Brief Lecture Notes for Unit 6
Learning can be defined as the (a) more or less permanent change in (b) behavioral potential (c) hat results from an individual's experience. Three parts of the definition are needed because (a) forgetting is possible (did you remember that?), (b) learning is not always manifested in outward behavior, (c) not all change is learning (e.g., genetic maturation).
When speaking of learning, behaviorists emphasize the notion of conditioning, or learning by association. These processes involve two different forms of behavior, respondent versus operant, which are most easily thought of as reflexive versus voluntary. In other words, a respondent behavior can be automatically elicited by presenting an appropriate stimulus, but an operant behavior must be spontaneously emitted. More on that below. For the purposes of this unit, emotions are viewed as respondents, though from the perspective of Unit 5 (mediated models of emotion), emotions aren't really reflex-like. (Why the discrepancy? Because behaviorists, by definition, view behavior in unmediated terms. Do you see why?)
On the exam, you will be expected to diagram and label conditioning processes in "story problem" type situations: click here for some practice problems along those lines. (The following material needs to be mastered before the story problems will make any sense!)
Respondent conditioning
a. Respondent acquisition
In respondent acquisition, an initially neutral stimulus (conditioned stimulus or CS) is paired with a second stimulus (unconditioned stimulus or US) which produces an unlearned reflexive response (unconditioned response or Ur). (Note the use of the small letter r to represent respondent behavior. We will reserve the capital letter R for operant behavior later on.) With repeated CS-US pairings, the CS alone will come to elicit the reflexive response (conditioned response or Cr) even when presented without the US. In extreme cases, even a single CS-US pairing can produce the Cr. For instance, a child who has no built-in fear of dogs (hence, a dog is a neutral stimulus or CS), if bitten (US) by a dog, may well develop a conditioned fear (Cr) of dogs from that point on.
b. Extinction and counterconditioning
Once learned, a Cr will generally persist indefinitely (the mere passage of time does not diminish the intensity of conditioned responses), but they can be eliminated in either of two ways. In extinction, the CS is repeatedly presented alone (without the US), gradually reducing the intensity or magnitude of the Cr. However, the extinction is initially more apparent than real, since the passage of time often makes the Cr recur (spontaneous recovery). Extinction works, but it is slow and inefficient; it is subject to spontaneous recovery; and a single CS-US pairing often restores the Cr to its full intensity. For this reason, the alternative approach of counterconditioning often works better. In counterconditioning, the CS is paired with a different US which elicits an incompatible response. For instance, opposite emotions (like relaxation and anxiety) are usually viewed as incompatible.
c. Generalization and discrimination
An automatic by-product of acquisition is generalization: if a Cr is learned in response to one CS, it will likely also automatically occur (though with lesser intensity) to similar stimuli that have not been paired with the US. (If you are in love with one person, others who look like him or her will likely also generate similar feelings, for instance.) The magnitude of the generalized response is a function of the perceived similarity between the original CS and the new stimulus (and thus this methodology can be used in perceptual research, see Unit 4). This tendency can be eliminated by means of discrimination, which is the simultaneous application of acquisition (to one stimulus) and extinction (to other similar stimuli).
Operant conditioning
a. Operant acquisition
Operant behaviors are spontaneous, not reflexive, so a different form of learning is involved. The basic concept is that of reward and punishment: if you want a given behavior to occur more frequently in the future, you follow it with a reward, but if you want it to happen less often in the future, you follow it with a punishment. Rewards and punishments are technically known as response consequences. From these facts, you can see three key differences between respondent and operant acquisition:
1. Respondents are reflexive (automatically elicited); operants are voluntary (spontaneously emitted).
2. In respondent conditioning, the eliciting stimulus comes first, then the elicited response, so the main behavior sequence is always: S -> r. In operant conditioning, the spontaneously emitted response comes first, then the response consequence, so the main behavior sequence is always: R -> S.
3. The goal of respondent conditioning is to change the intensity, strength, or magnitude of the response. But the goal of operant conditioning is to change the frequency, likelihood, or probability of the response.
Response consequences can be either unconditioned (you do not have to learn to find them rewarding or punishing) or conditioned (you do have to learn these properties). For instance, food is an unconditioned reward (babies are born liking to eat), but money is a conditioned reward (to a baby, there is nothing inherently rewarding about a $100 bill). Usually, you can think of unconditioned response consequences as being associated with viscerogenic motives, and conditioned response consequences with psychogenic motives (see Unit 5). We use the following (slightly less than logical) notation to refer to the four kinds of response consequences:
SR+ unconditioned reward
Sr+ conditioned reward
SR- unconditioned punishment
Sr- conditioned punishment
To jump-start the process of operant acquisition, it is often necessary to use the method of shaping (in which we reward successively closer approximations to the desired behavior). Do you see why shaping is entirely unnecessary in respondent acquisition?
b. Eliminating an undesirable operant behavior
There are four ways to eliminate an undesirable operant.
1. Extinction: failing to reward the behavior (simply ignoring it)
2. Counterconditioning: rewarding a different, incompatible behavior
3. Punishment: following the behavior with an aversive stimulus
4. Satiation: directly meeting the need that motivates the behavior
The first three of these processes can be diagrammed (see live lecture examples).
c. Generalization, discrimination, and chaining
Discrimination can occur with operant as well as with respondent behavior. A stimulus can precede the operant behavior as a signal that the response either will or will not be rewarded. These signals are known as discriminative stimuli. The following symbols are used:
SD reward indicator
SΔ nonreward indicator
Training a sequence of behaviors in order involves the process of chaining. Behavior chains are learned in reverse order. First, the last response is acquired. Then, it is keyed to a discriminative stimulus (SD) which then takes on reward properties (as an Sr+) for the next behavior to be learned. (See live lecture examples.) Do you see why the intermediate stimuli are Sr+'s and not SR+'s?
Diagramming (both respondent and operant processes)
Five general steps are involved in correctly diagramming a conditioning process.
1. Determine whether the example involves respondent or operant behavior.
2. Identify all stimuli and responses to be diagrammed.
3. Assign a symbol (from the 11 symbols possible: CS, US, Cr, Ur, R, SR+, Sr+, SR-, Sr-, SD, SΔ) to each element from step 2.
4. Assemble the symbols into a diagram.
5. Identify and label the process.
See the examples (click here, plus in-class examples).
De Bono's taxonomy of cognitive modes
People differ in terms of how they process and deal with information -- their so-called cognitive style. An influential model of cognitive style differences is that of Edward de Bono, who uses the rubric of "six thinking hats". A person who habitually relies on one or two of these cognitive modes ("hats") has a different cognitive style from a person who relies on some other combination of modes.
1. White Hat -- objective, factual, observationally based thinking; collecting data without making any attempt to filter, screen, or interpret it.
2. Red Hat -- emotional, subjective thinking; personal values or biases that do not (from the framework of this cognitive mode) have to be justified or explained.
3. Green Hat -- creative, intuitive, lateral thinking; thinking outside the box, brainstorming, using humor to stimulate ideas.
4. Yellow Hat -- logical/positive thinking; using analytical thought to identify what is good about an idea and to strengthen it further.
5. Black Hat -- logical/negative thinking; using analytical thought to engage in a rational critique or to find flaws or inconsistencies in an idea.
6. Blue Hat -- metacognition or "thinking about thinking"; mental control processes, or deciding which cognitive mode best applies to a situation, question, issue, problem, challenge, or task.
Note that we can attempt to categorize these different modes as more analytic/LH or more synthetic/RH, and also as evaluative/convergent (making a decision) vs. nonevaluative/divergent (collecting data or generating ideas without sifting and winnowing these in any way):
Which "Hats" are emphasized in contemporary American education? Why? What implications might this have?
Study Guide
1. What is learning? State a formal definition of learning and explain why all three parts of the definition are necessary and important.
2. Discuss the ladder of learning and its connection to reductionism.
3. What is habituation? Give some examples, proving that habituation is learning as defined above.
4. What is conditioning? How do two types of conditioning differ? State three ways that respondent and operant conditioning can be distinguished.
5. Explain, and be able to diagram and to recognize examples of, the 10 conditioning processes discussed in lecture.
6. What are four ways to eliminate an operant behavior? Which also work to eliminate respondent behaviors?
7. What is generalization? What role does it play in conditioning? What role does it play in perceptual research?
8. What is a response consequence? What are four types of response consequences, and how do they differ?
9. What is shaping? Why is shaping often necessary in operant acquisition? Why is it not necessary in respondent acquisition?
10. What are discriminative stimuli? What is their role in chaining?
11. Summarize De Bono's model of cognitive modes and cognitive style.