He is a Russian physiologist, is well known for his work in
classical conditioning or stimulus substitution. Pavlov’s most renowned experiment involved meat, a dog and a bell. Initially, Pavlov was measuring the dog’s salivation in order to study digestion. PAVLOV’S EXPERIMENT Before conditioning, ringing the bell (neutral stimulus) caused no response from the dog. Placing food (unconditioned stimulus) in the front of the dog initiated salivation (unconditioned response). During conditioning, the bell was rung a few seconds before the dog was presented with food. After conditioning, the ringing of the bell (conditioned stimulus) alone produced salivation (conditioned response). This is classical conditioning. FINDINGS OF PAVLOV Stimulus Generalization- Once a the dog has learned to salivate at the sound of the bell, it will salivate at other similar sounds. Extinction- If you stop pairing the bell with the food, salivation will eventually cease in response to the bell. Spontaneous Recovery- Extinguished responses can be “recovered” after an elapsed time, but will soon extinguish again if the dog is not presented with food. Discrimination- The dog could learn to discriminate between similar bells (stimuli) and discern which bell would result in the presentation of food and which would not. High-Order Conditioning- once the dog has been conditioned to associate the bell with food, another unconditioned stimulus, such as a light may be flashed at the same time that the bell is rung. Eventually, the dog will at the flash of the light without the sound of the bell. EDWARD L. THORNDIKE
Thorndike’s Connectionism theory gave us the
original S-R framework of behavioral psychology. He explained that learning is the result of associations forming between stimuli (S) and response (R). CONNECTIONISM The main principle of connectionism was the learning could be adequate explained without considering any unobservable internal states. It states that the learning has taken place when a strong connection or bond between stimulus and response is formed. He came up with three primary laws : Law of Effect, Law of Exercise, and law of Readiness. LAW OF EFFECT It states that a connection between a stimulus and response is strengthened when the consequence is positive (reward) and the connection between the stimulus and the response is weakened when the consequence is negative. (revised this law) Reward and Punishment LAW OF EXERCISE This tells us that the more an S-R (stimulus- response) bond is practiced the stronger it will become. “Practice makes perfect.” LAW OF READINESS This states that the more readiness the learner has to the stimulus, the stronger will be the bond between them. PRINCIPLES DERIVED FROM THORNDIKE’S CONNECTIONISM 1. Learning requires both practice and rewards. 2. A series of S-R connections can be chained together if they belong to the same action sequence (law of readiness). 3. Transfer of learning occurs because of previously encountered situations. 4. Intelligence is a function of the number of connections learned. JOHN WATSON He was the first American psychologist to work with Pavlov’s ideas. He too initially involved in animal studies, then later became involved in human behavior research. EXPERIMENT ON ALBERT Watson applied classical conditioning in his experiment concerning Albert, a young child and a white rat. In the beginning, Albert was not afraid of the rat; but Watson made a sudden loud noise each time Albert touched the rat. Because Albert was frightened by the loud noise, he soon became conditioned to fear and avoid the rat. Later, the child’s response was generalized to other small animals. Now, he was also afraid of small animals. Watson then “extinguished” or made the child “unlearned fear by showing the rat without the loud noise. BURRHUS FREDERICK SKINNER
Skinner’s work differs from that of the tree
behaviorist before him in that he studied operant behavior. OPERANT CONDITIONING It is based upon the notion that learning is a result of change in overt behavior. Changes in behavior are the result of an individual’s response to events (stimuli) that occur in the environment. A response produces consequences such as defining word, hitting a ball, or solving math problem. When a particular Stimulus- Response (S-R) pattern is reinforced (rewarded), the individual is conditioned to respond. Operant Conditioning
Operant conditioning, pioneered by
American psychologist B. F. Skinner, is the process of shaping behavior by means of reinforcement and punishment. This illustration shows how a mouse can learn to maneuver through a maze. The mouse is rewarded with food when it reaches the first turn in the maze (A). Once the first behavior becomes ingrained, the mouse is not rewarded until it makes the second turn (B). After many times through the maze, the mouse must reach the end of the maze to receive its reward (C). Reinforcement - is the key element in Skinner’s S-R theory. A Reinforcer is anything that strengthens the desired response. There is a positive reinforcer and a negative reinforcer. 1. Positive Reinforcer – any stimulus that is given or added to increase the response.
Example: Is when a teacher promises extra time in the
play area to children who behave well during the lesson. A mother who promises a new cellphone for her son who gets good grades. (including: verbal praises, star stamps and stickers) 2. Negative Reinforcer – any stimulus that results in the increased frequency of a response when it is withdrawn or removed. It is not punishment, in fact it is a reward. Example: A teacher announces that a student who gets an average grade of 1.5 for the two grading periods will no longer take the final examination. (the negative reinforcer is “removing” the final exam, which we realize is a form of reward for working hard and getting an average grade of 1.5) NEGATIVE REINFORCEMENT VS PUNISHMENT Punishment - is a consequence intended to result in reduced responses. Example: Student who always come late is not allowed to join a group work that has already began (punishment) and, therefore, loses points for that activity. (The punishment was done to reduce the response of repeatedly coming to class late. Extinction or Non- Reinforcement - these are responses that are not reinforced are not likely to be repeated. For example, ignoring a student’s misbehavior may extinguish that behavior. Shaping of Behavior - An animal on a cage may take a very long time to figure out that pressing a lever will produce food. To accomplish such behaviors, successive approximations of the behavior are rewarded until the animal learns the association between the lever and food reward . To begin shaping, the animal may be rewarded for simply turning in the direction of the lever, then for moving toward the lever, for brushing against the lever, and finally for pressing the lever. Behavioral chaining - Comes about when a series of steps are needed to be learned. The animal would master each step in sequence until the entire sequence is learned. This can be applied to a child being thought to tie a shoelace. The child can be given reinforcement (rewards) until the entire process of tying the shoelace is learned. Reinforcement schedules - Once the desired behavioral response is accomplished, reinforcement does not have to be 100%; in fact, it can be maintained more successfully through what skinner referred to as partial reinforcement schedules. Partial reinforcement schedules include interval schedules and ratio schedule. Fixed Interval Schedules - The target response is reinforced after a fixed amount of time has passed since the last reinforcement. Example , the bird in a cage is given foo (reinforcer) every 10 minutes, regardless of how many times it presses the bar. Variable Interval Schedules - this is similar to fixed interval schedules but the amount of time then must pass between reinforcement varies. Examples, the bird may receive food (reinforcer) different intervals, not every ten minutes. Fixed Ratio Schedules A fixed number of correct responses must occur before reinforcement may recur. Example, the bird is given food (reinforcer) every time it presses the bar 5 times. Variable Ratio Schedules The number of correct repetitions of the correct response for reinforcement varies. Example, the bird is given food (reinforcer) after it presses the bar 3 times, then after 10 times, then after 4 times. So the bird will not be able to predict how many times it needs to press the bar before it gets food again. Variable interval ( variable ratio schedules produce steadier and more persistent rates of response) This is because the learners cannot predict when the reinforcement will come although they know that they will eventually succeed. An example of this is why people continue to buy lotto tickets even when an almost negligible percentage of people actually win. While it is true that very rarely there is a big winner, but once in a while somebody hits the jackpot (reinforcement) People cannot predict when the jackpot can be gotten (variable interval) so they continue to buy tickets (repetition of response). Skinner Box American psychologist B. F. Skinner designed an apparatus, now called a Skinner box, that allowed him to formulate important principles of animal learning. An animal placed inside the box is rewarded with a small bit of food each time it makes the desired response, such as pressing a lever or pecking a key. A device outside the box records the animal’s responses. IMPLICATIONS OF OPERANT CONDITIONING 1. Practice should take the form of question (stimulus0- answer (response) frames which expose the students to the subject in gradual steps. 2. Require that the learner makes a response for every frame and receives immediate feedback. 3. Try to arrange the difficulty of the questions so he response is always correct and hence, a positive reinforcement. 4. Ensure that good performance in the lesson is paired with secondary reinforces such as verbal praise, prizes and good grades. PRINCIPLES DERIVED FROM SKINNER’S OPERANT CONDITIONING 1. Behavior that is positively reinforced will reoccur; intermittent reinforcement is particularly effective. 2. Information should be presented in small amounts so that responses can be reinforced (“shaping”). 3. Reinforcements will generalize across similar stimuli(“stimulus generalization”) producing secondary conditioning. THANK YOU