Chapter 1 - Background and Rationale for the Study of Learning Flashcards
What is learning?
- gaining information through experience
- gaining information through formal instruction
What is the philosophical definition of learning?
The process of accumulating knowledge (this is a bit circular)
What kinds of knowledge is there?
Declarative knowledge: stuff you can explain
Procedural knowledge: knowing how to do something but not being able to express it clearly (like riding a bike)
Are knowledge and understanding the same thing?
No. Understanding is something you can communicate
What is the biological definition of learning?
A biological process that facilitates adaptation to one’s environment
What is the psychological definition of learning?
Acquisition of new behaviour due to exposure to a similar stimulus in the past
What is behaviour?
Any observable or measurable act that could be a response to either an external stimulus or an internal one
What are some problems with the psychological definition of learning?
There isn’t always an acquisition of new behaviour
changes in behaviour may not be due to learning
What is latent learning?
behaviour is learned, but remains dormant until conditions are favourable (ex. knowing how to drive a car but not conscious until behind the wheel)
Describe the study by Tolman and Honzik (1930) on latent learning?
There were 3 groups of rats: - hungry and not rewarded - hungry and rewarded - hungry and rewarded later The findings were that the rats who were not rewarded did not learn the maze, the rats who were rewarded did learn the maze, and the rats that were rewarded later initially did not learn the maze but then did
What is the behaviourist definition of learning?
Long lasting change in the mechanisms of behaviour resulting from practise or experience (this limits the role of cognitive processes)
What are the benefits to using animal models to study human learning?
- can observe similarities in behaviour
- we can focus on relevant features and functions
- allows for exploration of side effects
- teaches us the fundamentals of machine learning (ex. computer programming)
What is the general process approach?
- all species use the same approach to learn (general laws)
- driven by search for commonalities
- we can therefore discover the general rules of learning by studying any species
What constitutes a good animal model?
high construct validity - accurately measure what you say you are measuring
high criterion validity - how well does this predict human behaviour?
What is the biggest consideration one has to make when using animal models?
humane and ethical treatment of animals
What are the practical advantages to using animal models?
- can control prior experience
- often know full genetic sequence
- animals will not guess the goals of research
What are the empirical advantages to using animal models?
- can ask questions about human behaviour that cannot be studied in humans
- can study the neurobiological substrates of learning and memory
What are the historical perspectives on the constraints of behaviour?
empiricism: knowledge acquired through experience
nativism: innate ideas
Who was the father of empiricism?
John Locke
- tabula rasa
- all knowledge is built from sensory experience
Describe the primary rules of association outlined by Hobbes
a) contiguity: if two events are paired together close in time, an association will occur
b) similarity: association will occur if two things are similar
c) contrast: association will occur if two things are different
Describe the secondary rules of association outlined by Thomas Brown
a) intensity of sensation/events
b) recency of association
c) frequency of events being paired
What was Ebbinghaus’ contribution to the study of learning?
- empirical study of associations using nonsense syllables
Who proposed nativism?
Rene Descartes
What does dualism state?
two aspects of humans:
- mind - has innate knowledge
- body - source of voluntary and involuntary behaviour (reflexes mediated by the pineal gland)
- voluntary and involuntary behaviour mediated by the reflex
Describe Descartes’ reflex
- automatic connection between stimulus and response
- agitates animal spirits which flow through the nerves to the mind to activate the pineal gland; pineal gland then stimulates the muscles to move via animal spirits down through the nerves to activate a reflex
What exactly are reflexes?
They are elicited behaviours that are activated in response to a stimulus/stimuli; result of evolution (defence mechanism, survival)
What are the 3 types of reflex?
- simple reflex
- complex reflex
- modal action patterns
Describe the reflex arc
Made up of sensory neurons, interneurons and motor neurons
Describe the pathway of a simple reflex
sensory neuron > interneuron > motor neuron
- fast
- can sometimes be inhibited
What is a Moro reflex?
reaching out when experiencing sensation of falling (ex. baby Sam)
What would complex behaviours require?
- coordinated reflexes (ex. breastfeeding)
What are modal action patterns (MAPs)?
orderly sequence of reflexive behaviours typical of a particular species or group of related species
ex. mating rituals and defending territories
ex. Egg rolling goose, cat vs. laser
- interspecies similarities
- intraspecies differences
How are MAPs elicited?
study done by Tinbergen & Perdeck (1950) - bill pecking feeding pattern of the herring gull
- found that the irrelevant features are: yellow colour of beak, shape of head and noises parent gull made
What is a sign stimulus?
the eliciting stimulus (same as releasing stimulus)
What is a supernormal stimulus?
amped up stimulus that elicits a more than natural response
What are MAPs highly dependent on?
Physiological state
How are MAPs related to goal directed behaviour?
- behaviour geared toward obtaining a specific outcome is typically organized into functionally effective sequences
What are the two goal directed behaviours?
- appetitive behaviour: seeking ex. food (variable across individuals)
- consummatory behaviour: consuming ex. chewing (same across species)
What kind of MAPs can we observe in humans?
- few pure MAPs in humans (most behaviour is modified by experience)
- yawning argued as a MAP (but this can be inhibited so perhaps not)
