chapter 7 Flashcards
What is learning?
the process by which experience produces a relatively enduring change in behaviour or capabilities
What does behaviourism focus on regarding learning?
Focuses on how organisms learn (the laws of learning)
view organisms as “tabula rasa” (a blank state) until learning takes place
study animals in the lab
What does ethology focus on?
animal behaviour in natural environments
behaviour influences chances of survival
What is classical conditioning?
when an organism experiences behaviour changes as a result of:
ASSOCIATION OF TWO STIMULI
CS-UCS prior to response CR
What does classical conditioning focus on?
ELICITED behaviour that happens in response to environment events
What is operant conditioning?
behaviour changes as a result of the consequences that follow it
What does operant conditioning focus on?
EMITTED behaviours that require no specific stimulus that are modified by consequences
What is habituation? give an example.
a decrease in the strength of a response to a repeated stimulus (most simple form of learning)
wearing a shirt, your body habituates it and you cease to be aware of it.
What is sensitization? give an example
an increase in the strength of the response to a repeated stimulus.
hear a rustling in bushes at night, become frightened. if the rustling continues, you become more frightened
What is acquisition?
the period during which an association is being learned.
What are the 4 important elements to classical conditioning?
UCS - unconditioned stimulus
UCR - unconditioned response
CS - conditioned stimulus (stimulus to be associated with the UCS)
CR - conditioned response (elicited by CS)
What are the four types of CS-UCS pairings?
FORWARD SHORT DELAY: (fastest)
CS appears first and is still present when UCS presented
FORWARD TRACE:
CS appears then stops before UCS is presented
SIMULTANEOUS:
CS and UCS presented at same time
BACKWARD: (learning is slowest or does not occur at all)
CS presented after UCS
What factors might enhance acquisition?
- when forward short-delay pairing is used
- repeated CS-UCS pairings
- an intense UCS
- short time interval between CS and UCS
What is extinction? give an example.
occurs when CS is presented in absence of UCS
with each exposure the CR is weakened
ex: tone presented without presenting the food. Dog will not salivate after a time
What is spontaneous recovery?
the reappearance of a previously extinguished CR after a rest period.
ex. fear at a certain location. extinguished by repeated exposure without adverse consequences. Take a break and bring them back they may experience fear again
What is generalization?
when stimuli similar to the initial CS elicit a CR
ex tone causes salivation. Use a different tone and salivation occurs.
What is discrimination?
when the CR occurs to one stimulus but not to another
ex. afraid of spiders. see a toy spider and not afraid of it
What is higher order conditioning?
It is when an established CS becomes established with a neutral stimulus that becomes a CS evoking the CR
ex. tone elicits salivation. Tone now paired with a black square. after a time black square will elicit salivation.
What can be said about higher-order conditioning when compared to classical conditioning?
it is much weaker and easier to extinguish
What is exposure therapy?
rids the patient of phobias
therapy that exposes the patient to the feared stimulus (CS) without any UCS allowing extinction to occur
What are the three types of exposure therapies?
SYSTEMATIC DESENSITIZATION:
helped to relax, then exposed to the fear provoking stimulus
FLOODING:
immediately exposes the person to the stimulus
VR EXPOSURE:
expose to the CS virtually where the pt can feel safe
What is aversion therapy?
therapy which attempts to condition a repulsion to a stimulus
ex. alcoholics taking a drug that makes them sick when they drink
What are some other influences of classical conditioning?
- attraction to other people
- positive/negative engrained attitudes
- anticipatory nausea and vomiting
What is Thorndike’s law of effect?
- if there is a satisfying consequence, the behaviour is more likely to occur
- if there is an unsatisfying consequence, the behaviour is less likely to occur
based on instrumental learning
What is instrumental learning?
when an organism’s behaviour is instrumental in bringing about certain outcomes
ex. a rat pushing a button to get food
Who led the field of study on operant conditioning?
SKINNER:
believed operant conditioning facilitates personal adaptation
What two types of consequences did Skinner identify in operant conditioning?
REINFORCEMENT:
response strengthened by outcome that follows
PUNISHMENT:
response weakened by outcome that follows
What are the 3 kinds of events or ABCs of operant conditioning?
A: antecedents of behavior (stimuli that are present before behaviour)
B: behaviours that the organism emits
C: consequences that follow behaviour
if A is present
and B is emitted
then C will occur
What is a discriminative stimulus?
a signal that a particular response will now produce certain consequences
ex. food is dispensed by pressing a lever only when a light is on
What are the two types of reinforcement? give an example
POSITIVE reinforcement:
response occurs -> stimulus is presented -> response increases
NEGATIVE reinforcement:
response occurs -> an aversive stimulus is removed -> response increases
ex of neg, take an advil, headache goes away, increased tendency to take advil for headaches
What is the difference between primary and secondary reinforcers?
PRIMARY: biological needs (food, drink)
SECONDARY: associated with primary reinforces (money)
What is operant extinction?
weakening and eventual disappearance of an operant response
due to no longer reinforcing the response
What are the two types of punishment?
POSITIVE punishment:
response weakened by adding a stimulus after (ex spanking)
NEGATIVE punishment:
response weakened by removal of stimulus (ex loss of privileges/money)
Which type of punishment makes a child less likely to be aggressive later in life?
negative punishment
What are the two types of gratification? Which is stronger?
IMMEDIATE:
stronger effect on behaviour
DELAY OF GRATIFICATION
- involves the ability to forego immediate reward for outcome later
- it is learned
- individual variability
What is shaping?
SHAPING: reinforce the organism when he makes an approximation towards a goal
ex. a boy is selectively mute and your goal is to get him to talk with other people. begin by reinforcing him when he says one word in front of others and gradually work up to a desired behaviour
What is chaining?
CHAINING: a procedure used to develop a chain of responses by reinforcing each response with the opportunity to perform the next response.
ex. a rat learns to push a lever to get food. then a light is added and the rat will learn to only pull the lever when the light comes on. then a bell is added and the rat learns that when it bumps the bell it turns on the light allowing him to push the lever to get the food
What are the two types of schedules of reinforcement?
CONTINUOUS REINFORCEMENT:
every response is reinforced
PARTIAL REINFORCEMENT:
some responses are reinforced
What are the 4 types of partial reinforcement schedules?
RATIO: certain percentage of responses are reinforced
INTERVAL: reinforcement is limited by time. ex once per minute
FIXED: after a fixed number of responses
VARIABLE: after an average number of responses or time
so can have fixed ratio, fixed interval, variable ratio, variable interval
What are the differences in results of continuous and partial reinforcement?
CONTINUOUS:
- rapid learning
- more rapid extinction
PARTIAL:
- slower learning
- more resistant to extinction especially VR schedule
Why is gambling such a difficult habit to break?
because it is on a variable ratio reinforcement schedule
Explain escape and avoidance conditioning.
ESCAPE conditioning:
learn responses to terminate aversive stimuli
ex. putting on a coat when cold
AVOIDANCE conditioning:
learn responses to avoid aversive stimuli
ex putting on a coat before you go outside so you do not get cold
What is the two-factor theory of avoidance?
it theorizes that both classical conditioning and operant conditioning in avoidance conditioning
What are the 4 steps in the modeling process of learning?
attention
retention
reproduction
motivation
Who developed the modeling process of learning?
bandura
What is biological preparedness?
the predisposition (biologically) to learn behaviours related to survival
behaviours that are contrary to our natural tendencies are slowly learned if at all
how is biological preparedness related to phobias?
most phobias develop things that have evolutionary significance like snakes, spiders, dangerous places
few phobias exist for harmful man made things like guns, knives, cars
