ap unit 4 Flashcards
Learning
any relatively permanent change in behavior brought about by experience or practice
Ivan Pavlov
(1849-1936) Russian physiologist who won the 1904 Nobel Prize in Physiology and Medicine, studied digestion accidentally discovered the learning process now known as classical conditioning (dog salivate with food, bell added, dog salivates)
Classical Conditioning
Forming an association between two stimuli resulting in a learned response, we learn to anticipate events
Neutral Stimulus (NS)
Produces no effect until paired with an unconditioned stimulus
Unconditioned Stimulus (US or UCS)
A stimulus is one that unconditionally, naturally, and automatically triggers an unconditioned response or reflex (biologically significant stimulus, don’t have to learn to respond to this stimulus)
Unconditioned Response (UR or UCR)
An unlearned response that occurs naturally in reaction to the unconditioned stimulus (requires no previous learning)
Conditioned Stimulus (CS)
a previously neutral stimulus that is becoming associated with the unconditioned stimulus, eventually comes to trigger a conditioned response
Conditioned Response (CR)
the learned response to the previously neutral stimulus (learned reflexive response, only occurs after an association has been made with unconditional and conditioned stimulus)
Acquisition
initial stage of learning when a response is first established and gradually strengthened (after an association is made, the subject will begin to emit a behavior in response to the previous neutral stimulus)
Extinction
the occurrences of a conditioned response decreases or disappears, this happens when a conditioned stimulus is no longer paired with an unconditioned stimulus
Spontaneous Recovery
refers to the return of a previously extinguished conditioned response following a rest period (repeated extinction/recovery cycles will weaken the conditioned response)
Stimulus Generalization
the tendency for the conditioned stimulus to evoke similar responses after the response has been conditioned
Taste Aversion
the avoidance of a certain food following a period of illness after consuming that food (classical conditioning can result in changes in behavior, even after one incidence)
Biological Preparedness
some associations form more readily because they aid in survival
Watson’s “Little Albert” Experiment
controversial classical conditioning experiment of an infant boy, given furry animals to see the effects of conditioning on the fear response (scared of loud noises when connected animals, became scared of seeing the animal)
B.F. Skinner
founder of modern behavioral perspective, research of operant conditioning and schedules of reinforcement (interested in consequences of behavior)
Operant Conditioning
method of learning that occurs through rewards and punishments for behavior (operant means active behavior that operates upon the environment to generate consequences)
Shaping
procedure in which reinforces gradually guide an anima’s actions towards a desired complex behavior (successive approximations, rewards to bring them closer to goal)
Chaining
breaks a task down into small steps and then teaches each step within the sequences by itself
Reinforcing Stimulus
reinforcement is any event that strengthens or increases the behavior it follows (happens each time behavior occurs, has the most effort and resources used)
Positive Reinforcement
favorable events or outcomes that are presented after the behavior, response or behavior is strengthened by the addition of something (reward or praise for behavior)
Negative Reinforcement
the removal of an unfavorable events or outcomes after the display of a behavior, response is strengthened by the removal of something considered unpleasant (eliminating something painful or annoying to bring the behavior again)
Token Reinforcer
reinforces are symbols or tokens that can be exchanged for other reinforces (can be exchanged for material reinforcers, services, or privileges otherwise the tokens are worthless)
Punishing Stimulus
the presentation of an adverse event or outcome that causes a decrease in the behavior it follows (the timing of a consequence must be close to behavior so it’s effective)
Postive Punishment
presents an unfavorable event or outcome in order to weaken the response it follows (punishment by application)
Negative Punishment
occurs when a favorable event or outcome is removed after a behavior occurs (punishment by removal)
Continuous Reinforcement
desired behavior is reinforced each and every time it occurs (desired behavior is typically learned quickly, most effective, creates a strong connection with response and behavior)
Partial Reinforcement
Intermittent, the response is reinforced only part of the time (most effective when behavior is already established, less likely to disappear, various partial reinforcement)
How many types of partial reinforcement
4
Fixed
number of behavior or length of time intervals is constant
Variable
number of behaviors or length of time intervals is varied
Interval
based on time
Ratio
amount of responses
Fixed Ratio
response is reinforced only after a specific number of responses (builds a high response rate, irregular responding may cause it to stop)
Variable Ratio
response is reinforced after an unpredictable number of response (rate of responding becomes constant, not effective to teach new behaviors)
Fixed Interval
the first response is rewarded only after a specific amount of time has passed (tend to respond more frequently as the anticipated time for rewards comes closer, a choppy stop-start pattern instead of steady rate)
Variable Interval
occurs when a response is rewarded after an unpredictable amount of time has passed (produces slow, steady responding, minimal pause after reinforcement is given)
Observational Learning
the process of learning through watching others, retaining information, and then replicating the behaviors observed (referred as shaping, modeling, and vicarious reinforcement)
Mirror Neurons
nervous system cells that fire both when an organism is doing a behavior and also when observing another organism doing the behavior (mirror what is happening, after repeated actions it can decrease and show desensitization)
Albert Bandura and the Bobo Doll
showed that young children would imitate the violence and aggressive actions of an adult (if adult was violent with no consequence then children would follow, if the adult was violent with consequence then children wouldn’t follow)
Latent Learning
one can learn something but not show the behavior right away (learning can take place in an organism without the presence of a reinforcer, forms a cognitive map for mental representation to recall, acquire, and store information)
Insight Learning
Wolfgang Kolher, a sudden realization of the problem’s solution that came to you like a “Light Bulb” (stimulus response conditioning alone is not responsible for behavior, some level of unobservable cognitive processes are at work)
Premack Principle
a person will perform a less desirable activity in order to perform a more desirable activity as a consequence (benefit to know what is desirable and not desirable for a person, motivated people to do activity if they know that their desired activity will follow as consequence)
Learned Helplessness
a mental state in which an organism continues to experience a painful, unpleasant, or aversive stimulus (helpless learn that regardless of actions, they have no ability to change the outcome)
