Behavioural

Views of
Learning
ANTHROPOLOGY
Mariana Billotto
5th Bachillerato
Colegio Seminario
What is Learning?
Process through which
experience causes permanent
change in knowledge or
behaviour.
(Woolfolk, 2013)
Outcome of learning:
change in behaviour.
Emphasises:
External events on the individual.
Learning can be observed through
behaviour.
Early explanations of Learning
Aristotle (384-322 BC)
› Weremember things together
› When they are similar,
› When they contrast, and
› When they are contiguous.

The last one being used in explanations

of learning by association.
› ThePrinciple of Contiguity:
Whenever two or more sensations
occur together often enough, they will
become associated.
Later, when only one of the sensations
appears (stimulus), the other one will be
remembered too (response).
 Classical Conditioning
›  Focuses on the learning of involuntary
emotional or physiological responses (fear,
increased heartbeat, sweating, salivation,
etc.). They are automatic to stimuli.
›  Humans and animals can react to stimuli
which previously had no, or a different, effect
on them.
›  The stimulus elicits an automatic response.

›  Ivan
Pavlov in the 1920’s (Russian
physiologist).

How long it took a dog to secrete digestive juices

after he had been fed.
How long does it take for a dog to salivate after being fed?

1.  Salivates in the expected way.

2.  Salivates as soon as it sees the food.
3.  Salivates as soon as it sees the scientist enter the room.
4.  Salivates when it hears the scientist’s footsteps.
5.  Salivates when it sees the white coats of scientists.

1.  Sounds a bell (neutral stimulus). No salivation.

2.  Feeding the dog. The dog salivates. Food: unconditioned
stimulus. Salivation: unconditioned response.
3.  Contiguous pairing: bell and food.
4.  After several repetitions: the dog started to salivate
immediately after hearing the bell, before receiving the food.
Bell: conditioned stimulus. Salivation: conditioned response.
Processes of Classical Conditioning
›  Generalisation:
the conditioned response of
salivating happened in the presence of similar
stimuli.
›  Discrimination:
conditioned response
appeared only with one type of sound.
›  Extinction:
conditioned stimulus is presented
without the unconditioned stimulus (food). The
conditioned response fades away and
disappears.
 Operant Conditioning
›  Not all learning is involuntary.
›  Learning is emitted or voluntarily enacted.
›  People actively “operate” on their
environment to produce different kinds of
consequences. Deliberate actions called
operants.
›  Learning process involved: operant
conditioning. We learn to behave in certain
ways as we operate on the environment.
 Thorndike (1913)
›  The Law of Effect:
›  Cats in problem boxes. Food outside.
›  To escape from the box and reach the food the
cats had to perform a task – act on environment.
›  Eventually they got the right movement to
escape. (by accident)
›  Repeating of process – doing what was correct.
Obtaining the food.
“Any act that produces a satisfying effect in a
given situation will tend to be repeated in that
situation.” Woolfolk, 1998.
 B.F. Skinner (1953)
›  Although Thorndike established the basis
for Operant Conditioning, Skinner is
responsible for developing the concept.
›  Classical Conditioning accounts for only
a small portion of learnt behaviours.
›  Classical Conditioning does not explain
how new operant behaviours are
acquired.
 ABC
›  Conceptually,
behaviour is between two sets of
environmental influences:
those that precede it (antecedents) and those that
follow it (consequences).
Antecedent Behaviour Consequence
›  As
behaviour is ongoing, a given consequence
can be the new antecedent.
Types of Consequences
›  Consequences determine in a great
extent whether a person will repeat the
behaviour.
›  Type and time – strengthen or weaken
behaviours. Reinforcement or Punishment.
Reinforcement
›  AReinforcer is any consequence that
strengthens the behaviour it follows.
Reinforced behaviours increase in
frequency and duration.
CONSEQUENCE EFFECT
Why do reinforcements work?
›  Satisfyneeds.
›  Reduce tension.
›  Stimulate a part of the brain.
›  Depends on individual’s perceptions and
the meaning they have for him or her.

Example: sending kids to the headmistress

office.
Two types:
›  Positive: strengthening the behaviour by
presenting a desired stimulus after the
behaviour.
Example: wearing a new outfit producing
many compliments, falling out of your chair
producing laughter and cheer from
classmates.
›  Negative: strengthening the behaviour by
removing an aversive stimulus.
Example: students that continuously get sick
right before a test and are sent home.
Punishment
›  Often confused with negative
reinforcement.
›  Involves decreasing or suppressing
behaviour.
›  A behaviour followed by a punisher is less
likely to be repeated in similar situations in
the future.
Different types of punishment:
›  Type I punishment or Presentation Punishment:
Decreasing the chances that a behaviour will
occur again by presenting an aversive stimulus
following the behaviour.
Example: extra work, running laps, etc..
›  Type II punishment or removal punishment:
Decreasing the chances that a behaviour will
occur again by removing a pleasant stimulus
following the behaviour.
Example: take away privileges.
›  Continuous reinforcement schedule: People will
learn faster if they are reinforced for every correct
response.
When they have mastered the new behaviour they
will maintain it if
›  Intermittent reinforcement schedule is applied:
presenting reinforcer after some but not all
responses.
›  Intervalschedule: based on the amount of time that
passes between reinforcers.
›  Ratio schedule: based on the number of responses
learners give between reinforcers.
They can both be fixed (predictible) or variable
(unpredictable).
Extinction
›  In
operant conditioning a behaviour
will not persist if the usual reinforcer is
withheld. It will disappear.
Example: tantrums in children, not
paying attention.
 Antecedents
The events preceding behaviours give us information
about what behaviours will lead to positive or
negative consequences.
Skinner’s pigeons learnt to peck for food when a light
was on, but not to bother when the light was off (no
food).
They used the antecedent light as a cue to
discriminate the likely consequence of pecking.
Their pecking was under stimulus control – capacity
for the presence or absence of antecedents to
cause behaviour. They discriminate. We are talking
about voluntary behaviour and not reflexes.
›  Teachers can use cues deliberately in the
classrooms.
›  Cueing: providing a stimulus that sets up a
desirable behaviour.
Being judgmental, is it a good tool?
›  Prompting: helping to understand a cue, so
the person reacts to the cue.
Example: Peer-tutoring checklist. The more they
do it, the more proficient they become in the
behaviour you want them to present. Working
in pairs is the cue, the checklist is the promt.