Chapter 6: Learning Flashcards
What is learning?
A relatively permanent change in behaviour made possible by experience
It is crucial for survival
What did Watson believe about learning?
Waste focused o behaviourism, i which observable behaviour is the only valid indicator of psychological activity
What did Locke believe about learning?
Argued that an infancy is born as a tabula rasa
What is a tabula rasa?
A blank sheet that acquires all knowledge through sensory experience
What are the 3 fundamental ways that people learn?
Non associative learning
Associative learning
Observational learning
Non associative learning
Learning about a stimulus after repeated exposure to that particular stimulus or event
It is a response to the outside world
Associative learning
Understanding how stimuli, or events, are related
Associative learning is the linking of tow events that occur immediately after each other
This is done through conditions, a process that links environmental stimuli and behaviour
What is observational learning?
Learning by watching others and changing behaviour in relation to stimuli after seeing others’ responses to those same stimuli
What are two well known forms of non associative learning?
Habituation and sensitisation
Habituation
Is a decrease in certain behaviour after repeated exposure to a stimulus, for example no longer reacting to pales that always fly low
The stimuli are still perceived, but the reaction disappears
In habituation, one does not react to the stimuli again until they are suddenly no longer present
Sensitisation
Is an increase in behaviour after exposure to stimuli
Sensitisation usually occurs after threats or pain
What is the difference in neurotransmitter release for habituation and sensitisation?
Habituation is associated with less neurotransmitter release
Sensitisation is associated with more neurotransmitter release
Who was the first to study classical conditioning?
Pavlov
What did Pavlov discover?
Discovered a pattern by feeding a dog immediately after the sound of a bell
What was the procedure of Pavlov?
Normally, a dog does not salivate when he hears a bell, but he does when he sees food
When Pavlov kept repeating the combination, the dog eventually drooled after hearing the bell
This new learned behaviour persisted even when no food was presented in combination with the bell
An association was formed
