Learning and Behavior

597 Pages·05.898 MB·English

by  James E. Mazur

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Seventh Edition
LEARNING AND BEHAVIOR
James E. Mazur
Southern Connecticut State University

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First published 2013, 2006, 2002 by Pearson Education, Inc.
Published 2016 by Routledge
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Copyright © 2013, 2006, 2002 Taylor & Francis. All rights reserved.
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Cover Image: © Brian Finestone/Fotolia
Cover Designer: Suzanne Behnke
Credits and acknowledgments borrowed from other sources and reproduced, with permission, in this textbook appear on the appropriate page
within text and on pages 395–396.
ISBN: 9780205246441 (hbk)
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Mazur, James E.
 Learning and behavior / James E. Mazur. —7th ed.
  p. cm.
 Includes bibliographical references and index.
 ISBN-13: 978-0-205-24644-1 (alk. paper)
 ISBN-10: 0-205-24644-3 (alk. paper)
1. Learning, Psychology of. 2. Conditioned response. 3. Behavior modification. 4. Psychology, Comparative. I. Title.
 BF318.M38 2013
 153.1’5—dc23
 2011036784
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In memory of my parents, Ann and Lou Mazur, who responded to my early interests in science with
encouragement, understanding, and patience.
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CONTENTS
Preface
Chapter 1 HISTORY, BACKGROUND, AND BASIC CONCEPTS
The Search for General Principles of Learning
The Associationists
Aristotle
The British Associationists: Simple and Complex Ideas
Ebbinghaus’s Experiments on Memory
The Effects of Repetition
The Effects of Time
The Role of Contiguity
The Influence of the Associationists and Ebbinghaus
Behavioral and Cognitive Approaches to Learning
The Use of Animal Subjects
The Emphasis on External Events
The Physiological Approach: Brain and Behavior
The Basic Characteristics of Neurons
Physiological Research on Simple Sensations
Physiological Research on Feature Detectors
Physiological Research on Learning
Summary
Review Questions
Chapter 2 INNATE BEHAVIOR PATTERNS AND HABITUATION
Characteristics of Goal-Directed Systems
Reflexes
Tropisms And Orientation
Kineses
Taxes
Sequences of Behavior
Fixed Action Patterns
Reaction Chains
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Innate Human Abilities And Predispositions
Habituation
General Principles of Habituation
Physiological Mechanisms of Habituation
Habituation in Emotional Responses: The Opponent-Process Theory
Summary
Review Questions
Chapter 3 BASIC PRINCIPLES OF CLASSICAL CONDITIONING
Pavlov’s Discovery and its Impact
The Standard Paradigm of Classical Conditioning
The Variety of Conditioned Responses
Pavlov’s Stimulus Substitution Theory
S-S or S-R Connections?
Basic Conditioning Phenomena
Acquisition
Extinction
Spontaneous Recovery, Disinhibition, and Rapid Reacquisition
Conditioned Inhibition
Generalization and Discrimination
The Importance of Timing in Classical Conditioning
CS–US Correlations
Higher Order Conditioning
Classical Conditioning Outside the Laboratory
Classical Conditioning and Emotional Responses
Classical Conditioning and the Immune System
Applications in Behavior Therapy
Summary
Review Questions
Chapter 4 THEORIES AND RESEARCH ON CLASSICAL CONDITIONING
Theories of Associative Learning
The Blocking Effect
The Rescorla–Wagner Model
Other Theories
Summary
Types of Associations
Associations in First-Order Conditioning
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Associations in Second-Order Conditioning
Associations with Contextual Stimuli
CS–CS Associations
Occasion Setting
Summary
Biological Constraints On Classical Conditioning
The Contiguity Principle and Taste-Aversion Learning
Biological Preparedness in Taste-Aversion Learning
Biological Preparedness in Human Learning
Biological Constraints and the General-Principle Approach
The Form of the Conditioned Response
Drug Tolerance and Drug Cravings as Conditioned Responses
Conditioned Opponent Theories
Physiological Research On Classical Conditioning
Summary
Review Questions
Chapter 5 BASIC PRINCIPLES OF OPERANT CONDITIONING
The Law of Effect
Thorndike’s Experiments
Guthrie and Horton: Evidence for a Mechanical Strengthening Process
Superstitious Behaviors
The Procedure of Shaping, or Successive Approximations
Shaping Lever Pressing in a Rat
Shaping Behaviors in the Classroom
Shaping as a Tool in Behavior Modification
Making Shaping More Precise: Percentile Schedules
Versatility of the Shaping Process
The Research of B. F. Skinner
The Free Operant
The Three-Term Contingency
Basic Principles of Operant Conditioning
Resurgence
Conditioned Reinforcement
Response Chains
Biological Constraints on Operant Conditioning
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Instinctive Drift
Autoshaping
Reconciling Reinforcement Theory and Biological Constraints
Summary
Review Questions
Chapter 6 REINFORCEMENT SCHEDULES: EXPERIMENTAL ANALYSES AND
APPLICATIONS
Plotting Moment-to-Moment Behavior: the Cumulative Recorder
The Four Simple Reinforcement Schedules
Fixed Ratio
Variable Ratio
Fixed Interval
Variable Interval
Extinction and the Four Simple Schedules
Other Reinforcement Schedules
Factors Affecting Performance on Reinforcement Schedules
Behavioral Momentum
Contingency-Shaped versus Rule-Governed Behaviors
Reinforcement History
Summary
The Experimental Analysis of Reinforcement Schedules
Cause of the FR Postreinforcement Pause
Comparisons of VR and VI Response Rates
Applications of Operant Conditioning
Teaching Language to Children with Autism
Token Reinforcement
Token Reinforcement
Behavior Therapy for Marital Problems
Conclusions
Summary
Review Questions
Chapter 7 AVOIDANCE AND PUNISHMENT
Avoidance
A Representative Experiment
Two-Factor Theory
Evidence Supporting Two-Factor Theory
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