Chapter 6: Learning Flashcards
learning
definition
a change in an organism’s actions, thoughts, or emotions as a result of experiences
2 simplest forms of learning
habituation
sensitization
habituation
definition
the process by which we respond less strongly over time to repeated stimuli
sensitization
definition
responding more strongly over time, especially when the stimulus is dangerous, irritating, or both
habituation or sensitization?
I purchased a new clock + initially find it difficult to concentrate while working in the room because of the clock’s ticking. A few days pass. I am able to tune out the clock + don’t even notice the sound.
habituation
habituation or sensitization?
You are sitting in a boring lecture when you notice that the speaker says “okay” after almost every sentence + during pauses. Subsequent “okays” become more + more annoying + even unbearable. You decide to leave the lecture early.
sensitization
classical/Palvovian conditioning
definition
the form of learning in which humans/animals come to respond to a previously neutral stimulus that had been paired with another stimulus that elicits an automatic response
unconditioned stimulus (UCS)
definition
a stimulus that elicits an automatic, reflexive response
unconditioned response (UCR)
definition
the automatic reflexive response elicited by UCS
conditioned stimulus (CS)
definition
a previously neutral stimulus that comes to elicit a CR as a result of its association with a UCS
conditioned response (CR)
definition
a response that is elicited by a CS but was previously elicited by a UCS
Pavlov dog example
order of classical conditioning
- before conditioning:
UCS (food) -> UCR (salivation) - before conditioning:
neutral stimulus (whistle) -> no CR (no salivation) - during conditioning:
UCS (food) + neutral stimulus (whistle) -> UCR (salivation) - after conditioning:
CS (whistle) -> CR (salivation)
acquisition
in terms of CR, CS, UCS, UCR
gradually learn or acquire the CR through pairing CS with UCS repeatedly
extinction
in terms of CS, CR, UCS, UCR
CR decreases in magnitude + eventually disappears when the CS is repeatedly presented without the UCS
spontaneous recovery
definition
sudden reemergency of an extinct CR after a delay in exposure to the CS
renewal effect
definition
sudden reemergence of a CR following extinction when an animal is returned to the environment in which the CR was acquired
latent inhibition
definition
when we’ve experienced a CS alone many times, it’s difficult to classically condition it to another stimulus
-difficulty in establishing classical conditioning to a CS we’ve repeatedly established alone (without the UCS)
fetishism
definition
sexual attraction to nonliving things
-may arise in part from classical conditioning
stimulus generalization
definition
process by which CS similar, but not identical, to the original CS elicit a CR
stimulus discrimination
definition
process by which organisms display a less pronounced CR to CS that differ from the original CS
higher-order conditioning
definition
developing a CR to a CS by virtue of its association with another CS
-each progressive level results in weaker conditioning
2nd order conditioning
definition
a new CS is paired with the original CS
3rd order conditioning
definition
a 3rd CS is paired with the 2nd order CS
what is the order of conditioning?
After conditioning Pavlov’s dog to salivate to a metronome sound, I pair a picture of a circle with that metronome sound. The dog salivates to the circle as well although less strongly.
2nd order conditioning
what is the UCS?
After conditioning Pavlov’s dog to salivate to a metronome sound, I pair a picture of a circle with that metronome sound. The dog salivates to the circle as well although less strongly.
food
what is the UR?
After conditioning Pavlov’s dog to salivate to a metronome sound, I pair a picture of a circle with that metronome sound. The dog salivates to the circle as well although less strongly.
salivation
what is CS1 + the corresponding CR?
After conditioning Pavlov’s dog to salivate to a metronome sound, I pair a picture of a circle with that metronome sound. The dog salivates to the circle as well although less strongly.
CS1: metronome sound
CR: salivation
what is CS2 + the corresponding CR?
After conditioning Pavlov’s dog to salivate to a metronome sound, I pair a picture of a circle with that metronome sound. The dog salivates to the circle as well although less strongly.
CS2: picture of a circle
CR: salivation
what is the UCS?
Peter has a phobia of rabbits. Jones gradually introduced him to a white rabbit while giving him a piece of his favorite candy. Gradually, Peter responds at the sight of the rabbit with pleasure rather than fear.
favorite candy
what is the UCR?
Peter has a phobia of rabbits. Jones gradually introduced him to a white rabbit while giving him a piece of his favorite candy. Gradually, Peter responds at the sight of the rabbit with pleasure rather than fear.
happiness
what is the CS?
Peter has a phobia of rabbits. Jones gradually introduced him to a white rabbit while giving him a piece of his favorite candy. Gradually, Peter responds at the sight of the rabbit with pleasure rather than fear.
white rabbit
what is the CR?
Peter has a phobia of rabbits. Jones gradually introduced him to a white rabbit while giving him a piece of his favorite candy. Gradually, Peter responds at the sight of the rabbit with pleasure rather than fear.
happiness
classical conditioning
definition
the passive process regulated by forces outside of the control of the organism
in classical conditioning, target behavior is elicited automatically/voluntarily
automatically
in classical conditioning, the reward is provided unconditionally/contingent on behavior
unconditionally
in classical conditioning, behavior primarily depends on autonomic nervous system/skeletal muscles
ANS
operant conditioning
definition
the active process entirely shaped by the organism’s own behavior
in operant conditioning, target behavior is elicited automatically/voluntarily
voluntarily
in operant conditioning, the reward is provided unconditionally/contingent on behavior
contingent on behavior
in operant conditioning, behavior primarily depends on the autonomic nervous system/skeletal muscles
skeletal muscles
acquisition
definition
learning phase during which a response is established
extinction
definition
gradual reduction + eventual elimination of a response after a stimulus is represented repeatedly
spontaneous recovery
definition
sudden reemergence of an extinguished response after a delay
stimulus generalization
definition
displaying a response to stimuli similar but not identical to the original stimulus
stimulus discrimination
definition
displaying a less pronounced response to stimuli that differ from the original stimulus
law of effect
definition
if a response, in the presence of a stimulus, is followed by a satisfying state of affairs, the bond between stimulus + response will be strengthened
skinner box
definition
a small nonhuman animal chamber constructed by Skinner to allow sustained periods of conditioning to be administered + behaviors to be recorded unsupervised
operant behavior
definition
the behavior you are attempting to condition
reinforcer
definition
anything that increases the likelihood of a behavior continuting or being repeated
punisher
definition
anything that decreases the likelihood of a behavior continuing or being repeated
primary reinforcers
definition
those that are essential for survival/reproduction of the organism
-food, water, etc.
secondary reinforcers
definition
those that are not automatically related to survival/reproductive success
-money, status, tokens, etc.
positive reinforcement
definition
when the frequency/probability of a behavior is increased as a result of the addition/presentation of something following the performance of the behavior
negative reinforcement
definition
when a behavior is reinforced by the removal/avoidance of something
positive punishment
definition
when the consequence of a behavior is the addition/presentation of something that is aversive/bad
negative punishment
definition
when the consequence of a behavior is the removal of something
positive/negative reinforcement or positive/negative punishment?
I offer pop quiz bonus points in class. The class attendance increases
positive reinforcement
positive/negative reinforcement or positive/negative punishment?
Whenever Arja plays video games during her zoom lesson time, her mom takes away her daily desert. Arja no longer plays video games during the zoom lesson time now.
negative punishment
positive/negative reinforcement or positive/negative punishment?
The alarm in the car stops beeping after Li puts the safety belt on. Li always puts the safety belt on later whenever he gets into the car.
negative reinforcement
positive/negative reinforcement or positive/negative punishment?
Alberto gets a hug from mom after cleaning up the desk. He does cleaning more.
positive reinforcement
positive/negative reinforcement or positive/negative punishment?
Choi gets a spanking for cheating on the exam. She no longer cheats on exams later.
positive reinforcement
issues with punishment
name 4
-doesn’t tell what to do
-creates anxiety
-encourages subversive sneaky behavior
-model for undesirable behaviors
shaping by successive approximation
shaping involves successive reinforcement of those behaviors that come increasingly closer to the behavior you ultimately wish to reinforce
token economy
definition
systems set up for reinforcing appropriate behaviors + extinguishing inappropriate ones
primary reinforcer in token economy
item/outcome that naturally increases the target behavior
-biologically based
-food, drink, sleep, etc.
secondary reinforcer in token economy
neural object that becomes associated with a primary reinforcer
-money, toys, flowers, etc.
intermittent reinforcement
definition
when a behavior is reinforced occasionally rather than continuously
are behaviors more enduring + difficult to extinguished when associated with continuous reinforcement or intermittent reinforcement?
intermittent reinforcement
fixed-interval schedules
FI
provide reinforcement for the first response after a specific interval of time has passed
example of fixed-interval schedule
by-weekly paycheck
variable-interval schedule
VI
provide reinforcement at unpredictable time intervals
example of variable-interval schedule
fishing
fixed-ratio schedule
FR
provide reinforcement after a specific # of responses
example of fixed-ratio schedule
sales commission
variable-ratio schedule
VR
provide reinforcement after an unpredictable # of responses
example of variable-ratio schedule
gambling
biological influences on learning
name 3
preparedness
instinctive drift
conditioned taste aversions
preparedness
definition
evolutionary predisposition to learn some pairings of feared stimuli over others owing to their survival value
why do we fear certain things over overs?
preparedness
instinctive drift
definition
the tendency for animals to return to innate behaviors following repeated reinforcement
example of instinctive drift
-a pig was reinforced with food for dropping a large wooden disk into a piggy bank
-it learned this task, but soon the pig began dropping the disk on the way to the piggy bank, pushing it through the dirt with its nose
conditioned taste aversions
definition
refer to the fact that classical conditioning can lead us to develop avoidance reactions to the taste of food
how many trials does it take in classical conditioning for conditioned taste aversions to develop?
only 1 trial rather than repeated pairings
describe the delay between CS + USC in conditioned taste aversions
can be as long as 6-8 hours
example of conditioned taste aversion
Kim eats noodles before chemotherapy, which frequently induces nausea/vomiting. As a result, he develops an aversion to noodles.
S-O-R
stimulus-organism-response
definition
emphasizes that the organism’s response to a stimulus depends on what this stimulus means to it
cognitive conditioning
definition
our interpretation of the situation affects conditioning
-suggests that conditioning is far more than an automatic, mindless process
-emphasizes the role of expectations in learning
latent learning
learning that isn’t directly observable
-we may learn without showing
what does S-O-R show?
cognition is central to explaining learning
observational learning
definition
we learn by watching models
insight learning
definition
“aha” moment
-not out of trial + error
learning fads
-sleep-assisted learning
-accelerated learning
-discovery learning
-learning styles
-etc.
mirror neurons
definition
become active when we watch someone similar to us performing a behavior
learning style
definition
an individual’s optimal method of acquiring new informatio
insight
definition
sudden understanding of the solution to a problem
