NEUROLOGICAL

&PSYCHOLOGICAL BASIS
OF BEHAVIOR
(LEARNING)

SANA FARHAT
CLINICAL PSYCHOLOGIST
DEPARTMENT OF BEHAVIORAL SCINECES
LEARNING OUTCOME
Define learning.
 Characteristics of learning
 Models of learning.
Differentiate between operant
conditioning and classical conditioning.
Use of operant conditioning
Use of classical conditioning.
DEFINITION
It is acquiring of knowledge.
Learning is the acquisition of new behavior
or the strengthening or weakening of old
behavior as the result of experience. – Henry
P Smith .
 Learning is the acquisition of habits,
knowledge and attitude. – Crow and Crow •
Learning is relatively permanent change in
behavior brought about by experience - Rod
Plotnik.
CHARACTERISTICS OF LEARNING
Learning connotes change.
Learning is a complex process.
Learning always involves some kind of
experience.
It make changes in behavior either +ve or -ve
Learning is an inferred process and is
different from performance.
Learning is an active process.
Learning is goal oriented.
FACTORS AFFECTING LEARNING
External factors

• GOOD PHYSICAL
Factors related to
ENVIRONMENT
learner
• QUALITY OF TEACHING
• SOCIAL SUPPORT
• AGE
• RESOURCES
• MOTIVATION
• INTELLIGENCE
• PHYSICAL
CONDITION
• MENTAL HEALTH
Method of learning
• EMOTIONS OF
LEARNER • Basic education level
• Length of working period
• Learning methods
• repetition
LEARNING BY CONDITIONING
 • Most of the learning takes place through conditioning, such
as sucking at the sight of the milk bottle, making grimaces in
response to a dislike, smiling in response to other's smile etc.

 The Mechanism of Conditioning is mainly classified into

 A. Classical Conditioning:
 a learning process that occurs when two stimuli are repeatedly
paired: a response which is at first elicited by the second
stimulus is eventually elicited by the first stimulus alone.
 B. Operant Conditioning.
 It is a type of learning where behavior is controlled by
consequences. Key concepts in operant conditioning are
positive reinforcement, negative reinforcement, positive
punishment and negative punishment.
CLASSICAL CONDITIONING
 Classical conditioning is a form of learning in
which people (or any organism) learns to
associate two stimuli that occur in sequence.
Classical conditioning occurs when a person
forms a mental association between two
stimuli, so that encountering one stimulus
means the person thinks of the other.
 Condition: to make people or animals act or
react in a particular way by gradually getting
them used to a specific pattern of events.
Classical conditioning was discovered by Ivan
Pavlov in 1900s.

 Neutral Stimulus: a stimulus that, before

conditioning, has no effect on the desired response.
Unconditioned Stimulus (UCS): a stimulus that
brings about a response without having been
learned.
Unconditioned response (UCR): a response that is
natural and needs no training.
Conditioned Stimulus (CS): Once-neutral stimulus
that has been paired with an unconditioned
stimulus to bring about a response formerly caused
only by the unconditioned stimulus.
Conditioned response (CR): a response that, after
conditioning, follows a previously neutral stimulus.
Principles of Classical Conditioning
process
The acquisition phase is the initial learning of the
conditioned response—for example, the dog learning
to salivate at the sound of the bell.
Extinction is used to describe the elimination of the
conditioned response by repeatedly presenting the
conditioned stimulus without the unconditioned
stimulus.

If a dog has learned to salivate at the sound of a bell,

an experimenter can gradually extinguish the dog’s
response by repeatedly ringing the bell without
presenting food afterward.
Spontaneous Recovery
Extinction does not mean, however, that the
dog has simply unlearned or forgotten the
association between the bell and the food.
After extinction, if the experimenter lets a
few hours pass and then rings the bell again,
the dog will usually salivate at the sound of
the bell once again.
The reappearance of an extinguished
response after some time has passed is called
spontaneous recovery.
Application of Classical Conditioning
 Classical conditioning explains some cases of
phobias, which are irrational or excessive
fears of specific objects or situations.
Classical conditioning explains many
emotional responses—such as happiness,
excitement, anger, and anxiety—that people
have to specific stimuli.
Classical conditioning procedures are used to
treat phobias and other unwanted behaviors,
such as alcoholism and addictions.
To treat phobias of specific objects, the
therapist gradually and repeatedly presents
the feared object to the patient while the
patient relaxes.
Through extinction, the patient loses his or
her fear of the object.
In one treatment for alcoholism, patients
drink an alcoholic beverage and then ingest a
drug that produces nausea.
Eventually they feel nauseous at the sight or
smell of alcohol and stop drinking it.
OPERANT CONDITIONING
Operant or Instrumental Conditioning is a type of
learning in which voluntary behavior is
strengthened if it is reinforced and weakened if it is
punished.
The term operant conditioning refers to the fact
that the learner must operate, or perform a certain
behavior, before receiving a reward or punishment.
American psychologist B. F. Skinner became one of
the most famous psychologists in history for his
pioneering research on operant conditioning.
In fact, he coined the term operant conditioning.
B.F. Skinner Experiment
B.F.Skinner Experiment
• He designed a special puzzle box.
 It had a lever that when pressed provide a cup
water/food.
Each time the lever is pressed a sound also was
created.
He put a hungry/thirst rat in the cage.
 At regular interval he used to press the lever and
feed the rat.
Few a times later the rat started doing it by itself
whenever it felt hungry/thirsty. The sound associated
with it and food/water acted as the positive
reinforcement.
Principles of Operant Conditioning
Reinforcement refers to any process that
strengthens a particular behavior—that is,
increases the chances that the behavior will
occur again.
 – Positive reinforcement: a method of
strengthening behavior by following it with a
pleasant stimulus.
 – Negative reinforcement: Negative
reinforcement is a method of strengthening a
behavior by following it with the removal or
omission of an unpleasant stimulus.
 Punishment weakens a behavior, reducing the chances
that the behavior will occur again.
 – Positive: involves reducing a behavior by delivering
an unpleasant stimulus if the behavior occurs.
 – Negative: involves reducing a behavior by
removing a pleasant stimulus if the behavior occurs.

 Shaping is a reinforcement technique that is used to

teach animals or people behaviors that they have never
performed before.
 In this method, the teacher begins by reinforcing a
response the learner can perform easily, and then
gradually requires more and more difficult responses.
For example, to teach a rat to press a lever that is over
its head, the trainer can first reward any upward head
movement, then an upward movement of at least one
inch, then two inches, and so on, until the rat reaches
the lever.
 Extinction is the elimination of a learned behavior by
discontinuing the reinforcer of that behavior.
 If a rat has learned to press a lever because it receives
food for doing so, its lever-pressing will decrease and
eventually disappear if food is no longer delivered.

In Generalization and discrimination

people perform a behavior learned in one situation in
other, similar situations.

 For example, a man who is rewarded with laughter when

he tells certain jokes at a bar may tell the same jokes at
restaurants, parties, or wedding receptions.
Feature Effect on behaviour Example

Positive reinforcement Behaviour is increased Child increase his

by reward kind behaviour
towards his younger
brother to get praise.

Negative Behaviour is increased Child increase his

reinforcement by avoidance or kind behaviour
escape towards his younger
brother to avoid
getting scolded.
Punishment Behaviour is Child decreases his
decreased by hitting behaviour after
suppression his mother scolds him.

Extinction Behaviour is Child stops his hitting

eliminated by non- behaviour when he is
reinforcement ignored by his mother.
Application of Operant Conditioning
• Parents
Teachers

Behavior therapists use shaping techniques to teach

basic job skills to adults with mental retardation.
Therapists use reinforcement techniques to teach self-
care skills to people with severe mental illnesses, such as
schizophrenia, and use punishment and extinction to
reduce aggressive and antisocial behaviors by these
individuals.
To treat stuttering, marital problems, drug addictions,
impulsive spending, eating disorders, and many other
behavioral problems.
Classical conditioning VS operant conditioning
Classical conditioning Operant conditioning

Stimulus is provided before Stimulus is provided after reflex

reflex

Developed by Ivan Pavlov Developed BF Skinner

Relies on association between Relies on reinforcement

stimulus and response.

Involuntary, automatic Voluntary, operates on

environment

Passive learning Active learning.

 LEARNING PRINCIPLES IN CLINICAL
SETTING
Use of operant conditioning against bad
habits.
1) Try to discover
Example:
what is reinforcing a bad
Alihabit,
a medicalremove
students who, avoid ora habit
developed delay of the
taking longer and longer breaks when studying.
reinforcement.
He realized that the breaks were usually
lengthened by watching TV. The pleasure of
watching TV was also reinforcing for more
frequent breaks.
Solution:
To improve his study habits .Ali should
either stay out of the TV room until
work is done (avoid reinforcement)
or else complete 2 hours of study for
half an hour of watching TV (delay
reinforcement).
 2) Avoid Narrow down cues that elicit the
bad habit.Example:
Mr.Javed is not ready to give up smoking
but would like to reduce it . He has taken
many smoking cues out of his daily routine
by removing ashtray, matches and extra Solution:
cigarette from his house ,car and office. He To further improve his
has also been making an effort to stay away control of smoking Mr
from smokers, take a walk after meal Javed should try
leaving his cigarette at home and put a narrowing cues. He
chewing gum in his mouth whenever he could begin by smoking
feels nervous. only inside building,
never outside or in his
car. He could limit it to
his home. If he succeeds
in getting this far he may
limit his smoking to one
uninteresting place such
as bathroom, basement
or garage.
3) Make an incompatible response in the
presence of stimuli that usually precede the
bad habit.
Example:
Maryam bites her nails so much, that
they are painful and unsightly to look
at. She has identified several situations
in which she is most likely to bite her
nails and would like to break the
connection between these and her
Solution:
habit.
Maryam should make a list of
incompatible behaviors she can
engage in ,when she has urge to
bite her nails .These can include
putting her hands in her pockets,
taking notes in her class, chewing
gum or combing her hair.
 4)Use negative practice to associate bad
habit with discomfort.
Example:
Haris has facial tic when he is
Solution:
nervous or tired. The tic, which looks
In negative practice a
like a wing with his right eye which
response is repeated until it
often leads to social embarrassment.
becomes boring or produces
fatigue. This increases the
awareness of the habit and
tends to discourage its
reoccurence.He can stand in
front of the mirror and repeat
the tic until the muscle
become quiet uncomfortable.
He could also wear a rubber
band on his wrist and stretch it
to rebound on the skin causing
mild pain each time he winks
USES OF CLASSICAL CONDITIONING IN
CLINICAL SETTINGS

Acquisitions of fear anxiety in hospitals.

• Children are known to cry and scream at the sight of the

doctors white coat and the smell of the antiseptic, after they
have received injections or drips at the hospital. It is quiet
likely that they associate( Pair) the neutral stimulus such as
white coat with nasty painful events.
• For this reason many doctors don’t wear traditional uniform
associated with medical profession.
• After few visit to such doctor classical conditioning that
occurred between white coat and injection will undergo
extinction.
CASE SCENARIO
 An 8 year old boy, used to wet his bed almost everynight.He
was ashamed of this and was ridiculed by his cousins. His
parents became worried and took him to a doctor who
referred him to a psychiatrist's therapist decided to teach
him to remain dry during the night by using a number of
basic learning principles. He was given a buzzer which
would sound the moment he passed urine in bed at
night ,thus waking him up. The idea was to ( ) the stimuli
from a full bladder and the urge to urinate with waking up.
If boy woke up in time ,he could go to the bathroom before
he could wet his bed. In addition to this device ,Boy and his
mother were explained a behavioral technique by which
boy had to change the sheets himself ( ) with no help when
the bed was wet. On the other hand when the bed was dry
the boy was given a chocolate ( ). After 21 consecutive dry
nights the buzzer would be removed, but the behavioral
method of rewarding a dry night with chocolate would
remain in place. A review after 2 months of the start of