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Learning by Conditioning

1. Learning is a lasting change in behavior or mental process as a result of experience. Two main forms are classical and operant conditioning. 2. Classical conditioning involves pairing a neutral stimulus with an unconditioned stimulus to elicit the same response. Ivan Pavlov's experiments with dogs demonstrated this. 3. Operant conditioning is learning through rewards and punishments following a behavior. B.F. Skinner showed behaviors are strengthened by reinforcement and weakened by punishment.

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30 views

Learning by Conditioning

1. Learning is a lasting change in behavior or mental process as a result of experience. Two main forms are classical and operant conditioning. 2. Classical conditioning involves pairing a neutral stimulus with an unconditioned stimulus to elicit the same response. Ivan Pavlov's experiments with dogs demonstrated this. 3. Operant conditioning is learning through rewards and punishments following a behavior. B.F. Skinner showed behaviors are strengthened by reinforcement and weakened by punishment.

Uploaded by

shravanyapathak46
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© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as PPTX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Learning by conditioning

Dr. Tusharkana Malhotra


A life without learning
• Learning is more than school, books and tests. Without learning our
lives would simply be a series of reflexes and instincts.
• We would not be able to communicate, we would have no memory of
our past or goals for the future.
• Learning is a lasting change in behavior or mental process as the
result of an experience.
Behavioral Learning
• Forms of learning , such as classical and operant conditioning which
can be described in terms of stimuli and responses.
• Classical conditioning is more simple learning and operant
conditioning is more complex learning.
Ivan Pavlov and Classical Conditioning
• One of 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: A form of learning in which a previously neutral stimulus (stimuli w/o reflex
provoking power) acquires the power to elicit the same innate reflex produced by another
stimulus.
Components of Conditioning
• There are 5 main components of conditioning. Classical Conditioning
always involves these parts. They are:
• Neutral Stimulus
• Unconditioned Stimulus (UCS)
• Unconditioned Response (UCR)
• Conditioned Stimulus (CS)
• Conditioned Response (CR)
Unconditioned Stimulus (UCS)
• UCS: A stimulus that automatically-without conditioning or learning-
provokes a reflexive response.

• In Pavlov’s experiment, food was used as the UCS because it produced


a salivation reflex.

• Classical conditioning cannot happen without UCS. The only behaviors that can be
• classically conditioned are those that are produced by unconditioned stimulus.
Unconditioned Response (UCR)
• UCR: A response resulting from an unconditioned
stimulus without prior learning.

• In Pavlov’s experiment, the UCR was the dog salivating


• when its tongue touched food.

• Realize that the UCS-UCR connection involves no


learning or acquisition.
From Unconditioned to Conditioned
• During acquisition, a neutral stimulus is paired with the unconditioned stimulus.

• After several trials the neutral stimulus will gradually begin to elicit the same response as the
UCS.

• Acquisition: The learning stage during which a conditioned response comes to be elicited
by the conditioned stimulus.
Conditioned Stimulus
• A CS is the originally neutral stimulus that gains the power to cause
the response.

• In Pavlov’s experiment, the bell/tone began to produce the same


response that the food once did.
Conditioned Response
• A CR is a response elicited by a previously neutral stimulus that has
become associated with the unconditioned stimulus.

• Although the response to the CS is essentially the same as the


response originally produced by the UCS, we now call it a conditioned
response.
Extinction
• Extinction: The diminishing (or lessening) of a learned response,
when an unconditioned stimulus does not follow a conditioned
stimulus
• Extinction merely suppresses the conditioned response, and the CR can reappear
during spontaneous recovery.

• Spontaneous Recovery: The response after a rest period of an extinguished


conditioned response.
• Spontaneous recovery is weaker than the original CR.
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.
• B.F. Skinner became famous for his ideas in
behaviorism and his work with rats.

• Law of Effect: The idea that responses that


produced desirable results would be learned,
or “stamped” into the organism.
Reinforcement
• A reinforcer is a condition in which the presentation or removal of a stimulus,
that occurs after a response (behavior) and strengthens that response, or
makes it more likely to happen again in the future.

• Positive Reinforcement: A stimulus presented after a response that increases


the probability of that response happening again.

• Negative Reinforcement: The removal of an unpleasant or averse stimulus


that increases the probability of that response happening again.
• Ex: Taking Advil to get rid of a headache.
• Ex: Putting on a seatbelt to make the annoying seatbelt buzzer stop.

• The word “positive” means add or apply; “negative” is used to mean


subtract or remove.
Reinforcement Schedules
• Continuous Reinforcement: A reinforcement schedule under which
all correct responses are reinforced.

• This is a useful tactic early in the learning process. It also helps when
“shaping” new behavior.

• Shaping: A technique where new behavior is produced by reinforcing


responses that are similar to the desired response.
Punishment
• A punishment is an averse/disliked stimulus which occurs after a
behavior, and decreases the probability it will occur again.
• Reinforcement vs. Punishment
• Unlike reinforcement, punishment must be administered consistently.
Intermittent punishment is far less effective than punishment
delivered after every undesired behavior.

• In fact, not punishing every misbehavior can have the effect of


rewarding the behavior.
Punishment vs. Negative Reinforcement
• Punishment and negative reinforcement are used to produce
opposite effects on behavior.
• Punishment is used to decrease a behavior or reduce its probability of
reoccurring.

• Negative reinforcement always increases a behavior’s probability of


happening in the future (by taking away an unwanted stimuli).

• Remember, “positive” means adding something and “negative means removing


something.

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