Learning

Module 5
Faculty
Ms. Saima Azad
Air University Islamabad
 contents
– Definition of Learning
– Types of Learning
– Classical conditioning
– Operant conditioning
– Reinforcement
– Punishment
 Definition of Learning
• Learning: the process by which experience
or practice results in a relatively
permanent change in behavior.
 Types of learning
 Classical conditioning
 Operant conditioning
Classical Conditioning
 Classical Conditioning
• Classical conditioning: the type of learning
in which a response naturally elicited by
one stimulus comes to be elicited by a
different, formerly neutral stimulus.
 Components of Conditioning
• There are 5 main components of conditioning.

• Classical Conditioning always involves these

parts. They are:
– Neutral Stimulus (NS)
– Unconditioned Stimulus (US)
– Unconditioned Response (UR)
– Conditioned Stimulus (CS)
– Conditioned Response (CR)
 Neutral stimulus.

A stimulus that before conditioning has no

effect on the desired response.
 Classical Conditioning
• Unconditioned stimulus (UCS): A
stimulus that brings about a response
without having been learned.
e.g., food
• Unconditioned response (UCR): A
response that is natural and needs no
training
• e.g., salivation at the smell of food
 Classical learning(cont…)
• Conditioned stimulus (CS) : An originally
neutral stimulus that is paired with an
unconditioned stimulus and eventually
produces the desired response in an
organism when presented alone.
e.g., the sound of bell
• Conditioned response (CR) : After
conditioning, the response an organism
produces when a conditioned stimulus is
presented.
e.g., Salivation at the sound of bell
Pavlov’s Experiment
Pavlov’s apparatus for classically
conditioning a dog to salivate
Applying Conditioning Principles
to Human Behavior
• Pairing the appearance of certain species
such as mice or spider with the fearful
comments of adult may cause children to
develop the same fears their parents have.
• You may not go to a dentist as often you
should because of the prior associations
with dentists and pain.
 Principles of classical
Conditioning
• Extinction
• Spontaneous Recovery: The return of the
Conditioned Response
• Generalization and Discrimination.
 Extinction

The weakening and eventual disappearance

of a conditioned response
 Spontaneous recovery

The reappearance of an extinguished

response after the passage of time,
without training.
 Stimulus generalization
• Stimulus generalization: the transfer of a
learned response to different but similar
stimuli.
 Stimulus discrimination

learning to respond to only one stimulus and

to inhibit the response to all other stimuli.
Operant Conditioning
 Operant conditioning
• Operant conditioning: the type of
learning in which behaviors are emitted to
earn rewards or avoid punishments.

• Operant behavior: behavior designed to

operant on the environment in a way that
will gain something desired or avoid
something unpleasant.
 Cont…
• The term operant emphasizes this point:
The organism operates on its environment
to produce a desirable result. Operant
conditioning is at work when we learn that
studying hard results in good grades.
 Thorndike’s Law of Effect
• law of effect:
Responses that lead to satisfying
consequences are more likely to be
repeated.
 Skinner box
• A box often used in operant conditioning of
animals; it limits the available responses
and thus increases the likelihood that the
desired response will ( ) occur.
 Skinner’s Experiment
• Hungry cat was placed in a skinner box. At first the cat wandered around
the box, exploring the environment in a relatively random fashion. At
some point, however, it pressed the lever by chance, and when it did, it
received a food pellet.

• The first time this happens, the cat did not learn the connection between
pressing a lever and receiving food and continued to explore the box.

• Sooner or later the cat pressed the lever again and receive a pellet, at
that time the frequency of the pressing response was increased.

• Eventually, the cat pressed the lever continually until it satisfied her
hunger, thereby demonstrating that the cat has learned that the receipt
of food is contingent on pressing the lever.
The basis of Operant
Conditioning
Reinforcing Desired Behavior
 Reinforcer:
a stimulus that follows a behavior
and increases the likelihood that the
behavior will be repeated.

In other words, pressing the lever is

more likely to occur again because
of the stimulus of food
 Primary reinforcer
a reinforcer that is rewarding in itself, such
as food, water, and sex.
 Secondary reinforcer
a reinforcer whose value is acquired through
association with other primary or secondary
reinforcers.
 Cont…
• A primary reinforcer satisfies some biological need and
works naturally, regardless of a person’s previous
experience. Food for a hungry person, warmth for a cold
person, and relief for a person in pain all would be
classified as primary reinforcers.

• In contrast, a secondary reinforcer is a stimulus that

becomes reinforcing because of its association with a
primary reinforcer. For instance, we know that money is
valuable, because we have learned that it allows us to
obtain other desirable objects, including primary
reinforcers such as food and shelter. Money thus
becomes a secondary reinforcer.
 Types of Reinforcement

•Positive reinforcement
•Negative reinforcement
 POSITIVE REINFORCERS, NEGATIVE REINFORCERS,
AND PUNISHMENT

• A positive reinforcer is an addition of positive stimulus to the environment that brings about an increase in a
preceding response.

• For example, If food, water, money, or praise is provided after a response, it is more likely that that response will
occur again in the future. The paychecks that workers get at the end of the week, for example, increase the likelihood
that they will return to their jobs the following week.

• In contrast, a negative reinforcer refers to removal of unpleasant stimulus whose removal leads to an increase in the
probability that a prior response will be repeated in the future.

• For example, if you have an itchy rash (an unpleasant stimulus) that is relieved when you apply a certain brand of
ointment, you are more likely to use that ointment the next time you have an itchy rash. Using the ointment, then, is
negatively reinforcing, because it removes the unpleasant itch.

• Similarly, if your iPod volume is so loud that it hurts your ears when you first turn it on, you are likely to reduce the
volume level. Lowering the volume is negatively reinforcing, and you are more likely to repeat the action in the future
when you first turn it on.

• Negative reinforcement, then, teaches the individual that taking an action removes a negative condition that exists in
the environment. Like positive reinforcers, negative reinforcers increase the likelihood that previous behaviors will
be repeated
 Punishment:

a stimulus that follows a behavior and

decreases the likelihood that the behavior
will be repeated.
 Types of punishment
• There are two types of punishment: positive punishment and negative punishment,
just as there are positive reinforcement and negative reinforcement. (In both cases,
“positive” means adding something, and “negative” means removing something.)

• Positive punishment weakens a response through the application of an unpleasant

stimulus.

• For instance, spanking a child for misbehaving or spending 10 years in jail for
committing a crime is positive punishment.

• negative punishment consists of the removal of something pleasant.

• For instance, when a teenager is told she is no longer be able to use the family car
because of her poor grades, or when an employee is informed that he has been
demoted with a cut in pay because of a poor job evaluation, negative punishment is
being administered.

• Both positive and negative punishment result in a decrease in the likelihood that a prior
behavior will be repeated.
 Shaping

reinforcing successive approximations to a

desired behavior.
Or
The process of teaching a complex behavior
by rewarding closer and closer
approximations to the desired behavior.
THE END