- Introduction
- Influences upon learning
- Operant conditioning
- Holistic analysis
- Reward and punishment
- Power of operant conditioning
- Token reinforcement
- Generalisation
- Parental responsibility
- Conclusion
INTRODUCTION
PHILOSOPHER-SCIENTIST: We have covered much in our discussion so far. We have
covered in some detail a new, more correct world view. We have looked at how the old world view has
been responsible for the world's many social problems. We have considered a large number
of these social problems which are presently facing humanity. Where should we go from
here? TINNY: I guess the next logical step is to devise a plan by which the social problems
facing humanity could be solved and find a means by which that plan could be carried out.
PHILOSOPHER-SCIENTIST: Can all that be done? TINNY: It can. PHILOSOPHER-SCIENTIST: Never in human history has change on such a grand scale been
attempted. You are talking about changing every aspect of human life; every institution,
every social structure, all social behaviour, all attitudes, and all beliefs.
TINNY: There will not only be changes in the social structure of the human race, but
also changes in every individual. These changes will affect the thoughts, words, and deeds of
every person on this planet. PHILOSOPHER-SCIENTIST: Can you really do all that?
TINNY: No, I could not do all that. These changes will be brought about by billions of
people acting together. I alone can do little more than attempt to change my own life.
PHILOSOPHER-SCIENTIST: But isn't it this knowledge and these ideas you have presented
which will bring about the change in world society? TINNY: That is true. It is this knowledge and
these ideas which will change the world, but this knowledge and these ideas are not mine.
They have envolved from the developing human race. They belong to everyone. Whether or not
I speak these words and profess these truths, they exist as part of the heritage of the
human race. If we are to have a future it will include these ideas and this knowledge
regardless of whether I speak these truths or not. As the natural unfolding of the
material universe takes place there is a moment when these truths will be first expressed,
then fully assimilated. My words are only one possible beginning to the full expression of
these truths. The human race has reached the level of development which provides the
conditions necessary for these essential truths to become manifested. Humanity will soon
fully know these truths. PHILOSOPHER-SCIENTIST: Could anything stop these truths from being known throughout
human society? TINNY: Only the destruction of the human race
could stop the development, expression, and spread of these ideas and this knowledge.
INFLUENCES UPON LEARNING
TINNY: This knowledge allows us to understand the
varied influences which affect our thinking, our behaviour, and our overall development as
unique individuals. PHILOSOPHER-SCIENTIST: The range of possible
influences is so great it hardly seems possible to be aware of them all. TINNY: While the range of influences is virtually
infinite they all fall into a small number of categories, and all of these influences act
lawfully. PHILOSOPHER-SCIENTIST: What do you mean when you say the influences act lawfully?
TINNY: I mean that the effects of these varied
influences upon our development can all be described by a set of laws. PHILOSOPHER-SCIENTIST: Are these laws complicated?
TINNY: I couldn't say they are simple; but many
of them, although having been given unfamiliar names, would be familiar when explained by
example. PHILOSOPHER-SCIENTIST: So you claim that by
understanding several categories of influence and a set of laws of learning that we can
overcome all the problems of society. TINNY: This is true, but only if accompanied by
the knowledge encompassed in the new world view we have discussed. PHILOSOPHER-SCIENTIST: I realise it will take
some time to cover this broad area of psychology, but could you tell me before you begin
what the various categories of influence are that affect our learning and personal
development. TINNY: That can be put quite simply. There are
basically three classes of influence that determine all our learning and the development
of our individual personalities. First, we are influenced by the physical environment.
Second, we are influenced by other people. And third, we are influenced by our own inner
speech.
OPERANT CONDITIONING
PHILOSOPHER-SCIENTIST: Would you give me a brief explanation of operant conditioning?
TINNY: Operant conditioning, while not a very
familiar term, is very commonly practised in everyday life. Much of operant conditioning
involves what we commonly call reward and punishment. Operant conditioning is a scientific
way of looking at how that which follows a response affects that response in the future.
Very simply if any response is followed by a reward that response will tend to increase in
the future; and, if any response is followed by punishment that response will tend to
decrease in the future. PHILOSOPHER-SCIENTIST: That sounds both simple and logical.
TINNY: These laws of learning are always logical,
but they can also be quite complex. There is much more to operant conditioning than those
very simple descriptions of reward and punishment. There is no aspect of our lives not
touched by these laws of learning. We must know these laws of learning to more perfectly
manifest our great potential for freewill. PHILOSOPHER-SCIENTIST: I'm looking forward to your explanation of all these laws of learning.
TINNY: There is so much to know about these laws of learning I almost
don't know where to begin. This discussion will need many new terms defined, and examples
given of these laws in practice. Luckily, since all knowledge is linked and all truth
interconnected, all the varied aspects of operant conditioning will fall into place and
allow a comprehensive understanding of the whole beyond the scope of my explanations.
HOLISTIC ANALYSIS
TINNY: Good, now I can describe a very simple
example of learning through reinforcement. If a rat enters one of these learning chambers
for the first time it will wander around and explore its new surroundings. This is a
natural behaviour with rats. Somewhat humanising the rat's motivation, you could say it
was inquisitive. It might take several minutes, but eventually the rat will press the
lever during its exploration. The action of pressing the lever is the response to be
conditioned by operant means. If immediately after the rat presses the lever it is given a
food pellet it will soon spend all its time in the cage pressing the lever, at least as
long as it is hungry. This would be the simplest type of reinforcement possible. In this
example the response is lever pressing and reinforcing stimulus is food. Each time the rat
presses the lever it is immediately given a food pellet. As I described operant
conditioning, it is concerned with how the events which follow a response affect the
nature of that response in the future. In this example of reinforcement each response of
lever pressing is followed by the presentation of the positive stimulus, food. Being given
food after each lever press increases the amount of lever pressing that the rat engages
in. PHILOSOPHER-SCIENTIST: Does being given food
after each lever press cause the rat to press the lever more often? TINNY: That is an important point to understand.
The food does not cause the rat to press the lever more often. It is the internal
condition of the rat that causes the increase in lever pressing. PHILOSOPHER-SCIENTIST: It appears that the food elicits lever pressing.
TINNY: Things are often not as they appear. If it
was true that the food caused lever pressing the rat would have no choice but to press the
lever. In this situation, though, the rat should be thought of as choosing to press the
lever. Instead of the food eliciting the response, it is more accurate to say that the rat
emits a response which is followed by the presentation of food. PHILOSOPHER-SCIENTIST: How is the word 'emit' different from the word 'elicit'?
TINNY: 'Elicit' means to bring about, implying
external control. The word 'emit' means to send out, implying internal control.
PHILOSOPHER-SCIENTIST: Is there any way to prove
that lever pressing is a voluntary response chosen by the rat rather than an involuntary
response caused by the food. TINNY: It can be shown quite clearly. The
learning situation in this example will only result in increased lever pressing if the rat
is hungry. If the rat had eaten its fill just before entering the experimental chamber the
food pellets, which followed the few lever presses that naturally occur as the rat
explored its new environment, would have had no effect on how often the lever was pressed.
The rat would not spend all its time standing by the lever pressing it. I think this can
best be explained by looking at the holistic analysis taking place in the rat's brain
during these experiences. To a hungry rat obtaining food will be a primary consideration
of this holistic analysis. Anything which provides a means to obtain food is valuable
information during this period. Before the rat first presses the lever the holistic
analysis includes no relationship between lever pressing and obtaining food. As soon as
lever pressing is immediately followed by food a connection between the two begins to
form. At first the holistic analysis cannot be certain the response of lever pressing will
be followed by food so the rate of lever pressing does not increase greatly. Since rats
are fast learners it doesn't take very many instances when food follows lever pressing for
the holistic analysis to become quite certain of the relationship between the two. You
could say the rat has learned a way to obtain food. As long as the rat is hungry the
holistic analysis will continue providing advice that the lever pressing is an appropriate
response which will obtain food. When the rat is no longer hungry the information that
food can be obtained by lever pressing remains stored in memory, but now the holistic
analysis is no longer concerned with obtaining food. Now the holistic analysis would
advise that lever pressing was not of benefit. Rats, just as most animals, do not act
unless it is for some benefit. The rat would no longer press the lever very often.
PHILOSOPHER-SCIENTIST: How about if the rat was in the chamber long enough to get hungry again?
TINNY: The stored information indicating food
could be obtained by pressing the lever would be available to the holistic analysis. When
once again interested in getting food the rat has learned and remembered what to do to get
food. If it became hungry the holistic analysis would advise pressing the lever to obtain
food. The rat would once again begin pressing the lever at some high rate. PHILOSOPHER-SCIENTIST: I see what you meant when
you said it was not the food that caused the rat to press the lever, but that it was some
inner condition of the rat that caused it to press the lever. TINNY: The food has an influence, but it is not a
cause. The holistic analysis taking place in the rat's brain evaluates all the pertinent
factors, certainly including the rat's immediate need for food. It is this holistic
analysis which mediates the degree of influence the food will be allowed. PHILOSOPHER-SCIENTIST: It would seem that the holistic analysis has something to do with freewill.
TINNY: The holistic analysis is a critical factor
in the degree to which freewill can be expressed at all levels of material development.
PHILOSOPHER-SCIENTIST: Would you explain once
again what is included in the holistic analysis? TINNY: The holistic analysis is a dynamic
process, it is always undergoing change. Any form of material existence is constantly
receiving many stimuli from the environment. If the particular material form is a rat, as
in the example we have been discussing, the holistic analysis takes place mainly in the
brain. There are many stimuli reaching the rat. These stimuli are received by the rat's
sensory nerves and transmitted to the brain. The brain interprets these sensory inputs and
matches them with appropriate memory storage. This interaction between perception,
interpretation, and the stored information of memory results in an evaluation of all these
factors in relation to the general conditions and circumstances of the rat. This process
is best thought of as a holistic analysis. PHILOSOPHER-SCIENTIST: Is there any difference at the human level?
TINNY: In addition to perception, interpretation,
and memory, which are the crucial factors at the animal level, self-reflective
consciousness is included at the human level. PHILOSOPHER-SCIENTIST: How does this addition of
self-reflective consciousness affect the holistic analysis? TINNY: Self-reflective consciousness allows a
much greater range of variables to be considered by the holistic analysis which takes
place in the human brain. This self-reflective consciousness becomes, in effect, another
source of environmental influence. The effect of self-reflective consciousness is the
third factor of environmental influence, inner speech.
REWARD AND PUNISHMENT
TINNY: There are basically four types of operant
conditioning, two of reinforcement and two of punishment. Reinforcement can involve either
a positive or negative stimulus; and punishment can involve either a positive or negative
stimulus. The most familiar type of reinforcement involves a positive stimulus occurring
after the response; and, the most familiar type of punishment involves a negative stimulus
occurring after the response. When a response is followed by a positive stimulus that
response tends to increase in the future. If we do anything that gets us something we want
we are more likely to do that thing again in the future. When a response is followed by an
aversive stimulus that response tends to decrease in the future. When we do anything that
brings us something we don't like we are less likely to do that thing again in the future.
PHILOSOPHER-SCIENTIST: That leaves unexplained
one type of reinforcement which involves a negative stimulus, and one type of punishment
that involves a positive stimulus. TINNY: Reinforcement which involves a positive
stimulus is called positive reinforcement; so quite logically reinforcement that involves
a negative stimulus is called negative reinforcement. Negative reinforcement occurs when
the response removes an already present aversive stimulus. When a response removes an
aversive stimulus that response tends to increase in the future. If we do anything that
stops something we don't like we are more likely to do that thing again in the future.
PHILOSOPHER-SCIENTIST: And how can a positive stimulus be involved in punishment?
TINNY: Punishment that involves a negative
stimulus has no special name, but it could be called presentation punishment since a
negative stimulus is presented after the response. This would allow punishment that
involves a positive stimulus to quite logically be called withdrawal punishment.
Withdrawal punishment occurs when the response removes an already present positive
stimulus. When a response removes a positive stimulus that response tends to decrease in
the future. If we do anything that stops something we like we are less likely to do that
thing again in the future. PHILOSOPHER-SCIENTIST: Let me be sure I have all
this straight. Operant conditioning falls into four main types. They are positive
reinforcement, negative reinforcement, presentation punishment, and withdrawal punishment.
TINNY: That's right. Most of the complex types of
operant conditioning are variations and combinations of those four simple relationships
between some response and a positive or aversive stimulus. PHILOSOPHER-SCIENTIST: Reinforcement always
increases the response being conditioned. Reinforcement can occur with either a positive
or a negative stimulus. In positive reinforcement the response is always followed by a
positive stimulus. In negative reinforcement the response always removes an already
existing negative stimulus. TINNY: That's correct. No matter whether a
positive or negative stimulus is involved, reinforcement always results in an increase in
the likelihood of the response being conditioned occurring in the future. PHILOSOPHER-SCIENTIST: Punishment always
decreases the response being conditioned. Punishment can occur with either a positive or
negative stimulus. In presentation punishment the response is always followed by a
negative stimulus. In withdrawal punishment the response always removes an already
existing positive stimulus. TINNY: That's right. No matter whether a positive
or negative stimulus is involved punishment always results in a decrease in the likelihood
of the response being conditioned occurring in the future.
POWER OF OPERANT CONDITIONING
TINNY: That is the power of operant conditioning;
it changes the impossible to the simple. That is why it is such a powerful tool that it
could be used to transform human society into a veritable utopia. PHILOSOPHER-SCIENTIST: It will be used for that purpose.
TINNY: As we talk I am seeing more and more
clearly the solution to the threatened extinction of the human species. I have no trouble
now understanding how the new world view, when spread through humanity, will bring about
the solution to the many social problems we now face. It is easy to believe the human race
will achieve its grand destiny, will progress to perfection in every aspect. The present
state of human society can be considered the baseline condition. Perfection in every
aspect can be considered the goal condition. Using the principles of learning as a tool,
human society can undergo a shaping process which could positively reinforce those
responses which move from the baseline condition in the direction of the goal condition.
Reinforcement of successive approximations toward that goal of perfection can continue
until the goal is reached. This can really happen. We can know where we are now, where we
want to go, and how to get there. It can really happen like that, can't it? PHILOSOPHER-SCIENTIST: The future of humanity as
you describe it is in accord with the natural order. It can happen that way, it should
happen that way.
TOKEN REINFORCEMENT
PHILOSOPHER-SCIENTIST: Would you give an example of tokens being used in a conditioning procedure?
TINNY: In training monkeys, wooden discs have
been given after various responses to serve as reinforcers. First, of course, the monkey
has to learn that the token can be traded for some primary reinforcer such as food or a
drink. Monkeys will then work to get the tokens just as they would to get food or drink.
The monkeys perform responses which get them tokens, save up these tokens, and later turn
the tokens in for primary reinforcers. In one experiment I read about, each token could be
traded in for a slice of banana. PHILOSOPHER-SCIENTIST: That description of the use of wooden discs as tokens sounds somehow familiar.
TINNY: Tokens are widely used in human society.
We call our tokens money. Money has no real value of its own. The value of money comes
from what it can be traded for. We learn as children that money can be traded for primary
reinforcers. Money is very influential in conditioning human behaviour. If money could no
longer be traded for primary reinforcers it would lose its ability to effect the future
occurrence of the responses it follows. Money would then have no value. PHILOSOPHER-SCIENTIST: There can be no doubt as
to the effectiveness of tokens as reinforcing stimuli. Some people will do anything for
money. TINNY: Money has become such a powerful
generalised secondary reinforcer that it has practically become a primary reinforcer in
its own right.
GENERALISATION
PHILOSOPHER-SCIENTIST: Could you give me an example of generalisation in human learning.
TINNY: Human examples are often most obvious with
young children. When very young children are learning to talk they are sometimes shown
different animals and told what each animal is called. For instance the child might be
show a small dog and told it is called a puppy. Several times the child might point out
other little dogs and say "puppy". The parents reinforce this behaviour by
showing their approval. In this learning sequence a little dog is the discriminative
stimulus, saying "puppy" is the response, and the parent's approval is the
reinforcing stimulus. The child has been conditioned by positive reinforcement to call
little dogs 'puppy'. Now the child sees another small animal, with fur, a tail, and
running on four legs. Once again, the child says "puppy". This time though the
small animal was actually a cat. The mistake made by the child was due to generalisation.
There were enough similar characteristics between the original stimulus, the little dog,
and the new stimulus, the cat, for the child to respond to the cat in a way which would
have been the appropriate response upon seeing a dog. If the characteristics of the cat
had not been so similar, it would be unlikely the child would have responded by saying
"puppy". The child, upon seeing an elephant, is not likely to generalise and
call it a puppy. Although the elephant shares some characteristics with a dog, there would
not be enough to allow generalisation to take place. Young children have also been known
to call the wrong adult "Mummy" or "Daddy". This happens because of
generalisation also. The child, seeing enough similar characteristics, responds to an
unrelated adult as it had learned to do when seeing its real parents. PHILOSOPHER-SCIENTIST: During that explanation you said that a parent's approval was a reinforcer.
TINNY: We humans and some animals find approval,
affection, friendliness, smiles, a kind word, or even attention to be desirable. They can
all be positive stimuli and serve as reinforcers. PHILOSOPHER-SCIENTIST: Does this class of reinforcing stimuli have a name?
TINNY: They are called social reinforcers. Social
reinforcers are one of the most common and effective rewards. Most human learning involves
some form of social reinforcement. PHILOSOPHER-SCIENTIST: Social reinforcement seems
like it would be a very convenient way to reward desirable behaviour. TINNY: Social reinforcement is also a very nice way to reward desirable behaviour.
PHILOSOPHER-SCIENTIST: Couldn't social reinforcement also be used to reward undesirable behaviour?
TINNY: Unfortunately that's true. Much social
reinforcement is used to develop behaviours which are wrong and harmful. PHILOSOPHER-SCIENTIST: That will change.
TINNY: It has to if the human species is to survive.
PARENTAL RESPONSIBILITY
PHILOSOPHER-SCIENTIST: Are the parents solely to blame for their children's actions?
TINNY: Particularly when children are very young,
the parents must accept a great deal of the responsibility for the behavioural patterns
their children develop. I purposefully used the word 'responsibility' instead of the word
'blame'. Responsibility only indicates the degree of significance of the natural
influences which occur in the early parent-child relationships. Blame has an associated
meaning beyond responsibility, as if the person has done something bad and perhaps should
be punished. Blame often results in guilt. Guilt is not a beneficial state of mind.
Responsibility should be accepted objectively, with no feelings of guilt. Responsibility
for something which has gone wrong should lead to different behaviour in the future. Guilt
need not be felt for wrong behaviour. Wrong behaviour should be recognised for what it is
and serve as a cue to behave differently in the future. In such a case the wrong behaviour
functions as a discriminative stimulus which indicates a different, more positive
behaviour will be reinforced. PHILOSOPHER-SCIENTIST: Guilt is a form of punishment, isn't it?
TINNY: Guilt is one of the most common forms of punishment at the human level of existence.
CONCLUSION
Due to circumstances this volume of the Unified
Theory of Existence has been published incomplete. Volume III was to have consisted of two
parts - an overview of the laws of learning; and, a discussion of the process by which the
knowledge presented in the unified theory of existence could be used to help usher in the
more peaceful, loving world which is our destined future. The material included in this
unfinished work is an almost complete presentation of the first part, the laws of
learning. Luckily, the means by which the unified theory of
existence can be used to help us transform our human society into a virtual utopia can be
generally described in only a few words. All that need be done is to teach the positive,
more objectively accurate world view presented in Volume One of the unified theory of
existence trilogy, and the understanding of the laws of learning presented in Volume
Three, to a social group of any size(up to and including the whole of the human race);
and, that social group will naturally move toward the more full expression of everything
which is good and right, to the perfect manifestation of all positive characteristics. The
larger the size of the social group, and the more effectively the knowledge contained in
the unified theory of existence is taught, the quicker and more significant will be the
progression toward all things good and right. The knowledge presented in the unified theory of
existence, although being of a high intellectual level, can be taught in a way that is
made easily understandable to those of any age or academic background. Anyone who
understands the unified theory of existence, at whatever level, can impart that knowledge
to others in a way that will have some positive benefit. Obviously, the better the
understanding of the unified theory of existence, and the more skilled the teacher, the
greater will be the positive effect. Through an understanding of the laws of learning we
can become more able to exercise our free will. This can be done by the conscious exercise
of the holistic analysis, whereby every input from the total environment can be measured
against an objective standard, the positive, more accurate world view presented in the
unified theory of existence. By understanding the affects upon
our development of interactions with the inner and outer world, we can enhance the effect
of those influences which move us toward that which is positive, and diminish the effect
of those influences which move us toward that which is negative. We can use the process
within our consciousness, referred to as holistic analysis, to evaluate our every thought,
word, and deed. In the simplest of terms, the criteria for that which is good and right
could be determined by the following three questions - is this good for me; is this good
for society; and, is this good for the planetary environment. Any thought, word, or deed
that meets those three criteria will certainly be good and right, and will aid in the
progression toward a utopian future.
Read UTE vol. I
