Chapter 6 Flashcards
Learning
change in an organism’s behaviour or thought as a result of experience
Habituation
-process of responding less strongly over time to repeated stimuli
-a highly adaptive process
-reduces focus on “safe” things
Sensitization
-responding more strongly over time, from repeated stimulus presentation
-occurs during dangerous and irritating stimuli
-ie. people whispering while you’re trying to study
Classical (Pavlovian) Conditioning
form of learning in which animals come to respond to a previously neutral stimulus that had been paired with another stimulus that elicits an automatic response
What did Pavlov find?
-studied digestion in dogs
-dogs salivated not only in the presence of food, but also those who fed them and their footsteps
-the dogs anticipated the arrival of food
Unconditioned Stimulus (UCS)
-stimulus that elicits an automatic response without prior conditioning
-reflexive
-ie. meat powder
Unconditioned Response (UCR)
-automatic response to a non-neutral stimulus that does not need to be learned
-response to UCS
-ie. salivation (nature)
Neutral Stimulus (NS)
-a stimulus that does not naturally or normally elicit a response
-ie. metronome
Conditioned Stimulus (CS)
-a previously neutral stimulus that now elicits a response due to pairings with the UCS
-ie. what the metronome becomes
Conditioned Response (CR)
-response elicited by the CS
-previously associated with a non-neutral stimulus, elicited by a neutral stimulus through conditioning
-ie. the salivating response to the metronome
Classical Conditioning Procedure Example
- NS and UCS to get a UCR (x1)
- NS = no response
- NS then UCS get a UCR (x40)
- CS gets a CR
Acquisition
-learning phase during which a conditioned response is established
-CS grows in strength when repeated (= learning!)
The closer in time the CS and UCS are paired, the ______ learning occurs.
faster
Asymptote
-when the CR occurs with every presentation of the CS
-CR is in similar magnitude to the UCR
-no further learning occurs
Extinction
-gradual reduction and eventual elimination of the CR after the CS is presented repeatedly without the UCS present
Extinction Example
-the metronome is played without meat powder
-dogs stopped salivating to the sound of the NS
Extinction is an _______ process
active
Spontaneous Recovery
-sudden reemergence of an extinct conditioned response after a delay after extinction
-usually a weaker response
Renewal Effect
-sudden reemergence of a conditioned response
-following the extinction, when the subject is returned to the environment where the CR occurred
What does the renewal effect help explain?
-phobias
Stimulus Generalization
-process by which conditioned stimuli that are similar, but not identical, elicit a conditioned response
-magnitude depends on similarity
Stimulus Discrimination
-process by which a less pronounced conditioned response is displayed in response to a CS that differs from the original CS
-without it we would respond similarly to everything (ie. explosion on the TV)
Higher-Order Conditioning
-developing a conditioned response to a conditioned stimulus by virtue of its association with another conditioned stimulus
-UCS not needed
-just pair a NS with a CS
-weaker response
Second-Order Conditioning
-new CS is paired with the original CS
-weaker response
Applying Classical Conditioning: Advertising
-getting people to associate their product with an emotion
-ie. pairing product (NS) with attractive people (UCS)
Latent Inhibition
-difficulty in establishing classical conditioning to a conditioned experience we repeatedly experience alone (without the UCS)
Applying Classical Conditioning: Fetishism
-sexual attraction to non-living things
-ie. pairing shoes (NS) with sex cues, like naked people (UCS) leading to sexual excitement (UCR)
Applying Classical Conditioning: Drug Tolerance
-people who used drugs in a particular setting developed an enhanced tolerance to the drug, in that setting
Conditioned Compensatory Response
-helps counteract the effects of the drugs
-a CR that is the opposite of the UCR and compensates for the UCR
-ie. drinking at a bar vs at home
Conditioned Phobias: Little Albert
-11mo baby was afraid of noise but liked white rats
-shown rat and exposed to loud noise, evoked fear response
-any white fur stimulus produced a fear reaction
Operant Conditioning
-learning controlled by the consequences of the organisms behaviour
-aka instrumental conditioning
Operants
-the behaviours produced by the animal to receive a reward
-because the animal “operates” on its environment to get what it wants
The operant behaviour is…
-voluntary rather than automatic
-a function of the consequences that follow the behaviour
-depends on skeletal muscles
Law of Effect
-principle asserting that if a stimulus followed by a behaviour results in a reward, the stimulus is more likely to give rise to the behaviour in the future
Who discovered the law of effect?
Edward Thorndike
Puzzle Box: Thorndike experiment
-hungry cats placed in the box
-food placed outside
-faster they got out, the faster they got food
-gradual not sudden process
Puzzle box showed learning was _____ not through insight.
incremental
Insight
-grasping the underlying nature of a problem
Reinforcement
-any outcome that strengthens the probability of a response
Positive Reinforcement
-behaviour is followed by the presentation of a stimulus (a reinforcer) and the behaviour is strengthened
Negative Reinforcement
-behaviour is followed by the removal of a stimulus (usually something unpleasant) and the behaviour is strengthened
Skinner Box (operant chamber)
-small animal chamber constructed by Skinner to allow sustained periods of conditioning to be administered and behaviours be recorded unsupervised
Punishment
-outcome or consequence of a behaviour that weakens the probability of the behaviour
Positive Punishment
-behaviour is followed by the presentation of a stimulus (a punisher) and the behaviour is weakened
Negative Punishment
-behaviour is followed by the removal of a stimulus (usually a reinforced/appetitive stimulus) and the behaviour is weakened
“giving a gold star on homework resulting in student studying more” is an example of…
positive reinforcement
“static on a phone subsides when you stand in a specific spot in your room, causing you stand there more” is an example of…
negative reinforcement
“Scolding by a pet owner, reducing a dogs habit of chewing on shoes” is an example of…
Positive Punishment
“Confiscating a favourite toy, stopping a child from throwing future tantrums” is an example of…
negative punishment
Positive reinforcement involves _________ a stimulus and results in _______ target behaviour.
presenting, increased
Negative reinforcement involves _________ a stimulus and results in _______ target behaviour.
removing, increased
Positive punishment involves _________ a stimulus and results in _______ target behaviour.
presenting, decreased
Negative punishment involves _________ a stimulus and results in _______ target behaviour.
removing, decreased
Disadvantage of Punishment
-not as effective for altering behaviour in many cases
-tells not what to do instead of what to do
-creates anxiety, interferes with learning
-encourages subversive behaviour
-models behaviour towards others
Discriminative Stimulus (Sᵈ)
-stimulus associated with the presence of reinforcement
-ie. responding to our friends wave with going over to talk to them
Acquisition
-learning phase during which a conditioned or operant response is established
Extinction (operant conditioning)
-gradual reduction and eventual elimination of an operant response when reinforcement for that response is no longer presented
Spontaneous Recovery (operant conditioning)
-sudden re-emergence of an extinguished operant response after a delay following extinction
Stimulus Generalization (operant conditioning)
-the increased probability of responding in the presence of a stimuli similar to the original Sᵈ
Stimulus Discrimination (operant conditioning)
-displaying a less pronounced to stimuli that differ from the original Sᵈ
Schedule of Reinforcement
-the response requirement that must be met to obtain reinforcement
-pattern of reinforcing a behaviour
Continuous Reinforcement Schedules (CRF)
-reinforcing a behaviour every time it occurs
-fast learning, but labor intensive
-extinction can occur quicker
Partial (intermittent) Reinforcement Schedule (PRF)
-only some responses are reinforced
-slower learning
-less labour intensive
-more resistant to extinction
Fixed Ratio (FR) Schedule
-reinforcer delivered after a fixed number of responses
-pause after reinforcer delivered
-moderate rate of responding
Variable Ratio (VR) Schedule
-pattern in which we provide reinforcement after a specific number of responses on average
-no pause
-number varies randomly
-high rate of responding
Fixed Interval (FI) Schedule
-first response after a specific period of time will lead to the delivery of a reinforcer
-response before interval has elapsed leads to nothing
-scalloped shaped response curve
Variable Interval (VI) Schedule
-pattern in which we provide reinforcement for a response at least once during an average time interval
-interval varies randomly
-response before interval elapsed leads to nothing
-no pauses
Ratio Schedules
require a certain number of responses to be performed before a reinforcer is delivered
Interval Schedules
reinforce the first behaviour after period of time has elapsed
Animal Training
-an application of operant conditioning
-training pets or in zoos
-uses a shaping technique
Shaping by Successive Approximation
-conditioning a target behaviour by progressively reinforcing behaviours that come closer and closer to the target
Overcoming Procrastination
-an application of operant conditioning
-putting off work until the last minute
-employs premack principle
Premack Principle
-can reinforce a lower-probability behaviour (studying)
-uses the opportunity to engage in a higher-probability behaviour (video games)
Secondary Reinforcer
-neutral object that becomes associated with a primary reinforcer
Primary Reinforcer
-item or outcome that naturally increases the target behaviour
Applied Behaviour Analysis
-aba
-uses shaping to help individuals with autism improve language skills
Two-Process Theory
-combines classical and operant conditioning
-fears are acquired through an interactive process
