Lesson 6: Learning

Attention

One of the most famous apparatus created within the world of Psychology is referred to as the "Skinner Box". This device enabled BF Skinner, the founder of Operant Conditioning theory, to examine behavior in its most elemental ways. As unnerving as some of his predictions are, there is an uncanny truth to the knowledge that we learn by observation, association, and ultimately, by being rewarded!

We will examine both Classical and Operant theories of learning in this lesson!

Learning Outcomes

Upon completion of this lesson's material, students will be able to:

  • Explain how learned behaviors are different from instincts and reflexes.
  • Analyze an ad using the concepts from Classical Conditioning.
  • Identify and categorize real world reinforcement schedules.

Teaching

We have all seen advertising like this...particularly in beer ads.
Advertising is expensive...but it works!!!

Why do ads like these really sell beer?
Classical Conditioning!

Advertising first attracts our attention and then it teaches us to ASSOCIATE images with one another and with certain feelings. That way...when we see the beer in the store, the experience is slightly modified! We will be learning all about that in this Topic.

Classical Conditioning

Familiarize yourself with these terms:

  • Learning by Association
  • Applications
  • Advertising
  • Target Audience
  • Neutral Stimulus
  • Unconditioned Stimulus
  • Unconditioned Response
  • Conditioned Stimulus
  • Conditioned Response

Analyzing Advertising

We can look at just about any advertisement and see it in light of Classical Conditioning. I'll go through an example to tell you how it is done. In this process we are going to identify a few things about an ad and we will use the "Coors Light" ad above to do it.

First we want to know the Target Audience
Who do you think will be attracted to this ad? All advertisement targets specific people so who do you think this ad is for? I would say that it is for all men age 16-80 who drink beer. Coors wants the target population to drink Coors beer and not Budweiser. The target audience also determines where the ad is going to be displayed. You might see this ad in Sports Illustrated but you will not see it is Quilters Quarterly Review.

We then want to know the Unconditioned Stimulus
The US is the part of the ad that creates a reaction, the attractive part, the part that will draw the attention of the target audience. So what draws the attention of men aged 16-80 who drink beer? Yup, the two girls. So the twins are the US...we men did not have to LEARN to be attracted to this.

Sometimes the product is the US. This is the goal of nearly all advertisers. Good examples of products that have become US include Nike, Apple, and Coca-cola. These brand names are well know throughout the world and often need little else except the logo for recognition.

Now we want to know the Neutral Stimulus
This is an easy one...the NS is ALWAYS the product. In this case it is the beer.

Now we want to know the Association
The ad places the NS in the same place as the US...in this case, the beer (NS) appears next to the girls (US). Learning occurs when we associate these together. The association links the EMOTIONAL response to the US to the NS. So, advertising goal is for us to think and feel the same way when we are seeing the beer as we did when we see the girls! Or at least something close to that!

NOW we have a Conditioned Stimulus
The CS is NOW the product. Now that the learning has occurred the product itself can now be called a CS because now it brings about the same response as did the girls.

Do you feel skeptical? Does it seem stupid? Well, in a way it is. This is our brain operating below our awareness. This stuff really works or the advertising companies would not spend so much money on ads!! Think about it!

Operant Conditioning

Law of Effect

This is one of the only "laws" in Psychology!

It simply states that if a behavior is followed by a positive consequence it is more likely to happen again; if a behavior is followed by a negative consequence than it is less likely to happen again.

The ABC Contingency Theory

The ABC Contingency Theory is the application of Behaviorism to describe "reality". In Behaviorism the "Law of Effect" is seen as the primary force to explain behaviors. The ABC Theory expands on this (based on the work of BF Skinner) to include factors that occur before AND after a behavior.

A---Antecedent
Antecedents are all those environmental factors that lead up to a behavior. What is going on...what are people thinking...what signs and symbols are presented...instructions...directions...actions of others. The "A" in the ABC theory represents all the factors that may come before a behavior and may impact the course of that behavior.

Example: Instructions or directions are often the most cited As in the world of behaviors. But, there is a lot to the As. Instructions have to come from authority figures that we are willing to listen to...so it is much more than simply the instructions. Here is a specific example: A parent comes home and finds that the kids have been playing XBox all day and their rooms are not clean. These observations are the A that may prompt behavior on the part of the parent. More on this example in a bit...

B---Behavior
Behaviors, from the point of view of this theory, are all those things that a person can do that we can observer. It is important that we only discuss behaviors we can directly observe because that is the concern of this theory. Behaviors such as "thinking" or "believing" or even "reading" often cannot be directly observed. We can, however, create measures that would indicate that these behaviors actually did occur, even though we can't observe them directly.

That said, behaviors, are actions that people can take.

Example: Continuing with our example of the parent coming home. The A of the observation that rooms have not been cleaned may prompt the parent to act. The B in this case might be that the parent approaches the kids, has them stop playing the game and then instructs them to clean their rooms.

C---Consequence
Consequences are the effects of the behavior...positive or negative. This is where the "Law of Effect" is active. If the consequence of the behavior is positive then it is likely that the behavior could occur again when needed. If the consequence of the behavior is negative it is less likely that the behavior will occur again.

Example: When our parent asks the kids to stop playing the XBox and clean their room and the kids, in fact, do just that, then it is likely that in future times the parent will feel comfortable asking the kids to clean their room.

Careful observers like you might see that there are other ABCs going on at the same time. From the KIDS point of view they are playing XBox and their mom comes in and tells them to clean their room (A), they decide to clean their rooms (B), and they avoid the hellish situation they have known to arise when they have disobeyed their mom! (C)

ABCs are occurring all the time all around us. It is a way to describe how the world works.

It is also a very effective way of manipulating others to change their behavior. In fact, some say it is the ONLY way to do so. The person in charge of the As and the Cs can control the Bs.

Application

Could punishment be used to make you more healthy...click HERE to see how...

We are also going to be using Operant Conditioning in this course in the Problem Solving Special Assignment.

Assessment

In this section you will find a list of the required Assessments that accompany this Lesson. The Lesson Discussions are designed for the ONLINE and HYBRID versions of this course. If you are not in an ONLINE or HYBRID version of this course you can ignore these instructions unless otherwise guided by your instructor.

Lesson 6 Discussion

Read the section in the textbook on reinforcement schedules. We are surrounded by a number of these every day. Describe a specific reinforcer that you receive in the world and analyze it based on one of these schedules. Is it an effective reinforcer? How might you modify the reinforcers you provide to others in your world to change their behavior?

Lesson 6 Quiz

  1. Explain how learned behaviors are different from instincts and reflexes.
  2. Based on the ad in this question, answer the following questions:
    • Who is the target audience?
    • What is the Neutral Stimulus?
    • What is the Unconditioned Stimulus?
    • What is the Conditioned Stimulus?