Chapter 7: Learning

Question 1

learning?

Answer 1

the process of acquiring new knowledge through experience.

Question 2

one way we learn is by?

Answer 2

association. our mind naturally connects events that occur in sequence. example: you see and smell freshly baked bread and when you eat it it is satisfying, the next time you see and smell the bread, you will expect that eating it will be satisfying again. this is learning by association

Question 3

learned associations also feed our?

Answer 3

habits: habits form when we repeat certain behaviors and it can take 66 days to form a good habit.

Question 4

the process of learning associations is called?

Answer 4

conditioning which takes 2 main forms including classical conditioning and operant conditioning

Question 4

associative learning?

Answer 4

learning that certain events occur together. seal will bark which prompts people to toss it its food. the seal will repeat this behavior to get the outcome.

Question 5

classical conditioning vs operant conditioning

Answer 5

classical conditioning is learning through association. for example if a bell rings everytime the dog is fed, the dog will associate the bell with food and start salivating at the sound of the bell alone.
operant conditioning involves learning through consequence. for example. if a child receives a sticker every time they do their hw, the positive reinforcement of recieving a sticker increases the liklihood that the child will continue to complete their hw.

Question 6

stimulus?

Answer 6

any event or situation that evokes a response

Question 7

respondent behavior vs operant behavior?

Answer 7

respondent behavior is automatic like flinching when startled or pulling away when touching a hot stove. operant behavior on the other hand is voluntary and based on consequences. for example a student raising their hand in class to answer a question in hopes of praise.

Question 8

along with conditioning, whats another form of learning?

Answer 8

cognitive learning: the process of acquiring knowledge by observing events, watching other people, or through language
observational learning is a type of cognitive learning which allows us to learn from other peoples mistakes.

Question 9

who is ivan pavlov?

Answer 9

he was a psychologist who explored classical conditioning. he did the dog and bell experiment. he also laid the foundation for john b watsons ideas.

Question 10

behaviorism?

Answer 10

watson promoted this: the idea that psychology should be an objective science that studies behavior without any regard to mental processes.

Question 11

neural stimulus NS?

Answer 11

a stimulus that initially does not elicit a response. example: a bell ringing before its associated with food for a dog

Question 12

unconditioned response:

Answer 12

a natural response to unconditioned stimulus. example: dog salivating in response to food

Question 13

unconditioned stimulus:

Answer 13

a stimulus that naturally triggers an unconditioned response. example: food for a dog

Question 14

conditioned response:

Answer 14

a learned response to a conditioned stimulus. example: the dog salivating in response to the bell after being associated with food

Question 15

conditioned stimulus:

Answer 15

neutral stimulus that after association with unconditioned stimulus, triggers a conditioned response. example: the bell ringing for a dog after its been associated with food

Question 16

acquisition?

Answer 16

initial stage of learning in classical conditioning when the conditioned stimulus and unconditioned stimulus are presented together. example: repeatedly ringing bell before presenting food to dog.

Question 17

higher order conditioning:

Answer 17

process in which the conditioned stimulus is paired with a new neutral stimlus. example: if the dog is already salivating to the bell alone, then adding a whistle sound can begin causing salivation as well.

Question 18

extinction?

Answer 18

weakening or diminishing of a conditioned rresponse when the conditioned stimulus is repeatedly presented without unconditioned stimulus. for example, if the bell is rung without giving food, eventually the dog will stop salivating to the ringing of the bell

Question 19

spontaneous recovery?

Answer 19

the reappearance of an extinguished conditioned response. example: after a break from hearing the bell, the dog may start salivating again if he hears it.

Question 20

generalization?

Answer 20

the tendency for a conditioned response to be elicited by stimuli similar to the conditioned stimulus. example: if the dog salivated to a specific bell sound, it can salivate to other bell sounds too.

Question 21

discrimination?

Answer 21

the ability to distinguish between a conditioned stimulus and other stimuli that dont signal unconditioned stimulus. example: the dog learns to only salivate to original tone of the bell but not other types of bells.

Question 22

law of effect?

Answer 22

behaviors followed by favorable consequences are more likely to be repeated whereas behaviors followed by unfavorable consequences are less likely to be repeated. example: if a rat finds food at the end of one path of a maze but shock at the other, it will repeat the path with the food.

Question 23

operant chamber?

Answer 23

known as the skinner box, it is a box in which it contains animal and lever or button that animal can press to receive an award or avoid punishment. example: a rat in a box with a button, if rat pushes button food will be dispensed.

Question 24

reinforcement?

Answer 24

any event that increases the likelihood of a desired behavior occuring again in the future.example: giving a dog a treat for sitting on command

Question 25

shaping?

Answer 25

process of gradually molding or reinforcing behaviors closer and closer to the desired behavior. example is giving a parrot food when the parrot makes a sound the only giving the parrot food when it makes sounds resembling words.

Question 26

positive reinforcement?

Answer 26

adding a desirable stimulus to increase likelihood of behavior occuring. example: giving child sticker after they finish homework.

Question 27

negative reinforcement?

Answer 27

removing stimulus to increase likelihood of behavior occuring. taking antacid before eating spicy food

Question 28

primary reinforcer?

Answer 28

a stimulus that is rewarding and doesnt require learning to be considered desirable. food water sleep are examples

Question 29

conditioned reinforcer/secondary reinforcer?

Answer 29

a stimulus that gains power through association with the primary reinforcer, example: money being exchanged for food or water

Question 30

reinforcement schedule?

Answer 30

pattern that defines how often a desired response will be reinforced. for example: how often a dog is given a treat for performing a trick.

Question 31

continuous reinforcement schedule?

Answer 31

reinforcing the desired response every time it occurs. giving a dog treat every time it does a trick

Question 32

partial reinforcement schedule?

Answer 32

reinforcement is provided only some of the time the desired behavior occurs. example: giving a dog treat randomly when it performs tricks not every time.

Question 33

fixed ratio schedule?

Answer 33

reinforcement delivered after a certain number of responses. example: providing the dog with food after 5 tricks performed.

Question 34

variable ratio schedule?

Answer 34

reinforcement is delivered after an upredictable number of responses. example: providing dog with treat after an average of 7 dog tricks but the actual number can vary.

Question 35

fixed interval schedule?

Answer 35

reinforcement is delivered after a specific amount of time has passed. example: giving a dog treat every 30 minutes regardless of how many times it performs tricks

Question 36

variable interval schedule?

Answer 36

reinforcement is delivered after an unpredictable amount of time has passed. example: rat gets food randomly.

Question 37

preparedness?

Answer 37

a biological predisposition to learn associations that have survival value, knowing to fear dangerous animals even without prior negative experiences.

Question 38

instinctive drift?

Answer 38

the tendency of learned behavior to gradually revert to biologically predisposed patterns?

Question 39

cognitive map?

Answer 39

mental representation of ones physical environment. example: person creating mental map of their neighborhood including streets landmarks etc.

Question 40

latent learning?

Answer 40

learning that occurs without reinforcement. example: rat exploring maze without reward.

Question 41

observational learning?

Answer 41

learning by observing others behavior. example: child learns how to tie shoes by watching parents tie shoes

Question 42

modeling?

Answer 42

imitating the behavior of others. example: child learns to say please and thank you by observing their parents using them.

Question 43

mirror neurons?

Answer 43

neurons that fire when individual performs an action and when they observe someone else doing the same action leading to imitation and empathy. example: seeing someone yawn can make you yawn too

Question 44

prosocial behavior?

Answer 44

behavior that benefits others or a society as a whole. example: a child who helps a classmate clean up the drink they accidentally spilled.