Outline for Learning

Focus on the Behavioral aspect for the semester.

i. You are all animals lets get that straight.

ii. Natural Selection

iii. Charles Darwin

ii. Survival of the fittest

iii. Natural Mutations

iv. Variability

v. Limits to change

iv. Reflexes

i. Involuntary response

ii. Self preservation

iii. Sensitization

iv. Habituation

v. Fixed Action Patterns

i. Instinct

ii. Biological

iii. Releasers

iv. Complexity

v. Migration

vi. (General) Inherited Behavior Traits

i. Not specific behavior

ii. Response type of behavior

iii. Type of reaction

iv. Level of Reaction

v. Small Black Dog

vi. HAS and LAS

vii. Twin Studies

viii. Adaptive and Maladaptive

vii. Learning

i. Experience

ii. Individual Change

iii. Wisdom vs. Fixed Action Pattern

iv. The rest of the course

viii. Nature vs. Nurture Theory

How to Study Behavior and learning

i. Science is the ability to measure a lawful relationship between events

ii. Definition of learning

i. Change

ii. Acquisition

iii. Behavior vs. Potential

iv. Experience

v. Response Events

1. Behavior

2. Response

3. Specific definition of behavior (OD)

vi. Stimulus Events

1. Identify Experience

2. Stimulus

3. Response

vii. Contingency

1. S-R relationship between events

2. If-Then

viii. Contiguity

1. Time between Stimulus Event and Response event

2. In outlining you never just have one level

ix. Ways to measure learning

1. Shape of response - is the dog behavior different after we have walked a lot

2. How the subject responds – does the dog get excited each time we go for a walk?

3. Change in shape – can the behavior change from excitement to pouting?

4. Error rate – How may times during a trial does is the incorrect behavior produced?

5. Intensity – how strong is the behavior (how hard does she bite)?

6. Speed – how many times do they respond?

7. Latency – reaction time of behavior – stimulus – how long for response?

8. Responding Rate - how many times does the behavior occur?

9. Cumulative Record – how many responses in an given time?

10. Duration – how much time has the behavior been produced?

iii. Types of research

i. Case Study

1. Anecdotal Evidence

2. Time constraints

ii. Experimental Research

1. Independent Variable

2. Dependant Variable

3. Experimental Groups

4. Control Groups

5. Confounding Variables

iii. Between Subjects Experiments

1. Matched Samples

2. Inter-observer reliability

iv. Within – Subject Experiments

1. Baseline period

2. ABA Reversal Design

3. Counterbalancing

v. Experimental Limitations

vi. Animal Use

iv. Limits to learning

Classical Conditioning (Sniffy task 1)

i. Pavlov experiment

i. UCS à UCR

1. unconditional reflex

2. conditional reflex

ii. CS

1. Simple Stimulus

2. Compound stimulus

a. Pseudo conditioning

b. Preconditioning

c. Latent inhibition

d. Blocking

e. Overshadowing

iii. Associations

a. Contingency

b. Contiguity

2. Trace

a. CS pause UCS

3. Delayed

a. CS...UCS

4. Simultaneous

a. CS/UCS

5. Backwards

a. UCS…CS

iv. How to measure Classical Conditioning

1. Test trials

2. Inter trial interval

3. Rate of acquisition

4. Resistance to extinction

v. Extinction

1. Spontaneous Recovery

vi. Other theories

1. Stimulus substitution

2. Sensory preconditioning

Pavlovian Applications

i. Prejudice

ii. Advertising

iii. Fear conditioning

iv. Taste aversions

v. Immune system functioning

5. Operant Procedures – Reinforcement

i. Thorndike – Discrete trials procedure

1. Law of effect

ii. Skinner – Free operant procedure

1. Shaping

a. Successive approximation

b. Chaining

i. Backward chaining

ii. Forward chaining

iii. Response chain

3. Reinforcement

a. Positive reinforcement

b. Negative reinforcement

i. Conditioned reinforcer

ii. Negative reinforcer

iii. Primary reinforcer

iv. Secondary reinforcer

4. Extinction

a. Resurgence –increase in previously reinforced behavior

b. Spontaneous recovery

5. Controlling Variables

a. Contingency

b. Contiguity

c. reinforcer characteristics

d. Type of behavioral tasks

e. Amount of Deprivation

f. Individual learning

6. The theories of reinforcement

a. Drive reduction theory

b. Relative Value theory

c. Response Deprivation theory

d. Are they all the same, they are not the best…

7. Avoidance training

a. Increase in procrastination behavior

b. Using negative reinforcement

c. Two process theory

i. Association produces anxiety (Pavlovian)

ii. Behavior reduces anxiety (operant reinforcement)

d. Once process theory

i. Not getting the shock increases the behaviors used to reduce the shock.

ii. Behaviors that produce negative consequences

Punishment is not the best

i. Differences between Operant Conditioning and Classical Conditioning. Are they the same really?i. Two-Process theory – Punishment involves both Classical Conditioning and Operant Conditioning because the association creates uncomfortable feelings.

ii. One-Process theory that punishment is mirror image of reinforcement

ii. Reinforcement is the key to learning behavior.

iii. Punishment works – if strong, and quick,

i. If no other behavior is reinforced then learning is not occurring.

ii. Escape – being reinforced for other behaviors to avoid punishment

1. cheating and lying

2. suicide behavior reinforced by removal of punishment.

iii. Aggression – Reacting against punishment

iv. Without an escape attack is the next step

v. Attack of inanimate objects as a reinforcement

vi. Rationalized aggressive behavior

iv. Apathy

i. I don’t care.

ii. Depression

iii. No reinforcement nothing to do.

v. Abuse

i. The punisher can gain reinforcement from hurting the punishie

ii. With the only form of behavior modification –doesn’t work and as a result increase the strength of the punishment and no recourse.

vi. Imitation of Punisher

i. Learned dealing with behavior and use similar methods.

ii. Cycle of violence.

Alternatives to Punishment in behavioral modification

i. Response prevention

i. Alter environment to remove behaviors

ii. Limitations alas

ii. Extinction

i. Limit reinforcements for bad behavior

ii. Identify what is reinforcing in the desired behavior

iii. Must learn how to fish…

iii. Differential reinforcement

i. Reinforce a slowdown in bad behavior – not absence

ii. Reinforcement of incompatible behavior

1. Find a behavior that is incompatible with bad behavior

2. Increase reinforcement with opposite behavior

3. i.e. reward those students that are sitting quietly

iii. Reinforcement of alternative behaviors

1. Focus and reinforce other behavior

2. Must reduce offending behavior.

Operant Applications

i. Animal Care and Training

i. A horse that can do calculus

ii. A chicken that can play checkers

iii. Problem animal behavior

ii. Insightful Problem Solving

i. Reinforcement is not obvious

1. Trial and error to solve problem

2. Generalized concept to solution

3. Practice makes problem solving early

iii. Self-awareness

i. What does it mean to be self aware?

ii. Can a computer be self aware?

iii. What steps are used to condition self awareness?

iv. Superstition

i. Variable time reinforcement

ii. Erroneous prophecy

iii. If it works it works

v. Creativity

i. New behavior

ii. Reinforcement for novel behavior

iii. “even small brained species can show remarkable creativity if it is systematically reinforced”

vi. Learned Helplessness and Depression

i. Rat taped to the floor

ii. Prevention rather than treatment

g. Self-Injurious Behavior

h. Conditioned responses?

iii. Reinforcement greater than punishment

h. Verbal behavior

i. Accents

ii. Learning to talk

iii. Guiding conversations

vii. Self-control

i. Willpower

ii. Physical restraint

iii. Distances

iv. Distraction

v. Deprivation – salvation

vi. Monitors

Generalization

i. Behavior is reinforced

i. &nbs