Chapter 6: Learning Flashcards
Learning
a systematic, relatively permanent change in behavior that occurs through experience
Behaviorism
all behaviors are acquired through conditioning, and conditioning occurs through interaction with the environment
Classical Conditioning
behaviors are learned by connecting a neutral stimulus to a positive one (conditioned responses, explains voluntary behavior)
Neutral Stimulus (NS)
stimulus that elicits no response before conditioning
ex: bell ringing in Pavlov’s dog study, the sound of a toilet flushing, etc.
Unconditioned Stimulus (UCS)
stimulus that provides a response without prior learning
ex: food (Pavlov experiment),
Unconditioned Response (UCR)
unlearned reaction automatically elicited by UCS
ex: dog drooling when presented with food (Pavlov experiment)
Conditioned Stimulus (CS)
a previously neutral stimulus that eventually elicits a conditioned response after being paired with and UCS
ex: meat (what cause the initial drooling, drool was the UCR) was presented to dog after bell ringing (UCS), therefore the dog began to drool after hearing the bell ring. the bell became the CS (Pavlov experiment)
Conditioned Response (CR)`
the learned response to the conditioned stimulus
ex: meat (what cause the initial drooling, drool was the UCR) was presented to dog after bell ringing (UCS), therefore the dog began to drool after hearing the bell ring. the drooling after the dog heard the bell ring became the CR (Pavlov experiment)
Little Albert Experiment
demonstrated classical conditioning, baby was conditioned to become afraid of a rat
- Child was exposed to different stimuli
- The presence of the white rat was paired with a loud noise
- Child was conditioned to fear the rat
Advertising + Classical Conditioning
Ads are often meant to associate a product with a happy feeling. product placement/embedded marketing.
ex: characters in Stranger Things drinking Coke. positive feelings about show, character, movie plot is the UR in this case. The product is the CS.
Habituation + Classical Conditioning
habituation - decreased responsiveness to a stimulus after repeated presentations
ex: mind-altering drug = UCS, physical appearance of drug in pill or syringe/room where person takes the drug = CS.
Instead of a normal CR, the CR would be a response to the effects of the drug (if drug increases heart rate, the CR will be a drop in heart rate). CR is decrease effects of UCS.
Placebo effect + Classical Conditioning
placebo effect - observable changes that cannot be explained by the effects of the actual treatment
ex: CS = pill/syringe
UCS = actual drug
After experiencing pain relief from the drug, the CR will be reduced pain despite the absence of the pain reliever
Immune Responses + Classical Conditioning
classical conditioning produces immunosuppression - decrease in the production of antibodies, which lowers a person’s ability to fight disease.
Can be used as a way to decrease the need for immunosuppressing medication after an organ transplant
Endocrine Responses + Classical Conditioning
placebo pills can influence hormone secretion as a result of classical conditioning if the patient had a previous experience with medication that impacted hormone secretion
Taste Aversion + Classical Conditioning
learned association between a specific taste and nausea
taste serves as a NS, UCR is nausea
Stimulus Generalization
the tendency of a new stimulus that is similar to the CS to elicit the CR
ex: a bee = CS
UCS = pain from being stung
Does not need to be retaught for the similar stimulus (wasp/hornet)
Stimulus Discrimination
the process of learning to respond to specific stimuli and not others.
ex: Pavlov only gave the dog food after the bell rang, not after other sounds.
Someone stung by a bee will not share the same fear of getting stung by a mosquito
Extinction
the weakening of the CR when the UCS is absent. without conditioned association with the UCS, the CS will lose its ability to produce the CR.
Spontaneous Recovery
the process in which a conditioned response can recur after a time delay with no further conditioning needed
ex: Pavlov ended the experiment with the conditioned salivation. He took the dog and then rang the bell without giving it any of the meat powder and the dog drooled.
Another example is remembering an ex and having an emotional reaction after “extinguishing” them from your memory but finding yourself in a context (restaurant where you used to go to together)
Acquisition
the first part of classical conditioning, the initial learning of the connection between the UCS and the CS. the CS will be repeatedly presented and then followed by the UCS. Then, the CS will produce a response.
Contiguity
time between CS & UCS
Contingency
CS regularly followed by UCS
Counterconditioning
procedure that changes the relationship between a CS and the CR it elicits
ex: used by therapists to break association between certain stimuli and positive feelings
Operant Conditioning
behaviors are associated with consequences, either positive or negative. explains voluntary behavior
Law of Effect (Thorndike)
behaviors followed by positive outcomes will be strengthened and behaviors followed by negative outcomes will be weakened.
Shaping (B.F Skinner)
idea Skinner expanded on due to Thorndike’s work.
shaping - reward approximations of the desired behavior
ex: an experimenter may start by giving a rat a food pellet if it is on the same half of the cage as the bar, then slowly increase reward increments as the rat gets closer to achieving the desired response, which is the pressing of the bar to obtain food.
Reinforcement
a stimulus/event (reinforcer) following a specific behavior increase the probability that the behavior will happen again
negative reinforcement + positive reinforcement are both pleasant & increase frequency of a behavior
Positive Reinforcement
frequency of behavior increases because it is followed by a desirable stimulus
ex: someone smiling after you ask “How are you?” will serve as reinforcement for you to keep talking
Negative Reinforcement
frequency of behavior increases because it is followed by the removal of something undesirable
ex: a parent bothering you to clean the garage, and they stop after you clean the garage. the cleaning was the response that removed the undesirable stimulus of them bothering you
Primary Reinforcers
does not require any learning on the organism’s part to make it pleasurable
ex: food, water, and sexual pleasure
Secondary Reinforcers
a learned/conditioned reinforcer that gains its positive value through an organism’s experience
ex: training a cat to do tricks, first repeatedly pairing the sound of a whistle with food so that once the association is made, the whistle can be used as the reinforcer in training
Learned Helplessness
an organism learns through experiences with negative stimuli that it has no control over negative outcomes (Martin Seligman)
ex: dogs that were exposed to inescapable shocks were unable to learn to avoid these shocks, even when it was made possible
Punishment
consequence that decreases the chances of a behavior will occur
ex: child playing with matches and gets burned after lighting one, child is less likely to play with matches in the future
Positive Punishment
a behavior decreases after being presented with a stimulus
ex: scolding a spouse who forgot to call when running late from work (the presentation of the talking is the stimulus being presented)
Negative Punishment
a behavior decreases after a stimulus is removed
ex: giving your spouse the silent treatment after they forgot to call when running late from work (the removal of talking with them is the stimulus being taken away)
