chapter 6 Flashcards
learning
a process by which behaviour or knowledge changes as a result of experience
key to learning
experience (nurture), although preparedness for learning specific behaviours varies (nature)
ivan pavlov (1849-1936)
a russian physiologist
nobel prize in 1904: studied digestion, using dogs
- noticed dogs salivated sometimes when food not being consumed and wondered why
pavlovs research
collected saliva and other gastric secretions from the dogs when they were presented with food
pavlovian conditioning
a form of associative learning in which an organism learns to associate a neutral stimulus (e.g. sound) with a relevant stimulus (e.g. food) which results in a change in the response to the previously neutral stimulus (e.g. salivation)
- one event causes another
classical conditioning
learning that occurs when two stimuli are paired together and become associated with each other
explains how we learn involuntary actions
stimulus
an external event or cue that causes a noticeable response
unconditioned stimulus (US)
any stimulus that naturally draws out a behaviour
without learning
unconditioned response (UR)
a reflexive unlearned reaction to an unconditioned stimulus
the behaviour drawn out by the US
in pavlovs experiment
- the metronome was originally a neutral stimulus because it did not draw out a response
- over time it began to influence the dogs responses because of its association with food
- it became a conditioned stimulus because it caused the conditioned response of salvation
a defining characteristic of classical conditioning is
that a neutral stimulus comes to draw out a response
conditioned stimulus
a neutral stimulus that is able to draw out behaviour only after associated with a US
conditioned response
the learned response that occurs to the conditioned stimulus
(the behaviour drawn out by the CS)
in pavlovs experiment conditioned response and an unconditioned response are
both salivation
(a CS can have this effect only if it becomes associated with a US)
(UR is naturally occurring response whereas a CR must be learned)
two stimuli (S1 -> S2)
classical conditioning
response and outcome (R -> O)
operant (or instrumental) conditioning
acquisition (stages of learning)
is the initial phase of learning in which a response is established
(neutral stimulus is repeatedly paired with the US)
extinction (stages of learning)
- the loss or weakening of a conditioned response when a conditioned stimulus and unconditioned stimulus no longer occur together
- the process through which the strength of the conditioned response is decreased until it is eliminated. easiest way to do this is to present the conditioned stimulus without the unconditioned stimulus repeatedly
spontaneous recovery (stages of learning)
- extinguished CR reappears after rest period
- it refers to when the conditioned response recovers some of the strength it lost during previous extinction sessions
generalization
tendency for stimuli similar to CS to cause similar responses
(responses to other stimuli that are similar to conditioned stimulus)
discrimination
responses only to a specific conditioned stimuli. requires the stimuli to be clearly distinguishable
hebb’s rule
when a weak connection between neurone is stimulated at the same time as a strong connection, the weak connection. becomes strengthened
john Watson recognized
in 1920s that our emotional responses could be influenced by classical conditioning
conditioned emotional responses
emotional and psychological responses that develop to a specific object or situation
john watson experiment
little Albert conditioned to fear white rats. when the rat was presented they startled him by striking a steel bar with a hammer. Albert associated the rat with the sound and showed a conditioned emotional response to the rat. (US: loud noise UR: fear CS: white rat CR:fear)
phobia
refers to an irrational fear of an object, situation, or activity that is out of proportion to the actual danger
when an organism learns a fear-related association activity occurs
in the amygdala, a brain area related to fear
preparedness
the biological tendency to rapidly learn a response to a particular class of stimuli
conditioned taste aversion
acquired dislike or disgust for a food or drink because it was paired with illness
latent inhibition
occurs when frequent experience with a stimulus before it is paired with a US makes it less likely that conditioning will occur after a single episode of illness
conditioned drug tolerance
over time, more of the drug will be needed to override these responses so that the desired effect can be obtained
operant conditioning
learning which behaviour is strengthened if followed by a reinforced or diminished if followed by a punisher
contingency
a consequence depends upon an action
consequences of a particular behaviour can be either reinforcing or punishing
law of effect
thorndikes principle that behaviours followed by favourable consequences become more likely and behaviours followed by unfavourable consequences less likely
reinforcement
a process in which an event or reward that follows a response increases the likelihood of that response occurring again
B.F. skinner
conducted experiment between reinforcement and behaviour. rats were placed in skinner boxes with a lever that can be manipulated. pushing the lever when light is on would deliver a reinforcer of food. when light was off the lever would deliver a shock
reinforcer
a stimulus that is contingent upon response and that increases the probability of that response occurring again
(event that strengthens behaviour is follows)
punishment
process that decreases the future probability of a response
punisher
a stimulus that is contingent upon a response, and that results in a decrease in behaviour
discriminative stimulus
signals that the schedule of reinforcement is in effect
increases the chances of a behaviour occurring again
reinforcement
decreases the chances of a behaviour occurring again
punishment
positive
means that a stimulus is added to a situation; positive can refer to reinforcement or punishment
negative
means that a stimulus is removed from a situation; negative can refer to reinforcement or punishment
positive reinforcement
the strengthening of behaviour after potential reinforcers such as praise, money, or nourishment follow that behaviour
positive reinforcement example
a child gets allowance for making her bed so she is likely to do it again in the future
(addition of allowance)
negative reinforcement example
the rain no longer falls on you after opening tour umbrella, so you are likely to do it again in the future
(removing the unpleasant rain)
positive punishment example
a pet owner scolds his dog for jumping up on a house guest and now the dog is less likely to do it again
(adding unpleasant scolding)
negative reinforcement example
a parent takes away tv privileges to stop children from fighting
(taking away something pleasant like tv)
negative reinforcement
involves the strengthening of a behaviour because it removes or diminishes a stimulus
avoidance learning
a specific type of negative rein that removes the possibility that a stimulus will occur
avoidance learning examples
leaving a sporting event early to avoid crowds and traffic congestion
paying bills on time to avoid late fees
escape learning
a specific type of negative reinforcement that occurs if a response removes a stimulus that is already present
escape learning example
covering your ears upon hearing overwhelmingly loud music
positive punishment
a process in which a behaviour decreases in frequency because it was followed by a particular, usually unpleasant stimulus
negative reinforcement
occurs when a behaviour decreases because it removes or diminishes a particular stimulus
discrimination operant conditioning
occurs when an organism learns to respond to one original stimulus but not to new stimuli that may be similar to the original stimulus
generalization operant conditioning
takes place when an operant response occurs in response to a new stimulus that is similar to the stimulus present during original learning
extinction operant conditioning
the weakening of an operant response when reinforcement is no longer available
delayed reinforcement
weakens the association between the response and the outcome, both for reinforcement and punishment
devaluation
ability of a CS to draw out a CR or a discriminative stimulus to draw out behaviour may be diminished in the absence of a direct pairing between the CS or discriminative stimulus and a consequence
shaping
conditioning procedure in which reinforcers guide behaviour toward closer approximations of fisted goal
(reward behaviours that increasingly resemble target behaviour)
chaining
involves linking together two or more shaped behaviours into a more complex action or sequence of actions
applied behaviour analysis (ABA)
involves using close observation prompting and reinforcement to teach behaviours, often to people who experience difficulties and challenges owing to a developmental condition such as autism
primary reinforcers
consists of reinforcing stimuli that satisfy basic motivational needs
needs that affect an individuals ability to survive
secondary reinforcers
consist of stimuli that acquire their reinforcing effects only after we learn that they have value
discriminative stimulus
a cue or event that indicates that a response, if made, will be reinforced
schedules of reinforcement
rules that determine when reinforcement is available
continuous reinforcement
every response made results in reinforcement
- learning occurs rapidly
- extinction occurs rapidly
partial reinforcement
only a certain number of responses are rewarded, or a certain amount of time must pass before reinforcement is available
- results in slower acquisition
- greater resistance to extinction
ratio schedule
means that the reinforcement are based on the amount of responding
interval schedule
means that the reinforcements are based on the amount of time between reinforcements, not the number of responses a human makes
fixed schedule
means that the schedule of reinforcement remains the same over time
variable schedule
means that the schedule of reinforcement, although linked to an average, varies from reinforcement to reinforcement
fixed-ratio (FR) schedule
reinforcement is delivered after a specific number of responses have been completed
- faster responding gets more rewards which can lead to very high rates of responding
($1 for every five items produced)
variable-ratio (VR) schedule
reinforce response after unpredictable number of responses
- very difficult to extinguish because of unpredictability
(gambling)
