Chapter 7 Learning Theories - Council 7, 8, & 9

Chapter 7
Learning Theories
How Do We Learn?

Classical Conditioning
Pavlov’s Experiments
Extending Pavlov’s Understanding
Pavlov’s Legacy
Operant Conditioning
Skinner’s Experiments
Extending Skinner’s Understanding
Skinner’s Legacy
Contrasting Classical & Operant Conditioning
Observational Learning
Bandura’s Experiments
Applications of Observational Learning


Definition
Learning (also known as, ________________) is a ________________________________ in an organism’s behavior due to ________________.

Council #7
What is your definition of learning? How have you proven to yourself you learned something? Please share an example.


Think about learning in the classroom. In what ways do you learn? Please share an experience that a specific way of learning actually helped you learn academic material.
Think about learning in the “real world.” Please share a real life experience that taught you a major lesson. What was the lesson about? Why was it important to retain/use?
Why is it important to you to retain information? How has this shown up to be useful in your personal relationships, at work, and at school?



How Do We Learn?
In ________________ Conditioning, we learn by ________________________________________________.

In ________________ Conditioning, we pair a ________________________________________________.

In ________________________________, individuals learn through ________________ others who receive rewards and punishments.

The Most Famous 
Classical Conditioning
Experiment

Ideas of classical conditioning originate from old philosophical theories.  However, it was the ________________________________ who elucidated classical conditioning. His work provided a basis for later behaviorists like ________________.

Let’s Take a Look at 
Classical Conditioning
Pavlov’s Discovery of Classical Conditioning (3:08)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CpoLxEN54ho


Easier Ways to Remember
 New Terms
“________________” = ________________
“________________” = ________________/innate
“________________” = Learned

“Stimulus” = ________________

“Neutral” = Not causing or reflecting ________________

Pavlov’s Experiments
Famous Classical Conditioning Experiment: Little Albert
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xt0ucxOrPQE

Classical Conditioning Group Discussion:

Identify the:
Unconditioned Stimulus (US)
Unconditioned Response (UR)
Conditioned Stimulus (CS)
Conditioned Response (CR)
1)  It is springtime and the pollen from the flowers causes you to sneeze.  Soon you are sneezing every time you see a flower.
2) The sight of food makes you hungry.  Soon every time you go into the kitchen, you feel hungry.
3) Every time you take a shower, someone in the house flushes the toilet causing the water to turn cold and you to become cold.  Now every time you hear a toilet flush, you get cold.


Classical Conditioning Also Affects ________________!- How?
1. Sharp objects             27. Being with drunks
2. Being a passenger in a car         28. Illness or injury to loved one
3. Dead bodies             29. Being self-conscious
4. Suffocating             30. Driving a car
5. Failing a test             31. Meeting authority
6. Looking foolish             32. Mental illness
7. Being a passenger in an airplane     33. Closed places
8. Worms             34. Boating
9. Arguing with parents         35. Spiders
10. Rats and mice             36. Thunderstorms
11. Life after death         37. Not being a success
12. Hypodermic needles         38. God
13. Being criticized         39. Snakes
14. Meeting someone for the first time     40. Cemeteries
15. Roller coasters             41. Speaking before a group
16. Being alone             42. Seeing a fight
17. Making mistakes         43. Death of a loved one
18. Being misunderstood         44. Dark places
19. Death             45. Strange dogs
20. Being in a fight         46. Deep water
21. Crowded places         47. Being with a member of the opposite sex
22. Blood            48. Stinging insects
23. Heights             49. Untimely or early death
24. Being a leader             50. Losing a job
25. Swimming alone         51. Auto accidents
26. Illness

Stimulus ________________
Tendency to respond ________________________________ is called generalization.

Stimulus ________________
Discrimination is the ________________________________ between a conditioned stimulus and ________________ that do not signal an unconditioned stimulus.

Council #8
Has your definition of learning changed? Now, what do you believe it means to have learned something? Share an example of a lesson you learned, and explain how you believe you have learned to keep this lesson with you today.


What is 1 type of Classical Conditioning that you have experienced? What was the learned behavior (conditioned response)? How did you learn this new behavior (what was the neutral stimulus, ucs and ucr)? How does this behavior affect your emotional state?

Did you ever unlearn this behavior? If so, how did you unlearn it? Please explain.

Share a story of when you experience stimulus generalization

Share a story of when you experience stimulus discrimination



One of the largest contributions to our understanding of Operant Conditioning: 
________________ Operant Chamber
Skinner developed the Operant chamber, or the ________________, to study operant conditioning.
Operant Chamber
The operant chamber, or Skinner box, comes with a bar or key ________________________________________________ like food or water. The bar or key is connected to devices that record the ________________.

Shaping: One type of 
Operant Conditioning

________________ the operant conditioning procedure in which reinforcers guide behavior towards the desired target behavior through ________________________________.

Operant Conditioning Involves Reinforcers

Reinforcement: Any event that ________________ the behavior ________________.
Remember that a positive reinforcer ________________ something

Negative reinforcers ________________ something.
Negative Reinforcement Exercise
Identify the aversive (unpleasant) stimulus and the behavior being strengthened by its removal.

1. Taking aspirin to relieve a headache.
2. Hurrying home in the winter to get out of the cold.
3. Giving in to a dog’s begging.
4. Fanning oneself to escape the heat.
5. Leaving a movie theater if the movie is bad.
6. Smoking in order to relieve anxiety.
7. Following prison rules in order to be released from confinement.
8. Feigning a stomachache in order to avoid school.
9. Putting on a car safety belt to stop an irritating buzz.
10. Turning down the volume of a very loud radio.
11. Putting up an umbrella to escape the rain.

Other types of reinforcers include:
Primary & Conditioned Reinforcers
________________ Reinforcer: An innately reinforcing stimulus like ________________.

________________ Reinforcer: A ________________that gets its reinforcing power through association with the primary reinforcer.
Punishment
Results in ________________.
Justifies ________________________________.
Causes ________________ to reappear in its absence.
Causes ________________ towards the agent.
Causes one unwanted behavior to appear in ____________________________.


In children, ________________________________________________ the occurrence of these behaviors.

Operant Conditioning Applied To Your Life:
________________________________________________

Identify a behavior that you want to either increase or decrease in your life.
How will you measure your progress on this behavior?
What are some positive reinforcers you can provide yourself to change the behavior? On what schedule will you administer these reinforcers?
How will you monitor and record your progress toward changing the behavior?


Observational Learning
Learning by ________________
Higher animals, especially humans, learn through ________________________________ others.

The monkey on the right ________________ the monkey on the left in touching the pictures in a certain order to obtain a reward.
Mirror Neurons
Neuroscientists discovered ________________ in the brains of animals and humans that are active during observational learning. 
When a monkey ________________ such as grasping, holding or tearing, these neurons fire. But they also fire when the ________________ another monkey performing the same task.
Imitation Onset
Learning by observation begins early in life. This ________________ the adult on TV in pulling a toy apart.

Bandura's Experiments
Bandura's________________ (1961) indicated that individuals (children) learn through imitating others who receive ________________________________.

Applications of Observational Learning
Unfortunately, Bandura’s studies show that antisocial models (family, neighborhood or TV) may have ________________________________.

Positive Observational Learning
Fortunately, ________________________________ models may have prosocial effects.
Television and Observational Learning
Gentile et al., (2004) shows that children in elementary school who are exposed to violent television, videos, and video games express ________________ aggression.

Modeling Violence
Research shows that viewing media violence ________________________________ of aggression.

Council #9
Think of a time when you were punished by a parent, friend, or significant other. Share this experience with your group, and express what your thoughts were during and after the punishment.


How did you respond to being punished? What actions did you have towards your punisher.

We discussed Operant Conditioning, where learning occurs from the consequences of your behavior. Think of a time you learned an important lesson (family, friends, work, or academic), and you were positive reinforced (rewarded). What was the positive reinforcement? Discuss what you learned, and if/how the positive reinforcement (increased your likelihood of applying your lesson in the future).

Think of a time when you experienced negative reinforcement (your behavior is reinforced by removing a negative event). What was the negative reinforcement? Share this experience with your group.

Think of a time you learned through observing others (modeling). Share this experience with your group.

Lastly, when interacting with people/children, what type learning techniques would you use to help someone learn. Explain your answer.




Video Clip
Do Video Games Teach People to Be Violent? (4:30)

http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=678389n&tag=api
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2005/03/04/60minutes/main678261.shtml