Basic Learning Processes

Robert C. Kennedy, PhD

University of Central Florida
robert.kennedy@ucf.edu
 9/14/15 Plan
• Chapter 1 & 2 Discussion
• Schedule Update
• Article Critique Instructions
 Week Materials/Chapters Covered
8/24/2015 Course Introduction
8/31/2015 Ch 1 Introduction: Learning to Change
9/7/2015 Labor Day, No Class
Ch 1 Introduction: Learning to Change
9/14/2015
Ch 2 The Study of Learning and Behavior
No Class, but work on Ch 3 Pavlovian Conditioning and Article Critique on Pavlovian
9/21/2015
Conditioning
9/28/2015 Ch 3 Pavlovian Conditioning
Ch 4 Pavlovian Applications
10/5/2015
Exam 1
10/12/2015 Ch 5 Operant Learning: Reinforcement
10/19/2015 Ch 6 Reinforcement Beyond Habit
10/26/2015 Ch 7 Schedules of Reinforcement
Ch 8 Operant Learning: Punishment
11/2/2015
Exam 2
11/9/2015 Ch 9 Operant Applications
11/16/2015 Ch 10 Observational Learning
11/23/2015 Ch 11 Generalization, Discrimination, and Stimulus Control
11/30/2015 Ch 12 Forgetting
12/7/2015 Ch 13 The Limits to Learning
12/14/2015 Exam 3
 Chapter 1
Learning to Change
 Chapter 1 Vocabulary
• Behavior: Anything an organism does that can be measured.
This definition does not exclude thinking and feeling, but in
practice the term usually refers to publicly observable
behavior.
• General behavior trait: Any general behavioral tendency that is
strongly influenced by genes. Examples include introversion
and general anxiety. GBTs are more variable than FAPs and are
not dependent on a releasing stimulus.
• Habituation: A decrease in the intensity or probability of a
reflex response resulting from repeated exposure to a stimulus
that elicits that response.
 Chapter 1 Vocabulary
• Hybridization: The cross-breeding of closely related species.
This is a way in which species can adapt to changes in their
environments.
• Learning: A change in behavior due to experience.
– Some suggest it is a “relatively enduring change” in behavior, though there is
continued debate on this issue
– Others suggest learning is due to “certain kinds of experience.”
– Still others suggest it is change in the potential for behavior
 Chapter 1 Vocabulary
• Modal action pattern: Any largely inherited series of
interrelated acts, usually elicited by a particular
stimulus (the releaser); formerly called instinct.
• Mutation: Any change in a gene. When the mutation
occurs in a reproductive cell, the mutation may be
passed on to offspring. The term mutation may seem to
have a negative connotation (film monsters are
sometimes mutants), but from the standpoint of
science mutation is a neutral term.
• Natural selection: The tendency for characteristics that
contribute to the survival of a species to persist, and for
those that do not to disappear.
 Chapter 1 Vocabulary
• Reflex: A relationship between a specific event and a simple
response to that event. It may be worth emphasizing that
the term reflex refers to the relationship, not to the
response, per se. The patellar reflex is not the knee jerk
itself, but the relation between the blow to the patellar
tendon and the movement of the foot.
• Releaser: Any event that reliably elicits a fixed action
pattern. The light from which the cockroach runs is a
releaser.
• Stimulus: Any environmental event that affects, or is
capable of affecting, behavior. One could argue that an
event is not truly a stimulus until it affects behavior.
 Constancy of Change
• Learning is a means of coping with change
• Our environments are constantly changing.
• Change is really the only constant!
 Natural Selection
• Evolution does not imply an intelligent agent
• Richard Dawkins, in The Blind Watchmaker, uses an
analogy of the segregation of stones on a beach
showing how complex ends can be achieved through
simple natural forces
• Regardless, we can account for natural phenomena
(including evolution and learning) using science.
 Natural Selection
• Belief in evolution is not necessarily incompatible
with belief in god.
• While most scientists, including biologists and
behavior scientists, probably are not religious
fundamentalists, many do believe in god.
 Evolution
• Many see evolution as involving physical
characteristics
• Behavior is also partly the product of evolution
• Reflex responses are the behaviors that are
modified by habituation and classical
conditioning.
• Modal action patterns sometimes very complex,
so the idea that behavior is not learned is a little
tricky
 Natural Selection Limits
• Read Lee Cronk’s article, Old Dogs, Old Tricks
discusses how evolved behavior can fail to meet
needs of current environments.
• Darwin`s development of natural selection was
itself the product of a kind of slow evolution.
• Mutations can play a role in evolution.
– Vast majority of mutations are harmful or of no
consequence
– Evolution is a play in which a single act may last
millions of years.
 Natural Selection Limits
• “…evolution is grossly inefficient: as long as
organisms survive and propagate, evolution does
not make much difference in what else happens”
(Fancher, 1992, p. 4)
• Natural selection selects one characteristic over
another only if one leads to an increased
tendency to produce offspring that survive.
• People who reject evolution often do so because
they fail to appreciate the gradualness of the
process.
 Evolved Modifiability
• Learning is evolved modifiability, a biological
mechanism that is the result of natural selection
• Animals have evolved learning (along with
reflexes, fixed action patterns, and general
behavior traits) a special mechanism for coping
with change
• Learning is relatively straight forward as a
mechanism involved with animal training
classroom skill or knowledge acquisition
 Evolved Modifiability
• A little more challenging to suggest that what we
are as a species and who we are as individuals is
largely the product of learning
• The idea that experience shapes behavior also
wreaks havoc with traditional notions of
responsibility, guilt, and innocence.
• This new approach to behavior actually increases
autonomy and holds the promise of improving
our effectiveness.
 Habituation
• Habituation provides a soft introduction to the
scientific approach to learning.
• Focuses on changes in behavior due to
experience.
• Since habituation occurs as a result of repetition,
might seem like learning is not due to
environmental changes
• However, repetition of an event is a change in the
environment
 Nature vs. Nurture
• Many recognize the existence of both influences
• But they are interdependent
• Chance suggests that they don’t share influence
but they both interact completely
 Chapter 2
The Study of Learning and Behavior
 Chapter 2 Vocabulary
• ABA reversal design: A type of within-subject experiment where behavior is
observed before (A) and after (B) an experimental manipulation. The original
(A) condition is restored, sometimes followed again by the experimental (B)
condition.
• Anecdotal evidence: First- or secondhand reports of personal experience.
• Aversives: Any stimuli an animal or person will avoid, given the opportunity to
do so.
• Baseline period: In a within-subject experiment, a period of observation
(often designated “A”) during which no attempt is made to modify the
behavior under study. The notion that the baseline period provides a basis for
comparison should be stressed.
• Between-subjects experiment: An experimental design in which the
independent variable is made to vary across two or more groups of subjects.
Also called between-treatment or group design.
 Chapter 2 Vocabulary
• Case study: Detailed study and description of a single case. Usually used in
clinical settings.
• Control group: In a between-subjects experiment, those subjects not exposed
to the independent variable.
• Cumulative record: A graphic record of behavior, each point of which reflects
the total number of times the behavior has been performed as of that time.
• Dependent variable: The variable by which the outcome of an experiment is
measured. It is expected to vary with (to depend on) the independent
variable.
• Descriptive study: A study in which the researcher attempts to describe a
group by obtaining data from its members.
• Experiment: A research design in which the researcher measures the effects
of one or more independent variables on one or more dependent variables.
 Chapter 2 Vocabulary
• Experimental group: In a between-subjects experiment, those subjects exposed to the
independent variable.
• Fluency: A measure of learning consisting of the number of correct responses per
minute.
• Independent variable: In an experiment, the variable that the researcher controls. The
independent variable is usually expected to affect the dependent variable.
• Matched sampling: A procedure for reducing extraneous differences among subjects in
between-subjects experiments, by matching those in the experimental and control
groups on specified characteristics, such as age, sex, and weight.
• Within-subject experiment: A research design in which the independent variable is
made to vary at different times for the same subject. Each subject acts as both
experimental and control subject. Some people prefer the terms single-subject or
single case experiment.
• Topography. The form a behavior takes.
 Natural Science
• Most theories of learning assume that behavior is caused
and causes are natural phenomena (not mind or will)
• This is a philosophical concept
• But assumptions are necessary for science
• Many scientists (and psychology students) have
fundamentalist religious views, yet take the natural science
approach in their research
• We must adopt the assumptions of science just as we
adopt assumptions with religion. With religion, we refer to
the concept of assumptions as faith!
 Measurement
• Measuring learning requires measurement of behavior (and their changes)
• Changes in behavior do not always involve the acquisition of new forms of
behavior.
• Many approaches; here are a few
– Errors
– Topography
– Intensity
– Speed
– Latency
– Rate
– Fluency
 Sources of Data
• There are numerous approaches to gathering data on human behavior and
learning each with strengths and limitations
– Anecdotes
– Case studies
– Descriptive studies
– Experiments and experiments all have value, but each have limitations.
• Statistics are useful in interpreting data, but they do not compensate for
methodological weakness.
• Validity
• Threats to Validity
• Read the following for a summary (you will use in some of your written
assignments)

Parker, R (1993). Threats to the validity of research. Rehabilitation Counseling

Bulletin, 36, 130-138.
 Animal Research and Human Learning
• Some animal and human research can cause
stress and or harm to participants
• This course will include numerous studies
which have resulted in harming and
sometimes destroying animals
• Is this wrong?
– Consequentialism
– Deontelogicalism
• Look them up!
 Article Critique on Pavlovian Conditioning
• Write a 3 page paper in APA format (5 pages counting cover
page and reference page) critiquing a peer reviewed
journal article addressing current research in the area or a
related area of Pavlovian Conditioning. The following will
outline specific requirements.
• Requirements:
• 5 Page paper including 1 Title page 3 pages of writing,
double spaced, 1 reference page.
• Find a peer reviewed journal article from the UCF Library
either electronically or face-to-face. The article must be at
least 10 pages long. Read the article/source and write the
paper in a Word or PDF document for uploading into
Webcourses.
 Article Critique on Pavlovian Conditioning (continued)
• The paper will be worth 10 points broken down
as follows:
– Format/Grammar (1 point). Examples include the
following
• Compliance w/ APA Publication Guide
• Title and reference page
• Proper headings
• 3 Main Headings: Introduction, Specific Findings, Closing
• 4 Sub-headings in the Specific Findings section (see below)
• 1” Margins
• Grammar and punctuation
 Article Critique on Pavlovian Conditioning
• Introduction (1.5 point / 1 paragraph)
– Describe the purpose of the study
– Explain the relevance of the article
• Specific Findings (6 points/ 1 for Design, 1 for Results,
2 for Strengths, 2 for Limitations)
– Design:
• describe the design of the article
• describe methods
• describe measures/ instrumentation
– Results:
• summary of the results and conclusions
• If the paper is a discussion paper; describe the discussion
• Include the main points that support the evidence
 Article Critique on Pavlovian Conditioning
• Specific Findings (continued)
– Strengths: describe at least 2 strengths of the article
– Limitations:
• describe at least 2 limitations.
• Identify which type of validity is threatened (Construct,
Internal, External; use Parker, 1993)
• Discuss the specific threat to validity
• Closing (1.5 point / 1 paragraph)
– Summarize your review
– What was learned from the article
– Final judgment on the usefulness of the article
 What’s Next
• Next week (9/21) NO CLASS
– Complete the reading for chapter 3
– Complete the Article Critique by 9/25, 11:59pm
• 9/28 lecture
– Be prepared to discuss Chapter 3
– Practice and Graded quizzes for 3 and 4 will be up tonight
– Complete the practice quiz for chapter 3
– Graded quizzes will be due on Tuesday nights after the
discussion on Monday
 Week Materials/Chapters Covered
8/24/2015 Course Introduction
8/31/2015 Ch 1 Introduction: Learning to Change
9/7/2015 Labor Day, No Class
Ch 1 Introduction: Learning to Change
9/14/2015
Ch 2 The Study of Learning and Behavior
No Class, but work on Ch 3 Pavlovian Conditioning and Article Critique on Pavlovian
9/21/2015
Conditioning
9/28/2015 Ch 3 Pavlovian Conditioning
Ch 4 Pavlovian Applications
10/5/2015
Exam 1
10/12/2015 Ch 5 Operant Learning: Reinforcement
10/19/2015 Ch 6 Reinforcement Beyond Habit
10/26/2015 Ch 7 Schedules of Reinforcement
Ch 8 Operant Learning: Punishment
11/2/2015
Exam 2
11/9/2015 Ch 9 Operant Applications
11/16/2015 Ch 10 Observational Learning
11/23/2015 Ch 11 Generalization, Discrimination, and Stimulus Control
11/30/2015 Ch 12 Forgetting
12/7/2015 Ch 13 The Limits to Learning
12/14/2015 Exam 3