10/14/08

CHAPTER
Personality ELEVEN
Psychology
DOLLARD
Psychology 370
Sheila K. Grant, Ph.D.
Professor
AND MILLER:
Psychoanalytic Learning
California State University,
Northridge

Theory

Preview of Dollard and

Chapter Overview Miller’s Theory
Psychoanalytic Learning Theory:
Dollard and Miller

 Four fundamental concepts about learning

 The learning process
 Learning by imitation
 The four critical training periods of childhood
 Conflict
 Frustration and aggression
 Language
 Neurosis
 Psychotherapy
 Suppression

Psychoanalytic Learning Theory

Reconsidered

Four fundamental concepts

about learning
drive

  “In order to learn, one must

want something, notice Definition:   what a person wants,
something, do something, and get which motivates
learning
something.”
 drive (“want something”)
Examples:   hunger
 cue (“notice something”)
  thirst
 response (“do something”)
  sexual drive
 reward (“get something”)   approval-seeking

1
 10/14/08

cue response

Definition:   what a person notices, Definition:   what a person does,

which provides a which is learned
discriminative stimulus
for learning

Examples:   mother calling Examples:   crying

  sight of someone you love   asking for help
  criticizing someone

response Example of a response hierarchy: child

 response hierarchy   R1: cry

 dominant response   R2: grab teddy bear
  R3: hide
 resultant hierarchy
  R4: demand Daddy
  R5: go quietly to bed

reward The learning process

  learning
  what a person gets as a result of dilemma: a
Definition: a response in the learning
sequence, which strengthens situation in
responses because of its drive-
reducing effect
which existing
responses are
not rewarded
Examples:   food
  approval

2
 10/14/08

When cues signal the

appropriate response,
we must also consider

 stimulus generalization
 discrimination

When reinforcement is withheld, the rate of

behavior decreases. In this example, if parents
ignore a child who cries at bedtime, the child will
cry less and less as time goes on.

gradient of reward Learning by imitation

 The more closely the response is Learning theory

followed by reward, the more it permits careful
analysis of 3 kinds
is strengthened. of “imitation” or
  Language can influence this by “identification.”
making a response "close" by   same behavior
talking about it.   copying
  matched dependent
anticipatory response behavior

The four critical training periods

of childhood
Conflict

1.  Feeding Gradient of approach

2.  Cleanliness
Training
3.  Early Sex Training Gradient of avoidance
4.  Anger-Anxiety
Conflicts

3
 10/14/08

Four types of conflict approach-avoidance

 approach-avoidance
 avoidance-avoidance
 approach-approach
 double approach-avoidance

avoidance-avoidance approach-approach

double approach-avoidance Reducing Conflict

  Trying to reduce conflict

  compare drugs (alcohol) with
psychotherapy...

4
 10/14/08

Modification of the Frustration

Frustration and Aggression and Aggression hypothesis
 Learning Responses to Frustration
 Displacement and Catharsis
 Hostile Aggression and Instrumental
Aggression
 Aggressive Cues
 The Role of Emotions

Individual Differences in
Language
Aggressive Responses
 allows discrimination
 Impact of early experience (child
 facilitates learning and
abuse) and failure of ego
problem-solving
development
 comparison with Freud’s
 Impact of learning
“secondary process” (ego)
 Impact of brain development

Neurosis
Psychotherapy
Schematic Diagram (simplified) of Some Basic Factors
Involved in Neurosis as a “stupidity-misery syndrome”
 teaching behavioral coping
 teaching discrimination of cues
 teaching relaxation (drive
reduction)
 language as mediator of
learning

5
 10/14/08

Suppression Suppression
The White Bear Suppression
Inventory is correlated with   Can be adaptive
obsessional thinking, depression,   Can sensitize to (mis)interpretation
and anxiety. of other events (projection, for
example)
And, although people can
learn to repress   Can produce adverse health effects
unwanted thoughts, they   Suppression of thoughts is more
often "rebound" later,
occurring with increased helpful than suppression of emotions
frequency.

Chapter Review
Psychoanalytic Learning Theory:
Dollard and Miller
Psychoanalytic Learning   Four fundamental concepts about learning
  The learning process
Theory Reconsidered   Learning by imitation
  The four critical training periods of childhood
  Conflict
  Frustration and aggression
  Language
  Neurosis
  Psychotherapy
  Suppression

Psychoanalytic Learning Theory

Reconsidered