Chapter 6 - Learning Flashcards
learning
a relatively permanent change in behavior or knowledge that results from experience
reflexes
motor/neural reactions to a specific stimulus
instincts
behaviors triggered by a broader range of events (aging, change of seasons)
associative learning
when an organism makes connections between stimuli or events that occur together in the environment
classical conditioning
learning occurs through association, neutral stimulus becomes conditioned response, anticipating events, Ivan Pavlov
unconditioned stimulus
stimulus that elicits a reflexive response
unconditioned response
a natural unlearned reaction to a stimulus
neutral stimulus
stimulus that does not naturally elicit a response
conditioned stimulus
the behavior caused by the conditioned stimulus
operant conditioning
learning occurs through reinforcement and punishment, weak or rare responses become strong and frequent, B.F. Skinner (Skinner box, shaping), learning to associate a behavior and its consequences (reinforcement or punishment), pleasant consequence -> behavior occurs again, unpleasant consequence -> behavior is most likely to occur again, Thorndike
observational conditioning
modeling, observed behaviors become copied
higher-order conditioning
an established conditioned stimulus is paired with a new neutral stimulus, so eventually the new stimulus also elicits the conditioned response, without the initial conditioned stimulus being presented
acquisition
the initial period of learning when an organism learns to connect a neutral stimulus and an unconditioned stimulus
extinction
decrease in the conditioned response when the UCS is no longer presented with the CS
spontaneous recovery
the return of a previously extinguished conditioned response following a rest period
stimulus discrimination
when an organism learns to respond differently to various stimuli that are similar
stimulus generalization
when an organism demonstrates the conditioned response to stimuli that are similar to the conditioned stimulus
habituation
learning not to respond to a stimulus that is presented repeatedly without change
behaviorism
John B. Watson, classical conditioning in the study of human emotion, “Little Albert” experiment, conditioned phobias
positive reinforcement
something is added to increase behavior
negative reinforcement
something is removed to increase behavior
positive punishment
something is added to decrease behavior
negative punishment
something is removed to decrease behavior
primary reinforcers
innate reinforcing qualities (food, water, sleep, sex, pleasure), not learned
secondary reinforcers
no inherent value, learned experiences (praise, money, exchanging goods for other things)
fixed interval
rewards given after a fixed period of time
variable interval
rewards given after varying periods of time (radio station will offer free tickets at some point during the hour)
variable ratio
rewards given after varying number of responses (gambling)
fixed ratio
rewards given after fixed number of responses (free cup of coffee after 10 cups you buy)
interval
the schedule is based on the time between reinforcements
ratio - the schedule is based on the number of responses between reinforcements
fixed
the number of responses between reinforcements or the amount of time between reinforcements is set and unchanging (consistent)
variable
the number of responses between reinforcements or the amount of time between reinforcements varies or changes
schedules
variable ratio schedule - unpredictable and yields high and steady response rates
fixed ratio schedule - predictable and produces a high response rate with a short pause after reinforcement
variable interval schedule - unpredictable and produces a moderate response rate
fixed interval schedule - yields a scallop-shaped response pattern, reflecting a significant pause after reinforcement
vicarious reinforcement/punishment
process where the observer sees the model rewarded/punished, making the observer more/less likely to imitate the model’s behavior
how we learn
attention - focus of the behavior
retention - remember what you observed
reproduction - be able to perform the behavior
motivation - must want to copy the behavior
