Chapter 4: Learning Flashcards
Learning
- A relatively permanent change in behaviour that occurs as a result of experience
- Can occur intentionally or unintentionally
Behaviourist approach to learning
- Learning via interactions with stimuli in the environment
- E.g. classical and operant conditioning
Classical conditioning
Ivan Pavlov
- Three-phase learning process (before, during and after)
- Involves associating neutral and unconditioned stimuli to produce a conditioned response
- Occurs through repeated association of different stimuli
NOTE: Classical conditioning is sometimes called respondent conditioning.
Stimulus vs response
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Stimulus – object / event that elicits a response
- E.g. the sound of a gun shot, the smell of food
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Response – reaction by an organism to a stimulus
- E.g. wincing, salivating, blinking, vomiting
NS, UCS, CS, UCR and CR
Classical conditioning
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NS – does not normally produce a predictable response
- Not learned (e.g. bell causes no natural response)
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UCS – produces a naturally occurring, automatic response
- Not learned (e.g. food causes salivation)
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CS – initially N but becomes associated w/ UCS & elicits CR
- Learned (e.g. bell becomes associated with food and causes salivation)
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UCR – occurs automatically when the UCS is presented
- Not learned (e.g. salivating due to food)
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CR – learned / acquired response to the CS
- Learned (e.g. salivating due to bell)
Factors that influence classical conditioning
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Nature of the response
- UCR must be an automatic / involuntary response
- Not necessarily ‘thoughtless’ (responses can be ancipatory or due to an expected event)
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Association or linking of stimuli
- No association between stimuli = no conditioning
- Association is due to contiguity (linking stimuli that occur close together in time and/or space)
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Timing of the NS and UCS pairing
- Must present NS before UCS in close succession (not more than half a second before)
Three stages of classical conditioning
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Phase 1: Before conditioning
- NS elicits no relevant response (bell → no salivation)
- UCS elicits UCR (food → salivation)
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Phase 2: During conditioning
- NS repeatedly paired with UCS to produce UCR
- Pairing occurs many times in close succession
- NS must come before UCS
- E.g. bell + food → salivation
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Phase 3: After conditioning
- NS becomes a CS
- CS produces CR (bell alone → salivation)
Must specify WHAT causes the response (e.g. salivation to food OR bell).
NOTE: To gain full marks, answers must include these three stages with reference to the specific details in the question.
Why are negative stimuli (e.g. an electric shock) effective in establishing avoidance responses to formerly neutral stimuli?
- Produce a reflexive fear response & initiates emotional learning via amygdala (creates strong association w NS)
- Learning occurs fast if UCS relates to survival (e.g. pain)
Operant conditioning
B. F. Skinner
- Consequences of voluntary behaviour determine how likely it is to be repeated in the future
- I.e. an organism will tend to repeat a behaviour that has desirable consequences and not repeat a behaviour that has undesirable consequences
Operant
- Any response (or set of responses) that acts on the environment to produce some kind of consequence
Three stages of operant conditioning
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Antecedent (A) – stim that occurs before the behaviour
- Allows us to predict likely consequence of behaviour
- E.g. the word ‘Men’ on a toilet door
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Behaviour (B) – behaviour that occurs due to antecedent
- E.g. entering if male
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Consequence (C) – what happens after the behaviour
- E.g. emptying a full bladder
NOTE: Antecedents (aka discriminative stimuli) tend to be general and do not directly produce the response.
Reinforcement
- A process whereby a stimulus increases the likelihood of repeating a desirable behaviour in the future
- Only used after the desired or correct response is made
- Can be positive or negative
Positive vs negative reinforcement
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Positive – addition of a pleasant stimulus
- E.g. praising a student (+) for contributing in class
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Negative – removal of an unpleasant stimulus
- E.g. driving within the speed limit to avoid fines (–)
NOTE: Both positive and negative reinforcement increase the likelihood of repeating a desired (good) behaviour in the future.
Punishment
- A process whereby a stimulus decreases the likelihood of repeating an undesired behaviour in the future
Positive vs negative punishment
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Positive – addition of an unpleasant stimulus
- E.g. being given extra chores (+) / time-out (+) due to poor behaviour
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Negative – removal of a pleasant stimulus
- E.g. loss of money (–) to a fine due to speeding
NOTE: Both positive and negative punishment decrease the likelihood of repeating an undesired (bad) behaviour in the future.
Factors that influence the effectiveness of reinforcement and punishment (OTA)
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Order of presentation
- Reinforcement / punishment occurs after behaviour
- Allow us to associate a consequence w/ a behaviour
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Timing
- Most effective when reinforcement / punishment occurs immediately after response has occurred
- Delayed conseq to behaviour = slow / no learning
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Appropriateness
- Reinforcers must be pleasant for specific recipient
- Punishers must be unpleasant for specific recipient
Stimulus generalisation and discrimination
Operant conditioning
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Generalisation – behaviour applied to a different stimulus, hoping to receive the same consequence
- E.g. doing well on a Biology exam after studying hard, so doing the same for other subjects
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Discrimination – behaviour only occurs in response to the original stimulus
- E.g. working hard in one subject but not others
Classical vs operant conditioning
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Role of the learner
- C – passive (no control over presentation of stimuli)
- O – active (control over behaviour)
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Timing of the stimulus and response
- C – response depends on stimulus occurring first
- O – reinforcement/punishment depends on the behaviour occurring first
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Nature of the response
- C – involuntary (usually reflexive/automatic)
- O – voluntary (consciously initiated)
Similarities between classical and operant conditioning
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Three-phase model
- Before, during and after conditioning & ABC
-
Not necessarily permanent
- I.e. extinction can occur
- Require the association between different stimuli
Extinction
- Learned responses ≠ permanent (can be lost)
- True for both classical and operant conditioning
NOTE: Details about extinction are not examinable.
Spontaneous recovery
- The reappearance of the CR at the presentation of the CS after extinction and a rest period
- Can occur multiple times, but never as strong as the og CR
Positive reinforcers vs rewards
- Similarity – both have satisfying / desirable consequence
- Difference – rewards are not reinforcers unless they promote behaviour, whereas reinforcers are both rewarding and promote behaviour
Social-cognitive approach to learning
Albert Bandura
- Emphasises the social context & cognitive processes that influence the person and the learning process
- Demonstrates that learning can involve being conditioned by observing someone else’s conditioning
Observational learning
Social-cognitive learning
- Acquisition of info, skills or behaviour through watching the performance of others (directly or indirectly)
Observational learning process
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Attention – actively watch / observe the model’s behaviour
- We tend to pay more attention when the model is attractive, successful, familiar or similar to ourselves
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Retention – storing a mental representation, in memory, of the model’s behaviour
- More meaningul mental representation = more accurate replication
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Reproduction – imitating the observed behaviour
- Must have the required physical/mental abilities
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Motivation – determination to reproduce the behaviour
- Must want to reproduce the behaviour
- Explain WHY depending on the question
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Reinforcement – makes the learner more likely to repeat the behaviour in the future
- Likely to repeat behaviour if it has 👍🏻 outcome
Importance / relevance of social context is, at times, awarded a mark.
TIP: ARRMR = A Rabbit Ruined My Racecar.
2 types of motivation
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Intrinsic – within an individual
- E.g. personal desire to perform well on an exam
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Extrinsic – factors external to the individual
- E.g. desire to receive praise from a teacher
3 types of reinforcement
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Self – meeting the standards we set for ourselves
- E.g. a sense of pride or achievement
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External – consequences of actions
- E.g. receiving an award
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Vicarious – observing the reinforcement of another person performing the same behaviour
- E.g. witnessing one being praised for working hard
Differences between observational learning and classical conditioning
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OL – active learner (must actively observe a model)
- CC – involves a passive learner
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OL – 5 step process of learning from someone else
- CC – 3 step process of individual learning
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander learning
- Oldest & longest continuing forms of learning in Aus
- Learning is embedded in relationships
- Between learner-teacher
- Between concepts
- Between individuals-families-communities-Country
- Humans are interconnected w/ each other, the past, ancestors and the natural world
- System is multi-modal (variety of methods)
- Narratives, song, dance and ceremony
- 8 ways of learning framework
- Knowledge is patterned on Country
- Country holds and teaches knowledge
- Landscape, itself, is a mnemonic
Country
ATSI learning
- Term used to describe the land, waterways and seas
- Encompasses spirituality, customs, law, place, language, cultural practice, family and identity
8 ways of learning framework
- Story sharing
- Symbols and images
- Non-verbal
- Non-linear
- Learning maps
- Land links
- Community links
- Deconstruct/reconstruct
Differences between western learning and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander learning
- ATSI combines aspects of day to day life and teaching for learning; western tends to seperate these aspects (e.g. science seperate from art)
- ATSI is multimodal; western is predominantly written