Chapter 5: Learning Flashcards
What is learning?
Permanent change in behavior, thoughts, or feelings that result from experience
What is classical conditioning?
One stimulus comes to signal the occurrence of the other
Give an example of classical conditioning
Shaking canister of dog food, dog runs to bowl, sound mean they will get fed
What is Pavlov’s classical conditioning?
The sound of a bell makes dogs salivate
What is the unconditioned stimulus (UCS)?
Stimulus that reliably elicits a response
What is the unconditioned response (UCR)?
Response naturally elicited by UCS
What is the conditioned stimulus (CS)?
Neutral stimulus comes to elicit a new response
What is the conditioned response (CR)?
Response that CS elicits after conditioning
What is the UCS in Pavlov’s experiment?
Dog food
What is the UCR in Pavlov’s experiment?
Salivation as result of dog food
What is the CS in Pavlov’s experiment?
The bell
What is the CR in Pavlov’s experiment?
Salivation as result of bell
What terms have to happen in order for classical conditioning to occur?
Timing and consistency
What is acquisition?
The learning phase
What is extinction?
The “unlearning phase”, the CR is weakened or extinguished
What is spontaneous recovery?
The CR will reappear after rest period
Give an example of spontaneous recovery
Breakup with a boy and hear “your song”
What is generalization?
Stimuli similar to the CS elicits the CR
Give an example of generalization
You love your moms lasagna, so you order it at a restaurant assuming it will be good
What is discrimination?
The organically CS elicits CR, but similar stimuli do not
Give an example of discrimination
The lasagna you order at the restaurant it not good, so you do not order it again
What is biological predisposition?
We are programmed as humans to associate CS and UCS
Give an example of biological predisposition
When our stomach hurts, we assume its the food we ate
What is biological emotional response?
CS are effective for eliciting emotions like fear
Give an example of biological emotional response
Children are scared of doctors office because they assume they are getting a shot every time they go
What did Thorndike study?
Studied relationship between behavior and consequences with cats in a puzzle box
What is the law of effect?
Repeat behaviors that lead to satisfying outcomes and do not repeat behaviors that lead to unsatisfying outcomes
Give an example of the law of effect
You receive a bad grade on a test so you study differently for the next test
What is positive reinforcement?
Adding/bringing good things to an organism
Give an example of positive reinforcement
Money, praise
What is negative reinforcement?
Taking away bad things from an organism
Give an example of negative reinforcement
Removing pain by taking Tylenol
What is positive punishment?
Adding/bringing bad things to an organism
Give an example of positive punishment
Poor grades, spanking, criticism
What is negative punishment
Taking away good things from an organism
Give an examples of negative punishment
Loss of TV privileges, grounding
What are common issues with punishment?
Learned helpfulness, has to be specific and immediate to work, effective for teaching people not effective for teaching people to perform certain behavior
What is learned helpfulness?
Organism learns that their actions have no effect on the environment so they continue to do that certain behavior
What is gradient in operant conditioning?
Longer delay between behavior and consequence, the weaker the operant conditioning is
What are primary reinforcers?
Biologically necessary (food and water)
What are secondary reinforcers?
Stimuli require reinforcing properties through learning (money, praise)
What is token economy?
Reward system, stars are given when chores are done
What is shaping?
Rewarding successively closer approximations of desired behavior
Give example of shaping
Learning to play basketball: you learn to pick up the ball, dribble, and shoot separately
What is a reinforcement schedule?
It states what organism must do to be reinforced
What is a continuous reinforcement schedule?
Organism is reinforced every time the desired behavior is performed
What is a partial reinforcement schedule?
Desired behavior is only reinforced sometimes
Which schedule is better for humans?
Partial because there is a higher rate of responding and it is resistant to extinction
What is a fixed ratio schedule?
Reward after set number of responses, leads to a steady response rate
What is a variable ratio schedule?
Reward after varying number of responses, rapid response rate
What is a fixed timing schedule?
Reward after specific time interval
Give an example of a fixed ratio schedule
Reward after packing 20 pairs of socks
Give an example of a fixed timing schedule
Paycheck: getting paid biweekly
What is a variable timing schedule?
Reward at varying intervals, stable response rate
What did B.F. Skinner believe?
All learning is rooted in operant conditioning
What do new psychologists believe?
Learning stems from operant conditioning and mental processes
What is latent learning?
Organisms learning with no reinforcement
What did EC Tolman do with rats?
He placed rats in a maze without rewarding them, they eventually learned the path and exited
What is observational learning?
Learning by observing actions of others
What did Albert Bandura do?
Filmed children playing with bobo dolls to observe their aggression towards the dolls
List 4 conditions of observational studies/ learning
- Pay attention to the model
- Retain in memory what you saw
- Have motivation to imitate observed model
- Potential reproduction: reproducing the behavior
What is reciprocal determinism?
All human functioning is an interaction among a person’s values, environmental factors, and behavior
Give an example of reciprocal determinism
Child acting out in school
