chapter 7: learning Flashcards
change in behaviour due to experience, a relatively permanent change in behaviour not due to drugs, maturation / development, injury, or disease
learning
any observable action (words, gestures, responses) that can be repeated, measured, and are affected by a situation to produce or remove some outcome, also refers to biological activity (cellular level)
behaviour
a term for something you’re born knowing how to do, not a result of learning
innate
automatic and simple responses, a type of stimulus-response relationship that involves behaviours occurring automatically in response to its stimulus
reflexes
how we learn what happens when we do something
operant conditioning
when we learn something by watching others
social (vicarious) learning
Ivan Pavlov
- studied how dogs digest food in 1900s by examining how much dogs drooled when they receive meat powder
- noticed drooling associated with other actions leading up to feeding the dogs, and discovered reaction that was measurable and learned in the presence of triggers
- classical conditioning
involves associating two events that occur together, one seemingly insignificant event signals an important event, a conditioned stimulus indicates the presence or absence of a conditioned stimulus (one way in which we develop fears)
classical conditioning / Pavlovian conditioning
can be anything in the environment that we can detect, measurable, and can evoke a response or behaviour
stimulus
a type of stimulus in Pavlovian conditioning in which a biologically important event requires no conditioning to effect behaviour (stimulus that leads to automatic response)
unconditional stimulus
an innate reflex, biologically important response occurs because of an unconditional stimulus
unconditional response
an event that requires learning to be meaningful and is only meaningful because the event tells us something about the unconditional stimulus (triggers conditional response)
conditional stimulus
a conditional reflex, a learned response that occurs to the conditional stimulus in preparation for the unconditional stimulus
conditional response
a descriptor for behaviour in Pavlovian conditioning which indicates a response to a stimulus is involuntary
elicits
refers to the probability of learning occurring if the unconditional stimulus does or does not occur
conditional
a stimulus that does not naturally elicit a response, does not indicate whether a unconditional stimulus will occur
neutral stimulus
a type of Pavlovian conditioning in which the conditional stimulus indicates that an unconditional stimulus will occur (positive correlation between the CS and US)
excitatory conditioning
the US occurs within a few seconds of the start of CS, most effective excitatory conditioning procedure
short-delayed conditioning
the US occurs after the CS has been there for a while, doesn’t pinpoint well exactly when the US will occur
long-delayed conditioning
the US occurs minutes or hours after the CS has stopped, the events in this procedure are so far apart they seem to have no relation
trace conditioning
a type of Pavlovian conditioning in which the CS indicates that no unconditional stimulus will occur (negative correlation between the CS an US), one event signals that another will not occur
inhibitory conditioning
the US occurs with the start of the CS (CS and US overlap completely)
simultaneous conditioning
the US occurs a few seconds before the start of the CS, so the CS indicates no US will occur
backward conditioning
occurs when two factors appear causally related to one another but are not
spurious correlation
a learned response where animals avoid eating the food in the future that is associated with illness
taste aversion
gradual weakening of a conditioned response that results in the behaviour decreasing or disappearing, loss of associative strength as an increasingly weaker conditional response (CS appearing without US will cause extinction)
extinction
involves repeatedly presenting a conditional stimulus without an unconditional stimulus
Pavlovian extinction
involves intense fear, agitation, and possibly social isolation
post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
a learning phenomenon in which a stimulus that predicts the absence of an otherwise expected outcome comes to control an organism’s responding (generally arbitrary stimuli) (no fear)
conditioned inhibitors (safety signals)
a type of stimulus that is something you like and for which you will work
pleasant/appetitive stimuli
a type of stimulus that is something you don’t like and for which you won’t work
unpleasant/aversive/noxious stimuli
image set contains images meant to elicit an emotional response from the research participants (categorized as pleasant, neutral, or unpleasant)
international affective picture system (IAPs)
involves responding similarly to conceptually or physically similar stimuli (an event that has not been paired with US also elicits or causes the CR) (tends to happen with phobias)
stimulus generalization
involves responding differently to different events, opposite of stimulus generalization, CR only occur when the original CS is introduced
stimulus discrimination
a neutral stimulus is systematically and repeatedly paired with a CS that reliably elicits the CR
higher-order conditioning
what is the difference between typical Pavlovian conditioning and higher-order conditioning
Pavlovian conditioning: neutral stimulus -> unconditional stimulus
higher-order conditioning: (already paired neutral stimulus -> unconditional stimulus) neutral stimulus -> conditional stimulus
an approach to science that focuses on how we learn new behaviours, and how those behaviours change across different situations
behaviourism
little Albert experiment
conducted by John B. Watson (behaviourist), involves developing a Pavlovian fear response to furry, white objects in a 9-month-old baby
exposure therapy used to treat extreme aversions through a combination of graded exposure and relaxation (developed by Joseph Wolpe)
systematic desensitization
intense, unrealistic fears directed toward people, objects, or situations
phobias
describes situations in which we can choose among different options based on our previous experiences (we learn that our behaviour has consequences) (reward and punishment)
operant (instrumental) conditioning
Edward Thorndike
known for his work with cats in puzzle boxes (required a certain set of behaviours to open a door)
a method that involves several attempts to find a solution to a problem
trial-and-error learning
the process of interacting with some response option that has an effect on the environment
instrumental learning
behaviours that lead to satisfying outcomes are likely to be repeated, whereas behaviours that lead to undesired outcomes are less likely to recur
law of effect
“stamping in”, means that we associate a situation with behaviour when that behaviour leads to something pleasant
satisfaction
“stamping out”, means that we do not associate a situation with behaviour when that behaviour leads to something unpleasant
discomfort
founded by B.F. Skinner in 1930s, the philosophy of science that treats thinking and feelings like any other behaviour
radical behaviourism
how do Skinner and Thorndike differ
they both recognized the important of environment events that preceded behaviour, but Skinner included the consequence as a part of what we learn about our behaviour
anything in the physical environment that we can detect and tells us something about the consequences of our actions (people, inanimate objects, signs)
antecedents
stimuli that can increase or decrease the probability of future behaviour (events that happen after and because of a response)
consequences
use of a choice-unique outcome for each type of correct choice in a conditional discrimination task to increase rate of learning
differential consequences
the outcome of a different behaviour has no difference, takes longer to learn
non-differential consequences
a term used to help define behaviour: if a dead man can do it, then it is not a behaviour
dead man test
if-then rule, if you do this (behaviour), then that will happen (consequences)
contigencies
(+) any event that strengthens or increases the behaviour it follows, occurs each time the desired behaviour occurs
reinforcement
(-) adverse event that causes a decrease in the behaviour it follows, must be right after the behaviour to decrease behaviour
punishment
the application or the addition of some consequence
positive
the removal of some consequences
negative
(+) favourable events or outcomes that are presented after the behaviour, response or behaviour is strengthened by the addition of something (add something good and behaviour increases)
positive reinforcement
(-) the removal of an unfavourable events or outcomes after the display of a behaviour, response is strengthened by the removal of something considered unpleasant
(remove something bad and behaviour increases)
negative reinforcement
(+) presents an unfavourable event or outcome in order to weaken the response it follows (add something bad and behaviour decreases)
positive punishment
(-) take away a pleasant event or outcome to weaken the response it follows (remove something good and behaviour decreases)
negative punishment (response cost, omission, time-out)
a situation in which the aversive stimulus is already present a response removes or stops the unpleasant stimulus (a form of negative reinforcement)
escape
a situation in which the aversive stimulus is not currently present but will occur unless you produce a response to cancel the unpleasant event (must experience the escape situation before we will make an avoidance response) (strong in people with anxiety disorders)
avoidance
refer to the intrinsic value of a stimulus, assuming that this stimulus functions this way for most people
appetitive and noxious stimulus
a type of behaviour, specifically, the response in which we’re interested
target behaviour
a procedure in which a behaviour that was previously reinforced now has no consequences and becomes less likely to occur in the future (no reinforced and decreases) (nothing is added or removed and the target response decreases)
extinction
an effect in which behaviour that was previously reinforced occurs at a higher rate without consequences at the beginning of extinction
extinction burst
how does the target response changes before extinction occurs
response often increases in frequency, duration, and intensity before beginning a slow deceleration
he determined how different schedules of reinforcement affected responding in extinction for different groups of pigeons
Jenkins
behaviour exposed to a continuous reinforcement schedule will stop faster without reinforcement than behaviour exposed to an intermittent reinforcement schedule
partial reinforcement extinction effect
involves selecting and reinforcing more complex responses that look like the response you want while extinguishing simpler forms of the target response
shaping
positive reinforcement is used to
to keep behaviour going, to increase the magnitude of behaviour, and act as a part of shaping by the method of successive approximations to teach new responses
operant chambers
invented by Skinner to automate the presentation of stimuli and collection of responses
events or stimuli that follow behaviour and increase the future likelihood of that kind of response
reinforcers
also known as the contingency analysis, it is a way to determine if the consequence you selected is a reinforcer and increases the frequency of a behaviour
reinforcer test
positive vs negative reinforcers
positive reinforcers are produced (added) by the response and negative reinforcers are removed ( omitted) by the response
a type of stimulus that are not learned, they naturally affect the responses they follow and include stimuli/events needed to maintain life
primary (unconditional ) reinforcers
a type of primary reinforcer that typically include aversive events such as heat and pain
primary negative reinforcers
a type of stimulus that influence responses because they signal or have been associated with a primary reinforcer (a stimulus may lose its reinforcing capacity)
secondary (conditional) reinforcers
objects traded for several other reinforcers, they are special because they don’t lose their power to reinforce behaviour (money)
generalized conditioned reinforcers
description in words and numbers of how and when we’ll earn reinforcers, discovered accidentally by Skinner
schedules of reinforcement
a type of reinforcement where every response is reinforced
continuous reinforcement
a type of reinforcement where only some responses are reinforced
intermittent reinforcement
deliver reinforcers after a specific number of responses (based on responses)
ratio
the requirement for each reinforcer is the same, the number of behaviour or length of time intervals are constant
fixed
the required number of responses or length of time intervals vary
variable
deliver reinforcers after at least two responses and a specified amount of time (based on time)
interval
which reinforcement schedule is the most effective in learning? least effective?
variable ratio or continuous reinforcement schedule produces the highest rate of responses (1:1 ratio for responses to reinforcers)
fixed interval schedule produces the lowest rate of responding because the time between reinforcers is predictable
response is reinforced only after a specific number of responses (break-and-run pattern of responding)
fixed ratio (FR)
response is reinforced after an unpredictable number of responses (high and constant pattern of responding because responding faster directly produces more reinforcers in less time) (no pause, continuous respond to maximize the number of reinforcers)
variable ratio (VR)
the first response is rewarded only after a specified amount of time has elapsed (the time between each reinforcer is always same) (scallop pattern of responding, responding little at the beginning and get increasingly faster toward the end of the interval)
fixed interval (FI)
response is rewarded after an unpredictable amount of time has passed (slow and constant pattern of responding, reinforcers are unpredictable so we keep responding without pausing to maximize the number of reinforcers we earn)
variable interval (VI)
break-and-run pattern
a run happens when we produce many responses quickly until we earn a reward (high response rate)
break occurs after the delivery of a reinforcer
what is the differences between Pavlovian and operant conditioning
involuntary responses in Pavlovian conditioning and voluntary responses in operant conditioning
Tolman and Bandura
reintroduced mental events to the study of behaviour, and this tradition of hypothesizing unobservable causes for behaviour continues today
Edward C. Tolman
felt that explanations for behaviour should include more than environmental stimuli and publicly observable behaviour (mediational neobehaviorism / operational behaviourism)
what is Tolman known for
his experiments on latent learning using rats running through T-mazes
learning that we can’t see until we’re motivated to show it (no change in performance until we receive a reward)
latent learning
a detailed representation of the physical environment and all possible routes that we can use when deciding where to go
cognitive map
Zentall
emphasized the utility of the cognitive approach beyond cognitive maps and latent learning for studying both human and non-human animal behaviour
Albert Bandura
discovered social learning, conducted the bobo doll experiment (adult hitting the doll for some children while the other half watched the adult gently interact with the doll)
AKA observational learning, we learn from other people (expands animal learning further into the cognitive domain, doesn’t require reinforcement)
social learning
a phase of social learning in which a model demonstrates a behaviour and an observer copies it
imitation
Hopper
Chimpanzee experiment
in order to copy the behaviour of another, the observer must see the model’s behaviour and see the model earn a reward for that behaviour (more likely to imitate successful behaviour)
transferred association
a phase of social learning in which an observer watches a model doing something, more likely to imitate someone we like and respect (children with autism spectrum disorder may have trouble with this phase)
attentional
a phase of social learning in which an observer remembers what the model did and can imitate that response later (think about performing the action ourselves)
retention
a phase in social learning in which an observer copies what the model demonstrated (actually performing the actions)
production
a phase in social learning in which the observer obtains the same outcome as the model for the same responses (more likely to repeat this behaviour)
motivational
Seligman
proposed that some stimuli are more likely than others to become signals for important events, a concept he called biological preparedness (learned helplessness -> shocking dogs)
aka cue-consequence learning or belongingness, the result in which some events serve as better signals or conditional stimuli than others due to evolution, implications for phobias (easier to condition a Pavlovian fear to snakes than to arbitrary stimuli like flowers)
biological preparedness
how is phobias different from fear conditioning
phobias can be learned in a single trial, can persist even when we know that the feared object is harmless, things that could harm our ancestors that we probably won’t encounter, do not extinguish quickly or easily
experiencing an aversive situation you can’t control prevents you from learning to control other aversive situations (becomes helpless because an organism have learned that, regardless of their actions, they have no ability to change the outcome)
learned helplessness
