4PAHPDFF Psychology and the Individual Week 6
BSc Psychology Year 1 Learning and Social Learning Theory
LEARNING AND SOCIAL LEARNING
THEORY
EXPLAIN WHAT LEARNING IS. DISCUSS HOW ASSOCIATIVE
LEARNING APPLIES TO REAL LIFE SCENARIOS.
A persistent change in possible behaviours that is a result of specific experiences
INNATE BEHAVIOURS
• Innate behaviours (e.g. reflexes and instincts) differ from the process of learning behaviour
o Learned behaviours require experience unlike innate behaviours
• These are behaviours that animals are born with and tend to be advantageous
o Reflexes are a motor response to an external stimulus
o Instincts are innate behaviours in response to more complex scenarios or stimuli
Associative Learning
• The simplest type of learning that occurs when we make connections between an event and
another event
o Commonly assumed to the basis of all types of learning processes with classical and
operant conditioning as its most fundamental and basic forms
• It is usually studied by focusing on observable and measurable behaviours and stimuli
EXPLAIN HOW CLASSICAL CONDITIONING OCCURS.
CLASSICAL CONDITIONING
• When we learn to associate events and stimuli that occur at the same time
Pavlov (1927)
• In the 1890s, Pavlov noticed that dogs
began to salivate in anticipation of food
o He found that repeatedly pairing
different stimuli led to their
association, causing them to elicit
the same response
• Pavlov (and translators) initially coined
the term conditional reflex for this
learned response
1
, 4PAHPDFF Psychology and the Individual Week 6
BSc Psychology Year 1 Learning and Social Learning Theory
Stimulus Response
Natural response (before conditioning occurs)
Food presented to dog Dog salivates
(Food = Unconditioned stimulus) (Salivation = Unconditioned response)
Light/Sound is switched on
No response from the dog
(Light/Sound = Neutral stimulus)
Conditioning procedure for several trials
Light/Sound is switched on and food is presented Dog salivates
(Neutral stimulus + Unconditioned stimulus) (Unconditioned response)
After conditioning trials
Light/Sound is switched on Dog salivates
(Light/Sound = Conditioned stimulus) (Salivation = Conditioned response)
Key Terms
• Acquisition is the initial period of learning
o During this time, the neutral stimulus begins to produce a conditioned response
• Contiguity: Timing between the pairing of the stimuli is important and must occur at about
the same time to make an association
o Chance (2009) argues this to be 5 seconds
• Stimulus generalisation: When an animal demonstrates a conditioned response to stimuli
that are similar to the conditioned stimulus (Siegel et al.,1968)
o For example, a similar sounding noise
o However, this is limited as one eventually learns to discriminate between these
differences
• Habituation: Occurs when we learn not to respond to a stimulus that is presented repeatedly
without change
o As the stimulus occurs repeatedly, we learn not to focus our attention on it and
become accustomed to it
o For example, being annoyed by a sound in the room but eventually not noticing it
• Extinction: The decrease in the conditioned response
o By repeatedly presenting the neutral stimulus without the unconditioned stimulus,
the conditioned response weakens and eventually disappears
• Spontaneous recovery: The reappearance of a conditioned response after a period of rest
or no exposure to the conditioned stimulus, following extinction
2
BSc Psychology Year 1 Learning and Social Learning Theory
LEARNING AND SOCIAL LEARNING
THEORY
EXPLAIN WHAT LEARNING IS. DISCUSS HOW ASSOCIATIVE
LEARNING APPLIES TO REAL LIFE SCENARIOS.
A persistent change in possible behaviours that is a result of specific experiences
INNATE BEHAVIOURS
• Innate behaviours (e.g. reflexes and instincts) differ from the process of learning behaviour
o Learned behaviours require experience unlike innate behaviours
• These are behaviours that animals are born with and tend to be advantageous
o Reflexes are a motor response to an external stimulus
o Instincts are innate behaviours in response to more complex scenarios or stimuli
Associative Learning
• The simplest type of learning that occurs when we make connections between an event and
another event
o Commonly assumed to the basis of all types of learning processes with classical and
operant conditioning as its most fundamental and basic forms
• It is usually studied by focusing on observable and measurable behaviours and stimuli
EXPLAIN HOW CLASSICAL CONDITIONING OCCURS.
CLASSICAL CONDITIONING
• When we learn to associate events and stimuli that occur at the same time
Pavlov (1927)
• In the 1890s, Pavlov noticed that dogs
began to salivate in anticipation of food
o He found that repeatedly pairing
different stimuli led to their
association, causing them to elicit
the same response
• Pavlov (and translators) initially coined
the term conditional reflex for this
learned response
1
, 4PAHPDFF Psychology and the Individual Week 6
BSc Psychology Year 1 Learning and Social Learning Theory
Stimulus Response
Natural response (before conditioning occurs)
Food presented to dog Dog salivates
(Food = Unconditioned stimulus) (Salivation = Unconditioned response)
Light/Sound is switched on
No response from the dog
(Light/Sound = Neutral stimulus)
Conditioning procedure for several trials
Light/Sound is switched on and food is presented Dog salivates
(Neutral stimulus + Unconditioned stimulus) (Unconditioned response)
After conditioning trials
Light/Sound is switched on Dog salivates
(Light/Sound = Conditioned stimulus) (Salivation = Conditioned response)
Key Terms
• Acquisition is the initial period of learning
o During this time, the neutral stimulus begins to produce a conditioned response
• Contiguity: Timing between the pairing of the stimuli is important and must occur at about
the same time to make an association
o Chance (2009) argues this to be 5 seconds
• Stimulus generalisation: When an animal demonstrates a conditioned response to stimuli
that are similar to the conditioned stimulus (Siegel et al.,1968)
o For example, a similar sounding noise
o However, this is limited as one eventually learns to discriminate between these
differences
• Habituation: Occurs when we learn not to respond to a stimulus that is presented repeatedly
without change
o As the stimulus occurs repeatedly, we learn not to focus our attention on it and
become accustomed to it
o For example, being annoyed by a sound in the room but eventually not noticing it
• Extinction: The decrease in the conditioned response
o By repeatedly presenting the neutral stimulus without the unconditioned stimulus,
the conditioned response weakens and eventually disappears
• Spontaneous recovery: The reappearance of a conditioned response after a period of rest
or no exposure to the conditioned stimulus, following extinction
2
