ch 7

Question 1

learning

Answer 1

Any relatively permanent change in behaviour or potential

behaviour that occurs because of experience or knowledge.

Question 2

1. Behaviourism:

Answer 2

School of psychology that accounts for behaviour in terms of
observable acts and events.
Focuses on a basic kind of learning known as conditioning:
Learning that involves associations between environmental stimuli
and the organism’s responses. For example: Classical conditioning,
and operant conditioning.

Question 3

Principles of Classical Conditioning

Answer 3

1. Acquisition
   The initial stage of learning.
   The time during which a CR first
   appears and increases in frequency.

Question 4

2. Extinction

Answer 4

The weakening and eventual
disappearance of a learned
response.
 CS is repeatedly presented alone,
and the CR declines.
Spontaneous Recovery
 The reappearance of a learned
response after its apparent
extinction.

Question 5

3. Higher-Order Conditioning

Answer 5

A procedure in which a neutral stimulus becomes a conditioned stimulus through
association with an already established conditioned stimulus.

Question 6

Generalization

Answer 6

yellow light and food-> salivation, only yellow light leadis to salivation
blue light also leads to salivation- even though its not the yellow light

Question 7

5. Discrimination

Answer 7

Participant initially
responds due to stimulus
generalization
Participant makes
conditioned response to
yellow light
Participant learns to
descriminate. Responds
to yellow light but not
blue

Question 8

What is Actually Learned in Classical Conditioning?

Answer 8

Animals and human beings learn more than just an association between
two paired stimuli that occur close together in time.
They learn information conveyed by one stimuli about another.
The mere pairing of an unconditioned stimulus and neutral stimulus is
not enough to produce learning.
To become a CS, the NS must reliably signal or predict, the US.

Question 9

John B. Watson

Answer 9

Founded Behaviourism in North America.
Enthusiastically promoted Pavlov’s ideas.
Recognized real-life applications of classical
conditioning.

Question 10

Gorn (1982) Experiment

Answer 10

Group 1
Students looked at slides of a beige pen or blue pen.
Heard a best-selling pop song.
Group 2
Students looked at slides of a beige pen or a blue pen.
Heard a selection of traditional music from India.
Experimental Results
Later the students were allowed to choose one of the pens.
Three-fourths of those who heard the pop song chose a
pen that was the same colour as the one they had seen
in the slides.

Question 11

Learning to Fear

Answer 11

Dislikes and negative emotions can be classically
conditioned.
Can learn to fear almost anything if it is paired
with something that elicits pain, surprise, or
embarrassment.
Biologically primed to fear spiders, snakes and
heights

Question 12

Watson and Rayner (1920)

Answer 12

Phobia
 Irrational fear of an object or situation
that interferes with normal activities.
Developing Phobias
 Researchers established a rat phobia in
an 11-month-old boy named Albert.

Question 13

Eliminating Fears

Answer 13

Fears may be eliminated with the method of counterconditioning.
Counterconditioning
The process of pairing a conditioned stimulus with a stimulus that elicits a
response that is incompatible with an unwanted conditioned response

Question 14

Accounting for Taste

Answer 14

Classical conditioning can explain how we learn to
like and dislike certain foods and odours.
Teach animals to dislike foods or odours by
pairing them with drugs that cause nausea or
unpleasant symptoms.
Many people have learned to dislike food after
eating it and then falling ill, even when the two
events are unrelated.

Question 15

Accounting for Taste

Answer 15

Taste aversion may occur after only one pairing of
food with illness.
Humans are biologically primed to associate
sickness with taste more readily than sights or
sounds.
Biological tendency enhances species survival.
Eating bad food is more likely to be followed by
illness or death, than are particular sights or
sounds.

Question 16

Reacting to Medical Treatments

Answer 16

Medical treatments can create
unexpected misery, for reasons that
are entirely unrelated to the treatment
itself.
 Unpleasant reactions to a treatment
generalize to a wide range of other
stimuli. Example: Waiting room,
nurse’s uniform, smell of rubbing
alcohol.

Medical treatments can create unexpected relief from
symptoms, for reasons that are entirely unrelated to
the treatment itself.
Placebos
Pills and injections that have no active ingredients or
treatments that have no direct physical effect on the
problem.

Question 17

Operant Conditioning

Answer 17

Behaviour becomes more likely or less likely, depending on its
consequences.
The individual’s response operates or produces effects on the
environment.
These effects, in turn, influence whether the response will occur again.
Responses in Operant Conditioning are complex, not reflexive like in
Classical Conditioning.

Question 18

B.F. Skinner

Answer 18

Elaborated and extended Thorndike’s
general principles to more complex forms
of behaviour.
 His approach was called “radical
behaviourism”.
 To understand behaviour we should focus
on the external causes of action and the
action’s consequences.

Question 19

Primary Reinforcers and Punishers

Answer 19

Primary Reinforcer
A stimulus that is inherently reinforcing, typically
satisfying a physiological need. Example: Food.
Primary Punishers
A stimulus that is inherently punishing.
Example: Electric shock.

Question 20

Secondary Reinforcers and Punishers

Answer 20

Secondary Reinforcer
A stimulus that has acquired reinforcing
properties through association with other
reinforcers. Example: Money and awards.
Secondary Punishers
A stimulus that has acquired punishing
properties through association with other
punishers. Example: Scolding and bad
grades.

Question 21

Principles of Operant Conditioning

Extinction

Answer 21

Weakening and eventual disappearance of a
learned response.
It occurs when a response is no longer followed
by a reinforcer.

Question 22

Principles of Operant Conditioning

Stimulus Generalization

Answer 22

The tendency for a response that has been reinforced (or punished) in the
presence of one stimulus to occur (or be suppressed) in the presence of
other, similar stimuli.

Question 23

Stimulus Discrimination

Answer 23

The tendency of a response to occur in the presence of one stimulus but
not in the presence of other, similar stimuli that differ from it on some
dimension.

Question 24

Discriminative Stimulus

Answer 24

A stimulus that signals when a
particular response is likely to be
followed by a certain type of
consequence.

Question 25

Reinforcement Schedules

Answer 25

Continuous Reinforcement A particular response is always reinforced. Intermittent Schedule of Reinforcement Particular response is sometimes, but not always reinforced. 4 types of Intermittent Schedules of Reinforcement.

Question 26

Four types of Intermittent Schedules

Answer 26

Two are Ratio-based: Reinforcement provided after a certain number of responses. 1. Fixed-Ratio 2.Variable Ratio Two are Interval-based: Reinforcement based on intervals of time. 1. Fixed Interval 2. Variable Interval

Question 27

1. Fixed-Ratio

Answer 27

Reinforcement after a fixed number of non-reinforced responses. High rates of responding. Steady, rapid responding until reinforcement, then a pause before starting again. Low resistance to extinction.

Question 28

2. Variable Ratio

Answer 28

Reinforcement is unpredictable but on average occurs after some number of non-reinforced trials. High rates of responding. Continuous, rapid responding with little pause after reinforcement. High resistance to extinction.

Question 29

3. Fixed Interval

Answer 29

Reinforcement occurs for the first response that occurs after a fixed time interval has elapsed. Initially slow responding, increasing to rapid respond as time for reinforcement approaches. Pause in responding after reinforcement. Low resistance to extinction.

Question 30

4. Variable Interval

Answer 30

Reinforcement occurs for the first response made after a fixed period of time has elapsed since the last reinforcer. Steady, moderate level of responding with little pause after reinforcement. High resistance to extinction.

Question 31

Intermittent schedules are best if you want a response to persist.

Answer 31

Intermittent schedules are best if you want a response to persist. Intermittent schedules are best if you want a response to persist.

Question 32

With a Continuous schedule, the learned response stops right after the reinforcement is stopped.

Answer 32

With a Continuous schedule, the learned response stops right after the reinforcement is stopped.

Question 33

Biological Limits on Learning

Answer 33

Principles of Operant Conditioning are limited by an animal’s genetic dispositions and physical characteristics.

Question 34

Instinctive drift

Answer 34

The tendency for an organism to revert to | instinctive behaviour.

Question 35

B.F. Skinner Usefulness of studying perceptions and thoughts. We can study perceptions, emotions, and thoughts. However, thoughts and feelings are simply behaviours that occur because of reinforcement and punishment.

Answer 35

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Question 36

Determinist View.

Answer 36

eterminist View. Human beings are shaped by our environments and our genetic heritage.

Question 37

Behaviour modification

Answer 37

``` The use of operant techniques in realworld settings. Help people change unwanted, dangerous, or self-defeating habits. Must have a good grasp of operant conditioning principles to apply them properly. ```

Question 38

When Punishment Works | Punishment is effective when it is:

Answer 38

1. Administered Consistently Problem behaviours must be punished every time they occur. Inconsistency provides intermittent reinforcement and makes the behaviour more resistant to extinction. ``` 2. Administered immediately following the problem behaviour. Suppresses the response for the duration of the punishment. However, it does little to reduce the probability of the response. ```

Question 39

When Punishment Fails

Answer 39

1. People often administer punishment inappropriately or mindlessly. 2. The recipient of punishment often responds with anxiety, fear, or rage. 3. The effectiveness of punishment is often temporary, depending heavily on the presence of the punishing person or circumstances. 4. Most misbehaviour is hard to punish immediately. 5. Punishment conveys little information. 6. An action intended to punish may instead be reinforcing because it brings attention.

Question 40

Punishment Guidelines

Answer 40

1. Should NOT involve physical abuse. 2. Should be accompanied by information about appropriate behaviour. 3. Should be followed by the reinforcement of desirable behaviour. Combine extinction of undesirable acts with reinforcement of alternative ones.

Question 41

The Misuse of Rewards

Answer 41

The Misuse of Rewards Rewards must be tied to the behaviour you are trying to increase. Rewards dispensed indiscriminately, without being earned, become meaningless because they no longer reinforce desired behaviour.

Question 42

Extrinsic vs. Intrinsic Rewards

Answer 42

Extrinsic Reinforcers Reinforcers that are not inherently related to the activity being reinforced. Intrinsic Reinforcers Reinforcers that are inherently related to the activity being reinforced.

Question 43

Extrinsic Rewards: Turning Play into Work

Answer 43

When we are paid for an activity, we interpret it as work. 2. Extrinsic rewards may be regarded as controlling. 3. Extrinsic reinforcement may raise the rate of responding above some optimal, enjoyable level.

Question 44

Reward Guidelines

Answer 44

1. Extrinsic rewards are sometimes necessary. 2. Extrinsic rewards should be used sparingly. 3. Extrinsic awards are beneficial, when combined with interesting, challenging and varied kinds of work to do.

Question 45

Behavioural “ABCs” Learning can be explained by specifying the Behavioural ABCs:

Answer 45

``` 1. Antecedents Events preceding behaviours. Sets the occasion for a response. 2. Behaviours Response made by individuals. 3. Consequences Event that follows and is caused by specific behaviours. ```

Question 46

Tolman & Honzik (1930)

Answer 46

Three groups of rats were placed in mazes and had their behaviour observed. Group 1: Always found food at the end of the maze. Learned the route. Group 2: Never found food at the end of the maze. Wandered aimlessly. Group 3: Found no food for 10 days. On the 11th day, they received food at the end of the maze. Quickly learned the route. Group 3 demonstrate latent learning: A form of learning that is not immediately expressed in an overt response; it occurs without obvious reinforcement.

Question 47

Social-Cognitive Learning Theories

Answer 47

Emphasize how behaviour is learned and maintained through observation and imitation of others, positive consequences, and cognitive processes such as plans, expectations, and beliefs. People differ in their attitudes, expectations, and perceptions. They can live through the same event and come away with entirely different lessons.

Question 48

Observational Learning

Answer 48

A process in which an individual learns new responses by observing the behaviour of another rather than through direct experience.

Question 49

Bandura, Ross, & Ross (1963)

Answer 49

Nursery school children watched a short film of two men, Rocky and Johnny, playing with toys. Content of Film: Johnny refuses to share his toys, and Rocky responds by clobbering him. Rocky’s actions are rewarded because he ends up with a sack full of toys and a hobby horse. Johnny ends up alone in the corner.

Question 50

Bandura, Ross, & Ross (1963) | Children’s Response:

Answer 50

Each child was left alone for 20 minutes in a playroom full of toys, including some of the toys shown on the film. Watching through a two-way mirror, the researchers found that these children were more aggressive, than a control group who had not seen the film. Some children imitated Rocky exactly

Question 51

The Case of Media Violence

Answer 51

Does media violence make people behave more aggressively? Viewing media violence appears to increase the likelihood of aggressive and violent behavior. When grade-school children cut back on their time watching TV or playing video games, their aggressiveness declines.

Question 52

The Case of Media Violence Critiqued

Answer 52

1. Critiques argue that the relationship between media violence and real violence is weak. Media violence does not cause all viewers to become aggressive. Behaviour is influenced by many other factors. 2. The relationship between media violence and real violence may work in the opposite direction. Children and adults who are habitually aggressive may like to watch violent shows. Aggressive people may also be more affected by violent media, than nonaggressive people.

Question 53

The Social-cognitive View

Answer 53

Holds that both conclusions about the correlation between media violence and violent behavior have merit. Repeated acts of aggression in the media do model behavior that some people will imitate. Perceptions and interpretations, and personality dispositions are crucial factors that intervene between what we see, and how we respond.