Chapter 6 part 1 Flashcards
classical conditioning
what is the definition of learning?
a relatively permanent change in behavior or mental process resulting from practice or experience
what is learning?
a change in behavior, relatively permanent
what is learning not?
just plasticity, maturation
learning is plasticity, but _______
plasticity is not always learning
what is classical / pavlovian conditioning?
two events happen to us, one right after another, and we associate those events together
do you have to do an action in classical conditioning or do the events happen to you?
the events happen to you
what is the definition of classical conditioning?
a learning process in which two stimuli become associated and cause a change in behavior
why does our behavior change after we have been classically conditioned?
we have an expectation of what is going to happen after the first event
what happened the very first time you saw lightning?
you had no response to it
what happened the first time you heard thunder?
thunder is loud and scary, so it caused a fear response and you probably covered your ears
what happened as you saw lightning and heard thunder over and over again?
you associated the two events together and now cover your ears when you see lightning because you anticipate thunder
what did Ivan Pavlov do?
he was the first to notice and study how we form these associations as he was studying salivation in dogs
when you choose the two stimuli in classical conditioning, what is stimulus one?
the neutral stimulus, the event that yields no response the first time it happens
when you choose the two stimuli in classical conditioning, what is stimulus two?
the meaningful stimulus, the event that triggers an involuntary response in our bodies
what is the classical conditioning procedure?
do stimulus one then stimulus two a bunch of times until the subject produces the stimulus two response when subjected to stimulus one
most of the time, do we know we are being conditioned?
no, because the bodily response we give is involuntary and out of our control (can’t turn off salivation)
most of our fears are _______
learned
what are the four things in Pavlov’s experiment?
conditioned stimulus, unconditioned stimulus, conditioned response, unconditioned response
what is the conditioned stimulus?
the one we are learning about, starts out with neutral
what is the unconditioned stimulus?
the stimulus that has meaning
what is the unconditioned response?
the innate, involuntary response to the meaningful stimulus
what is the conditioned response?
we associate the two stimuli together and learned a response
what is the abbreviation for conditioned stimulus?
CS
what is the abbreviation for unconditioned stimulus?
US
what is the abbreviation for conditioned response?
CS
what is the abbreviation for unconditioned response?
UR
what is acquisition?
the process of learning to associate two events together
what is extinction?
the process of learning to not associate two events together by repeatedly being exposed to one event without the other being directly after it
what is spontaneous recovery?
after the fear has been extinguished, it comes back
is extinction very specific?
yes (not afraid of that specific bridge, but afraid of all other bridges)
what is stimulus generalization?
stimuli that are similar to the CS will also elicit the conditioned response to some degree
what is an example of stimulus generalization?
if you are bitten by a german shepherd, you are not only afraid of that dog, but all other german shepherds and all other dogs. That german shepherd is the scariest, all other german shepherds are scary, and all other dogs are a little bit scary
why is stimulus generalization good?
it helps us be prepared
are we born with our fears or do we acquire them through experience?
both, we have innate responses and learned (conditioned) fears
how are innate responses and learned fears related?
we have an innate response to pain and we learn that certain things cause pain and that learning causes or fears (have a fear of heights because falling causes pain)
who was John Watson extremely influenced by?
Pavlov
what is the CS in the little albert experiment?
the white rat
what is the US in the little albert experiment?
loud noise
what is the UR in the little albert experiment?
crying because of the loud noise
what is the CR in the little albert experiment?
crying because of the white rat
what was the outcome of the little albert experiment?
taught little albert to fear the white rat
what are phobias?
irrational, extreme fears
if we acquire phobias through classical conditioning, then how might we get rid of a phobia?
exposure therapy using the techniques of: extinction training, systematic desensitization, flooding
what is extinction training?
exposing someone to their fear over and over again in a safe environment
what is systematic desensitization?
slowly exposing and desensitizing your body to the fear (thinking about flying, pretending to fly using a flight simulator, sitting in a plane, short flight, long flight)
what is flooding?
expose someone to their fear in mass, over and over again in one sitting
how does taste aversion learning work?
usually happens because you got sick from the food or drink you ate, and you never want it again
how many times does it take to learn a taste aversion?
1
how does taste acquisition work?
the first time you eat something, you don’t like the taste, but as you eat it again and again you learn to like it
