Psychology of Music Learning

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Psychology of Music Learning

• Miksza Spring 09
• WEEK TWO-THREE
• Behaviorism

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Part I

• Classical Conditioning
• Assumptions
• Method
• Phenomena
• Counter conditioning
• Figures
• There is more detail in this section of the
  outline than is presented in Driscoll its good
  information but focus on Part II for the
  purposes of this class

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Behaviorist Assumptions

• John Watson (Psychology as the Behaviorist Views
  It, 1913)
• Introduced the term Behaviorism
• Advocated for objective, scientific, observable
  forms of inquiry
• Equipotentiality
• Learning best studied through stimuli and
  responses
• Internal processes largely excluded (radical
  perspective)
• Learningchange in behavior
• Empiricist/blank slate
• Learning greatly effected by the environment
• Parsimony

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Classical Conditioning

• Ivan Pavlov (Conditioned Reflexes, 1927)
• Basic Form of 3 Steps
• Neutral stimulus No response
• Neutral stimulus/unconditioned stimulus paired
  unconditioned response
• Conditioned stimulus conditioned responses
• Signal learning
• Behavior Elicited not necessarily conscious
  response

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Watsons take

• Law of frequency
• The more frequently a stimulus and response
  occur in association with each other, the
  stronger the S-R habit will become (Ormrod, p.
  43).
• Law of recency
• The response that has most recently occurred
  after a particular stimulus is the response most
  likely to be associated with that stimulus
  (Ormrod, p. 43).
• Extreme position regarding nature/nurture issues

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Classical Conditioning Phenomena

• Extinction
• Behavior goes away
• Spontaneous Recovery
• Behavior comes back
• Stimulus Generalization
• Response occurs when presented with similar
  stimuli
• Stimulus Discrimination
• When an individual learns not to generalize a
  response to similar stimuli
• Higher-order Conditioning
• Another layer of pairing stimuli and responses

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More Recent Developments in Classical Conditioning

• Contingency/contiguity vs. random or
  coincidence-like pairing
• Salience of the conditioned stimulus
• Some stimulus/response pairings make more sense
  than others
• Cognition a part of the process
• S/R relationships among mental representations
• Tolerance to drugs

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Altering Conditioned Behaviors

• Difficult to do involuntary
• Extinction
• Problems unpredictable speed, avoidance,
  spontaneous recovery
• Counter-conditioning (better than extinction)
• New response must be incompatible with old
  response
• Must identify a salient stimulus
• Gradually introduced new stimulus in conjunction
  with old stimulus
• Threshold method
• Present a stimulus faintly at first and then
  gradually increase the strength
• Systematic desensitization
• An example of counter-conditioning that is often
  applied to anxiety problems
• Exhaustion
• The stimulus is presented continuously until the
  individual can no longer respond in a habitual
  way

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Other key figures

• Edwin Guthrie
• A stimulus and response relationship can form at
  full strength in just one trial
• Clark Hull
• Intervening or organismic variables are also
  important to consider
• A departure from radical behaviorist views in
  that internal elements were seen as important
• Drive a major factor laid ground work for
  early theories of motivation

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Part II

• Operant Conditioning
• Groundwork
• True theory
• Types of reinforcers
• Reinforcement vs. Punishment
• Conditions
• Phenomena
• Eliminating undesirable behavior
• Limitations of reinforcement

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Groundwork for Operant Conditioning

• Edward Thorndike
• Law of Effect
• Responses followed by satisfaction are
  strengthened
• Responses followed by discomfort are weakened
• Originally focused on rewards and punishments
• Later revised without emphasis on punishment
• Emphasized the importance of consequences in the
  learning process

(Ormrod, p. 50)
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Operant Conditioning Proper

• B. F. Skinner
• Shifted emphasis from strength of S-R
  connections to simply the strengthening of
  responses
• A flip-flop of S-R to R-S (or R-C)
• A response that is followed by a reinforcer is
  strengthened and is therefore more likely to
  occur again.
• Reinforcer a stimulus or event that increases
  the frequency of a response it follows (Ormrod,
  p. 52).
• Rather than elicit the focus is now on the
  individual emitting a behavior, or operating
  on their environment

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Types of Reinforcers

• Primary
• Those that satisfy an inherent biological need or
  desire
• Secondary/Conditioned
• Those that satisfy all other needs or desires
• Material
• Social
• Activity
• Intrinsic

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Positive/Negative Reinforcers vs. Punishment

• Reinforcer response increases
• Punishment response decreases
• Positive reinforcer present something positive
  to increase certain response
• Negative reinforcer take something away to
  increase a certain response
• Punishment present or take something away to
  decrease a certain response
• (see Driscoll, Figure 2.2, p. 37)

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Conditions for operant conditioning

• Reinforcer occurs after response
• Reinforcer comes immediately
• Reinforcer is contingent on the desired
  response...
• Magnitude and appeal of reinforcer affects
  responses learned
• Consistency of reinforcement is important

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Operant Conditioning Phenomena

• Baseline
• Behavior in absence of reinforcer
• Terminal behavior
• Desired response at end of reinforcement program
• Extinction
• When response is no longer followed by a
  reinforcer and the behavior ceases
• Superstition
• When reinforcement is random and not contingent
  on behavior
• Shaping
• Reinforcing successive approximations of a task
• Chaining
• Reinforcing one response at a time, and then a
  sequence of responses simple to complex
  behaviors

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Operant Conditioning Phenomena Continued

• Stimulus generalization
• Once a response/reinforcer connection is learned
  an individual will likely respond similarly to
  similar reinforcers
• Stimulus discrimination
• When an individual learns under what
  circumstances a response will or will not be
  reinforced
• Stimulus control
• Cueing/Prompting
• Verbal or non-verbal cues that indicate a desired
  response (flicking lights, conducting, etc.)
• Setting events
• Designing an environment that is conducive to the
  type of response desired
• Learned Helplessness
• The passive acceptance of events seemingly beyond
  ones control

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Schedules of Reinforcement

• Ratio
• Reinforcements contingent on a certain number of
  behaviors
• Interval
• Reinforcement contingent on the passage of time
• Fixed
• Occurrence of reinforcement is consistent
• Variable
• Occurrence of reinforcement is not consistent
• (See Driscoll, Figure 2.5 and 2.6, p. 50 and 51)

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Eliminating Undesirable Behavior

• Extinguishing
• A particular response is no longer reinforced
• Non-contingent consequences
• May be beneficial for those who act out for
  attention
• Reinforcing other and/or incompatible behaviors
• Differential reinforcement
• Contingency contracts
• Personalized system of instruction
• IEPS and diverse learners
• CAI Computer Assisted Instruction

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Limitations of Reinforcement

• The reinforcer isnt salient
• Lack of consistency in reinforcement
• Cost/benefit analysis results in an imbalance
• Shaping a desired behavior too quickly
• Extrinsic reinforcer may undermine intrinsic
  interest

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Basic educational implications related to
Behaviorist principles

• Practice
• Positive learning environment
• Methods for breaking bad habits
• Assessing learning by looking for behavioral
  changes

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Part III

• Applied Behavioral Analysis (ABA)
• Essential components

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ABA Assumptions and Pseudonyms

• Assumptions
• Behavioral issues are related to past and present
  environmental circumstances
• Operant Conditioning concepts
• Reinforcement, extinction, shaping, chaining,
  stimulus control, reinforcing incompatible
  behaviors, etc
• ABaseline condition
• BTreatment/Intervention
• AReturn to Baseline
• Pseudonyms and similar processes
• Behavior Management
• Behavior modification
• Behavior therapy
• Contingency management...

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Components of ABA

• Present and desired behavior are specified in
  observable, measurable terms (Driscoll step 1)
• Behavior is measured before and during
  intervention
• Salient environmental/Intervention conditions
  and/or reinforcers are identified (Driscoll step
  2)
• A specific intervention/treatment plan is
  developed with the individual when appropriate
  (Driscoll step 3)
• Treatment monitored for effectiveness and
  modified along if necessary (similar to Driscoll
  step 4 and 5)
• Efforts made to show how change in behavior can
  be generalized to other situations
• Treatment is phased out eventually