Ch 6: Learning Flashcards
learning
change in behavior or thought following expression
habituation
respond less strongly over time to repeated stimuli
sensitization
respond more strongly overt time
classical conditioning
learning through mere association
ex. Pavlov’s dog
neutral stimulus
stimulus that at first elicits no response
- later becomes the conditioned stimulus
ex. ringing of a bell
unconditioned stimulus
leads to an automatic response
ex. the food in pavlov’s experiment
unconditioned response
automatic response to a stimulus
ex. dog salivating for food
conditioned stimulus
can eventually trigger a conditioned response
- ringing of a bell
conditioned response
a learned response to previously neutral stimulus
ex. salivating at the sound of the bell
acquisition
learning the conditioned response
exitinction
the gradual weakening of a conditioned response that results in the behavior decreasing or disappearing
- the CR disappears but is not permanently gone
extinction burst
heightened response to absent UCS
spontaneous recovery
when a behavior that is believed to be extinct unexpectedly and quickly returns after a period of rest or lessened response
renewal
the return of a response to an extinguished conditioned stimulus following movement away from the context in which extinction occurred
stimulus generalization
when stimuli are similar to the CS, they also elicit the CR
ex. little albert experiment
stimulus discrimination
when a particular CS provokes the CR
higher order conditioning
creating a new CR by pairing a NS with the CS
- using the CS as if it were the UCS
operant conditioning
changes in behavior in response to rewards and punishment
law of effect
if a behavioral response to a stimulus leads to a desirable effect, that behavior is more likely to be repeated in the future (to that stimulus)
reinforcement
outcomes that increase the probability of a response
positive reinforcement
giving a desirable stimulus
negative reinforcement
taking away an undesired stimulus
punishment
any outcome that decreases the probability of a response
positive punishment
adding an undesirable stimulus
negative punishment
taking away a desirable stimulus
discriminative stimulus
signals the opportunity for reinforcement
continuous reinforcement
reward given every time
partial (intermittent) reinforcement
response rewarded only some of the time
fixed ratio
number of times an action must be done in order to receive an award
variable ratio
receiving an award after an unpredictable number of responses
fixed interval
receiving an award after a certain amount of time
variable interval
receiving an award after an unpredictable amount of time
primary reinforcers
things that naturally increase the target behavior due to basic needs
ex. food
secondary reinforcers
things that we have learned to value
ex. money, good grades
stimulus response (behaviorists)
suggests that behavior is influenced by the consequences of one’s actions
stimulus organism response theory (cognitivists)
interpretation, perception, and motivation all affect response
observational learning
learning by watching others
- no reinforcement
latent learning
learning that is not directly observable
- reinforcement may not be necessary for learning
mirror neurons
fire when watching others perform certain actions, as if we were doing the action ourselves
- implicated in empathy
insight learning
“aha” moments
- sudden realization of a solution to a problem
equipotentiality
claim that we can condition all neutral stimuli into CS equally well
preparedness and phobias
evolutionary predisposed for fear of certain things
instinctive drift
tendency to return to performing innate behaviors rather than the CR
sleep assisted learning
an attempt to convey information to a sleeping person, typically by playing a sound recording to them while they sleep
