Classical Conditioning. Operant Conditioning. Operant Conditioning. Observational Learning. Classical versus operant conditioning

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1 LP 6D Learned Helplessness and schedules of reinforcement 1 Classical Conditioning What is learning? What is conditioning? Pavlov and the Dogs o UCS o UCR o NS o CS o CR Other examples of classical conditioning Operant Conditioning Reinforcement Punishments Positive and negative reinforcement Positive and negative punishment Problems with punishments Alternatives to punishments Operant Conditioning Operant Conditioning Learned Helplessness o Description o Example o Broader examples Operant Conditioning Schedules of Reinforcement o Description o Influence on behavior Observational Learning Albert Bandura and the Bobo Doll Cognitive process that influence imitation Factors that increase the likelihood of imitation Classical versus operant conditioning Differences between operant and classical conditioning Group work: Identify examples of classical conditioning

2 LP 6D Learned Helplessness and schedules of reinforcement 2 Learned Helplessness (page 226) Dogs were classically conditioned to associate a tone to the pain of an electric shock. In order to do this, the dogs were harnessed and could not avoid electric shocks. It was expected that the dogs would be undergoing operant conditioning (negative reinforcement) to avoid the electric shocks. However, when the harnesses were removed, the dogs did nothing to escape the electric shocks. Another group of dogs that were never harnessed learned to avoid electric shocks by jumping over a barrier. The dog s reacted by being passive and not escaping the electric shocks when unharnessed. Martin Seligman described this behavior as learned helplessness. Learned helplessness: A phenomenon in which repeated exposure to inescapable, uncomfortable, or uncontrollable aversive events produce passive behavior.

3 LP 6D Learned Helplessness and schedules of reinforcement 3 They developed the cognitive expectation that their behavior would have no effect on the outcome

4 LP 6D Learned Helplessness and schedules of reinforcement 4 What are real-life examples of learned helplessness (and perhaps their cause)? Political process: People are becoming discouraged with the political process and not turning out to vote because nothing gets done. Weight loss programs: There are many weight loss programs (including those that use hypnosis Chapter 4) that are ineffective that they discourage people. Studying for class: Students with poor study skills or are using ineffective strategies start to give up on their classes and resign themselves to poor grades. Stopping Attacks on American Troops: American troops are under constant attack by Iraqis. Killing Saddam Huessin s sons (Uday and Kusay) will probably lead to learned helplessness because it fails to understand why our troops are not seen as liberators.

5 LP 6D Learned Helplessness and schedules of reinforcement 5 What are common examples where learned helplessness can occur? Dating War on Terrorism Banking crisis of 2008 Dealing with problems of CEOs and CFOs cooking the books Getting a job Not having the job skills or connections Rules not being applied equally or fairly Rules created to bias a particular group based on criteria irrelevant to the job.

6 LP 6D Learned Helplessness and schedules of reinforcement 6 Description of the Schedules of Reinforcement Schedule of reinforcement: The delivery of a reinforcer according to a preset pattern based on the number of responses (a ratio) or the time interval (interval) between responses. FIXED VARIABLE RATIO (#) INTERVAL (time) fixed ratio (FR): A reinforcement schedule in which a reinforcer is delivered after a fixed number of responses has occurred. Example: A food dispenser drops one food pellet after a pigeon pecks at a bar 25 times. fixed interval (FI): A reinforcement schedule in which a reinforcer is delivered for the first response after a fixed time interval has elapsed. Example: A pigeon received a food pellet after the first press of the bar after a two minute interval. variable ratio (VR): A reinforcement schedule in which a reinforcer is randomly delivered on a preset ratio. Example: A pigeon has a 1/25 chance of receiving a food pellet for every peck on the bar. variable interval (VI): A reinforcement schedule in which a reinforcer is randomly delivered for each time interval. Example: A pigeon has a 1/120 chance every second to receive a food pellet after every press of the bar.

7 LP 6D Learned Helplessness and schedules of reinforcement 7 Examples of each Schedule of Reinforcement RATIO (# of responses) FIXED A food dispenser drops one food pellet after a pigeon pecks at a bar 25 times. A fictitious lottery that pays $1000 for the 2000th ticket bought. You win for every 4 th card flipped over from a 52 card deck. Phil, a real estate broker gets a bonus for every ten houses sold. Buy 12 cookies, get 2 free. VARIABLE A pigeon gets a food pellet, on the average every 25 pecks on the bar. A pigeon has a 1/25 chance of receiving a food pellet for every peck on the bar. The lottery gives out $1000 for every 2,000 tickets printed. You win for every heart that is flipped over from a 52 card deck. A baseball player with a batting average of.333 will get a hit about 1/3 of the time. Baseball cards packs have four "premium card" per box of 36. Slot machines payouts. INTERVAL (time) A pigeon received a food pellet after the first press of the bar after a two-minute interval. A fictitious lottery that pays $1000 for the first purchase after the 14th day of each month. Health inspects that occur in January and July. Scheduled drug testing Levar, an employee at McDonalds gets paid every two weeks. Receiving $40 for every day spent collecting signatures for a constitutional amendment. A pigeon receives a food pellet after the first press of the bar at about 2 minutes. A pigeon has a 1/120 chance every second to receive a food pellet after every press of the bar. A fictitious lottery that has a 12/365 chance to pay $1000 each day. Random health inspections that occur twice a year. Random drug testing.

8 LP 6D Learned Helplessness and schedules of reinforcement 8 Schedules of Reinforcement: The likely effect of a schedule of reinforcement on behavior FIXED VARIABLE RATIO INTERVAL Produces a high rate of responding that follows a burst-pause-burst pattern. A pause after each reinforcer is obtained is usually occurs. Example: If you get paid $20 for mowing 2 lawns, you tend to take a break after mowing 2 lawns. Produces a pattern of responses where very few responses are obtained until the fixed interval of time approaches. The rate of response dramatically increases at this interval. Example: Employee performance increases when they know their annual review draws near and decreases just as soon as it is over. A health inspection every January and July. Produces a high rate of response with hardly any pauses between trials or reinforcement. Learning is more permanent and difficult to extinguish or eliminate. Example: Imagine having a 50% chance of getting paid $20 for mowing a lawn. There is no break in behavior. Produces a pattern of moderate and steady responses. It is not a good schedule for initial learning, but produces a highly stable performance. Example: Random and/or surprise inspections by the health department.

9 LP 6D Learned Helplessness and schedules of reinforcement 9