Learning

Learning

1. Other applications of Conditioning Procedures

   • Aversion Therapy
     • this is another way that classical conditioing has been useful. some therapists believe that behaviour problems result from faulty learning so that behaviour can be unlearnt
     • aim is to get the patient to develop an extremely negative reaction to the drug or alcohol using vomiting reflex
     • this works because the emetic is specially designed so that it only produces produces the vomiting reflex when the patient drinks alcohol. the patient's desire for alcohol decreases and the addiction can be overcome. the emetic makes the person sick immediately when they swallow the alcohol
       • although the therapy can be successful itself, therapists believe that it is more effective for aversion therapy to be used along with other support. this means helping the person to stay away from the situations where they used to spend time drinking
     • it is used for some individuals who have serious behavioural problems. it can be extremely unpleasant. although people find that their addiction is reduced, unless they have additional support, they are likely to go back to their addiction, especially with younger poeple.
   • Token Economy Programmes
     • psychologists call a reinforcer like food a PRIMARY REINFORCER. If a reinforcer can be exchanged for something else, it is a SECONDARY REINFORCEMENT.
       • Token economy programmes have been set up in hospitals to reward socially acceptable behaviour. every time the person produces an appropriate behaviour, they IMMEDIATELY are given a token. they can be used to pay for activities like watching TV.
     • Evaluation
       • they have produced improvements in the behaviour and self -care of patients.
       • critics say people focus on the reward rather than improving their behaviour.
       • the improved behaviour may not remain in the outside world
       • if the reward is not immediate, the association between reward and action is lost.
       • there are many peiople who do not agree that behaviour should be manipulated or changed

2. Classical Conditioning

   • Pavlov noticed that when the dog he was studying heard food buckets, it started to salivate. he knew that salivation is a reflex response - an automatic response that should usally occur when food is in its mouth. Pavlov realised the dog learnt to salivate to a new event (food buckets)
     • This encouraged him to investigate whether dogs could learn to salivate to other events
       • a seriesof trials were set up over the nex few days. each time the dog was fed, a bell was rung for a few seconds and amount of saliva measured. then the bell was rung and no food was given. after measuring the amount of saliva, it was the same as when no food was given.
         • Parts of his procedure were given special names.
           • Unconditioned - to show that something is unlearned
           • Conditioned - something is learned.
         • after these initial tests, he discovered that if he contined to ring the bell without giving the dog any food, it stopped salivating - EXTINCTION.
         • if the tone of the bell was changed, the dog would still salivate - GENERALISATION as animal widened its learned response
         • then after a while it hadn't been rng, Pavlov suddenly rung the bell and the dog would immediately salivate - SPONTANEOUS RECOVERY
   • the procedure of classical conditioning demonstrates a special kind of learning - learning by association
   • he rang bells with different tones but only presented food with one bell. the dog stopped salivating at other bells and only salivated at the bell associated with the food. - DISCRIMINATION
   • Evaluation of W&R study
     • unethical as it was a small child
     • can't be generalised as it only involves one child
   • Practical Applications of Classical Conditioning
     • Advertising agencies may use this to make the audience make a positive connection between the person and the brand they are trying to sell. they want the audiencve to associate the nice/attractive person with the brand they are selling

3. Operant Conditioning

   • This is basically learning that takes place as a consequence of behaviour through positive or negative reinforcement
   • Law of Effect
     • this type of learning was investigated by Thorndike during his studies of the problem solving abilities of animals. he designed a puzzle box into which he would place a cat.
       • the task for the cat was to escape. inside the box , there was a loop and if this was pulled they latch would open.
         • the cat that was placed in a puzzle box would learn to pull a string to escape from the box. when it was first placed in the box, it moved about and byy accident pulled the latch. after about 20 trials, the cat learnt to escape from the boxby trial and error learning. it was the pleasnt consequence of escaping that encouraged the cat to pull the string rather than produce any other behaviours.
   • Reniforcement
     • He introduced the idea of reinforcement to the Law of Effect. B F Skinner said that all behaviour is learnt from the consequences of that behaviour
       • it is called operant conditioning because the animal or human produces a behaviour that is voluntary - it operates on the environment. consequnec of the behaviour will either increse or decrese the likelihood of the behaviour being repeated.
         • much of Skinner's work involved the Skinner Box. He would place a hungry rat in the box which would produce a variety of actions like sniffing and exploring. by accident, it would press the lever and a pellet of food would drop. every time the lever was pressed, the behaviour of lever pressing was positively reinforced by a food pellet
           • sometimes there was an electric shock through the floor of the skinner box. when the rat passed the lever, the shock would switch off - negative reinforcement
             • punishment is different from reinforcement. it doesn't encourage the desired behaviour - it just stops unwanted behaviour.
           • Reinforcement can be used to teach complex behaviours in animals and humans - behaviour shaping. in this procedure, the task isbroken down into small pieces. for a pigeon playing ping-pong, these steps may include moving towards the ball, touching ball with beak, hitting the ball and then hitting it to another pigeon. the trainer reinforces the pigeon for moving towards the ball so it will be given some grain for moving in the right direction towards the ball.
             • over the conditioning trials, the behaviour is shaped so that the whole sequence is produced for one road at the end.
       • negative reinforcement
         • when an unpleasant experience is removed after a behaviour or action has been made. this increases the likelihood of that behaviour/action being repeated
       • positive reinforcement
         • a reward or pleasant consequence that increases the likelihood that a behaviour or action will be repeated

4. Applications of Conditioning Procedures

   • Flooding
     • in this treatment, the person is exposed repeatedly and rapidly to the thing they fear - flooded with thoughts and experiences. it means that someone with a fear of spiders have to imagine a spider and perhaps visualise it and then would have a spider in their hand.
       • the person has to learn the connection between the stimulus and a fear response. most people with a phobia would want to run away/avoid object. FLOODING PREVENTS ESCAPE. Instead people learn that their anxiety levels start to drop the more times they are exposed to their fears. FLOODING removes the phobia when they realise they are not in danger
     • ethical implications - person loses their right to withdraw. for the treatmnet to work they have to stay. also, it can be a STRESSFUL procedure - the psychologist has to judge how much distress the person should undergo before stopping
   • systematic desensiation
     • people cannot be anxious and relaxed at the same time
     • the person with a phobia cannot be afraid and relaxed so the fear response is replaced by feeling relaxed instead.
       • 1) the person with the phobia is told to relax - listening to music and relaxing muscles.
         • 2)the person and the therapist construct a hierarchy of fears. that contains the things they are afraid of in order from least frightening to most frightening
           • 3) the person relaxes and then gradually works through the hierarchy of fears, relaxing after each feared even is presented. the person only moves up the hierarchy if they have been relaxed at the previous stage. the final stage is to be relaxed at the most frightening event.
     • practical applications
       • treating a fear of balloons: the person is taught to relax, breathing deeply and calmly. then, the person constructs a hierarchy of fears in 5 stages. 1..the word BALLOON. 2.. the squeaky sound of balloons. 3..a picture of a balloon. 4.. real balloon. 5..holding a balloon. person must be relaxed at the first stage.
       • ethical implications
         • this treatment is used when the therapist believes that flooding is too stressful.. people can withdraw if they wish. there is no deception because the person knows exactly what happens
         • takes longer than flooding to remove a phobia but also, it is an effective treatment. costs more as there are more sessions of therapy. it is much less anxiety-arousing and much less stressful.

5. Learning: A relatively permenant change in behaviour due to experience