Chapter 8: Learning

Activities

Exercises: Read & Learn

Exercises: Watch & Learn

Consumer Behaviour: A Primer : A brief overview of schedules of reinforcement with examples.

Video 8.1: Consumer Behaviour: A Primer (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JoP-2wn-2rY) uploaded by Gail Tom.

Exercises: Watch & Learn

Learning Negative Reinforcement vs. Punishment provides a clear description of the difference between negative reinforcement and punishment.

Video 8.2: Learning Negative Reinforcement vs. Punishment (https://youtu.be/imkbuKomPXI) uploaded by ByPass Publishing.

Exercises: Watch & Learn

Crash Course in Psycholocy #12 is an animated look at Bandura’s bobo doll study.

Video 8.3: The Bobo Beatdown; Crash Course Psychology #12 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=128Ts5r9NRE) uploaded by CrashCourse.

 

Exercises

Confused Conditioning: Classical and Operant: This video outlines the difference between classical and operant conditioning.

Video 8.4: Confused conditioning: Classical and operant by Jeffrey Stowell (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AQXQxL_xqgk&list=PLxf85IzktYWJH0behJ-ZQeZnsUQGzvFFf) uploaded by American Psychological Association.

Exercises: Watch & think

Two short videos, the first showing how to use operant conditioning to train a rat to play basketball, and the second showing a rat basketball game!

Video 8.5: Rat Basketball Tutorial, (https://youtu.be/g6F0bRTurPk) uploaded by natasebem.

Video 8-6:  Rats Playing Basketball (championship game) (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=drnnulHw5CM) uploaded by Richmond Times-Dispach.

 

Exercises: Do & Think

1. Want to change your behaviour?  Forget big Change, Start With a Tiny Habit talks you through how to do this one tiny step at a time!  After watching it, pick a behaviour you’d like to change and have a go.

Video 8-7: Forget Big Change, Start with a Tiny Habit (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AdKUJxjn-R8) uploaded by BJ Fogg at TEDtalks.

2. Or perhaps you’d rather change your pet’s behaviour?  There are numerous programs showing how to use operant conditioning principles to teach a dog some tricks …. but here’s what you can do with a goldfish – How To Play With a Goldfish! (http://www.wikihow.com/Play-With-a-Goldfish)

3. If you enjoy playing video games pick a favourite game and see if you can identify the ways in which the developers use reinforcement to encourage you to keep playing.  Can you think of some ways in which a teacher could use the same tactics to encourage students to study more?

4. Clearly, some things are most easily learned via observation.  You should be able to demonstrate this by comparing how quickly two friends can perform the same task (building a small Lego model perhaps or drawing a specific pattern) if you let one of them see you performing the task but give the other one written instructions …… you will probably find it challenging to even produce written instructions which are sufficiently detailed!


References

American Psychological Association. (2012). Video game design and development. Retrieved from http://www.apa.org/gradpsych/2012/01/hot-careers.aspx

American Psychological Association. (2014, December 10).  Confusing conditioning: classical and operant.  [Video File]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AQXQxL_xqgk&list=PLxf85IzktYWJH0behJ-ZQeZnsUQGzvFFf

BBC iPlayer Radio. (2015, August 19).  BF Skinner and superstition in the pigeon.  Retrieved from http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b0639gxq#play

The British Psychological Society.  Research Digest. (2016).  Rats can be trained to perform search and rescue missions.  Retrieved from https://digest.bps.org.uk/2016/03/17/rats-can-be-trained-to-perform -search-and-rescue-missions/

ByPass Publishing. (2013, October 24).  Learning negative reinforcement vs. punishment [Video File]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=imkbuKomPXI

CBC News. (2017). Rats sniffing our landmines speed up process of a land mind free world. Retrieved from http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/rats-ottawa-treaty-landines-1.4425538

CBC News. Marketplace. (2017).  ‘We’re designing minds’: Industry insider reveals secrets of addictive app trade. Retrieved from  http://www.cbc.ca/news/technology/marketplace-phones-1.4384876

Crash Course. (2014, April 28). The Bobo Beatdown – Crash Course Psychology #12 [Video File]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=128Ts5r9NRE

GailTom1. (2011, September 2). Operant Conditioning: Schedules of Reinforcement  [Video File]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JoP-2wn-2rY

How to play with a gold fish. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.wikihow.com/Play-With-a-Goldfish

Natasebem. (2008, June 1). Rat basketball tutorial [Video File]. Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g6F0bRTurPk

Richmond Times. (2010, April 1). Rats playing basketball (championship game) [Video File]. Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=drnnulHw5CM

TedxTalks. (2012, December 5). Forget big change, start with a tiny habit: BJ Fogg at TEDxFremont [Video File]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AdKUJxjn-R8

 

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Introduction to Psychology Study Guide Copyright © by Sarah Murray is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License, except where otherwise noted.