Classical and operant conditioning

• Classical conditioning


  • Based on the principle of learning by association
  • before conditioning a reflex response called the unconditioned response occurs to an unconditioned stimulus
  • a neutral stimulus is paired with the UCS until the association is learned
  • after conditioning the neutral stimulus becomes the conditioned stimulus and the response is now they conditioned response
  • if the CS and UCS are not paired for a long time the CR ceases which is known as extinction
  • if the CR is shown again its called spontaneous recovery
• Research into classical conditioning - Pavlov 1927

  • To find out if are if reflexive behaviour can be produced in new situations through learning
  • pavlov used 35 dogs and placed them in a sealed room not being able to see, smell or hear anything outside - preventing any extraneous variables. The dog was strapped into a harness to stop it moving about, mouth was linked to a tube to measure saliva.
  • in control condition pavlov presented the dog with food through the hatch and the dog salivated
  • in the experimental control, pavlov presented the dog with he neutral stimulus sound which the dog did not salivate to.
  • he paired the sound with the presentation of the food
  • it was found that the conditioned dog started to salivate 9 seconds after hearing the sound and by 45s produced 11 drops of sliva
• Evaluating Pavlov 1927

  • used a highly controlled procedure, controlling any stimuli that may produce a response such as soundproof chamber to reduce any chance of stimuli effecting NS- results therefore objective and credible
  • Uses animals which can be argued unethical due to them being locked up and chained which could cause harm, also pushed a tube down the dogs throat to collect saliva
  • issues with generalisation using dogs and applying to humans-. Humans and dogs have structurally different brains and may respond differently. They also have larger cerebral cortext, allowing greater, complex cognitive processing compared to other species
• Operant conditioning

  Learning by consequences

  Reinforcement - encourages repetition of desired behaviour

  • positive reinforcement- when something rewards are given in response to a behaviour
  • negative reinforcement- when something is taken away from you in response to a behaviour

  Punishment-discourages behaviour not encouraging it

  • positive punishment- a punishment is given for bad or unwanted behaviour
  • negative punishment- the removal of something nice as a punishment
• examples of operant conditioning :

  • positive reinforcement- cleaning your bedroom for extra hour of TV
  • negative reinforcement- alarm noise waking you up
  • positive punishment- shouting at your child
  • negative punishment- after doing something bad and being ignored by friends
• contingent and contiguent- effective conditioning

  • Contingent means that there is a clear link between the persons behaviour and the consequence produced
  • Continguent means the consequence follows soon after the behaviour
• Operant conditioning- Skinner

  • placed rats in a 'skinner box' which contains a level, a light and a food dispenser. If the rat pressed the lever the light came on and a food pallet rolled down- this is positive reinforcement
  • the consequence was contiguous and contingent and rats learned quickly to press the level to get food
  • in a variation, Skinner electrified the floor of the Skinner box showing negative reinforcement since the rat is learning to remove something painful
• Schedules of reinforcement

  • fixed interval- A reward turns up at a fixed and regular time. where desirable behaviour increases in the run up to the reward
  • variable interval- the reward turns up but not sure when
  • fixed ratio- the reward occurs every time the desired behaviour is carried out
  • variable ratio- reward is dispensed randomly
• Application of operant conditioning:

  Phobias can be explained by operant conditioning as if the feared thing is removed when you scream or cry then fearful behaviour is negatively reinforced - removing something unpleasant. And if people show concern then fear is positively reinforced.

  Shaping behaviours appears in systematic desensitisation - if someone has a phobia of spiders you might reward them at first for looking at pictures of spiders eventually leading up to handling a spider
• conflicting evidence for operant conditioning :

  The explanation does not provide a complete account of human motivation- as humans are motivated by a range of factors and operant conditioning does not explain where new unlearned behaviours originates from
• Supporting evidence for classical conditioning:

  Pavlov 1927 study- He demonstrated that classical conditioning can be used to condition dogs to salivate at the given sound, proving that the theory is credible and works
• conflicting evidence for classical conditioning:

  A weakness of classical conditioning is that it can only explain how a limited range of behaviours can be acquired, simple reflex responses like salivation or anxiety. But it cannot account for more complex chains of learned behaviours

  
  

  Furthermore this shows issues of reductionism as classical conditioning reduces all behaviour to learning through association
• Supporting evidence of operant conditioning:

  Skinner found that show how behaviour can be shaped by offering rewards for the desired behaviour ( pushing the lever) and punishment which the rats could stop by also pushing the lever.

  Learning can be acquired through reinforcement and punishment
• Vaughan 2014

  • aimed to see if cows could be trained to urinate in a particular place using both operant and classical conditioning
  • Used two experiments- experiment one focused on CC, getting the cows to learn by association between urinating and where to do it
  • experiment two focused on OC and the hungry calves were given a diuretic followed by a reward afterwards
  • It was FOUND that there was so significant different with classical conditioning but in experiment two operant calves did urinate more in the stalls
  • operant conditioning was more successful shaping the calves behaviour- improving hygiene of conditions
• what is primary reinforcement?

  Food, drink and shelter
• what is secondary reinforcement?

  Money, popularity
• what is behaviour shaping?

  Linked to operant conditioning

  It involves changing the reinforcement to produce very precise behaviours.

  • at first you reward any behaviour in the general direction you want
  • then you reward behaviours that are similar to the specific behaviour in mind
  • eventually you only reward the specific behaviour that us being looked for