Behavior, Learning, Classical Conditioning

Behavior, Learning, Classical Conditioning

1. Behavior
Learning & Classical
Conditioning
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2. How do we learn behavior?
Learning: a relatively permanent change in behavior
brought about by experience.
Remember the nature vs.
nurture debate? Learning is
what results from nurturing.!
!
Behavior is not 100% the result of
nurture. For example, you might get
better at soccer as you grow older
not only because you have learned
to improve your skills, but also
because your body is becoming
physically stronger.

3. How do we learn behavior?
5 Approaches to Studying Behavior in Psychology
Biological Approach
Psychodynamic Approach
Behavioral Approach
Cognitive Approach
Humanistic Approach
So far, we’ve touched on!
the biological approach,!
and the cognitive!
approach.
For a review of the 5 approaches, view the
assignment called “Approaches to Psychology”

4. Biological/Neuroscience Approach
The Neuroscience perspective considers how people function
biologically, and how the functioning of the body shapes our
behavior, hopes, and fears.
Is psychopathic behavior due
to a malfunction of the brain?!
!
Is my friend’s irritable
behavior due to stress and
lack of sleep?
How do the genetic, medical, and neurological components of a
person affect behavior?

5. Cognitive Approach
How does sensation, perception, and our understanding of reality
affect our behavior?
Someone using drugs may not
process information well. This may
cause them to act in harmful ways.!
!
If I sense movement in the grass and I
perceive a threat, my behavior will
reflect these mental processes.!
The Cognitive perspective focuses on how people think,
understand, and know about the world. Cognitive theorists
believe that a person's difficulties often stem from false
perceptions of reality, and that people develop ideas of the world
and base their judgements upon these perceptions.

6. Behavioral Approach
How do rewards and punishments throughout a person’s life affect
their behavior?
We learn to associate certain acts with
the responses they produce… so if my
parents want me to stop sucking my
thumb, they can cover my thumb in
something that tastes bad! Thus, sucking
my thumb produces a negative response,
and I will eventually stop doing it.!
The Behavioral perspective focuses on observable behaviors that
can be measured objectively. Behaviorists believe that our behavior
is related to our environment, and we can modify behavior by
modifying the environment.

7. The Psychodynamic perspective is about understanding the inner
person. It is based on the theory that behavior is motivated by
inner forces and conflicts over which we have little awareness or
control.
Psychodynamic Approach
How do primal instincts, desires, and the experiences of early
childhood affect behavior?
Is the cruel behavior of a child
due to the fact that he was
raised by cruel parents?!
!
Does a hidden desire to cut up
bodies lead someone to
become a surgeon?!

8. Humanistic Approach
How does my own ambition and desire to be the best version of
myself affect my behavior?
The Humanistic perspective argues that what ultimately drives
human behavior is individual choice. All humans naturally strive to
grow, develop, and be in control of their own lives and behavior.
After I satisfy my basic
needs (like food and
safety), I can begin to
satisfy enriching needs
(like romance and social
prestige!)

9. Classical Conditioning
A type of learning in which a neutral stimulus comes
to bring about a response after it is paired with a
stimulus that naturally brings that response.
Neutral Stimulus:
This stimulus does not
naturally cause the subject
to respond in a certain way.!
!
!
Unconditioned Stimulus:
A stimulus that naturally (no
learning involved) causes a
particular response.!
!
!

10. The “Pavlov’s Dog” Experiment
In the 1890s, Russian scientist Ivan Pavlov was studying
aspects of the digestive process by observing salivation in
dogs, when he made the observation that dogs began to
salivate before the food arrived…for example, at the sight
of the food tray or sound of the assistant’s footsteps.
This work became the
foundation for classical
conditioning and the
behavioral approach to
psychology.

11. 1. Before Conditioning 2. Before Conditioning
3. During Conditioning 4. After Conditioning
Neutral !
Stimulus
Ear Movement!
(Unconditioned !
response unrelated !
to meat.)
Unconditioned !
Stimulus
Salivation!
(Unconditioned !
Response)
Salivation!
(Unconditioned !
Response)
Salivation!
(Conditioned !
Response)
Conditioned !
Stimulus

12. Classical Conditioning
Do you think you have been classically conditioned
to respond to anything in a certain way?
If I hear the sound of an alarm
clock, my body becomes tense
and my mood becomes unhappy. !
It’s not really the alarm that I
hate…it’s waking up!

13. Classical Conditioning
Another example: you need to get a series of shots. The
nurse always says, “this won’t hurt a bit” before giving you
the shots, but the nurse is inexperienced and always gives
really painful shots! Later before having your teeth
cleaned, the dentist says, “this won’t hurt a bit,” and it
causes you to experience feelings of terror.

14. Pair-Share:!
!
What do you think would
happen if a dog that had !
been classically conditioned
to salivate at the ringing of !
a bell never received food
again when the bell was !
rung? In other words, if !
you keep ringing the bell
without giving the dog food,
what will result?!
?

15. “Extinction”
When a previously conditioned response decreases
in frequency and eventually disappears.
Where is
my food?

16. Stimulus Generalization
After a stimulus has been conditioned to produce a
particular response, stimuli that are similar to the original
stimulus may produce the same response. The greater!
the similarity between two stimuli, the greater the
likelihood that stimulus generalization will occur.

17. Video

18. The “Little Albert Experiment”
In the 1920s, John B. Watson classically conditioned a
human baby to experience fear at the sight of white
rats, and as a result of stimulus generalization, at the
sight of other small furry animals.
He achieved this by
creating loud, painful
noises whenever
Albert touched the
rat. Albert began !
to associate small
animals with the
trauma of the noise.

19. Stimulus Generalization
The greater the similarity between two stimuli, the greater
the likelihood that stimulus generalization will occur.
Albert became afraid of
small furry animals.
The big black dog!
used in the !
experiment did!
not scare him.

20. Spontaneous Recovery
After a conditioned response becomes “extinct,” the
response can sometimes reemerge after a period of
time has passed with no further conditioning.
People often wondered if Little Albert might still occasionally experience
fear of animals as an adult…but sadly, he died of disease at age 6.

21. Note This!
Classical conditioning relates to involuntary,
automatic reactions we have to a stimulus. (These
are usually emotional and biological reactions).!
!
You cannot be classically conditioned to
perform a voluntary action (there is a !
different concept called operant conditioning
that refers to the ability to make us more or less
likely to perform a certain voluntary action).