Chapter 6 Flashcards
learning
- any relatively durable change in behaviour or knowledge that is due to experience
conditioning
learning associations between events in an environment
phobia
- conditioning is an explaining
- irrational fears of specific objects
superstitious behaviour
- linked to learning/operant conditioning
Pavlov experiment
- identifies classical conditioning mechanism
- presented meat powder and rang a bell, dog would drool because of meat powder
- dog would begin to drool when bell was rang and no presentation of meat powder
classical conditioning
- learning in which stimulus acquires capacity to evoke a response that was originally evoked by another stimulus
unconditioned stimulus
- stimulus that evokes an unconditioned response without previous conditioning
unconditioned response
- unlearned reaction to an unconditioned stimulus that occurs without previous conditioning
conditioned stimulus
- previously neutral stimulus that has through conditioning acquired the capacity to evoke a conditioned response
conditioned response
- learned reaction to a conditioned stimulus that occurs due to previous conditioning
conditioned fears
- scare jokes paired with experiences
- last for a very long time
exposure therapy
- exposing someone gradually to a stimulus and increasing stimulus to reduce fear
evaluative conditioning
- changes in the linking of a stimulus that results from pairing a stimulus with a positive stimulus
- advertisements
evaluative conditioning controversy
- some say they are long lasting some say they are short lasting
classical conditioning drug tolerance
- when changing environments, not conditioned to have same tolerance as before
- body prepares for it when in same environment, may overdose if not
trial
- any presentation of stimulus or pair of stimuli
- need to happen close together
acquisition
- initial stage of learning something
stimulus contiguity
- occurring together in time and space
beemans gum
- girlfriend offered boyfriend gum every time she saw him to condition positive feelings with seeing her
delayed conditioning
- CS before
- UCS at end of CS
- ideal way
trace conditioning
- CS
- brief interval
- present UCS
simultaneous conditioning
- CS entire time presenting UCS
backward conditioning
- present USC
- then present CS
- does not work well
extinction
- gradual weakening and disappearance of a conditioned response
- if only presented with conditioned stimulus, conditioned response will stop
spontaneous recovery
- extinguished response reappears after no exposure to conditioned stimulus
renewal effect
- if a response if extinguished in a different environment, returning to original environment will cause response to return
stimulus generalization
- when someone has learned a response to a stimulus, they associate that response to new stimuli similar to original
- fear of rats=fear of all furry things
little albert
- conditioned to have a fear of rats
- ended up being afraid of all things furry
discrimination
- when someone has learned a response to a stimuli, they associate that response to only that specific stimulus
higher-order conditioning
- a conditioned stimulus functions as if it were an unconditioned stimulus
- pair tone with red light then only show red light, response will still occur
conditioned taste aversion
- have flu and eat something
- throw up because of flu, not food
- can no longer eat/smell that food without feeling nausea
- very rapid conditioning
biological influences linked to preparedness and phobias
- could be biologically prepared to have certain types of connections (fears) and conditioned responses
- most of which were treats to our ancestors (snakes, spiders etc)
operant conditioning
- learn due to consequences of behaviour
Edward L. Thorndike
- law of effect
- if response in presence of a stimulus leads to satisfying effects, the association between stimulus and response is strengthened
what Thorndike did
- put cats in puzzle box with food on outside
- cat needed to perform certain tasks to escape from box
- overtime there is a strengthening in associated concequences
principle of reinforcement
- pleasant consequences increase probability that behaviour will be repeated
reinforcement
- when an event following a response increases likelihood of response being repeated
reinforcement contingencies
- circumstances/rules that determine if response will receive a reinforcer
reinforcer
- positive reward
primary reinforcer
- satisfies biological needs
- naturally pleasant response
secondary reinforcer
- conditioned reinforcement
- initially does not have pleasant response
- money, grades, flattery
superstitious behaviour
- inappropriately reinforces behaviour
- superstitions
operant chamber (skinners box)
- had rats in box and if they press the lever they get food (reinforcement)
- if they make a mistake they get shocked
acquisition and shaping
- reinforcement of closer and closer approximations of a desired response
- squirrel on water skis
extinction burst
- elimination of a behaviour by refusing to reinforce it
resistance to extinction
- when an organism continues to make a response after delivery of reinforcer has been terminated
discriminative stimuli
- cues that influence operant behaviour by indicating the probable consequences of a response
- friend is more likely to give you money if they just won the lottery rather than if they just got a speeding ticket
stimulus generalization
- reinforcement generalizes to other stimuli
- cat runs to kitchen when learning can opener, starts running to kitchen when other kitchen appliances are being used
stimulus discrimination
- learn a response reinforcement that is very specific to that case
- cat only runs for can opener, not blender
continuous reinforcement
- reinforcer every time we perform a behaviour
- fast acquisition and extinction
intermittent (partial) reinforcement
- not every response gets reinforced
- not knowing what response will be reinforced you will keep making response in hope for reinforcement
- slow to extinction
- casino
- most effective
fixed or variable ratio schedules
- fixed or variable number of non reinforced responses
- get reinforced after a certain number of responses
interval schedule
- reinforcer is given for the first response after a fixed or variable amount of time
- when certain amount of time is passed, response is reinforced
variable vs fixed
- extinction takes longer in variable
negative reinforcement
- by making response, something negative goes away
- makes it more likely that response will occur
escape learning
- organism requires a response that decreases or ends some aversive stimulation
- rat runs out of room to stop shock
avoidance learning
- organism acquires a response that prevents some aversive stimulation from occurring
- fear of flying=drive instead
punishment
- trying to decrease the likelihood of a response taking place
positive punishment
- doing something that is aversive
- yelling, spanking
negative punishment
- taking away something that is good/desirable
- taking away cell phone
physical punishment- good or bad
- negative side effects
- minimize physical punishment
- more likely to be leading to negative behaviour later in life
making punishment more effective
- apply swiftly
- just enough to be effective
- consistent (same every time)
- explain punishment so it is associated with the behaviour
- use non-corporal punishment
latent learning
- learning that is not apparent from behaviour when it first occurs
- tolman
tolman
- had mice in boxes with food in goal boxes
- group A: food in goal box every time, number of errors decreased
- group B: never had food in goal box, not much learning taking place, number of errors didn’t change mush
- group C: doesn’t get food until day 11, sharp drop in number of errors after food
- learning was taking place even though there was no reward
instinctive drift
- when an animals innate response tendencies interfere with conditioning process
- tendency for animals to return to the natural behaviour
- racoon would wash coin in bank commercial as if it were food
Albert Bandura
- suggested not all learning is classical and operant
- suggested we learn from watching others who at as models of behaviour and learn from watching them
- might use things you learned to receive reinforcement
observational (vicarious) learning
- when an organisms responding is influenced by the observation of others, who care called models
process of observational learning
- attention
- rentention
- reproducing
- motivation
attention
pay attention to behaviour and consequences
retention
need to remember information
reproducing
need to be capable of performing and reproducing behaviour
motivation
need to be motivated to execute behaviour
Bandura
- via observational learning tried to see what children would imitate
- children would watch adults be aggressive with doll
- they would perform same behaviour to doll and more aggressive
violent TV and children
- seems to be a connection between violent TV and behaviour later in life
mirror neurons
- neutrons that are activated by performing an action or by seeing others perform the same action
