Chapter 7 Flashcards
Define learning
the acquisition, from experience, of new knowledge, skills, or responses that results in a relatively permanent change in the state of the learner
Define habituation
a general process in which repeated or prolonged exposure to a stimulus results in a gradual reduction in responding
Define sensitization
presentation of a stimulus results in an increased response to a later stimulus
What is classical conditioning?
when a neural stimulus produces a response after being paired with a stimulus that naturally produces a response
What is an unconditioned stimulus? example from pavlov
something that reliably produces a naturally occurring reaction in an organism i.e. presentation of food
What is an unconditioned response? example from pavlov
a reflexive reaction that is reliably produced by an unconditioned stimulus i.e. dog salivation
What is acquisition?
the phase of classical conditioning when the CS and the US are presented together
What is a conditioned stimulus? example from pavlov
a previously neutral stimulus that produces a reliable response in an organism after being paired with a US i.e. sound of bell
What is the conditioned response? example from pavlov
a reaction that resembles an unconditioned response but is produced b a conditioned stimulus i.e. dog salivation to bell alone
What is second-order conditioning?
a type of learning where a CS is paired with a stimulus that became associated with the US in an earlier procedure i.e. money–> new car –> joy
What is extinction?
the gradual elimination of a learned response that occurs when the CS is repeatedly presented without the US
What is spontaneous recovery?
the tendency of a learned behavior to recover from extinction after a rest period
What is generalization?
The CR is observed even though the CS is slightly different from the CS used during acquisition
What is discrimination?
the capacity to distinguish between similar, but distinct stimuli
What are the cognitive elements of classical conditioning?
the CS sets up an expectation, leading to many behaviors associated with presence of CS; explains why dogs didn’t salivate at Pavlov (he was unreliable)
What are neural elements of classical conditioning?
- cerebellum (motor skills and learning) in eye-blink experiment
- amygdala in fear conditioning
What are the evolutionary elements of classical conditioning?
mechanism to avoid any food that once made organism ill:
- rapid learning
- conditioning over long intervals (food could take longer to make ppl sick)
- aversion based on smell or taste rather than ingestion
- learned aversion to novel, not familiar, foods
What is biological preparedness?
a propensity for learning particular kinds of associations over others
Why are generalization and discrimination two sides of the same coin?
the more organisms show one, the less they show the other; discrimination shows diminished response
How has cancer patients’ discomfort been eased by understanding of food aversions?
give odd flavored candy before nausea-inducing chemo so patients dont hate common foods
What is operant conditioning?
a type of learning in which the consequences of an organisms behavior determine whether it will repeat that behavior in the future
What is difference between operant and classical conditioning?
classical conditioning studies reactive behaviors, whereas operant conditioning explores active behaviors
What did Thorndike state in the law of effect?
behaviors that are followed by a “satisfying state of affairs” tend to be repeated, and those that produce an “unpleasant state of affairs” are less likely to be repeated