Chapter 5 Flashcards
Defined as any relatively permanent change in behavior brought about by experience or practice (as opposed to changes brought about by maturation)
Learning
A Russian psychologist who discovered one of the simplest forms of learning
Ivan Pavlov
One of the simplest forms of learning
Classical conditioning
An involuntary response that is not under personal choice or control
Reflex
Repeated pairing of NS (neutral stimulus) and UCS (unconditioned stimulus)
acquisition
Ability of a stimulus that resembles the Conditioned Stimulus to produce a Conditioned Response
Stimulus generalization
Learning to respond to different stimuli in different ways
Stimulus discrimination
Occurs after the Conditioned Stimulus is repeatedly presented without the Unconditioned Stimulus and the Conditioned Stimulus no long produces a Conditioned Response
Extinction
Occurs when the conditioned stimulus is presented after being absent for a period of time and produces a mild Conditioned response
Spontaneous recovery
Process where a powerful conditioned stimulus is paired with a neutral stimulus and the conditioned stimulus itself can function as an unconditioned stimulus and turn the neutral stimulus into a second conditioned stimulus
Higher order conditioning
The process that allows us to adapt to the changing conditions of the environment around us
Learning
When a person becomes classically conditioned simply by watching someone else respond to a stimulus
Vicarious conditioning
Unique form of classical conditioning that can occur with only one neutral stimulus-unconditioned stimulus pairing
Conditioned taste aversion
Conditioning is believed to occur so rapidly due to the _____ of most mammals
Biological preparedness
The process in which the close pairing in time of the CS with the UCS eventually leads to the CS serving as a substitute stimulus for the UCS and activating the same brain area as the UCS
Stimulus substitution
Type of learning more strongly associated with voluntary behavior and is based on _____ work
Operant conditioning, Edward thorndike
States that if a response is followed by an unpleasant consequence it will tend not to be repeated
Law of effect
Expanded on Thorndike’s law of effect and coined the term operant conditioning
BF Skinner
Refers to any voluntary behavior
Operant
A conditioning that focuses on what happens before the response
Classical
A conditioning that focuses on what happens after the response
Operant
A type of reinforcer that satisfies basic needs and don’t need to be learned
Primary reinforcers
A type of reinforcer that get their reinforcing power through prior associations with a primary reinforcer and thus are learned
Secondary reinforcers
Adding a pleasurable consequence after a response occurs
Positive reinforcement
Removing something unpleasant after a response occurs
Negative reinforcement
Occurs when a reinforcer is presented after every response
Continuous reinforcement
Takes longer to go through extinction, more resistant to extinction
Partial reinforcement/partial reinforcement effect
Timing of partial reinforcement
Schedule of reinforcement
Occurs when a reinforcer depends on the number of responses that are made
Ratio schedule
Reinforcers are presented after a certain period of time has passed
Interval schedule
If the reinforcers are always given after a set period of time or number of responses, the schedule is said to be
Fixed
If the reinforcer is given after varying periods of time or number of responses the schedule is labeled as
Variable
Decreases the likelihood of a response
Punishment
Any consequence of a response that causes that response to be less likely to happen again
Punishment
While _____ strengthens a response that already exists, ________ eliminates the response
Reinforcement, punishment
Situation wherein a response is followed by the addition of something unpleasant
Punishment by application
Effect of punishment by application
Child avoids punisher
Encourage lying to avoid punishment
Creates fear and anxiety
Hitting becomes model for aggression
Occurs when a response is followed by the removal of something pleasant
Punishment by removal
What to do to make punishment more effective
Administer immediately after the undesired behavior
Administer consistently
Pair with reinforcement for the right behavior
Involves the use of operant conditioning to reward successive approximations until the desired response is obtained
Shaping
Removal of reinforcement
Extinction
Occurs when an organism attempts a previously learned response in order to receive a reward
Spontaneous recovery
Defined as any stimulus that provides an organism with a signal or cue for making a certain response in order to get reinforcement
Discriminative stimulus
Tendency to revert to genetically controlled patterns
Instinctive drift
Used to describe the process of using operant conditioning to change behavior
Behavior modification
Involves the use of tokens to modify behavior
Token economy
Uses shaping techniques to obtain a desired behavior and is particularly successful with children with disorders
Applied behavior analysis
Technique that uses operant conditioning to modify involuntary behaviors such as blood pressure and heart rate
Biofeedback
Uses operant conditioning to try to change brain activity
Neurofeedback
Focuses on the mental processes that occur during learning
Cognitive learning
He studied the phenomenon of latent learning
Edward Tolman
When subjects are subsequently reinforced, learning occurs much faster
Latent learning
Studied a phenomenon he called learned helplessness
Martin Seligman
Cognitive psychologist who studied the phenomenon of insight learning in animals
Wolfgang Kohler
Involved a sudden perception of relationships that could not be gained through trial-and-error learning
Insight learning
The learning of a new behavior by observing someone else who is performing that behavior
Observational learning
Describes the fact that learning can take place without actual performance
Learning/performance distinction
A major contributor to the study of observational learning and conducted a series of classic studies observing children’s learned behaviors
Albert Bandura
Four elements needed for observational learning to occur
Attention, memory, imitation and motivation
