第45章
2. One possible answer to this question is Radical Behaviorism, which
suggests that all behavior can be understood in terms of an organism’s
inherited characteristics and simple learned behavior
a) John Watson and B. F. Skinner argued that feelings, imagining
do not cause behavior, but rather are caused by environmental
stimuli. They are the two most influential proponents of
behaviorism, which maintains that psychology should focus
on observable behavior.
b) Behaviorism, which will be covered more fully later, led to the
development of behavior analysis, the area of psychology that
focuses on environmental determinants of behavior
c) Behaviorists and behavior analysts often assume that
learning is conserved across species, that learning is similar in
all animal species. Because of this assumption, animals are
often used in behaviorist research.
II.Classical Conditioning: Learning Predictable Signals
A. Pavlov’s Surprising Observation
1. First described by Ivan Pavlov, classical conditioning is a basic form of
learning in which one stimulus predicts the occurrence of another
event. Organisms learn to associate one stimulus with the other.
a) Reflexes, unlearned responses such as salivation, pupil
contraction, knee jerks, or eye blinks, are at the core of
classical conditioning
b) An Unconditioned Stimulus (UCS) is any stimulus that
naturally elicits a reflexive behavior, such as salivating
c) An Unconditioned Response (UCR) is the behavior, such as
salivating, that is elicited by the UCS
d) A Neutral Stimulus is a stimulus that has no intrinsic meaning
to the organism. When associated with the UCS, the Neutral
Stimulus can become a Conditioned Stimulus (CS)–a previously
neutral stimulus that comes to elicit a conditioned response.
e) A Conditioned Stimulus, after being paired with the UCS,
acquires the power to elicit the UCR. When the UCR is elicited
by the CS, however, it is called the Conditioned Response
(CR).
f) A Conditioned Response is produced by the presentation of the
CS
107
PSYCHOLOGY AND LIFE
g) In summary, nature provides the association between the
Unconditioned Stimulus and the Unconditioned Response. By
repeatedly pairing the Conditioned Stimulus with the
Unconditioned Stimulus, the Conditioned Stimulus begins to elicit
a Conditioned Response.
/> B. Processes of Conditioning
1. Acquisition is the process by which the CR is first elicited by the CS and
by which elicitation gradually increases in frequency over repeated
trials
2. Timing is critical in classical conditioning. The UCS and the CS must
be presented close enough together so that they are perceived to be
associated. Four types of temporal patterns are used in research. They
are:
a) Delayed Conditioning, in which the CS comes prior to and
stays on at least until the UCS is presented. Usually the most
effective conditioning paradigm. The optimal time interval
between the UCS and the CS varies depending on the nature
of the CS and the CR.
b) Trace Conditioning, in which the CS is turned off before the
UCS is presented.
c) Simultaneous Conditioning, in which the CS and the UCS are
presented at the same time. Conditioning is generally poor
with this paradigm.
d) Backward Conditioning, in which the CS is presented after the
UCS. Conditioning is generally very poor with this paradigm.
3. Extinction is said to have occurred when the CR no longer appears in
the presence of the CS
4. Spontaneous Recovery, reappearance of a weak CR when the CS is
presented again after extinction, without renewed pairing with the
UCS
5. If the UCS and the CS are again paired after extinction, the UCS and
the CS association will be learned more quickly. The difference in the
time taken to learn the association initially and to relearn the
association after extinction is called Savings.
6. Stimulus Generalization is the extension of elicitation of the CR to
stimuli similar to the CS. If the CS is a tone, a similar tone may produce
the CR.
7. Stimulus Discrimination is the process by which an organism learns to
respond differently to stimuli that are distinct from but similar to the
CS
C. Focus on Acquisition
1. Robert Rescorla’s work demonstrated that contingency, not just
contiguity, is necessary for classical conditioning to occur
2. In addition to contingency, the CS must reliably predict the UCS
108
CHAPTER 7: LEARNING AND BEHAVIOR ANALYSIS
3. The informativeness of the CS is also crucial to classical conditioning
4. Blocking is the ability of the first CS to reduce the informativeness of
the second CS because of the organism’s previous experience
5. A Neutral Stimulus will only become a Conditioned Stimulus if it is
both appropriately contingent and informative
D. Applications of Classical Conditioning
1. Classical conditioning does not involve conscious thought, but does
involve emotions and preferences
2. Fear conditioning involves the pairing of a neutral stimulus with a fear-
provoking object. Fear conditioning is a powerful form of classical
conditioning, is resistant to extinction, and can occur after only one
pairing of the CS and the UCS.
3. Learning to Be a Drug Addict
a) If a drug addict does drugs in the same ritualistic manner in
the same environment consistently, the ritualistic manner and
the environment themselves may become CS. They come to
predict the occurrence of the UCS, the drug, and they warn the
body that the drug is about to be done. The body can then
prepare a compensatory response that allows the body, in an
effort to maintain homeostasis, to counteract partially the
impact of the drug.
b) Because of this compensatory response, if the drug is taken in
the same manner and in the same environment consistently,
greater doses of the drug are needed to maintain the same
high. If, after doing drugs in the same environment repeatedly,
the drug user does drugs in a new environment, the CS (the
environment) will not be present, and the body will not
produce the compensatory response. Because the body is not
prepared for ingestion of the drug, the drug user is much more
likely to overdose.
4. Harnessing Classical Conditioning
a) Psychoneuroimmunology has emerged to explore the interaction
of psychology, the nervous system, and the immune system.
One goal of psychoneuroimmunology is to allow conditioning
to replace high doses of medications that have serious side
effects. As with drug users for which the environment
becomes a CS, the environment can be associated with
beneficial drugs so that the environment elicits a positive
conditioned response.
III. Operant Conditioning: Learning About Consequences
A. The Law of Effect
1. The Law of Effect, developed by Edward Thorndike, simply states that
behaviors that are followed by pleasant, positive consequences are
likely to increase in frequency
2. For Thorndike, learning involved an association between a stimulus
109
PSYCHOLOGY AND LIFE
and a response, a stimulus–response connection
3. These stimulus–response connections are learned gradually and
mechanistically through blind trial and error
B. Experimental Analysis of Behavior
1. B. F. Skinner outlined a research program called the experimental
analysis of behavior, whose purpose was to discover the ways that
environmental conditions affect the likelihood that a given response
will occur
2. Operant Conditioning procedures were developed by Skinner to allow
the experimental analysis of behavior and modify the probability of
different types of operant behavior as a function of the environmental
consequences they produce
3. An Operant is any behavior that is emitted by an organism and can be
characterized in terms of the observable effects it has on the
environment
C. Reinforcement Contingencies
1. A reinforcement contingency is a consistent relationship between a
response and the changes in the environment that it produces
2. A reinforcer is any stimulus that, when made contingent on a response,
increases the probability of that response
a) A Positive Reinforcer is any stimulus that—when made
contingent on a behavior—increases the probability of that
behavior over time
b) A Negative Reinforcer is any stimulus that, when removed,
reduced, or prevented, increases the probability of a given
response over time
3. Operant Extinction occurs as reinforcement is withheld
4. A Punisher is any stimulus that—when it is made contingent on a
response—decreases the probability of that response over time.
a) A Positive Punisher is when a behavior is followed by the
delivery of an aversive stimulus
b) A Negative Punisher is when a behavior is followed by the
removal of an appetitive, or positive, stimulus
5. Punishment always reduces the probability of a response occurring
6. Reinforcement always increases the probability of a response occurring
7. Discriminative Stimuli, through their associations with reinforcement
or punishment, come to set the context for that behavior
8. The Three-Term Contingency is the sequence of discriminative stimulus–
behavior–consequence that Skinner believed could explain most human
behavior
9. Behavior analysts assume that behaviors, even apparently self-
destructive and irrational behaviors, persist because they are being
110
CHAPTER 7: LEARNING AND BEHAVIOR ANALYSIS
reinforced
10. Secondary gains are subtle reinforcers, such as attention, sympathy, or
release from responsibility, that reinforce behaviors that may have
obvious associated negative consequences
D. Properties of Reinforcers
1. Primary reinforcers, such as food and water, are reinforcers that are
biologically determined
2. Conditioned reinforcers are otherwise neutral stimuli that have, over
time, become associated with primary reinforcers. Money, grades,
smiles of approval, and gold stars can all act as conditioned
reinforcers.
a) Teachers and researchers often find conditioned reinforcers
more effective and easier to use than primary reinforcers
because:
(i) Few primary reinforcers are available in the classroom
(ii) Conditioned reinforcers can be dispensed rapidly
(iii) Conditioned reinforcers are portable
(iv) The reinforcing effect of conditioned reinforcers may be
more immediate
b) Token economies are contexts, such as psychiatric hospitals
and prisons, in which desired behaviors are explicitly defined
and in which tokens are given by staff for performance of
these behaviors. The tokens can later be redeemed for
privileges or goods.
c) The Premack Principle suggests that a more probable activity
can be used to reinforce a less probable one. According to the
Premack Principle, a reinforcer may be any event or activity
that is valued by the organism.
E. Schedules of Reinforcement
1. Reinforcers can be delivered according to either ratio or interval
schedules. Each of these schedules can be used with a fixed or variable
pattern of reinforcement.
2. The Partial Reinforcement Effect states that responses acquired under
schedules of partial reinforcement are more resistant to extinction than
those acquired with continuous reinforcement
3. In a Fixed-Ratio Schedule (FR), reinforcement comes after the organism
has emitted a fixed number of responses. FR schedules produce high
response rates because there is a direct correlation between
responding and reinforcement.
4. In a Variable-Ratio Schedule (VR), the average number of responses
between reinforcements remains constant, but the actual number of
responses between reinforcements varies around this average. VR
schedules produce the highest response rates and the greatest
resistance to extinction.
111
PSYCHOLOGY AND LIFE
5. In a Fixed-Interval Schedule (FI), reinforcement is delivered for the first
response made after a fixed period of time has elapsed. Response rates
under a FI schedule show a scalloped pattern. Immediately after
reinforcement, response rates are low, but, as the time interval nears
expiration, response rates increase.
6. In a Variable-Interval Schedule (VI), the average time interval between
reinforcements is predetermined. This schedule generates a moderate
but stable response rate.
F. Shaping
1. Shaping is a method of behavior modification in which successive
approximations to the desired behavior are reinforced. For shaping to
be effective, what constitutes progress toward the target behavior must
be defined, and differential reinforcement schedules must be used to
refine behavior.
2. Chaining is a technique used to teach sequences of actions. In
chaining, the last response of the sequence is reinforced first.
3. Each link in the behavior chain serves as a discriminative stimulus for
the next response line and as a conditioned reinforcer for the response
that immediately precedes it
IV. Biology and Learning
A. Biological constraints on learning are limitations on learning imposed by a species’ genetic
endowment
B. Instinctual Drift is the process by which learned behavior drifts toward instinctual
behavior. Instinctual Drift is understandable considering the species-specific tendencies
imposed by an inherited genotype.
C. Taste-Aversion Learning is a powerful type of teaming that is learned through only one
pairing of a CS (the flavor) and its consequences (the illness). Although the flavor did not
cause the illness, the flavor is associated with the UCS, perhaps a virus, which did cause
the illness.
1. Once taste-aversion learning has occurred, the organism will never
consume the flavor again
2. The time between the presentation of the CS and when the organism
becomes ill can be very long, 12 hours or more
3. Certain types of animals are biologically predisposed to learn certain
associations
4. Taste-aversion learning has practical aspects. For example, coyotes
can be taught through taste-aversion learning to despise sheep meat.
V.Cognitive Influences on Learning
A. Cognition is any mental activity involved in the representation and processing of
knowledge, such as thinking, remembering, perceiving, and talking
B. Animal Cognition
112
CHAPTER 7: LEARNING AND BEHAVIOR ANALYSIS
1. Researchers have demonstrated that it is not only classical and
operant conditioning that generalizes across species. Cognition, to
some extent, does as well.
2. Cognitive maps are internal representations of the physical
characteristics of the external environment. For rats, cognitive maps
may indicate where food is located in a maze. Spatial cognitive maps
can be used to:
a) Recognize and identify features in the environment
b) Find important goal objects in the environment
c) Plan an efficient route through the environment
3. Conceptual Behavior, the cognitive ability to make conceptual
distinctions and to generalize about new concepts and categories, is
found is some animals as well as in humans
C. Observational Learning
1. Observational, or social, learning refers to learning done vicariously. In
observational learning, an organism simply watches another perform
a behavior, notes the consequences, and modifies its own behavior
accordingly.
a) Vicarious reinforcement and vicarious punishment play a
large role in observational learning
b) Observational learning is not unique to humans
c) Research has well documented children’s tendency to imitate
adult models
d) A model’s observed behavior is most influential when:
(i) The behavior is seen as having reinforcing consequences
(ii) The model is liked, respected, and perceived positively
(iii) There are perceived similarities between the model and
the observer
(iv) The observer is rewarded for paying attention to the
model’s behavior
(v) The model’s behavior is visible and salient
(vi) It is within the observer’s range of competence to imitate
the behavior
e) Because of the violent nature of many television shows,
individuals may learn antisocial behavior simply by
observing it on television. Research suggests that there are
two major effects of filmed violence.
(i) Psychic numbing involves a reduction in both emotional
arousal and in distress at viewing violence
(ii) An increase in the likelihood of engaging in aggressive
behavior
f) Pro-social, as well as antisocial lessons, can be learned from
113
PSYCHOLOGY AND LIFE
television viewing.
114
CHAPTER 7: LEARNING AND BEHAVIOR ANALYSIS
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
1. Discuss how radical behaviorism, as proposed by Skinner, might be used to explain
cognitive development, because cognition is not an observable process and behaviorists
only studied observable processes.
2. What if a child’s behavior was followed by random events, instead of predictable
consequences?