Ch. 4-Learning and Human Nature Flashcards
A process through which experience produces lasting change in behavior or mental processes
Learning
Motivated behaviors that have a strong innate basis
Instincts
What is habituation?
Learning to NOT respond to repeated presentation of a stimulus
What is the mere exposure effect?
Learned preference for stimuli to which we have been previously exposed
Forms of learning that can be described in terms of stimuli and responses (ex: Classical and operant conditioning)
Behavioral Learning
What sort of learning does classical conditioning explain?
Classical conditioning explains associative learning, in which a stimulus that produces an innate reflex becomes associated with a previously neutral stimulus, which then acquires the power to elicit essentially the same response
Ivan Pavlov created…
Classical conditioning
The initial learning stage in classical conditioning, during which the conditioned response comes to be elicited by the conditioned stimulus
Acquisition
Weakening of a conditioned response in the absence of an unconditioned stimulus
Extinction
Unexpected reappearances of an extinguished conditioned response after a time delay
Spontaneous Recovery
What is stimulus generalization?
The extension of a learned response to stimuli that are similar to the conditioned stimulus
Stimulus discrimination:
Learning to respond to a particular stimulus but not to similar stimuli
What is counterconditioning?
Relaxation response to conditioned stimulus; pair CS with a positive stimulus, effective with phobias
Why are some stimuli-consequence combinations readily learned while other combinations are highly resistant to learning?
What any organism can or cannot learn in a given setting is due in part to its generic preparedness
Conditioning involves both ____ and _____, and it influences our _____, ______, and _____.
Nature and nurture; attitudes, preferences, behavior
How do we learn new behaviors by operant conditioning?
In operant conditioning, the consequences of behavior, such as rewards and punishments, influence the probability that the behavior will occur again.
Responses that produced desirable results would be learned or “stamped” into the organism
Law of Effect
What is a reinforcer?
Condition (involving either the presentation or removal of a stimulus) that occurs after a response and strengthens that response
What is an operant chamber?
A boxlike apparatus that delivers reinforcers and punishers continent on an animal’s behavior
Positive reinforcers _____. Negative reinforcers _____z
are stimuli presented after a response (adds or applies)
Removes an unpleasant stimulus (subtracts or removes)
BOTH increase the probability of that response happening again!!!
What is continuous reinforcement?
Reinforcement schedule in which all correct responses are reinforced.
Which reinforcement is resistant to extinction and why?
Intermittent (Partial) Reinforcement; reinforcement schedule in which some, but not all, correct responses are reinforced
Reinforcement depends on the number of correct responses
Ratio schedules
Reinforcement depends on the time interval elapsed since the last reinforcement
Interval schedules
Reinforcement is contingent on a certain, unchanging number of responses
Fixed ratio
Reinforcement presented after a certain number of responses, but that number varies from trial to trial
Variable ratio
Reinforcement presented after a certain fixed amount of time, regardless of number of responses
Fixed interval
Reinforcement presented after a certain amount of time, but that amount varies from trial to trial
Variable interval
Reinforcers that fulfill basic biological needs or desires that have an innate value to an organism
Primary reinforcers
Stimuli that acquire their reinforcing power by their learned association with primary reinforcers
Secondary (Conditioned) Reinforcers
What is the Premack Principle?
A preferred activity can reinforce a mess preferred activity
Explain a token economy system:
Offers tokens for desired behavior, tokens exchanged for rewards or privileges
What is instinctive drift?
Innate response tendencies interfere with learned behaviors; innate tendencies can override behaviors learned through reinforcement
An aversive consequence that diminishes the strength of the response it follows
Punishment
Positive punishment is _____, while negative punishment is _____.
Application of an aversive stimulus after a response, removal of an attractive stimulus after a response
Compare classical and operant conditioning:
Classical: new stimulus is neutral and is before response
Operant: new stimulus after response, reward or punishment
How does cognitive psychology explain learning?
According to cognitive psychology, some forms of learning must be explained as changes in mental processes rather than as changes in behavior alone.
What is insight learning?
Cognitive learning, in which problem solving occurs by means of sudden reorganization of perception
A mental representation of a physical or mental space; supports that learning was mental, not purely physical.
Cognitive Maps
When learning occurs without reinforcement and without any hint that learning took place
Latent Learning
A form of cognitive learning in which new responses are acquired after watching others’ behavior and the consequences of their behavior
Observational Learning
What is long term potentiation?
Biological process involving a physical change that strengthens the synapses in groups of nerve cells; believed to be the neural basis of learning
Forgetting unimportant associations; neurotransmitters block memories
Extinction
