Ch. 7 Flashcards
define learning
the process of acquiring through experience new information or behaviors
When we learn things the information or behavior is _____
enduring
learning to repeat acts that bring rewards and avoid acts that bring unwanted results is what kind of conditioning?
operant conditioning
learning to expect and prepare for significant events such as food or pain is what kind of conditioning?
classical conditioning
learning new behaviors by observing events and watching others, and through language, learning things we have neither experienced nor observed is what kind of conditioning?
cognitive conditioning
behaviors can become associated with a context, so experiencing the context then evokes our ____ ____
habitual response
On average, daily behaviors become habitual after about ___ days according to one British study
66
on average it takes about 66 days to form a habit. Exercise habits however take _____
longer
define associative learning
learning that certain events occur together. The events may be two stimuli (as in classical conditioning) or a response and its consequences (as in operant conditioning)
the process of learning associations is called ______
conditioning
define stimulus
any event or situation that evokes a response
define respondent behavior
behavior that occurs as an automatic response to some stimulus
In _____ conditioning, we learn to associate two stimuli and thus to anticipate events
classical
In _____ conditioning, we learn to associate a response (our behavior) and its consequence
operant
_____ conditioning allows us to learn to repeat acts followed by good results and avoid acts followed by bad results
operant
define operant behavior
behavior that operates on the environment, producing consequences
classical conditioning and operant conditioning are two types of _____ learning
associative
define cognitive learning
the acquisition of mental information, whether by observing events, by watching others, or through language
name one type of cognitive learning
observational learning
Why are habits, such as having something sweet with that cup of coffee, so hard to break?
Habits form when we repeat behaviors in a given context and, as a result, learn associations—often without our awareness. For example, we may have eaten a sweet pastry with a cup of coffee often enough to associate the flavor of the coffee with the treat, so that the cup of coffee alone just doesn’t seem right anymore!
define classical conditioning
a type of learning in which one learns to link two or more stimuli and anticipate events
Who “discovered” classical conditioning?
Ivan Pavlov
define unconditioned response (UR)
in classical conditioning, an unlearned, naturally occurring response (such as salivation) to an unconditioned stimulus (US) (such as food in the mouth)
define unconditioned stimuli (US)
in classical conditioning, a stimulus that unconditionally—naturally and automatically—triggers an unconditioned response (UR)
define conditioned response (CR)
in classical conditioning, a learned response to a previously neutral (but now conditioned) stimulus (CS)
define conditioned stimulus (CS)
in classical conditioning, an originally irrelevant stimulus that, after association with an unconditioned stimulus (US), comes to trigger a conditioned response (CR)
An experimenter sounds a tone just before delivering an air puff to your blinking eye. After several repetitions, you blink to the tone alone. What is the NS? The US? The UR? The CS? The CR?
NS = tone before conditioning; US = air puff; UR = blink to air puff; CS = tone after conditioning; CR = blink to tone.
define neutral stimulus
in classical conditioning, a stimulus that elicits no response before conditioning
define acquisition
in classical conditioning, the initial stage, when one links a neutral stimulus and an unconditioned stimulus so that the neutral stimulus begins triggering the conditioned response. In operant conditioning, the strengthening of a reinforced response
How much time should elapse between presenting the NS (the tone, the light, the touch) and the US (the food)?
about half a second
What do you suppose would happen if the food (US) appeared before the tone (NS) rather than after? Would conditioning occur?
not likely
____ conditioning is biologically adaptive because it helps humans and other animals prepare for good or bad events
classical
____ helps an animal survive and reproduce—by responding to cues that help it gain food, avoid dangers, locate mates, and produce offspring
Conditioning
define higher-order conditioning
a procedure in which the conditioned stimulus in one conditioning experience is paired with a new neutral stimulus, creating a second (often weaker) conditioned stimulus. For example, an animal that has learned that a tone predicts food might then learn that a light predicts the tone and begin responding to the light alone. (Also called second-order conditioning.)
If the aroma of a baking cake sets your mouth to watering, what is the US? The CS? The CR?
The cake (and its taste) are the US. The associated aroma is the CS. Salivation to the aroma is the CR.
define extinction
the diminishing of a conditioned response; occurs in classical conditioning when an unconditioned stimulus (US) does not follow a conditioned stimulus (CS); occurs in operant conditioning when a response is no longer reinforced
define spontaneous recovery
the reappearance, after a pause, of an extinguished conditioned response
The first step of classical conditioning, when an NS becomes a CS, is called ______________. When a US no longer follows the CS, and the CR becomes weakened, this is called ______________.
acquisition, extinction
define generalization
the tendency, once a response has been conditioned, for stimuli similar to the conditioned stimulus to elicit similar responses
Generalized anxiety reactions have been demonstrated in laboratory studies comparing abused with nonabused children. When an angry face appears on a computer screen, abused children’s brain-wave responses are dramatically _____ and _____ ____ than nonabused children
stronger
longer lasting
define discrimination
in classical conditioning, the learned ability to distinguish between a conditioned stimulus and stimuli that do not signal an unconditioned stimulus.
In slasher movies, sexually arousing images of women are sometimes paired with violence against women. Based on classical conditioning principles, what might be an effect of this pairing?
If viewing an attractive nude or seminude woman (a US) elicits sexual arousal (a UR), then pairing the US with a new stimulus (violence) could turn the violence into a conditioned stimulus (CS) that also becomes sexually arousing, a conditioned response (CR).
In Watson and Rayner’s experiments, “Little Albert” learned to fear a white rat after repeatedly experiencing a loud noise as the rat was presented. In this experiment, what was the US? The UR? The NS? The CS? The CR?
The US was the loud noise; the UR was the fear response to the noise; the NS was the rat before it was paired with the noise; the CS was the rat after pairing; the CR was fear of the rat.
What is learning?
Learning is the process of acquiring through experience new information or behaviors
What are some basic forms of learning? (name 2)
associative learning (operant and classical conditioning) cognitive learning
In associative learning, we learn that…?
certain events occur together.
In classical conditioning, we learn to…?
associate two or more stimuli
a _____ is any event or situation that evokes a response)
stimulus
in classical conditioning, we associate stimuli that we do not control, and we respond ____. This is called _____ _____.
automatically
respondent behavior
In operant conditioning, we learn to…?
associate a response and its consequences.
In operant conditioning, these associations produce ___ ____
operant behaviors