B6 Behavioural Theories Flashcards
From an evolutionary perspective, why do people get anxious?
Fearful people survive and pass on their genes
What are the psychological symptoms of anxiety?
Headaches, pain, fatigue
Hyperventilation - dizziness, tingling fingers and toes
Sympathetic over-activity - Sweating, pale skin, dry mouth, butterflies, nausea, loose stools
What are the psychological symptoms of anxiety?
CNS: Poor concentration, memory, feeling unreal
Mood: Fear, panic, worry, on edge, irritable
Thoughts of future danger/losing control/worry
What are unhealthy behaviours associated with anxiety?
Pacing, maladaptive coping mechanisms, avoiding, safety behaviours, seeking reassurance for health
What are treatments for anxiety?
Education Relaxation CBT SSRIs Benzodiazepines
What is learning?
Relatively permanent change in behaviour resulting from an experience
Why do we learn?
Enables us to adapt to environment -> survival
What is the neuronal basis of learning?
More axonal connections between neurons
Increased efficiency of neurotransmitter release across synapse
List some different types of learning?
Associative
Vicarious
Factual transmission
Complex
What is associative learning?
Linking certain events together
What is vicarious learning?
Learning by direct observation
What is factual transmission?
Passing on facts
What are examples of complex learning?
Social learning
Emotional intelligence
What is the theme of classical conditioning?
Somebody can be trained to think that A reliably predicts B
Is the subjective of classical conditioning active or passive?
Passive
What is another name for classical conditioning?
Respondent learning
What is another name for operant conditioning?
Instrumental learning
What is the theme behind operant conditioning?
Some can learn that a particular response predicts an event
Is operant conditioning an active or passive process?
Active
What is positive reinforcement?
Adding something good
Maintains/increases the same behaviour
What is negative reinforcement?
Taking away something bad
Maintains/increases the same behaviour
What is punishment?
Adding something bad
Stops/reduces the behaviour
Extinction
Taking away something good
Stops/reduces the behaviour
Which type of conditioning explains the origin of phobias?
Classical
What type of conditioning explains the maintenance of phobias?
Operant
Where is conditioning applied?
Parenting CBT Teaching Adverts Movies
How does classical conditioning work?
Pair the conditioned stimulus with the unconditioned stimulus and unconditioned response a few times and the subject will respond to the conditioned stimulus, expecting the conditioned response
What is an unconditioned stimulus?
Something that automatically elicits a response (typically a reflex) without prior conditioning
What is an unconditioned response?
The response to an unconditioned stimulus
What is a conditioned stimulus?
Neutral stimulus that comes to elicit a response through association with the unconditioned one
What is a conditioned response?
A learned response to a stimulus that originally elicited no response from the subject
What is the Law of Effect?
Successful behaviour will be repeated
For reinforcement techniques to be successful, what must the reinforcer/reward be?
Immediate
Linked to act
What is the difference between primary and secondary reinforcers’?
Primary - Innately desired (e.g. food, shelter)
Secondary - Wanted to make you feel good (e.g. Praise, success)
What is continuous reinforcement?
Reinforcement of every single response
What is partial reinforcement?
Reinforcement happens but not after every response
What are the different types of partial reinforcement?
Fixed
Variable
Interval
Ratio
What are ratio schedules?
The consistency of reinforcement depends on the number of responses the subject gives
What are interval schedules?
The consistency of reinforcement depends on the time interval that the subject does something
What is the difference between fixed and variable reinforcement?
Fixed - predictable
Variable - unpredictable
True or false? People work harder under partial reinforcement in comparison to continuous
True
True or false? Effort decreases with time/ ratio dependent reinforcement
False
Is extinction of a response faster or slower with partial reinforcement?
Slower
Is extinction of a response faster or slower with predictable schedules?
Faster
What is shaping?
Rewarding behaviours each time the subject gets a little bit closer to their goal
What is chaining?
Breaking down difficult tasks into smaller ones and reinforcing the subject each time they complete a task
What is a phobia?
A marked and persistent fear triggered by a specific object/ situation
What are the 3 types of phobia?
Agoraphobia
Social phobia
Specific phobia
What is the term for some specific fears being innate because they would aid survival?
Biological preparedness
What is the best treatment for phobias?
Graded exposure
What is avoidance?
Negative reinforcement where the response learned provides a complete escape from an unpleasant situation
What is another term for avoidance?
Escape learning
What process does graded exposure result in?
Habituation
What does S.M.A.R.T stand for?
Specific Measurable Achievable Realistic Timed
What is the vicious circle of depression?
Low mood results in doing less, doing less results in low mood
