Chapter Outline

Chapter Outline

1. TOLMAN'S PURPOSIVE BEHAVIORISM

   Tolman developed a cognitive view of learning during the era when Hull's mechanistic theory was dominant. However, Tolman's approach has become increasingly popular in modern psychology.

   1. Learning Principles: Tolman challenged Hull's claim that behavior is automatic by stating that behavior has direction and purpose. Organisms act for ends, as if behavior were purposeful. Expectations occur when sufficient motivation is present. Tolman undertook a series of studies to demonstrate the purposive nature of behavior.

   2. Place-Learning Studies: Tolman said that subjects learn the locations of rewards while Hull proposed that responses are connected to stimuli by automatic associative processes. Tolman and associates undertook a series of studies to investigate the nature of learning.

      1. T-Maze Experiments

         Tolman, Ritchie, and Kalish (1946) completed a study comparing perceptual versus motor learning of a food location in a T-maze. The results showed that perceptual (place) learning was superior to motor (response) learning.

         Numerous studies have since examined place versus response learning. The degree of experience with the task appears to be an important factor. As behavior is continually practiced, mechanical habit processes appear to dominate over cognitive processes in controlling performance.

      2. Alternate-Path Studies

         Tolman and Honzik (1930) studied rats in a maze where familiar pathways to the goal were blocked. The rats were adaptive in changing their behavior for the positive reinforcement as successive pathways were blocked. Tolman interpreted these results to mean that rats learn a perceptual representation of the environment in order to locate reward. However, other research has indicated that changing the width of the path in the maze leads to the animal moving down the blocked path.

   3. Is Reward Necessary for Learning?: Tolman stated that contiguity of two events was sufficient for learning to occur. His latent-learning experiments were intended to verify this claim.

      1. Latent-Learning Studies

         Tolman and Honzik's (1930) classic experiment indicated that the introduction of food reinforcement after hungry rats had experienced a maze is followed by immediate improvement in behavior. This improvement indicated to Tolman and Honzik that learning had previously taken place in the absence of reinforcement. When the reinforcement was introduced, what was previously learned began to influence behavior.

         While Tolman and Honzik's suggest that latent learning can occur, other studies have not been able to confirm the effect. One important factor in determining whether latent learning can be demonstrated is the drive state of the subject. As the drive state increases, the probability of latent learning decreases.

      2. The Drive Response

         Latent learning effects are most consistently observed when animals are not deprived when initially exposed to reward. In addition, it is possible that unintended sources of reward are operating in latent learning experiments.

2. THE CONCEPT OF AN EXPECTANCY

   1. A Mental Representation of Events: Several psychologists have argued that an expectancy is a mental representation of events.

   2. Types of Mental Representations: Dickinson proposed two main types of expectancies. First, there is an associative-linkexpectancy which allows one event to excite or inhibit the representation of another event. Secondly, there is a behavior-belief representation which is knowledge that a specific action will be followed by a certain consequence.

   3. Associative-Link Expectancies: According to Dickinson, Pavlovian conditioning results in associative-link expectancies. Associative-link expectancy is demonstrated by the irrelevant incentive effect which involves the acquisition of an excitatory link expectancy that a particular stimulus is associated with a reinforcer when an irrelevant drive state is active.

   4. Behavior-Reinforcer Beliefs: Dickinson also proposed that operant behavior is controlled by behavior-reinforcer beliefs. Dickinson says that the reinforcer devaluation effect demonstrates the existence of behavior-reinforcer beliefs. When a positive reinforcer is associated with an aversive event, the positive reinforcer loses its ability to control behavior.

   5. The Importance of Habits: Some theorists have rejected the idea that expectancies control behavior and have returned to the Hullian belief that mechanical habits control performance. Dickinson has tried to establish the conditions under which habits might dominate behavior. As behavior continues to be practiced, it appears to come under the stronger influence of habit, a phenomenon Dickinson calls behavioral autonomy.

3. A COGNITIVE VIEW OF DEPRESSION

   Seligman (1975) has offered a learned helplessness theory of depression. The theory suggests that learning plays an important role in emotions.

   1. Learned Helplessness Theory: Learned helplessness, as an explanation for depression, proposes that exposure to uncontrollable events leads to the belief that events are independent of behavior.

      1. Original Animal Research

         Seligman and associates trained dogs in an inescapable shock condition. Later, these dogs had major difficulty learning how to avoid shock as compared to control subjects.

      2. Helplessness in Human Subjects Hiroto (1974) showed that humans who were trained in an inescapable noise situation later had difficulty learning how to avoid the noise stimulus.

      3. Characteristics of Helplessness

         According to Seligman, helplessness produces motivational deficits, cognitive deficits, and emotional disturbance.

      4. Motivational Impairments

         The passivity of subjects following exposure to uncontrollable events indicates a loss to initiate voluntary behavior.

      5. Intellectual Impairments

         Exposure to uncontrollable events appears to cause subjects to lose interest in the learning process. Expectations of future success or failure of behavior is dependent upon the subject maintaining control over the situation.

      6. Emotional Trauma

         Exposure to uncontrollable events induces symptoms associated with clinical depression.

      7. Similarities of Helplessness and Depression

         Correlational evidence supports Seligman's view that the inability to control events precipitates depression.

      8. Criticism of the Learned Helplessness Approach

         The original learned helplessness view has been criticized for its simplicity. Some studies with humans reported contradictory outcomes. These problems led to a revision of the theory in the form of an attributional model.

   2. An Attributional Model: Seligman and associates (1978, 1980) proposed that the attributions people make for failure determine whether they become depressed. An attribution is a belief, a perceived cause for an event. Causal attributions operate on three dimensions: personal-universal (internal-external), global-specific, and stable-unstable. A personal attribution is the belief that internal characteristics are responsible for the outcome of a situation; an external attribution is a view that agencies, other than the self, determine an outcome. A global attribution is a belief that the cause of an outcome on a certain task will determine outcomes in other situations; a specific attribution is a belief that the cause for an outcome operates uniquely. Finally, a stable attribution is a belief that the perceived cause of an outcome will determine future outcomes; an unstable attribution is a belief that new factors may determine future outcomes.

      1. Personal versus Universal Helplessness

         The nature of the helplessness determines whether loss of esteem appears. People who attribute their failure to external forces - universal helplessness - experience no loss of self-esteem. However, the attribution of failure to internal factors - personal helplessness - does lead to the loss of self-esteem and the induction of depression.

      2. Global versus Specific Causal Attributions

         If failure is attributed to a specific situation, then helplessness does not occur. Depression results when people feel that their failure is global.

      3. Stable versus Unstable Causal Attributions

         If failure is attributed to an unstable factor, then the attribution does not lead to helplessness. However, if failure is attributed to a stable feature of the personality, then depression results.

      4. Severity of Depression

         Depression is most severe when people attribute their failures to internal, global, and stable factors.

   3. Hopelessness: Abramson, Metalsky, and Alloy (1989) have suggested a further revision of helplessness theory. They propose that some forms of depression are caused by hopelessness, which refers to the expectation either that desired outcomes will not occur or that the person has no control over undesired outcomes. This attributional style can lead to hopelessness depression.

   4. A Pessimistic Explanatory Style and Depression: Research has indicated that knowing a person's attributional style allows the prediction whether the individual is susceptible to depression: An internal, global, and stable attributional style is a marker for depression. Langer (1983) proposed that an optimistic personality style insulates against depression: Optimistic individuals tend to feel competent (i.e., believe they have personal control over external events).

   5. Biological Influences on Learned Helplessness: Biochemical changes in the brain induced by stress (e.g., uncontrollable, unpleasant events) may precipitate depression. For example, decreased norepinephrine activity correlates with depression.

4. A COGNITIVE VIEW OF PHOBIC BEHAVIOR

   Phobias are unrealistic fears and may be based on cognitive processes.

   1. Phobias and Expectations: According to Bandura, a phobia is driven by two classes of expectancies. First, stimulus-outcome expectancies reflect the perceived relationships of events. Second, response-outcome expectancies indicate personal ability regarding a particular task. These expectancies can lead to a belief that one can or cannot succeed, which is termed an efficacy expectation.

   2. The Importance of Our Experiences: Outcome and efficacy expectations can develop through direct personal experience, observations of other people's experiences, and through information provided by others. Moreover, one's sense of efficacy can also be influenced by one's emotions.

   3. Application: A Modeling Treatment for Phobias: Modeling allows for the acquisition of behavior by observing others. Thus, modeling may be useful in the treatment of phobia. In therapy, clients often reduce their phobias by watching a model move closer in successive steps until a feared object is encountered.

   4. An Alternative View: Some psychologists continue to argue that avoidance behavior is largely drive-based. Thus, phobic behavior may not always be best explained by cognitive processes such as those proposed by Bandura and others.