PSYCHOLOGY B
#032 Behavioural Perspective: Learning
● T, T, T, T, T, T, F
● Origins of the behavioural perspective: Pavlov with the dog, Skinner with the rat
● Both of the scenarios are conditioning but one is being given rewards
○ Classical conditioning vs. operant conditioning
● Learning: the process of acquiring new and relatively enduring information and behaviours
○ Associative learning: learning that certain events occur together
● Classical conditioning: a type of learning in which one earns to link or pair or associate two stimuli
○ Ivan Pavlov
● Operant conditioning: a type of learning in which behaviour is strengthened if followed by rewards or
diminished if followed by punishments
○ B.F. Skinner
● Law of Effect: behaviours followed by favourable consequences become more likely and behaviours
followed by unfavourable consequences become less likely
○ Thorndike
● Pavlov’s experiment was originally about digestion → but Pavlov noticed that the dog got excited
whenever the dog saw him because he wanted food
○ UCS (unconditioned stimulus) → UCR (unconditioned response)
■ UCS (bell + food pairing) → UCR (salivate)
■ CS (bell) → CR (salivate)
○ NS: neutral stimulus, doesn’t normally stimulate a response
○ NS and CS will often be the same, the UCR and CR will also often be the same
● Acquisition: the initial stage in classical conditioning
○ Linking the neutral stimulus and unconditioned stimulus → NS begins triggering the CR
○ Extinction: diminishing of the CR if the conditioned behaviour is not reinforced
● Higher-order/second-order conditioning: a procedure in which the CS in one conditioning experience is
paired with a new NS, creating a second (often weaker) conditioned stimulus
○ Can also be known as primary or secondary reinforcement
○ Spontaneous recovery: the reappearance after a pause of an extinguished (but now
weakened) CR
● Generalization: the tendency for stimuli similar to the CS to elicit similar responses
● Discrimination: the learned ability to distinguish between a CS and stimuli that do not signal a UCS
● Operant chamber or Skinner Box: everytime the rat presses a lever, it will get food → therefore, it will
continue pressing the lever
○ Positive reinforcement: encouraging behaviour using a positive stimulus
■ Taking something negative away is the same thing as giving something positive
○ Negative reinforcement: taking away something negative or unpleasant following a desired
behaviour to increase the likelihood of that behaviour continuing
■ Very good thing
○ Random scheduling of the reinforcer → rat will not know when the food is coming so it will
continue to press the lever
○ Positive punishment: adding something negative
○ Negative punishment: taking away something positive
, ○ Positive = adding something vs. negative = removing something
● Punishment tells you what not to do vs. reinforcement tells you what to do
○ Negatives of using punishment: suppressed not forgotten, teaches discrimination
(discerning between different people → what behaviour they can get away with, with whom vs.
with whom they cannot), can teach fear—generalization (can results in discrimination), may
increase aggression, depression, low self-esteem
○ Suppressed not forgotten
○ Therefore, look for behaviour to be rewarded instead of behaviour to be punished
● Primary reinforcers: innately satisfying (food when hungry) vs. secondary reinforcers: satisfying
because associated with more basic rewards (cash)
● Immediate reinforcers: immediate payback vs. delayed reinforcers: require ability to delay gratification
● Reinforcement schedules: how a response will be reinforced
○ Continuous reinforcement: faster acquisition but faster extinction
■ Happens every time
○ Partial (intermittent reinforcement): slower acquisition but slower extinction
■ Does not happen every time → only part of the time
Fixed Variable
Ratio Every so many: reinforcement after nth After an unpredictable number: reinforcement
behaviour, such as buy 10 coffees, get 1 free, after a random number of behaviours, as
or pay per product unit produced when playing slot machines or fly casting
Interval Every so often: reinforcement for behaviour Unpredictably often: reinforcement for
after a fixed time, such as Tuesday discount behaviour after a random amount of time, as
prices in checking for a Facebook response
Classical Conditioning Operant Conditioning
Order of Events stimulus → reinforcement → response stimulus → response → reinforcement
Role of Subject passive → reacts only when stimulus is active → operates on the environment
introduced
Type of Response mainly involuntary → reflexive mainly voluntary → learned
#034 Observational Learning
● Observational learning: saw learning as a result of observation and repetition → how an individual
learns new skills by observing people who acts as models
○ Modelling: the process of observing and imitating a specific behaviour
● Social learning theory: proposes that learning goes beyond classical and operant conditioning
○ Many learned human behaviours just can’t be explained by the behavioural approach
● Albert Bandura (1925–2021) was part of the “cognitive resolution”
● 4 key steps for observational learning
#032 Behavioural Perspective: Learning
● T, T, T, T, T, T, F
● Origins of the behavioural perspective: Pavlov with the dog, Skinner with the rat
● Both of the scenarios are conditioning but one is being given rewards
○ Classical conditioning vs. operant conditioning
● Learning: the process of acquiring new and relatively enduring information and behaviours
○ Associative learning: learning that certain events occur together
● Classical conditioning: a type of learning in which one earns to link or pair or associate two stimuli
○ Ivan Pavlov
● Operant conditioning: a type of learning in which behaviour is strengthened if followed by rewards or
diminished if followed by punishments
○ B.F. Skinner
● Law of Effect: behaviours followed by favourable consequences become more likely and behaviours
followed by unfavourable consequences become less likely
○ Thorndike
● Pavlov’s experiment was originally about digestion → but Pavlov noticed that the dog got excited
whenever the dog saw him because he wanted food
○ UCS (unconditioned stimulus) → UCR (unconditioned response)
■ UCS (bell + food pairing) → UCR (salivate)
■ CS (bell) → CR (salivate)
○ NS: neutral stimulus, doesn’t normally stimulate a response
○ NS and CS will often be the same, the UCR and CR will also often be the same
● Acquisition: the initial stage in classical conditioning
○ Linking the neutral stimulus and unconditioned stimulus → NS begins triggering the CR
○ Extinction: diminishing of the CR if the conditioned behaviour is not reinforced
● Higher-order/second-order conditioning: a procedure in which the CS in one conditioning experience is
paired with a new NS, creating a second (often weaker) conditioned stimulus
○ Can also be known as primary or secondary reinforcement
○ Spontaneous recovery: the reappearance after a pause of an extinguished (but now
weakened) CR
● Generalization: the tendency for stimuli similar to the CS to elicit similar responses
● Discrimination: the learned ability to distinguish between a CS and stimuli that do not signal a UCS
● Operant chamber or Skinner Box: everytime the rat presses a lever, it will get food → therefore, it will
continue pressing the lever
○ Positive reinforcement: encouraging behaviour using a positive stimulus
■ Taking something negative away is the same thing as giving something positive
○ Negative reinforcement: taking away something negative or unpleasant following a desired
behaviour to increase the likelihood of that behaviour continuing
■ Very good thing
○ Random scheduling of the reinforcer → rat will not know when the food is coming so it will
continue to press the lever
○ Positive punishment: adding something negative
○ Negative punishment: taking away something positive
, ○ Positive = adding something vs. negative = removing something
● Punishment tells you what not to do vs. reinforcement tells you what to do
○ Negatives of using punishment: suppressed not forgotten, teaches discrimination
(discerning between different people → what behaviour they can get away with, with whom vs.
with whom they cannot), can teach fear—generalization (can results in discrimination), may
increase aggression, depression, low self-esteem
○ Suppressed not forgotten
○ Therefore, look for behaviour to be rewarded instead of behaviour to be punished
● Primary reinforcers: innately satisfying (food when hungry) vs. secondary reinforcers: satisfying
because associated with more basic rewards (cash)
● Immediate reinforcers: immediate payback vs. delayed reinforcers: require ability to delay gratification
● Reinforcement schedules: how a response will be reinforced
○ Continuous reinforcement: faster acquisition but faster extinction
■ Happens every time
○ Partial (intermittent reinforcement): slower acquisition but slower extinction
■ Does not happen every time → only part of the time
Fixed Variable
Ratio Every so many: reinforcement after nth After an unpredictable number: reinforcement
behaviour, such as buy 10 coffees, get 1 free, after a random number of behaviours, as
or pay per product unit produced when playing slot machines or fly casting
Interval Every so often: reinforcement for behaviour Unpredictably often: reinforcement for
after a fixed time, such as Tuesday discount behaviour after a random amount of time, as
prices in checking for a Facebook response
Classical Conditioning Operant Conditioning
Order of Events stimulus → reinforcement → response stimulus → response → reinforcement
Role of Subject passive → reacts only when stimulus is active → operates on the environment
introduced
Type of Response mainly involuntary → reflexive mainly voluntary → learned
#034 Observational Learning
● Observational learning: saw learning as a result of observation and repetition → how an individual
learns new skills by observing people who acts as models
○ Modelling: the process of observing and imitating a specific behaviour
● Social learning theory: proposes that learning goes beyond classical and operant conditioning
○ Many learned human behaviours just can’t be explained by the behavioural approach
● Albert Bandura (1925–2021) was part of the “cognitive resolution”
● 4 key steps for observational learning
