months later Watson selected a white rat, something Albert was use to playing with, as the CS • Now every time Albert reached out to the white rat Watson struck the steel bar creating a loud sound • Albert immediately became afraid of the white rat
• Albert also feared anything with the color white such as a white coat, Santa mask, etc
Little Albert • Watson moved Albert from the test room to a large lecture hall, Albert reacted the same • Watson waited for a period of time and retested Albert, found the same negative responses • Albert’s mother removed him from the study. Watson never had a chance to de-program Albert
Conditioned Responses • Conditioned taste aversions – Nasty tasting cough syrup
• Conditioned emotional responses – Your favorite song generates positive emotions
• Conditioned immune responses – Chemotherapy
Stimulus Generalization • Once you have learned to pair a given CS with a UCS you tend to generalize to stimuli of a similar nature – “The first person I ever met from Greece was a really nice person. You know, the Greeks are nice people!”
• The more similar a stimuli is to the original CS the more likely generalization will occur
Stimulus Discrimination • Opposite of stimulus generalization • Learn to respond to a restricted range of stimuli – My ex was from California
– I know a lot of good people from California, my ex just isn’t one of them
Extinction • Occurs when a CR is weakened to the point of being eliminated • The CS occurs without the UCS – A police officer on beat patrol (CS) has repeated friendly encounters with citizens in a high crime area – Citizens gradually learn not to associate the officer with being arrested
• Spontaneous Recovery – Tendency for CS to come back, normally a short lived phenomena – Citizen observes an arrest and, temporarily, regains a fear of the police officer
Factors Affecting Classical Conditioning • Interstimulus Interval – Time period between CS and UCS. The shorter the better
• One’s Learning History – Prior experience with similar CS
• Preparedness to Learn – Some CS/UCS easier to learn than others
Operant Conditioning • Operant conditioning involves one’s behavior creating a consequence • Operants (behaviors) that we take with the goal of generating a response • Law of effect - Edward Thorndike suggested that the likelihood of a behavior being repeated depends upon the perceived consequence of the behavior
Law of Effect • Will a student cheat on an exam? Law of Effect states the student will focus on the probable outcome: – Excellent chance of getting caught - Probably won’t cheat – Little chance of getting caught - More inclined to cheat
Classical versus Operant • Classical Conditioning - The environment impacts you – Someone else links food to McDonald’s arches
• Operant (Instrumental) Conditioning - You emit behavior to influence the environment – You do something with the expectation of an outcome
Reinforcement • Reinforcement involves any consequence that increases the probability that a response will occur • Positive Reinforcement – The consequence of a behavior makes the behavior more likely to happen -I buy my first lottery ticket and win $1000.00 -I buy more lottery tickets
Reinforcement • Negative Reinforcement – The termination of an adverse stimulus makes a behavior more likely to happen. This can be either an escape or avoidance - Escape - I hit the mute button on the TV and the commercial goes silent
- Avoid - I alter my route to work in order to avoid a known speed trap
Punishment • Punishment is any consequence that decreases the probability of a behavior being repeated – Positive Punishment - Involves a consequence that is not good: • Going to jail for DUI
– Negative Punishment - Something good is taken away • You cheat on me and I’ll stop loving you
Problems with Punishment • The person being punished isn’t sure what behavior caused the punishment – Why are you yelling at me?
• The person being punished learns to fear the punisher. The person doing the punishing, not the behavior, becomes the issue – I’m not misbehaving, my dad is just a mean hateful person
• Punishment may not eliminate the rewards for a behavior – Getting drunk and then driving home is more important than maybe going to jail again
Problems with Punishment • People tend to punish when they are angry and upset – The behavior being punished is lost in the arguing and emotions
• Aggression leads to aggression – Children who are physically beaten tend to become child abusers when they become parents
Extinction • Extinction of an operant behavior tends to occur if the expected consequence of a behavior fails to happen on repeated occasions – At first you always returned my calls during the work day. Then you didn’t return my calls. Now I don’t call during your work shifts.
Schedules of Reinforcement • Continuous Reinforcement Schedule – The consequence is the same every time the behavior is emitted
• Partial (intermittent) schedules of reinforcement – Behavior is reinforced only part of the time it is emitted – Surprisingly, behaviors that emit partial reinforcement are less likely to become extinct than are behaviors exposed to continuous reinforcement
Schedules of Reinforcement • Ratio Schedules – Fixed-ratio schedule • Reinforcement on a set schedule such as every 5th time
– Variable-ratio schedules • Reinforcement is unpredictable
Intermittent Reinforcement • Discriminate Stimulus – Contingencies are in effect so that reinforcement only produces the desired behavior under certain circumstances • I will cheer loudly at sports stadiums but never raise my voice in museums
Society & Operant Conditioning • Operant Conditioning works both ways – The punishment is a negative reinforcer for the parent if the child’s behavior in question ceases. – Increases likelihood similar forms of punishment will be used by the parent in the future
• Behavioral economics – Links reinforcement with economics – If I like both Pepsi and Coke, and the price of Pepsi goes up, then I drink more Coke
Characteristics of the Learner • Shaping – Involves taking a series of steps to elicit the desired behavior – Often used when teaching a new language
• Chaining – Link together a sequence of existing responses in a novel manner – Can be used to improve athletic performance
Characteristics of the learner • Individuals differ in their ability to be conditioned • Some of us learn quicker than our classmates • Some of us are more aggressive when confronted with others attempts to condition us while others’ tend to be avoidant
Drive Reduction Theory • Drive - An internal state that impels one to act • Reinforcers - Stimulants that reduce drives • Primary Drives - Central to survival – Hunger-Food – Thirst-Water
• Secondary Drives - Culturally defined – Money – Frequent flier points from an airline
Role of Feelings • A behavior that is followed by a pleasurable feeling is reinforced • A behavior followed by a negative feeling will be less likely to occur
• Guilt serves as a negative feeling therefore it may reduce guilt producing behavior
Gray’s 3 Behavioral Systems • Behavioral Approach System - Pleasurable emotional states and approach-oriented behaviors • Behavioral Inhibition System - Involves potential dangers and involves anxiety • Fight-Flight System - In the face of terror one will either elect to fight it out or will attempt to run away
Social Learning Theory • Referred to as: – Cognitive Theory, Social Learning Theory, CognitiveBehavioral theory
• Suggests that how we construct the environment is as important to learning as actual environmental contingencies – Involves one’s experiences and expectations – For those who grew up in small towns, NYC may seem very threatening
Latent Learning • Suggests that learning involves the creation of “cognitive maps” that we can recall at a later time under the right circumstances • Once learned, not forgotten
• One will respond to new circumstances with old behaviors
Cognitive-Social Theory • Proposes that one’s expectations about the consequences of a behavior render the behavior more or less likely to occur – If I am friendly towards new classmates then they will be friendly towards me – If I ignore those in out groups they will likely ignore me in the future
Expectancies • Self-fulfilling prophecies involve expectations of a given outcome leading to behavior that ensures the outcome – John just knows he will fail the final exam – John doesn’t study – Sure enough, John fails the final exam due to his lack of preparation
Locus of Control • Generalized expectations on whether (or not) our behavior can bring about a desired outcome • Internal Locus of Control - I believe I can control my own fate – More likely to take action – If I study hard I will get a good grade
• External Locus of Control - I can’t control my fate – More likely to be passive – It doesn’t matter whether I study or not, the professor doesn’t give good grades to student athletes
Learned Helplessness • An expectancy that one cannot escape adverse events – Simply don’t try – Often linked to depression
Observational Learning • Also referred to as vicarious learning • We observe the consequences of others behaviors – What does father do when my older brother comes home after his curfew?
Modeling • We tend to model behavior of someone we admire or an authority figure • Role models are those we emulate • Public figures become role models whether they want to be or not
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