Ch. 4 Flashcards
learning
adapt to changing enviro. in ways that genes didn’t prepare one for and helps them survive
2 stable enviro. conditions
1) infants are born to mothers who offer nutrition by breast-feeding
2) mothers carry infant
2 learning types
1) habituation
2) Pavlovian
-allows one to predict when US will occur
Moro reflex
infant experiences sudden loss of head support (stimulus events)
-extends head and widely spreads arms with palms in front, fingers extended, thumbs flexed
Palmar grasp reflex
one places pinky finger into palm of an infant and lift
-it’s strong enough to hold its weight
elicits
stimulus occasions reflex response
swimming reflex
hold breath and open eyes when submerged in water
rooting reflex
move mouth to eliciting object touching cheek when infant is hungry
suckling reflex
elicited by object, typically mother’s nipple, that passes lips
parachute reflex
elicited by sensation of falling forward, infant extends arms in front, breaking fall
respiratory occlusion reflex
elicited by lack of oxygen, the infant pulls head backward, brushes face with hands and cries, which may remove breathing obstruction
corneal reflex
object or puff of air enters eye and elicits rapid eye-blink
withdrawal reflex
quickly remove arm from danger
startle reflex
elicited by loud noises
salivary reflex
elicited by taste in mouth
milk let-down reflex
elicited by infant sucking at nipple, mother releases milk into infant’s mouth
habituation
reduction in responding following repeated presentations of eliciting stimulus
nature
phylogenetic influences
nurture
learning
“nature only”
completely reflexive actions, behavior elicited lockstep by enviro. stimuli
-no learning
evokes
other instance of behavior influenced by stimulus
neutral stimulus
stimulus doesn’t occasion response
unconditioned stimulus (US)
stimulus that elicits response w/ no prior learning
unconditioned response (UR)
response reliably elicited by US
conditioned stimulus (CS)
former neutral stimulus that evokes a conditioned response
conditioned response (CR)
response evoked by CS, may not be same as UR
post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
previously neutral stimuli evoke unwanted emotions
1st thing learned in Pavlovian conditioning
CS signals delay reduction to US
delay reduction
time (delay) next to US event is less than it was before CS occurred
2nd thing learned in Pavlovian conditioning
CS signals when US is coming
3rd thing learned in Pavlovian conditioning
CS signals which US is coming
4 empirically supported principles that increase the efficacy of Pavlovian conditioning
1) use important US
-the more phylogenetically important the US, the more effective is Pavlovian conditioning
2) use salient CS
-Pavlovian conditioning will proceed quickly if CS is noticeable by using a novel stimulus
3) use CS that signals a big delay reduction to US
-Pavlovian learning proceeds quickly and generates CS that reliably evokes CR when CS signals a large delay reduction to CS
4) Make sure CS isn’t redundant
-concerns informativeness of CS
-uniquely signal delay reduction to US
-if another CS signals this delay reduction, new stimulus redundant and unlikely to acquire CS function
delay-reduction ratio
1) determine average time between US events
2) measure CS->US interval
3) enter 2 values into delay reduction ratio
blocking effect
previously acquired CS blocked redundant NS from acquiring CS function
application of 4 principles of effective Pavlovian conditioning to PTSD
1) near-death experiences in combat zone or abuse at perpetrator are phylogenetically important US events
-elicit emotions and fight-or-flight
2) CS evoking conditioned emotional responses are salient
3) salient stimuli evokes debilitating emotions and fight-or-flight responding if they signal a large delay reduction to US
Pavlovian generalization
conditioned responding to novel stimulus that resembles CS
discrimination
CS is only stimulus that evokes CR, stimuli that resemble CS are ineffective
overgeneralization
CS evokes CR but so does other stimuli that resembles CS
Pavlovian extinction repeatedly
repeatedly present CS w/o presenting US
-CS would no longer signal or delay reduction to US
-reduction or elimination of CS ability to evoke CR
graduated exposure therapy
client is gradually exposed to successively stronger approximations of CS
-before each CS-approximation is presented, steps are taken to reduce or eliminate fear evoked by prior CS-approximation
-most effective treatment for human phobias
spontaneous recovery
increase in conditioned responding following passage of time since Pavlovian extinction
3 factors of spontaneous recovery
1) more time that passes between Pavlovian extinction/exposure sessions, the more spontaneous recovery will occur
2) spontaneous recovery decreases as more Pavlovian extinction sessions are conducted
3) less spontaneous recovery will occur if each Pavlovian extinction session is continued until the CS no longer evokes CR
Pavlovian extinction will be more effective when?
1) several sessions conducted
2) sessions conducted often
3) sessions continued until CS no longer evokes CR
2 examples of Pavlovian conditioning that influence behavior
1) taste-aversion learning
2) advertising
one-trial learning
CS (taste) acquires ability to evoke CR (revulsion) after one encounter with CS->US (illness) relation
CS-US predictions
1) CS is coming
2) when US will occur
3) what US will be
