L06 Behaviorism cont.

Lecture #6, 2/3/09 Behaviorism and the cognitive revolution _________________________________ I) Operant conditioning (cont.) II) Constraints on learning III) Research methodology IV) The return of cognition _________________________________ --Finish Ch. 6, and read ch. 2, to 60c** See example of pavlovian conditioning: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=znAzMkn5Ey0 B. F. Skinner (1904-1990) Radical behaviorism Some key terms: Reinforcer: an environmental consequence of a response that makes the response more likely to recur Skinner box?? Shaping, of behavior, by successive approximation Schedules of reinforcement --Banishes cognition: The mind is a black box which we don?t need to open. We just search for laws governing relations between stimuli and responses. Reinforcement Schedules II) Constraints on learning Behaviorist thesis of Equipotentiality: any response has equal potential to get hooked up to any stimulus But, the reality is preparedness: animals are prepared (by evolution) to learn some connections easily, sometimes in one trial --The omnivore?s dilemma: we?re attracted to new foods, and afraid of them. --Solution: nibble and wait. Then one-trial learning --Similar for historic predators --phobias are NOT proportional to learning history: Snakes Fear No Fear Been Hurt 0 3 Never Hurt 110 50 Fire Fear No Fear Been Hurt Never Hurt Another problem: Animals build cognitive maps (Tolman, 1948) Problem for behaviorism: prepared phobias 2 Kinds of research: 1) Correlational: Researcher calculates degree of relationship among variables, without manipulating them. 2)Experimental: Researcher manipulates an independent variable, then measures its effect on a dependent variable. III) Research methodology (Detour to Ch. 2): Hypothesis: an educated guess about the relationship between 2 or more variables. e.g., Does vitamin C prevent colds? 1) Correlational study: see if people who take vitamin C get fewer colds. 2)Experiment: Manipulate vitamin C intake (independent variable). Give 1000 people vitamin C (experimental group). Give 1000 people placebo (control group). Measure freq. of colds over 1 year (dependent var.) Major Theme #3: Correlation does not show causation. Always look at the other two causal paths If X (bad relations with father) and Y (Teen drug use) are correlated, most people jump to a causal interpretation that fits their prior beliefs: X causes Y BUT: Y might cause X, or Z might cause X and Y (the 3rd variable problem!) True facts, but why? --Psychopaths had mothers who were on average less affectionate with them --Countries that smoke more cigarettes per capita have longer avg. life-spans IV) The return of cognition What does an animal acquire? An S-R association, or a piece of information? --Latent Learning (Tolman, 1948): animals develop cognitive maps (information) Thinking animals Skinner studied rats, pigeons, small mammals. But primates are very different. Order: Primates 1) Homo Sapiens: (Us) 2) Apes: chimpanzees, bonobos, gorillas, gibbons and orangutans 3) Monkeys: Baboons, marmosets, macaques, etc. Primates show clear evidence of insight, (Kohler) not just the law of e effect (Thorndike) Sulton, Chica, and Grande solve problems, suddenly and insightfully Apes and humans have ?aha? experiences. Dogs and cats don?t. Psychoanalysis Behaviorism Founding Puzzle: Hysterical paralysis Salivation before food Major insights: Divided self, unconscious Gradual shaping of behavior, tremendous power of reinforcement Determinism: Early childhood Entire learning history Therapy: Resolve childhood conflicts Give new learning experiences Method: Interpretive Scientific Over-extended to Everything Everything Summary of the two worldviews: