10 - Associative Learning Flashcards
What is associative learning?
Associative learning is a theory that states that ideas reinforce each other and can be linked to one another
What are the 2 types of associative learning?
- Pavlovian or classical conditioning 2. Operant or instrumental conditioning
What was Skinner’s theory of associative learning?
Operant conditioning - the individual’s behaviour has an impact on the environment (this may positively or negatively reinforce the behaviour) i.e. action leads to stimulus (behaviour has consequences)
What is classical conditioning?
One event/stimulus leads to another event/stimulus
What are the stages of classical conditioning? (e.g. dog - bell = food)
- Cephalic phase –> mouth waters, prepare to eat
- Conditioning phase –> ring bell before footsteps to ‘condition’ dog
- Acquisition –> gaining conditioned response, extinction = losing it
- Spontaneous recovery –> if you take a break during extinction, they go back to their conditioned response. So extinction doesn’t = forgetting, it = learning new association
- Latent inhibition –> hard to learn new association due to past experiences
What is equipotentiality?
Exception to latent inhibition, 2%. Same principles regardless of past experiences, etc.
What are the key assumptions of associative learning?
- Simple conditioned associations are the building blocks of learning
- Same laws of learning apply regardless of what is being learned or who is doing the learning
Who came up with Pavolvian /classical conditioning and the ‘dog theory’?
Pavlov 1890
What is classical conditioning?
A type of learning in which one learns to link two or more stimuli and anticipate events. Learning through association, conditioned stimulus and conditioned response from unconditioned stimulus
What is acquisition?
The phase of classical conditioning when the CS and the US are presented together
What is a spontaneous recovery?
- The reappearance, after a pause, of an extinguished conditioned response
Describe Pavlov’s dog prototype
Intial:
- UCS (food) –> UCR (saliva)
- CS (bell) –> UCR (nothing)
Conditioning:
- CS (bell) –> UCS (food) –> UCR (saliva)
Testing:
- CS (bell) –> CR (saliva)
What is a cognitive view in relation to classical conditioning?
Knowledge about the relationships between 2 stimuli
How is Pavlovian conditioning largely affected by temporal contiguity?
Temporal contiguity occurs when two stimuli are experienced close together in time and, as a result an association may be formed. In
Pavlovian conditioning the strength of the association between the conditioned stimulus (bell) and the unconditioned stimulus (food) is largely affected by how close in time they are presented
How is contingency related to Pavlovian conditioning?
For Pavlov, the key variable in associative learning was the number of times the CS was paired with the US. As the number of pairings increases, the strength of the association between CS and US increases.
What is extinction in relation to spontaneous recovery and Pavlov?
Learning a new association (e.g. dog remembers light used to predict food)
What is latent inhibition?
Past learning experience changes acquisition of new associations
What is the concept of preparedness and what does it challenge?
Some associations (learning) are biologically advantaged –> challenges equipotentiality
What is the ‘sauce bearnaise syndrome’ and who coined this term?
Learned taste aversion to a food that comes after that food has been associated with nausea –> conditioned taste aversions
Coined by Seligman
What did Garcia & Koelling study in 1966 to do with taste?
Bright noisy water –> learned taste aversions
- Flavoured water –> light and click
- Conditioning –> xrays, lithium or shock
- Testing –> flavoured water or water with light + click
- Outcome –> sickness: avoided flavoured water, pain: avoid bright, noisy water
What % anticipate nausea with chemotherapy?
20-40%
Describe classical conditioning of nausea and chemo
- Chemo (UCS) –> Nausea (UCR)
- Sights/smells/thoughts preceding treatment (CS) –> Chemo –> Nausea
- Sights/smells/thoughts preceding treatment (CS) –> Nausea (CR)
What is 2nd order conditioning?
Building conditional stimuli, pairing with response. eg chemo – smell of hospitals, getting in car, reminder of appointment = nausea
New CS successively paired with old CS
New CS able to elicit CR
What is generalisation and discrimination?
Similar stimuli all cause same conditioned response but can discriminate if reinforced to make an exception – eg. Only one dog they’re not scared of, but scared of all others
Generalisation –> Greater similarity of new CS, more likely to elicit
Discrimination –> Responding to differences via reinforcement
