Chapter 6 - Learning Flashcards
What is non-associative learning?
Learning to adjust responses to repeated stimulus.
What is the difference between habituation and sensory adaptation? What is sensitization?
Habituation - when our behavioral response to a stimulus DECREASES
- This differs from sensory adaptation
because you can still perceive the stimulus
for habituation but you just ignore it
Sensitization - when our behavioral response to a stimulus INCREASES
Explain Rescorla’s cognitive perspective on classical conditioning and the Rescorla-Wagner
Model (including positive and negative prediction errors).
Rescorla-Wagner model - some predictors (potential CSs) are better than others.
ex: the dog did not drool everytime it saw humans bc it always sees humans and is not always presented with the meat packet so humans are not as good of a predictor as the bell
Positive prediction error: addition of an unexpected event or a stronger version of the expected stimulus
Negative prediction error: absence of the event
Describe second order conditioning.
ex: Money
Describe the difference between primary and secondary reinforcers.
Primary reinforcer - reinforcers that satisfy biological needs (eg. food and water)
Secondary reinforcer - reinforcers that satisfy needs that are NOT biological (eg. money)
What is the Premack Principle?
A preferred activity is used to reinforce a non-preferred activity (eg: do homework, can play outside)
What are the different schedules of reinforcement? What is the partial reinforcement
extinction effect?
fixed interval - reinforcement is provided after a CERTAIN amount of TIME has passed
variable interval - occurs when reinforcement is provided after the passage of time, but the time is NOT REGULAR
fixed ratio - occurs when reinforcement is provided after a CERTAIN number of RESPONSES have been made
variable ratio - occurs when reinforcement is provided after an UNPREDICTABLE number of RESPONSES
Partial Reinforcement Extinction Effect - the less frequent and more variable the reinforcement is, the greater the resistance to extinction
What is equipotentiality in the context of learning? What findings challenge the idea of
equipotentiality?
Equipotentiality - Any object can be converted to a conditioned stimulus
- biology and evolution challenge this
What role does dopamine play in learning?
wanting - desire to consume
liking - pleasure that comes from consuming
positive prediction - higher dopamine
negative prediction - lower dopamine
Describe the difference between growth and fixed mindsets.
Describe (in general terms) the behaviorist movement and how it was a change for the field of psychology.
Are the conditioned response (CR) and unconditioned response (UR) identical? Explain.
Be able to explain the basics of classical conditioning in terms of the unconditioned stimulus (US), unconditioned response (UR), conditioned stimulus (CS), and conditioned response (CR). What is the ideal timing with regard to the neutral stimulus and unconditioned stimulus?
Explain the principles of acquisition, extinction, spontaneous recovery, generalization, and discrimination. You should be able to give examples as well.
What is the Garcia effect? How does this effect challenge the notion that any two stimuli could be linked through classical conditioning? Explain the notion of biological preparedness and give an
example.
Garcia Effect - humans are primed to associate sickness with taste and smell (not sight and hearing)
- This effect challenges the idea hat any two stimuli could be linked through classical conditioning because some pairings can be learned more effectively than others.
ex: It is easier for monkeys to fear snakes than to fear flowers.
