Chapter 6 - Learning Flashcards
What is stimulus discrimination?
The process by which organisms display a less pronounced CR to CS that differs from the original CS
What is higher-order conditioning?
Developing a CR to a CS by virtue of its association with another CS
What is operant conditioning?
learning controlled by the consequences of the organism’s behaviour
What are the three main differences between classical and operant conditioning?
classical conditioning -
1. the organism’s response is elicited
2. the animal’s reward is independent of what it does
3. organism’s response depends primarily on the autonomic nervous system
What is insight?
grasping the underlying nature of a problem
What is a Skinner box?
A small animal chamber constructed by Skinner to allow sustained periods of conditioning to be administered and behaviours to be recorded unsupervised
What is reinforcement?
outcome or consequence of a behaviour that strengthens the probability of the behaviour
What is positive reinforcement?
The presentation of a stimulus following a behaviour that strengthens the probability of the behaviour
What is negative reinforcement?
Removal of a stimulus following a behaviour that strengthens the probability of the behaviour
What is punishment?
An outcome or consequence of a behaviour that weakens the probability of the behaviour
What is schedule of reinforcement?
pattern of reinforcing a behaviour
What is continuous reinforcement?
Reinforcing a behaviour every time it occurs, resulting in faster learning but faster extinction then only occasional reinforcement
What is partial reinforcement?
only occasional reinforcement of a behaviour, resulting in slower extinction then if the behaviour had been reinforced continually
What is a fixed ratio schedule?
pattern in which we provide reinforcement following a regular number of responses
What is a variable ratio schedule?
A way to reinforce behavior where rewards are given after a certain number of times a behavior is performed, but that number changes randomly each time
What is a fixed interval schedule?
Pattern in which we provide reinforcement for a response at least once following a specified time interval
What is a variable interval schedule?
Pattern in which we provide reinforcement for producing the response after an average time interval, with the actual interval varying randomly.
What is a secondary reinforcer?
Neutral object that becomes associated with a primary reinforcer
What is a primary reinforcer?
Item or outcome that naturally increases the target behaviour
What is two-process theory?
We need both classical and operant conditioning to explain the persistence of anxiety disorders
What is Latent learning?
Learning that’s not directly observable
What are cognitive maps?
mental representation of how a physical space is organzied
What is observational learning?
learning by watching others
What is preparedness?
evolutionary predisposition to learn some pairings of feared stimuli over others owing to their survival value
What is instinctive drift?
tendency for animals to return to innate behaviours following repeated reinforcement
What are learning styles?
An individual’s preferred or optimal method of acquiring new information
What is learning?
Change in an organism’s behaviour or thought as a result of experience.
What is habituation?
The process by which we respond less strongly over time to repeated stimuli. Earliest form of learning used to avoid attending to non-important stimuli.
What is sensitization?
Responding more strongly over time. It is more likely when a stimulus is dangerous, irritating or both.
What is conditioning?
Learning by association. Once we form associations, we need only recall one element to retrieve the other.
What is classical conditioning?
A form of learning in which animals come to respond to a previously neutral stimulus (CS) that has been paired with another stimulus that elicits an automatic response. (UCS)
What is a UCS?
Unconditioned stimulus: a stimulus that elicits an automatic (reflexive) response.
What is a UCR?
The automatic reflexive response.
What is the key point of the UCS and UCR in classical conditioning?
The animal doesn’t need to learn to respond to the UCS with the UCR, this is natural and reflexive and produced without training because the response of genetics and not the environment.
What is the CR?
Conditioned response: A response previously associated with a non-neutral stimulus that comes to be elicited by a neutral stimulus (CS).
What is the CS?
A previously neutral stimulus that comes to elicit a conditioned response as a result of its association with a UCS.
The CR is the product of ___________?
Nurture (or the environment)
Is the CR always the same as the UCR?
No, It may be similar but generally weaker or it may even be the complete opposite as is the case with heroin addicts. They unconsciously alter their blood pressure before taking heroine in a place where they’ve done heroine before.
What are the three phases of classical conditioning?
Acquisition, Exctinction, spontaneous recovery.
What is acquisition?
Phase in which the animal gradually learns the CR. As the CS and UCS are paired over and over again, the CR increases progressively in strength.
How is the most effective conditioning obtained when pairing the UCS and CS?
When the pairing is generally close in time (1 ms) with the CS being presented first. Longer delays decrease the effectiveness of conditioning.
What is spontaneous recovery?
A seemingly extinct CR reappears, often in a somewhat weaker form, if the CS is presented again following a delay after extinction.
What is stimulus generalization?
The process by which stimuli that are similar, but not identical to the original CS elicit a response.
What is stimulus discrimination?
Occurs when we exhibit a less pronounced response to a neutral stimulus that differs from the original CS.
What are five daily applications of classical conditioning?
Advertising, acquisition of fear and phobias, drug tolerance, acquisition of fetishes, disgust reactions.
How is CC applied to advertising?
By repeatedly pairing the sights and sounds of products with photographs of handsome hunks and scantily clad beauties, advertisers try to establish conditioned connections between their brands and positive emotions.
Since classical conditioning plays a role in acquiring phobias, it can also be used to ______ phobias.
Treat
How is drug tolerance applicable to CC?
People who use drugs in a particular setting, such as always being in the same room when administering a drug, develop an enhanced tolerance to the drug in that setting.
What is latent learning?
Learning that isn’t directly observable. We learn many things without showing them.
What is competence?
What we know.
What is performance?
Showing what we know.
Why is the distinction between competence and performance important?
Implies that reinforcement isn’t necessary for learning. For example mice may learn how to run a maze but will not show this unless they have something to gain in return.
What are cognitive maps?
Spatial representations of an area such as a maze.
What is observational learning?
Learning by watching others, especially models that are influential to us. This is regarded as latent learning since reinforcement is not required.
What is conditioned taste aversion?
Refers to the fact that CC can lead us to develop avoidance reactions to the taste of food.
What are the key distinctions that conditioned taste aversions possess that don’t match CC?
1- Conditioned taste aversions typically require only on trial to develop (i.e. one pairing)
2- The delay between the CS and UCS can be as long as 6-8 hours.
3- Conditioned taste aversions are very specific and don’t display stimulus generalization.
What is direct instruction?
In which we simply tell the students how to solve problems. It is often more effective and efficient than discovery learning.
What are learning styles?
Preferred means of acquiring information.
Why are learning styles not very promising?
It’s difficult to assess learning style reliably and most people are a combination of different learning styles.
