chapter 6 - slides 21 to 44

Question 1

What three concepts describe how behaviours are learned, unlearned, and potentially re-emerge?

Answer 1

Acquisition, extinction and spontaneous recovery.

Question 2

Describe the concept of acquisition.

Answer 2

-initial stage of learning when an organism learns to associate two stimuli
-when an organism learns to connect a neutral stimulus and an unconditioned stimulus
-neutral stimulus begins to elicit the conditioned response, and eventually the neutral stimulus becomes a conditioned stimulus capable of eliciting the conditioned response by itself

Question 3

Describe the concept of extinction.

Answer 3

-decrease in the conditioned response when the
unconditioned stimulus is no longer presented with the conditioned stimulus.
-When presented with the conditioned stimulus alone, the dog, cat, or other organism would show a weaker and weaker response, and finally no response. In classical conditioning terms, there is a gradual weakening and disappearance of the conditioned response.

Question 4

Describe the concept of spontaneous recovery.

Answer 4

-the return of a previously extinguished conditioned response following a rest period

Question 5

Define stimulus generalization.

Answer 5

Process by which the CR is observed even though the CS is slightly different from the original one used during acquisition

Question 6

Define stimulus discrimination.

Answer 6

Capacity to distinguish between similar but
distinct stimuli.

Question 7

Define habituation.

Answer 7

Repeated or prolonged exposure to a stimulus
results in a gradual reduction in responsing.

Question 8

How did this affect psychology?

Answer 8

-John B.Watson influenced by Pavlov
-great thing for behaviourism
-goal of john watson: if ppl coming into the world as blank slate then we can push them into smt/ shape who they are/control ppl

Question 9

What was the research that John Watson did?

Answer 9

The Little Albert Study
1. Presented with neutral stimuli (rabbit, dog, cotton wool, a white rat etc).
2. Watson then paired these with a loud sound every time Little Albert touched the stimulus that caused him
to feel fear.
3. After repeated pairings, Little Albert became fearful of the stimulus alone.

• Little Albert demonstrated stimulus generalization—he became afraid of other furry things: a rabbit, a furry coat, and even a Santa Claus mask
  -Emotions could become conditioned responses

Question 10

What is a more ethical study that was done?

Answer 10

Mary Cover Jones: a study with three-year- old Peter, who already showed a fear of rabbits
* Successfully eliminates the fear response through conditioning
* Precursor to behavioral therapy

Question 11

Are certain things easier to condition?

Answer 11

clown phobia, spiders, love, vomiting.

Question 12

Are there evolutionary elements of classical conditioning?

Answer 12

yes! adaptive behaviours allow us to survive.

Question 13

Define biological preparedness.

Answer 13

Propensity (an inclination or natural tendency to behave in a particular way) for learning particular kinds
of associations over others

Question 14

Give an example of taste aversion.

Answer 14

For example, rats do not throw up so they can simply die if they digest the wrong foods. So they develop taste aversion (strong dislike or disinclination) towards things that are bad for them) - higher awareness.

Question 15

Is everything we learn based on reflexes?

Answer 15

No. for example, if the teacher asks a question will we all raise our hands, no! we learn through reward and punishment through social acceptance.

Question 16

Define operant conditioning.

Answer 16

-organisms learn to associate a behaviour and its consequence. A pleasant consequence makes that behaviour more likely to be repeated in the future.

-Behaviour that an organism produces that has some impact on the environment; coined by B.F. Skinner Demonstrated using the operant chamber or Skinner Box

Question 17

What is the law of effect?

Answer 17

first proposed by psychologist Edward Thorndike… Behaviors that are followed by consequences that are satisfying to the organism are more likely to be repeated, and behaviors that are followed by unpleasant consequences are less likely to be repeated

Question 18

When we talk about operand conditioning, it’s reinforcement and punishment. For the example of the rat pressing the lever to get food, does it initially know?

Answer 18

No, not at all. It knows by the off chance.

Question 19

In operant conditioning, what do positive and negative mean?

Answer 19

+: you are adding something
-: taking something away

Question 20

In operant conditioning, what does reinforcement and punishment mean?

Answer 20

Reinforcement: increasing a behaviour
Punishment: decreasing a behaviour

Question 21

True or false? All reinforcers (positive or negative) increase the likelihood of a behavioural response. All punishers (positive or negative) decrease the likelihood of a behavioural response

Answer 21

true!

Question 22

In terms of the rat and the lever example, please identify the things corresponding to the following terms:
-positive reinforcement
-negative reinforcement
-positive punishment
-negative punishment

Answer 22

positive reinforcement= food
negative reinforcement= remove shock
positive punishment= shock (electricity)
negative punishment= remove food

Question 23

Why are we evolutionary primed to fear?

Answer 23

adaptive=to keep us safe
-fear of a lot of things keeps you safe but may not be happy. (evolution does not care about our happiness)

Question 24

Define positive reinforcement + give an example

Answer 24

desirable stimulus is added to increase a behaviour (e.g. tell child jerome if he cleans his room, he will get a toy

Question 25

Define negative reinforcement + give an example.

Answer 25

undesirable stimulus is removed to increase a behaviour (e.g. seatbelt systems, which go “beep, beep, beep” until you fasten your seatbelt)

Question 26

Define punishment.

Answer 26

punishment always decreases a behavior

Question 27

Define positive punishment + give an example.

Answer 27

You add an undesirable stimulus to decrease a behaviour. An example of positive punishment is scolding a student to get the student to stop texting in class.

Question 28

Define negative punishment + give an example.

Answer 28

you remove a pleasant stimulus to decrease behavior. For example, when a child misbehaves, a parent can take away a favorite toy

Question 29

In his operant conditioning experiments, Skinner often used what approach?

Answer 29

Shaping

Question 30

Define shaping + give an example.

Answer 30

Learning that results from the reinforcement of
successive steps (successive approximation) to a final desired
behaviour.

e.g. teaching a dog to lie down

Question 31

Why is shaping needed?

Answer 31

Shaping is needed because it is extremely unlikely that an organism will display anything but the simplest of behaviours spontaneously. In shaping, behaviours are broken down into many small, achievable steps.

Question 32

Define primary reinforcers.

Answer 32

Primary reinforcers are reinforcers that have innate reinforcing qualities. These kinds of reinforcers are not learned. Water, food, sleep, shelter, sex, and touch, among others, are primary reinforcers. Pleasure is also a primary reinforcer. Organisms do not lose their drive for these things.

Question 33

Define secondary reinforcers.

Answer 33

A secondary reinforcer has no inherent value and only has reinforcing qualities when linked with a primary reinforcer. Praise, linked to affection, is one example of a secondary reinforcer, as when you called out “Great shot!” every time Sydney made a goal. Another example, money, is only worth something when you can use it to buy other things—either things that satisfy basic needs (food, water, shelter—all primary reinforcers) or other secondary reinforcers.

Question 34

Name two concepts linked to schedules of reinforcement.

Answer 34

Continuous reinforcement and partial reinforcement (intermittent reinforcement).

Question 35

Define continuous reinforcement.

Answer 35

When ALL of the responses are followed by
reinforcement.
* Quickest learning but leads to habituation and easy extinction.
-When an organism receives a reinforcer each time it displays a behaviour.

Question 36

Why can habituation be a bad thing?

Answer 36

Rewarding everything so nothing feels like a reward.

Question 37

Define Partial reinforcement (Intermittent reinforcement).

Answer 37

When only some of the
responses made are followed by reinforcement
* Takes longer to learn but more resistant to extinction.

-the person or animal does not get reinforced every time they perform the desired behavior

Question 38

What are the different types of partial reinforcement?

Answer 38

Fixed VS variable.
Interval VS ratio.

Question 39

Define each:
Fixed VS variable.
Interval VS ratio.

Answer 39

Fixed: refers to the number of responses between reinforcements, or the amount of time between reinforcements, which is set and unchanging.

Variable: refers to the number of responses or amount of time between reinforcements, which varies or changes.

Interval: schedule is based on the time between reinforcements.

Ratio: schedule is based on the number of responses between reinforcements.

Question 40

Now differentiate…
Fixed interval schedule (FI)
Variable interval scheduled (VI)
Fixed ratio schedule (FR)
Variable ratio schedule (VR)

Answer 40

• Fixed interval schedule (FI): Reinforcements are presented at fixed time periods,
  provided the appropriate response is made
• Variable interval scheduled (VI): Behaviour is reinforced based on an average time that
  has expired since the last reinforcement
• Fixed ratio schedule (FR): Reinforcement is delivered after a specific number of
  responses have been made
• Variable ratio schedule (VR): Delivery of reinforcement is based on a particular average
  number of responses

Question 41

True or False?
Intermittent Reinforcement Schedule
* Different schedules of reinforcement produce different rates of responding.
* These lines represent the amount of responding that occurs under each type of reinforcement.

Answer 41

true! (MUST LOOK AT GRAPH IN NOTES)

Question 42

What is an example of reinforcement schedule?

Answer 42

Gambling

Question 43

What is an example of superstitious behaviour?

Answer 43

Playing badminton
-flip racket around before serve
-to not loose the point

Question 44

Did Watson and Skinner focus on cognition or behaviour?

Answer 44

Strict behaviorists like Watson and Skinner focused exclusively on studying behavior rather than cognition

Question 45

How to describe operant conditioning?

Answer 45

means-end relationship

Question 46

Define latent learning.

Answer 46

Condition in
which something is learned
but it is not manifested as a
behavioural change until
sometime in the future.
-something we learn but not for that moment. and we don/t even know about it

Question 47

What did Edward Chace Tolman believe in?

Answer 47

Tolman’s experiments with rats demonstrated that organisms can learn even if they do not receive immediate reinforcement. This finding was in conflict with the prevailing idea at the time that reinforcement must be immediate in order for learning to occur, thus suggesting a cognitive aspect to learning.

Question 48

Define Cognitive map.

Answer 48

A mental representation of the physical features of the environment.

Question 49

Describe Tolman’s experiment.

Answer 49

Tolman placed hungry rats in a maze with no reward for finding their way through it. He also studied a comparison group that was rewarded with food at the end of the maze. As the unreinforced rats explored the maze, they developed a cognitive map: a mental picture of the layout of the maze (Figure 6.15). After 10 sessions in the maze without reinforcement, food was placed in a goal box at the end of the maze. As soon as the rats became aware of the food, they were able to find their way through the maze quickly, just as quickly as the comparison group, which had been rewarded with food all along. This is known as latent learning: learning that occurs but is not observable in behavior until there is a reason to demonstrate it.

Question 50

What would be a human example of a cognitive map.

Answer 50

Road closure = detour (both ways get home eventually)

Question 51

Define observational learning.

Answer 51

learning by watching others and then imitating.