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Module 13. Dollard and Miller's Stimulus-Response Theory

This document provides biographies of John Dollard and Neal Miller, who developed stimulus-response theory. It also outlines four concepts of learning according to their theory: drives, cues, responses, and rewards/reinforcement. The document discusses how habits are formed through the association between a stimulus and response. It notes critical periods in child development where parental responses can impact feeding, cleanliness training, early sex training, and managing anger and anxiety.

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Tricia Licos
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700 views

Module 13. Dollard and Miller's Stimulus-Response Theory

This document provides biographies of John Dollard and Neal Miller, who developed stimulus-response theory. It also outlines four concepts of learning according to their theory: drives, cues, responses, and rewards/reinforcement. The document discusses how habits are formed through the association between a stimulus and response. It notes critical periods in child development where parental responses can impact feeding, cleanliness training, early sex training, and managing anger and anxiety.

Uploaded by

Tricia Licos
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PPT, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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CHAPTER 14

Dollard and Miller:


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Stimulus-Response Theory
LEARNING OBJECTIVES

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Dollard and Miller:


Stimulus-Response Theory
Born on August 29, 1900, in Menasha, Wisconsin.

He studied commerce and English at the University of


Biography of Wisconsin, receiving a B.A. in 1922.
John Dollard
In 1931, he earned a Ph.D. in sociology from the University
of Chicago.
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He was a professor of psychology at Yale University from
1952 to 1969.

His best known work, Caste and Class in a Southern


Town (1937) describes the social system in place in the
South that kept African-Americans in a lower caste and
economic class. 

Dollard's other published works include Frustration and


Aggression in 1939 and Fear and Battle in 1943.

Died on October 8, 1980, in New Haven, Connecticut. 


Born on August 3, 1909, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

He earned his bachelor’s degree from the University of


Biography of Washington in 1931, a master’s from Stanford the next year, and
his doctorate from Yale in 1935.
Neal Miller
He began teaching and became the first James Rowland Angell
Icon Professor of Psychology 1
 in 1952. 

Miller’s early work focused on the investigation of Freudian


theory and clinical phenomena using experimental analysis of
behavior techniques.

He used behavioral methodologies and neurophysiological


techniques to investigate hunger and thirst.

He served as President of American Psychological Association


from 1960-1961.

He received the APA Distinguished Scientific Contribution


Award in 1959 and the APA Citation for Outstanding Lifetime
Contribution to Psychology in 1991.
Drive Reduction Theory of Learning (Hull)

•Habit is the association between a


stimulus and a response
o If a stimulus (S) leads to a response (R),
which in turn produces a reinforcer, the
association between the stimulus and
response becomes stronger. (The habit of
performing that response in the presence of
the stimulus becomes stronger)

•Referred to as S-R theory


Four Concepts of Learning

Drive: Wanting something


•Stimulus that energizes behavior
oThe stronger the stimulus, the stronger the drive
•Internal, external, primary, and
secondary
oPrimary drives at the building blocks of
personality
oAll acquired (secondary) drives ultimately
depend on primary drives
Four Concepts of Learning

Cues: Noticing Something


•Guides behavior
•Determine when we will respond, where
we will respond, and which response we
will make
oEnd of shift whistle
oRestaurant sign
oTraffic light
Four Concepts of Learning

Response: Doing Something


•Reduce or eliminate drive
•Elicited by the drives and cues
present
Four Concepts of Learning

Reward or Reinforcement: Getting


Something
•Any stimulus that causes drive reduction
Response Hierarchy Initial hierarchy of response
• Highest probable response (dominant
response)
Icon to least probable
• If drives are satisfied with dominant response,
no learning occurs
o learning dilemma

• When new hierarchy is formed (resultant


hierarchy of response), learning occurs
Critical Periods of Children

Feeding
•The conditions under which the hunger
drive is satisfied will be learned and
generalized into personality attributes
oChild left hungry will stop crying and
possibly become apathetic, apprehensive, or
fear being alone
oChild fed develops love for mother and a
sociable personality
Critical Periods of Children

Cleanliness Training
• Parental response is critical
o Child may have difficulty
distinguishing between
disapproval of what they have
done with disapproval of them
personally
Critical Periods of Children

Early Sex Training


• Punishment for masturbation
(bed wetting or intentional)
o May develop avoidance behaviors
if overemphasized
•Fear of authority figures
Critical Periods of Children

Anger – Anxiety Conflicts


•Children must learn to deal with
anger
oCan be healthy in that self control can
be gained
oCan be unhealthy in that it can remove
appropriate assertive behavior.
THANK YOU!

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