Ch. 1

Question 1

Define Learning

Answer 1

a relatively enduring change in behavior that results from some type of experience.

does not have to be an immediate change in behavior. and sometimes what we are learning is when not to chance, that is, when to persist with a beh when it is prudent to do so.

Question 2

Behavior

Answer 2

any activity of an organism that can be observed or somewhat measured.

may be internal or external & may or mat not be visible to others.

Question 3

Classical conditioning

Answer 3

also known as pavlovian or respondent conditioning, is the process by which certain inborn (which can also be called innate, inherited, or unlearned) behaviors come to be elicited in new circumstances.

behs involved often regarded as reflexive or “involuntary”

CC underlies many of our emotional responses and contributes to the development of our likes and dislikes.

Diagram

Bell(NS): Food(US) —> salivation(UR)

Bell(CS) —> salivation(CR)

Question 4

Operant conditioning

Answer 4

also known as instrumental conditioning, involves the strengthening or weakening of a beh as a result of its consequences; that is, the beh is more or less likely to occur in the future as a function of what followed it.

beh’s involved often perceived as being goal-directed or “voluntary”

Diagram

Light(S^D): lever press (R) —> food (S^R)

To get or avoid something

Punishment also OC S^P

Question 5

nativist (nature) perspective vs empiricists (nurture)

Answer 5

assumes that a persons abilities and tendencies are largely inborn, whereas the empiricists assumes that a persons abilities and tendencies are mostly learned.

Plato nativist, Aristotle empiricist

Question 6

Artistotles laws of association

Answer 6

1. Law of similarity: events sim to each other are readily associated.
2. law of contrast: events opposite from each other are readily associated.
3. Law of Contiguity: events that occur in close proximity to each other are readily associated.
4. law of frequency: the more freq two items occur together, the more strongly they are associated.

Law of Contiguity & law of frequency are considered important aspects of learning.

Question 7

Rene Descartes (1596-1650)

Answer 7

French philosopher who wrote “i think, therefore i am”

body - functions like a machine and produces involuntary, reflexive behs in response to external stimulation.

mind - free will and produces behs that we regard as voluntary, such as concepts of time and space are inforn.

mind-body dualism proposes that some human behaviors are reflexes that are automatically elicited by external stimulation, while other behs are freely chosen and controlled by the mind.

believed only humans have free will and animal’s are entirely reflexive.

view was a major step in scientific study of learning and beh b/s it suggested that study of animal beh might yield useful info about reflexive aspects of human beh

Question 8

British empiricists

Answer 8

Maintained that almost all knowledge is a function of experience.

Also believed that the conscious mind is composed of a finite set of basic elements (specific colours, sounds, smells, etc) that are combined through the principles’ of association into complex sensations and thought patterns. –> notion that all physical matter consists of various combinations of basic elements.

Experiments based on logical reasoning and subjective examination of their own conscious experience.

John locke proposed that a newborns mind in a blank slate (tabula rasa) upon which the environmental experiences are written.

Question 9

Structuralism

Answer 9

approach to psyc that studies basic elements of conscious mind & how they’re combined to create more complex experiences.

made use of introspection.

Supported by Edward Titchener. (1867-1927)

died out on early 1900s.

The emphasis on systematic observation helped establish psyc as a scientific discipline.

And the conflict resulting from the emphasis on conscious experience as the proper subject matter for psyc, eventually led to the later establishment of a more objective approach = behaviorism.

Question 10

introspection

Answer 10

in which a person attempts to accurately describe their conscious thoughts, emotions and sensations.

Question 11

Functionalism

Answer 11

assumes the mind evolved to help us adapt to the world around us and that the focus of psyc should be the study of those adaptive processes. the adaptive significance of the mind

Derived from Darwin’s theory of evo.

learning therefore, was an important topic.

still made use of introspection and emphasized analysis of conscious experience, believed humans evolved just like animals, therefore can learn a lot from animal studies.

therefore, characteristics that are highly typical of a species, such as consciousness in humans, must have some type of adaptive value.

supported by William James (1842-1910)

behaviorism development out of functionalist school of psyc

Question 12

Charles Darwin and natural selection (1809-1882)

Answer 12

Natural selection, the concept that organisms that are capable of adapting to enviro pressures are more likely to reprod and pass along adaptive characteristics than those that cannot adapt.

3 main components
1. traits vary both within species and between species
2. many traits are heritable
3. organisms must compete for limited resources

Question 13

evolutionary adaptation

Answer 13

is a helpful genetic trait that evolves as a result of nat selection.

can also be behaviors.

useful to have fast reflexes in some situations or slower processes of learning and thinking in others.
ability to learn may be one.

ability to learn (nurture) is itself inherited (nature) and many processes of learning seem to be automatic or reflexive.

Question 14

Behaviorism

Answer 14

is a nat science approach tp psyc that emphasizes the study of envrio influences on obs beh.

supported by John B. Watson (1878-1958)
- methodological beh
- he reasoned psyc be purely objective based, only obs beh and the envrio events surrounding it, all internal processes should not be accounted for.
- believed principles governing beh of nonhuman species might be relevant to beh of humans.

Question 15

Methodological behaviorism

Answer 15

also known as classical beh

asserts that for Methodological reasons, psycs should study enviro influences only on those behs that can be directly observed.

subjectively precived activities are too difficult to include in a scientific analysis of beh. only activities that can be directly measured.

Watsons view on learning was mechanistic. believed all learning involves the development of a simple connection between the envrio event (the stimulus) and a specific beh (The response)

was an extremist regarding nat vs nurture issue.

one of 1st to systematically study innate beh patterns in animals.

did come to conclusion that humans only inherit a few fundamental reflexes along with 3 basic emotions: love, rage, and fear. everything else was learned.

Question 16

stimulus-response (S-R) theory

Answer 16

in which learning consists of a connection being formed between a specific stimulus and a specific response.

complex beh presumed to involve extremely long chains of these S-R connections

Question 17

4 basic assumptions of behaviours

Answer 17

1. Emphasis on observed/publicly/overt beh
2. Nurture vs nature
3. Continuity between species
   • basic principles that govern animal behaviour also govern human beh, therefore worthwhile to study animals. Also b/c it’s easier to control experimental variables/contingencies with them.
4. Emphasis on Experimentation
   • learning about basic principles that can then apply to real world.

Question 18

Types of learning behaviourist emphasis

Answer 18

Classical conditioning

Operant conditioning

Observational/imitation

Instructions

Question 19

Neobehaviorism

Answer 19

Sometimes called deductive beh, used intervening variables, in the form of hypothesized physiological processes, to help explain behaviour.

Clark L. Hull (1884-1952)
- he still opposed use of introspection.

Unobservable beh is operationalized (defined in such a way that they can be measured)

Psychs can then infer the existence of internal events that might mediate (form a connection) between the environment and beh.
- they are largely physiological-type rxns, formally called intervening variables. (Intervene between a cause and effect)
- also an S-R theory
- Categorized as a molecular theory b/c it assumed specific S-R connections are the building blocks of beh in same way that molecules are the building blocks of matter.

Question 20

Tolman’s cognitive behaviourism

Answer 20

Sometimes called purposive behaviourism, uses intervening variables, usually in the form of hypothesized cognitive processes, to help explain beh.

Edward C. Tolman (1886-1959)

Should analyze beh on a “molar” level.

Similar to the gestalt approach to perception.
—> perception not simply summation of different bits of conscious experience but instead a “holistic” process resulting in an organized, coherent, perceptual experience.

“Whole is more than the sum of the parts” = beh more than just a chain of discrete responses attached to discrete stimuli, instead is an overall pattern on beh directed toward particular outcomes and can be properly analyzed only on that level.

Agreed with intervening variables may be useful in a theory of learning, but more mentalistic in nature.

A tolmanian person was not simply motivated by drives and habits but also had “expectations” and “hypotheses”.

Believed in usefulness of animal studies.

Ignored cognitive processes.

Much of Tolman’s research was directly aimed to challenge Hull’s theory of learning, Hull responded by modifying his theory, in increasing complex ways, to account for many of Tolman’s findings.

Cognitive beh resulted in animal cognition or comparative cognition.

Question 21

Cognitive map

Answer 21

Is a famous intervening variable from Tolman, which is a mental representation of one’s spatial surroundings.

Made to disprove Hull’s notion that behaviour must be rewarded for learning to take place.

Question 22

Tolman & Honzik rat maze experiment

Answer 22

3 groups, 1G continuously rewarded when reached goal box, other 2 groups were not fed until hours later. Cont rewarded group learned to run more quickly.

Then the 2nd group (on day 11) was fed. (Hull would’ve said, only then would the rats have started to learn way through maze, observed as a gradual improvement in performance). But what found was performance on very next day, dramatically improved.

Tolman said the rats were learning the maze the whole time. And that the rats built a cognitive map during early trials

Experiment regarded as demonstrating the distinction between learning and performance.

Question 23

Latent learning

Answer 23

In which Learning can occur despite the absence of any observable indication of learning at that time and only apparent at a later time.

Question 24

Social learning theory

Answer 24

Also called social cognitive theory, is an approach to psyc that strongly emphasizes the importance of observational learning and cognitive variables in explaining human behaviour.

Albert Bandura (1925)

Social learning theory 1st used by followers of Hull who attempting to apply Hullian concepts to human social behaviour, particularly process of imitation.

Bandura very interested in imitation, referring to it as observational learning, eventually becoming dominant researcher in the field.

Famous investigations concern the effect of observational learning on aggressive behaviour.

Bandura influenced by Hullian, more like Tolman tho.

Views internal events as more than theoretically useful; seen as actual events occurring within us that strongly influence our beh. He doesn’t dismiss value of introspectively observed thoughts and feelings in explaining beh.

Stimulated development of cognitive beh therapy.

Question 25

Reciprocal determinism

Answer 25

Is the assumption that environmental events, observable behaviour, and person variables (a persons thoughts and feelings) reciprocally influence each other.

According Bandura, how we think and behave can influence each our environment— through environments we choose to be in as well as how we perceive those environments— as much as the environment influences how we think and behave. And beh can influence our thoughts and feelings as much as our thoughts and feelings can influence our beh.

Question 26

Radical behaviorism

Answer 26

Emphasizes influence of environment on observable (overt) behavior

Rejects use of internal events (subjectively perceived thoughts and feelings) to explain behavior

& views these thoughts and feelings as “private” behaviors that need to be explained, just like any other behavior.

doesn’t completely reject inclusion of thoughts & feelings in science of behavior, merely rejects the use of them as explanations for behavior.

refers to philosophical aspect (set of assumptions) of skinners approach

Question 27

Skinner’s View of internal events

Answer 27

sensing, thinking, and feeling as covert or private behaviors that are subject to the same laws of learning as overt or publicly observable behaviors.

Thus, can be included in an analysis of behavior, but only as more behavior that needs to be explained.

Agreed with Watson’s concern that b/c there’s no direct access to internal events of others, and we have to rely on their verbal reports of the events, which is unreliable.

This unreliability is expected, given the manner in which ppl learn to label internal events.

Skinner was interested in how ppl come to label their internal emotions, rather than using their descriptions as an explanation.

Question 28

Problems with using thoughts and feelings to explain behavior

Answer 28

1. Correctly Labelling internal events.
2. Often difficult to determine actual relationship of thoughts and feelings to behavior. To know if the thoughts and feelings precede or follow the behavior.
   - Ex: Do you provide help b/c concerned for person or provide help and feel concerned at same time with no link between the two. It is often ppl help in emergencies without reflecting on how they feel.
   - ppl’s feelings can be altered by manipulating their overt behavior, especially if they don’t hold a strong opinion about it.
   - concern for others might be a result from or strengthened by the act of helping them.
3. Don’t have any means of directly changing internal events.
   - Only way to change covert & overt behaviors is to change some aspect of environment.
4. Explanations (as with ones based on instinct) are sometimes only pseudo-explanations.
   - a “feeling” statement is really a statement about potential behavior more than about a bodily feeling.

Question 29

Labelling internal events

Answer 29

Labels are taught by caregivers to describe their internal experiences.

Caregiver must wait until child displays observable behavior that typically accompanies internal event. Based on this behavior, parent infers what child is experiencing.

This becomes more difficult to accurately teach with more subtle emotions b/c observable behaviors are less distinct. Parents have less reliable info on which they base their inferences about Childs state, therefore they may only provide approximate labels to what the child actually feels.

Question 30

Self Control

Answer 30

Skinner focused on environment as cause of both overt and covert behaviors. But didn’t believe we are helpless pawns of our environment.

Assumed once we understand manner in which enviro affects us, we can change the enviro so that it exerts a more beneficial influence.

Can ultimately be traced back to past experiences.

Question 31

Free will

Answer 31

Radical behaviorist are interested in principles by which enviro affects behavior; hence, notion a behaviour has been freely chosen is not an assumption they’d make.

But interested in why ppl might perceive a behavior has been freely chosen.

1 possibility we perceive our behavior has been freely chosen when the controlling variables are subtle and not easily identified.

ppl especially likely to perceive a Lack of freedom when behavior is controlled through use of aversive consequences.

Skinner strongly argued society should engineer the enviro to maximize use of + reinforement (less constraining) and minimize use of punishment.

Question 32

Skinners View of Genetic Factors

Answer 32

Acknowledged behavior was fundamentally the result of interactions between genes and the enviro.

Agreed a little with Bandura’s notion of reciprocal determinism; enviro events, internal events and observable behavior interact with each other. Assumption enviro in combo with genes ultimately determines both observable behavior & internal events.

Nevertheless he remained wary about placing too much emphasis on heredity. Genetic factors are largely unmodifiable within a lifetime, and to assume that a behavior pattern has a strong genetic basis is to assume also that little can be done to alter it (expect perhaps through some type of physiological intervention).

Question 33

Operant conditioning and evolution processes

Answer 33

Darwin’s theory of evo played strong role in establishment of behaviorism.

OC and nat selection, both represent an adaption to changes in envrio.

NS, members of species that inherit certain adaptive characteristics more likely to survive and propagate, thereby passing those characteristics on to their offspring.

OC beh lead to reinforcing consequences more likely to be repeated, acting like sort of mini evo in which organisms beh’s that’re adaptive increase in freq while beh that are nonadaptive decrease in freq.

Question 34

Behavior analysis

Answer 34

is beh science that is based on radical beh, which is a set of assumptions.

basic behavior analysis (also Experimental analysis of beh) is the basic science that grew out of radical beh, & is concerned with investigating the basic principles of beh. esp principles of OC

this directly lead to applied beh analysis.

Question 35

Applied behavior analysis

Answer 35

a science and technology of beh that’s concerned with applying basic principles of beh toward analysis and improvement of real-world issues.

typically use principles of OC, range from treating clinical disorders, improving educational practices, athletic performance, developmental and intellectual disabilities.

also sometimes called behavior modification or beh therapy. Latter involves more cog beh techniques