Behavioral Sciences Chapter 3: Learning and Memory

Question 1

What is the difference between habituation and dishabituation?

Answer 1

Habituation is the loss of sensitivyity to a stimulus after repeated exposure to that stimulus. Dishabituation is the recovery of the the response after habituation has occured. Can

• Dishabituation can occur from lack of stimulus or from a different stimulus re-establishing the original response.

Question 2

What is associative learning?

Answer 2

Associative learning is when an association is formed between two (paired) stimuli or between a behavior and a response to that behavior.

Question 3

In Classical conditioning (a form of associative learning), what is a neutral stimulus?

Answer 3

A neutral stimulus in classical conditioning is a stimulus that does not elicit a response.

Question 4

In Classical conditioning (a form of associative learning), what is an unconditioned stimulus?

Answer 4

In classical conditioning, an unconditioned stimulus is a stimulus that brings about a reflexive response (unconditioned response).

• An unconditioned response is the innate or reflexive response resulting from the unconditioned stimulus.

Question 5

In Classical Conditioning, what is the conditioned stimulus and the conditioned response?

Answer 5

In Classical conditioning, the conditioned stimulus is a previously neutral stimulus that leads to a desired response. That desired response is the conditioned response; basically the conditioned response is a response caused by the conditioned stimulus.

• The conditioned stimulus (a once neutral stimulus) has been associated with the conditioned response (earlier a unconditioned response).

Question 6

What is acquisition?

Answer 6

Acquisition is the forming of a conditioned response to a conditioned stimulus.

• Acquisition is not permenant as extinction can occur

Question 7

What is extinction in classical conditioning?

Answer 7

Extinction is habituation (decreased response) to a conditioned stimulus.

• Extinction may not last forever as spontaneous recovery (emergence of previously habituated conditioned response) may occur.

Question 8

What is discrimination in reference to classical conditioning and how does it relate to generalization?

Answer 8

Discrimination is a response to a particular/specific conditioned response (a specific bell tone for food).

• Only responds to high pitch bells; does not respond to low pitch bells

Generalization is the opposite of discrimination in which there is a broadening effect to similar stimuli (scared of white rat)

• Infant scared of white rat is now scared of everything that resembles white fur

Question 9

What is a negative reinforcement?

Answer 9

Negative reinforcement is an unpleasant stimuli/situation that motivates someone to continue/increase a behavior in order to remove the undesirable stimulus/situation.

• Ex: A coach enforcing pushups for every miss tackle but no pushups to the players that do not miss a tackle.
• Ex: Grogginess in the morning, but drinking coffee to remove the grogginess

Question 10

What are the two types of negative reinforcement?

Answer 10

Types of Negative Reinforcement:

1. Escape Learning - process in which someone continues a behavior in order to immediately relieve an unpleasant stimulus/sitiuation

• Reduces present/immediate unpleasantness
  
  • Ex: Drinking coffee to remove groggy unpleasantness

1. Avoidance Learning - the process of avoiding an unpleasant stimulus/situation by performing/continuing a behavior.

• Reduces future unpleasantness
  
  • Ex: Studying for the MCAT in order to prevent a bad MCAT score

Question 11

What is operant conditioning?

Answer 11

Operant conditioning is an associative learning technique in which reinforcements or punishments are utilized in order to increase or decrease a particular behavior.

• Reinforcement increases/continues a behavior
• Punishment decreases/stops a behavior

Question 12

In operant conditioning, how does the reinforcement schedule (fixed, variable, ratio, interval) relate to each other?

Answer 12

Question 13

In operant conditioning, which combination (variable interval, variable ratio, fixed interval, fixed ratio) produces the most consistent behavior?

Answer 13

• A variable reinforcement schedule causes consistent (linear) behavior because the participants are unaware of what they have to do.
  
  • Less extinction is observed with variable reinforcement
• A fixed reinforcement schedule causes intermittent (zig-zag line) behavior because the participant is aware of what is required to receive the reward
• Ratio reinforcement causes a more consistent behavior than interval reinforcement
  
  • This is because the participant behavior is required to perform behavior a specific or arbitrary amount of times in ratio as compared to once during an interval

Question 14

What is a negative punishment?

Answer 14

A negative punishment is the removal of something pleasant to decrease or cease a behavior.

Question 15

What are factors in associative learning?

Answer 15

1. Latent learning - learning/behaving without an immediate reward
2. Problem Solving - Analyzing situations to act effectively on the 1st try
3. Preparedness - Predisposed to a certain behavior
4. Instincitive Drift - Overcoming an instinctive behavior

Question 16

What is observational learning?

Answer 16

Observational learning is learning a new behavior by watching others.

Question 17

What is modeling?

Answer 17

Modeling is emulating/copying a learned behavior (behavior someone else has learned).

Question 18

What type of associative learning takes advantage of the biological, instinctual responses to create associations between two unrelated stimuli?

Answer 18

Classical conditioning takes advantage of biological, instinctual responses to form an association between two unrelated stimuli.

Question 19

What is a subthreshold stimulus?

Answer 19

A subthreshold stimulus is a stimulus that is too weak to elicit a response.

Question 20

Which type of associative learning examines how the effect of consequences resulting from voluntary behaviors change the frequency of those behaviors?

Answer 20

Operant conditioning examines how consequences resulting from voluntary behaviors change the frequency in which those voluntary behaviors are performed.

Question 21

What is behaviorism and who founded this theory?

Answer 21

B.F. Skinner founded behaviorism which is a theory that states all behaviors are conditioned.