approaches to understanding learning Flashcards
classical conditioning stages
the neutral stimulus
the conditioned stimulus
the unconditioned stimulus
the unconditioned response
the conditioned response
the neural stimulus (NS)
the name given to the conditioned stimulus before it becomes conditioned; it produces no relevant response. In Pavlov’s experiment
conditioned stimulus (CS)
the stimulus which is neutral at the start of conditioning. It wouldn’t normally produce the Unconditioned response (UCR), but does so eventually because of its association with the Unconditioned Stimulus (UCS)
unconditioned stimulus
Any stimulus that consistently produces a particular involuntary/reflexive response.
unconditioned response (UCR)
A response which occurs automatically when the Unconditioned Stimulus is presented.
conditioned response (CR)
the behaviours which is identical to the UCR but is caused by the CS after conditioning.
extinction
When the UCS is no longer presented along with the CS
Eventually the CS becomes weaker and weaker
CR stops
spontaneous recovery
Extinction has occurred
A rest period takes place
When CS is reintroduced the CR again appears
CR is weaker than when first conditioned
stimulus generalisation
The organism will respond by producing a CR to stimuli that are similar to the CS
eg- A child who was bitten by a dog now fears all dogs not just pit bull terriers
Stimulus Discrimination
The organism only responds to the CS and no other similar stimuli
eg- Your dog gets excited when you put your Nike runners on, not any other white shoes
operant conditioning
A learning process by which the likelihood of a particular behaviour occurring is determined by the consequences of that behavior.
ABC of operant conditioning
Antecedent – the conditions that increase the likelihood of a response occurring (also called the discriminative stimulus)
Behaviour – the response executed by the learner
Consequence – the reinforcement or punishment delivered
reinforcement
Any stimulus (event or action) that subsequently strengthens or increases the likelihood of the response (behaviour) that it follows.
positive reinforcement
stimulus which strengthens a response by providing a pleasant or satisfying consequence
negative reinforcement
stimulus that strengthens a response by the reduction, removal or prevention of an unpleasant stimulus
positive punishment
the delivery of an unpleasant stimulus following an undesirable response
negative punishment
the removal of a pleasant stimulus following an undesired response
factors affecting reinforcement
order of presentation
timing
appropriateness of the reinforcer
order of presentation
reinforcement needs to occur after the desired response not before! So the organism associates the reinforcement with the behavior.
timing
Reinforcers need to occur as close in time to the desired response as possible. Most effective reinforcement occurs immediately after the desired response.
appropriateness of the reinforcer
For a stimulus to be a reinforce, it must provide a pleasing or satisfying consequence for its recipient.
observational learning
Observational learning occurs when someone uses observation of another person’s actions and their consequences to guide their future actions.
vicarious reinforcement
viewing a model being reinforced can strengthen behaviour in an observer
vicarious punishment
viewing a model being punished can weaken a behaviour in an observer
Elements of Observational Learning
- Pay attention in order to observe the modeled behaviour
- Mentally retain what has been observed
- Be capable of Reproducing the behaviour
- Be motivated or have some reinforcement available
