Brainscape's Knowledge GenomeTM

Browse over 1 million classes created by top students, professors, publishers, and experts.


See full index

PSYC 101 > Chapter 7: Learning > Flashcards

Chapter 7: Learning Flashcards

You may prefer our related Brainscape-certified flashcards:
Physics 101 flashcards Psychology 101 flashcards Chemistry 101 flashcards Biology 101 flashcards Organic Chemistry 101 flashcards Sociology 101 flashcards
1
Q

Learning

A

the acquisition of new knowledge, skills, or responses from experience or practice that results in a relatively permanent change in the state of the learner

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
2
Q

Habituation

A

a general process in which repeated or prolonged exposure to a stimulus results in gradual reduction in responding

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
3
Q

Sensitization

A

presentation of a stimulus leads to an increased response/sensitivity to a later stimulus

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
4
Q

What period did most of the work on learning theory take place?

A

Behaviorism (30s-50s) viewed learning as a purely behavioral activity requiring no mental activity

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
5
Q

Classical conditioning

A

when a neutral stimulus produces a response after being paired with a stimulus that naturally produces a response e.g. Ivan Pavlov’s experiment

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
6
Q

Unconditioned stimulus (US)

A

something that reliably produces a naturally occurring reaction in an organism e.g. food

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
7
Q

Unconditioned response (UR)

A

a reflexive reaction that is reliably produced by an unconditioned stimulus e.g. dog’s salivation

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
8
Q

Acquisition

A

phase of classical conditioning when CS (sound of metronome) and the US (food) are presented together

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
9
Q

Conditioned stimulus (CS)

A

a previously neutral stimulus that produces a reliable response in an organism after being paired with a US

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
10
Q

Conditioned response (UR)

A

a reaction that resembles an unconditioned response but it is produced by a conditioned stimulus

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
11
Q

Second-order conditioning

A

a type of learning whereby a CS is paired with a stimulus that became associated with the US in an earlier procedure

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
12
Q

What explains why people desire money?

A

Through second-order conditioning, money can become linked with desirable rewards like a new sports car

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
13
Q

Extinction

A

gradual elimination of a learned response that occurs when the CS is repeatedly presented without the US

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
14
Q

Spontaneous recovery

A

the tendency of a learned behavior to recover from extinction after a rest period without any additional associations between CS and US, may even take place after a second extinction and rest period

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
15
Q

Generalization

A

CR is observed even though the CS is slightly different from the CS used during acquisition; Tendency of CR to occur in the presence of a stimulus similar to CS

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
16
Q

Discrimination

A

the capacity to distinguish between similar but distinct stimuli, displaying a diminished response to new and different stimulus; Tendency for a response to be elicited by one stimulus and not another

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
17
Q

Expectation in classical conditioning

A

a conditioned stimulus sets up a cognitive state of expectation because it has a reliable link with the US

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
18
Q

Rescorla-Wagner Model

A

predicts that conditioning would be easier when the CS is an unfamiliar event because it is not yet associated with expectations

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
19
Q

Part of the brain that is critical in eyeblink conditioning

A

cerebellum, part of the hindbrain and plays a role in motor skills (reflexive behavior) and learning

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
20
Q

Part of the brain critical in fear and emotional conditioning

A

amygdala, particularly the central nucleus, through its links with other areas of the brain for both behavioral (e.g. freezing) and physiological (e.g. increased heart rate and bp) responses

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
21
Q

Evolutionary/adaptive value of classical conditioning

A

1 or 2 trials of rapid learning is enough so one can learn to avoid food that once made it ill; conditioning between US and CS should be able to take place over long interval (e.g. toxic substances often don’t cause illness immediately); aversion should be developed by perceptual qualities like smell or taste rather than ingestion itself and learned aversions should occur more with novel foods

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
22
Q

Biological preparedness

A

a propensity for learning particular kinds of associations over other kinds; each species is biologically predisposed to learn some things more easily than others in ways consistent with their evolutionary history

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
23
Q

Operant conditioning

A

the consequences of an organism’s (active/voluntary) behavior determine whether it will repeat that behavior in the future

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
24
Q

Instrumental behaviors (Thorndike)

A

behavior that requires an organism to do something like solve a problem or manipulate elements of its environment

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
25
Q

Law of effect (operant conditioning)

A

behaviors that are followed by a “satisfying state of affairs” or a reward tend to be repeated, whereas those that produce an “unpleasant state of affairs” or a punishment (no reward) are less likely to be repeated

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
26
Q

Operant behavior (Skinner)

A

behavior that an organism performs that has some impact on the environment

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
27
Q

Operant conditioning chamber or Skinner box

A

allows a researcher to study the behavior of small organisms in a controlled environment

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
28
Q

Reinforcer

A

any stimulus or event that increases the likelihood of the behavior that led to it

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
29
Q

Punisher

A

any stimulus or event that decreases the likelihood of the behavior that led to it

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
30
Q

What do positive and negative situations refer to (Skinner)?

A

situations in which a stimulus was presented and situations in which it was removed

31
Q

Positive reinforcement

A

any stimulus or event presented that increases the likelihood of the behavior that led to it

32
Q

Negative reinforcement

A

a stimulus is removed which increases the likelihood of a behavior

33
Q

Positive punishment

A

a stimulus is administered which reduces the likelihood of a behavior

34
Q

Negative punishment

A

a stimulus is removed that decreases the likelihood of a behavior

35
Q

Is reinforcement or punishment more effective in promoting learning?

A

Reinforcement because punishment signals that an unacceptable behavior occurred but doesn’t specify what desirable behavior should be done instead; one thing people learn from punishment is how to avoid it (Skinner)

36
Q

Primary reinforcers

A

help satisfy biological needs or desires e.g. food, comfort, and shelter

37
Q

Secondary reinforcers

A

derive their effectiveness from their associations with primary reinforcers through classical conditioning e.g. money (CS) and food/shelter (US)

38
Q

What determines the effectiveness of a reinforcer or a punisher?

A

the amount of time between the occurrence of a behavior and a reinforcer/punisher: the more time elapses, the less effective the learning

39
Q

Learning takes place in context

A

Most behavior is under stimulus control: when a particular response occurs only when an appropriate discriminative stimulus (one that indicates a response will be reinforced) is present

40
Q

Three-term contingency

A

in the presence of a discriminative stimulus, a response produces a consequence; the same response in a different context would likely produce a very different outcome

41
Q

Stimulus control

A

develops when a particular response occurs only when an appropriate discriminative stimulus is present; fosters stimulus discrimination and generalization

42
Q

Difference of extinction in operant conditioning compared to classical

A

depends on how often (the pattern) reinforcement is received

43
Q

Schedules of reinforcement

A

interval schedules and ratio schedules

44
Q

Interval schedules

A

based on the time intervals between reinforcements; produce slow and methodical responding (independent of how many responses occur)

45
Q

Ratio schedules

A

based on the ratio of responses to reinforcements

46
Q

Fixed interval schedule

A

reinforcers are presented at fixed time periods, provided that the appropriate response is made; little responding at first then a burst as next time interval draws to a close

47
Q

Variable interval schedule

A

a behavior is reinforced on the basis of an average time that has expired since the last reinforcement (hard to predict when); steady and consistent responding

48
Q

Fixed ratio schedule

A

reinforcement is delivered after a specific number of responses have been made (the more you do, the more you get)

49
Q

Continuous reinforcement

A

special case of presenting reinforcement after each response or reinforcing a behavior each time it occurs; leads to fast learning but the behaviors don’t last (extinction)

50
Q

Variable ratio schedule

A

the delivery of reinforcement is based on a particular average number of responses; produces higher rates of responding than fixed ratio schedules; higher ratio=higher response rate e.g. gambling at a casino

51
Q

Intermittent reinforcement

A

only some of the responses made are followed by reinforcement, either in an interval or a ratio schedule

52
Q

Intermittent reinforcement effect

A

the fact that operant behaviors that are maintained under intermittent reinforcement schedules resist extinction better than those maintained under continuous reinforcement; when the behavior is reinforced only some of the time, the learner has to repeat the behavior more times to detect the absence of the reinforcement

53
Q

Shaping

A

learning that results from the reinforcement of successive steps (that get more complex) to a final desired behavior e.g. animal training

54
Q

Latent learning

A

condition in which something is learned but it isn’t manifested as a behavioral change until sometime in the future

55
Q

Cognitive map

A

a mental representation of the physical features of the environment

56
Q

What are the brain’s pleasure centers?

A

areas in the limbic system that produce intensely positive experiences or rewards (nucleus accumbens, medial forebrain bundle, hypothalamus); neurons involved in the reward centre are dopaminergic (DA)

57
Q

Medial forebrain bundle

A

a pathway that meanders its way from the midbrain through the hypothalamus, into the nucleus accumbens are most susceptible to stimulation that produces pleasure, wherein dopamine is secreted (they are dopaminergic)

58
Q

Observational learning

A

an organism learns by watching the actions of others, especially effective when people observe both experts and novices perform a task because they can learn to avoid novices’ errors

59
Q

Diffusion chain

A

individuals initially learn a behavior by observing another individual perform that behavior and then become models from which other individuals learn the behavior

60
Q

Enculturation hypothesis

A

being raised in a human culture has profound effect on the cognitive abilities of chimpanzees, especially in understanding intentions, which increases their observational learning

61
Q

What is the neural component of observational learning?

A

mirror neurons (in subregions of frontal and parietal lobes, close to language networks) fire to produce observational learning or the imitation and prediction of behavior

62
Q

Implicit learning

A

learning that takes place largely independent of awareness of both the process and the products of information acquisition; less variation among people compared to explicit learning, unrelated to IQ, less affected by aging, resistant to some disorders that affect explicit learning like amnesia

63
Q

Brain regions affected in explicit vs. implicit learning

A

explicit: increased activity in prefrontal cortex, parietal lobe, hippocampus; implicit: decreased activity in occipital lobe; damage to the hippocampus and medial temporal lobe impairs explicit memory but not necessarily implicit memory

64
Q

Massed practice

A

repeatedly studying information to be learned with little or no time between repetitions

65
Q

Distributed practice

A

spreading out study activities so that more time intervenes between repetitions of the information to be learned

66
Q

Interleaved practice

A

a practice schedule that mixes different kinds of problems or materials within a single study session

67
Q

Judgements of learning (JOL)

A

people typically devote more time to studying items that they judge they have not learned well

68
Q

Unconditioned

A

unlearned, naturally occurring, or hardwired

69
Q

Conditioned emotional response

A

emotional response classically conditioned to occur to learned stimuli, may lead to phobias or irrational fear responses

70
Q

Acquisition

A

phase of classical conditioning when the CS and the US are presented together

71
Q

Little Albert experiment

A

Initially, Albert has no fear for white rats. Through classical conditioning, the rat (CS) is paired with a loud and scary sound (US), which then produces fear responses to the rat (CR) from Albert. This generalizes to all things white and furry.

72
Q

Response and consequence

A

a response produces a certain consequence, which serves to either increase (reinforcer) or decrease (punisher) the future probability of that response

73
Q

Successive approximation

A

a behavior gets incrementally closer to the overall desired behavior

74
Q

Superstitious behavior

A

rare or odd behavior can be repeated if they are accidentally reinforced, which may lead to mistaken beliefs regarding causal relationships

PSYC 101 (12 decks)

Brainscape helps you reach your goals faster, through stronger study habits.
© 2024 Bold Learning Solutions. Terms and Conditions