Chapter 7 - Learning Flashcards
Learning
a relatively permanent change in an organisms behavior due to experiences.
- Acquiring new and relatively enduring information or behaviors through experience.
Types of Learning
- Associative learning: learning that certain events occur together
○ Can be two stimuli or a response and its consequence
○ Operant Conditioning and Classical Conditioning- Cognitive Learning: the acquisition of mental information by observing events, watching others or through language
Factors which make up Learning
- Change in behavior
- Change in memory
- Relatively permanent
- Due to experience (precursor)
Conditioning
a process of learning associations
Types of Conditioning: Classical Conditioning
- one learns to link 2 or more stimuli together and to anticipate events unconsciously after repeated pairings
- Ivan Pavlov ○ Involuntary and automatic response ○ Creates a respondent behavior
Types of Conditioning:
Operant Conditioning
one learns to associate between our behavior or action and its consequence
- B.F. Skinner ○ Voluntary and operates on environment ○ Creates an operant behavior - based on the idea that rewarded behavior is likely to be reproduced
Types of Behaviours
- Respondent Behavior: behavior that occurs as an automatic response to some stimulus
- Operant Behavior: behavior that operates on the environment, producing consequences
Parts to Classical Conditioning(with examples of Pavlovs experiment)
Neutral Stimulus: the stimulus which evokes no response before conditioning
- E.g. the bell
Unconditioned Response: unlearned and naturally occurring response to the unlearned stimulus
- E.g. drooling at the sight of the food
Unconditioned Stimulus: a stimulus which triggers an unlearned response
- E.g. Dog Food
Conditioned Stimulus: the neutral stimulus which after repeated pairings with the UCS triggers a conditioned response
- E.g. the bell ringing before giving the dog food
Conditioned Response: the learned response to the learned stimulus
- E.g. drooling at the sound of the bell
Classical Conditioning Processes: Aquisition
the initial stage of learning where one links a neutral stimulus and the unconditioned stimulus.
- E.g. The NS begins triggering the CR
Classical Conditioning: Extinction
the gradual weakening and eventual disappearance of a CR when an UCS does not follow the CS
- E.g. The dog not drooling at the sound of the bell because after it is rung the dog food isnt present anymore
Classical Conditioning Processes: Spontaneous Recovery
after a period of extinction, the CR reappears when the CS is presented
Classical Conditioning Processes: Stimulus Generalisation
the tendency to respond similarly to stimuli that resembled the specific CS after conditioning
- E.g. If when a horn sounded the dog began drooling as he expected food then
Classical Conditioning Processes: Stimulus Discrimination
the learned ability to distinguish between a CS and other irrelevant stimuli.
E.g. the dog doesn’t drool at the sound of a horn and only at the bell
Shaping Behavior:
a procedure in which reinforces guide actions closer and closer toward a desired behavior
- Helps understand what nonverbal organisms perceive - Researchers and animal trainers gradually shape complex behaviors by rewarding desired behaviors and ignoring all other responses
Ways to increase behavior(operant Conditioning)
- Positive Reinforcement: adding a desirable stimulus to increase the chances of the behavior being repeated
○ E.g. rewarding the kid for cleaning his room with a lolly- Negative Reinforcement: taking away an undesirable stimulus to increase the chances of the behavior being repeated
○ E.g. putting on the seat belt which in turn removes the jaring beeping sound in the car.
- Negative Reinforcement: taking away an undesirable stimulus to increase the chances of the behavior being repeated
Ways to Decrease Behavior(Operant Conditioning)
- Positive Punishment: adding an undesirable stimulus to decrease the chances of a behavior being repeated
○ E.g. giving a kid a smack after he broke a plate- Negative Punishment: taking away a desirable stimulus to decrease the chances of the behavior being repeated
○ E.g. taking away a kids screen time after he broke a plate
- Negative Punishment: taking away a desirable stimulus to decrease the chances of the behavior being repeated
Reinforcement Schedule
a pattern which defines how often a desired response will be reinforced
- Continuous Reinforcer: - allows learning to occur rapidly but has rapid extinction - Partial/intermittent Reinforcer: - slower learning but greater resistance to extinction
Types of Partial/Intermittent reinforcement schedules
- Ratio Fixed: Every So many; reinforcement after every nth behavior
○ E.g. after buying 10 coffees, get 1 free- Ratio Variable: reinforcement after a random number of behaviors
○ E.g. playing slot machines - Interval Fixed: Every so often; reinforcement for a behavior after a fixed time
○ E.g. every Tuesday get a discounted price
Interval Variable: unpredictably often; reinforcement for a behavior after a random amount of time
- Ratio Variable: reinforcement after a random number of behaviors
Drawbacks of Physical Punishment
- Punishable behavior is suppressed which may reinforce parents punishing behavior(gets results)
- Teaches the child to fear and to discriminate among situations
- May increase aggression and violence as a way to cope with problems(Children See, Children Do)
- Teaches the child to fear and to discriminate among situations
Operant Conditioning Processes: Aquisition
First time associating behavior with a consequence(reinforcer or punishment)
Operant Conditioning Processes: Extinction
desired response stops when reinforcement stops
Operant Conditioning Processes: Spontaneous Recovery
the reappearance, after a period of rest, of an extinguished behavior
Operant Conditioning Processes: Stimulus Generalisation
Responding to a similar stimuli to achieve or prevent a consequence
Operant Conditioning Processes: Stimulus Discrimination
learning that some behaviors, but not others will be reinforced
Observational Learning
individuals can learn novel behaviors by observing key others behaviors
- Albert Bandura - Key others are role models(parents, teachers, social media influencers) AKA social learning theory
Stages of Observational Learning
- Attention: The learner must be focused on observing the behavior
- Retention: the learner must be able to retain the learned information on how to complete the behavior
- Imitation: the learner must be able to physically perform the learned task or behavior; requires access and ability
- Motivation: the learner must want to reproduce the behavior
Modeling:
learning through observing and imitating specific behavior
Primary and Secondary Reinforcers
- Primary reinforcers: unlearned and innate which often satisfy a biological need
- E.g. water, food, sleep, air, sex, sounds
- Conditioned Reinforcers(secondary): gain reinforcing power through a link with a primary reinforcer
E.g. praise, treats, money, clapping(although it’s a sound we needed to learn clapping is a good thing)
