PSYCHOLOGY, 9/e © 2005 Lester A. Lefton,Tulane University Linda Brannon, McNeese State University 0-205-41813-9 Visit www.ablongman.com/replocator to contact your local Allyn & Bacon/Longman representative. sample chapter 8 The pages of this Sample Chapter may have slight variations in final published form. Allyn & Bacon 75 Arlington St., Suite 300 Boston, MA 02116 www.ablongman.com CHAPTER 8 Learning What Type of Learning Is Pavlovian, or The Skinner Box and Shaping Classical, Conditioning? 266 Punishment: A Consequence That Weakens a Terms and Procedures Response Classical Conditioning in Humans What Are the Key Variables in Operant Higher-Order Conditioning Conditioning? 287 What Are the Key Variables in Classical Strength, Timing, and Frequency Conditioning? 271 Stimulus Generalization and Stimulus Strength, Timing, and Frequency Discrimination Predictability Extinction and Spontaneous Recovery Extinction and Spontaneous Recovery Operant Conditioning in Daily Life Stimulus Generalization and Stimulus Can Learning Occur through Discrimination Observation? 294 ■ PSYCHOLOGY IN ACTION: Managing Test The Power of Modeling Anxiety Key Processes in Observational Learning Classical Conditioning in Daily Life ■ PSYCHOLOGY IN THE MEDIA: A Critical Look ■ BRAIN AND BEHAVIOR: Conditioning and Drug Observational Learning in Daily Life Use Other Types of Cognitive Learning Pavlov’s Understanding Reinterpreted ■ POINT . COUNTERPOINT: Are There Gender What Type of Learning Is Operant Differences Related to Forming Cognitive Maps? Conditioning? 279 What Is the Biological Basis for The Pioneers: E. L. Thorndike and B. F. Skinner Learning? 301 Reinforcement: A Consequence That Strengthens Are Evolutionary Theory and Learning Theory a Response Incompatible? Two Reinforcement Strategies: Positive and Electrical Brain Stimulation and Reinforcement Negative Brain Changes and Learning Summary and Review 304 uring February 2004, the U.S. House of Representatives held hearings con- cerning indecency in broadcasting. Spurred by the Super Bowl halftime show D during which Justin Timberlake ripped off part of Janet Jackson’s costume, baring her breast, a House subcommittee on telecommunications and the Internet heard testimony from broadcast executives and media critics. Both executives and critics cited many examples of how television and radio had gone too far in showing and in discussing sex and in broadcasting vulgar and offensive language. The panel voted to increase the fine for indecency from $27,500 to $275,000. Those recommen- dations were soon endorsed by Congress. Broadcast executives agree that their industry has been offensive, and some took steps to exert more control of the material that gets on the air. Clear Channel Communications dropped shows by two controversial talk show hosts, Howard Stern and Todd Clem. Other media compa- nies took similar actions, and television networks instituted delays in live broad- casts to allow deletion of offensive lan- guage used during the 2004 Grammy Awards and Academy Awards. This concern about indecency in broadcasting reflects an undeniable situa- tion: The broadcast media have a powerful influence on attitudes and behavior. Congressional committees, media critics, and concerned parents worry that the broadcasting of violent, sexual, or offensive material will influence children, adoles- cents, and adults. But do people learn from what they see on television and in movies and hear on the radio? Are these media re- ally influential in shaping behavior? If so, is this influence general, prompting people to behave more rudely and offensively, or do people learn to imitate specific violent, sex- ual, or discriminatory behaviors? Psychologists know that most behav- iors are learned; humans exhibit few be- haviors that are reflexive. Most learned human behaviors can be unlearned or modified, even some behaviors with a bio- logical basis. Learning is at the core of be- havior, and thus of psychology. Learning affects development, social behavior, and personality. Media critics believe that people learn unacceptable behaviors from tele- vision, movies, and radio. ■■■■■■■■■■ 265 sychologists define learning as a relatively permanent change in an or- ganism that occurs as a result of experiences in the environment and that P is often exhibited in overt behavior.This definition of learning includes several important concepts: (1) permanence, (2) experience, (3) change, and (4) overt behavior.Learning cannot be considered completely permanent because or- ganisms forget things they have learned,but it is relatively permanent.Experience is the basis of learning,rather than instinct or growth and development (although these can also lead to changes in behavior). To assess learning,psychologists must confirm that change has taken place. In addition, learning is an internal process that cannot be seen,but psychologists must find ways to study the results of learn- ing. To do so, they may examine overt behavior such as solving an algebra prob- lem or throwing a ball.They may also assess learning by measuring physiological changes such as brain-wave activity or blood flow to specific areas of the brain. The factors that affect learning are often studied by using nonhuman animals as subjects, because the genetic heritage of these animals is easy to control and manipulate and because all details of their life history and environmental experi- ences can be known.Although some psychologists claim that different processes The halftime show at the underlie animal and human learning,most believe—and experiments show—that 2004 Superbowl prompted the processes are similar. Differences do become apparent, however, when com- closer examination of the plex behaviors and the use of language are involved. power of the media. As you read this chapter, think about the range of learned associations that shape your daily behavior and interactions. For example, do you favor particular study spots or associate fear or other emotions with specific places? You will see how your experiences and the resulting associations illustrate the three basic learning processes that are covered in this chapter: classical conditioning,operant conditioning, and observational learning. ■ What Type of Learning Is Pavlovian, or Classical, Conditioning? sychologists often use the term conditioning in a general sense,to mean learn- Ping. But more precisely, conditioning is a systematic procedure through which associations and responses to specific stimuli are learned. Conditioning is one of the simplest forms of learning. For example, consider what generally happens when you hear the theme from Friends. You expect that something amusing will appear on your TV screen,because the music introduces a program that usually in- cludes comedy—and if you’re a fan of the show, you probably feel a pleasant sense ■ Learning A relatively of anticipation. You have been conditioned to feel that way. In the terminology permanent change in an used by psychologists,the Friends theme is the stimulus,and your pleasure and an- organism that occurs as a ticipation are the response. A stimulus is an event, usually a detectable sensory result of experiences in the input (music,for example) that has an impact on an organism;a response is the re- environment. action of an organism to a stimulus (pleasant anticipation or fear,for example). ■ Conditioning A sys- When psychologists first studied conditioning, they found relationships be- tematic procedure through tween specific stimuli and responses.They observed that each time a certain stim- which associations and re- ulus occurred,the same reflexive response,or behavior,followed.For example,the sponses to specific stimuli are learned. presence of food in the mouth leads to salivation;a tap on the knee results in a knee jerk; shining a bright light in the eye produces contraction of the pupil and an eye ■ Reflex Automatic be- blink.A reflex is an automatic behavior that occurs involuntarily in response to a havior that occurs involun- tarily in response to a stimulus, without prior learning, and usually shows little variability from one in- stimulus, without prior stance to another.Conditioned behaviors,in contrast,are learned.Dental anxiety— learning, and usually fear of dentists, dental procedures, and even the dentist’s chair—is a common shows little variability from conditioned response (Merckelbach et al., 1999; White, 2000). Many people have one instance to another. learned to respond with fear to the stimulus of sitting in a dentist’s chair,since they associate the chair with pain (Liddell & Locker, 2000).A chair by itself (a neutral 266 CHAPTER 8 Learning stimulus) does not elicit fear,but a chair associated with pain becomes a stimulus that can prompt fear. This is an example of conditioning.This type of associative learn- ing was studied by an Austrian physiologist named Alois Kreidl in the 1830s, but Kreidl’s work did not make his- tory (Logan, 2002). When Russian physiologist Ivan Pavlov rediscovered conditioning in the late 1800s,it did. In 1927, Ivan Pavlov (1849–1936) summarized a now-famous series of experiments in which he discov- ered the basic principles of conditioning. His study began as an investigation of saliva and gastric secre- tions in dogs. He knew it is normal for dogs to salivate when they eat (salivation is a reflexive behavior that aids digestion), but he found that the dogs were sali- vating before they tasted their food. Pavlov knew that the response (salivation) cannot come before the stim-