Chapter 7: Learning Flashcards
Learning (Behaviourism Definition)
a relatively permanent (long lasting) change in an organism’s behaviour due to experience
Learning
the acquisition of new knowledge, skills, or responses from experience that results in a relatively permanent change in the state of the learner
associative
Brains naturally associate events that co-occur
Classical conditioning (Ivan Pavlov)
learning to associate one stimulus with another
Unconditioned Stimulus (US)
a stimulus that unconditionally (automatically) triggers a response. The response is usually instinctual eg food
Unconditioned Response (UR)
the unlearned, naturally occurring response to the unconditioned stimulus eg produces salivation
neutral stimulus (NS)
a tone does not produce a salivation response
Conditioned stimulus (CS)
an originally irrelevant stimulus that, after association with an unconditioned stimulus (US), triggers a conditioned response
Conditioned response (CR)
the learned response to a previously neutral
conditioned stimulus (CS). Usually the same behaviour as the UR
Acquisition
the first phase of learning in classical conditioning, during which a neutral stimulus and an unconditioned stimulus are associated
Extinction
The diminishing of a conditioned response. If the US (food) stops appearing with the CS (bell), the CR decreases
spontaneous recovery
When extinction is followed by a rest period, presenting the tone alone
generalization
Tendency to respond to stimuli similar to the CS
Discrimination
learned ability to distinguish between a conditioned stimulus and other stimuli that do not signal an unconditioned stimulus
Rescorla-Wagner model
CS sets up an expectation that the US will soon appear
Respondent behaviour
behaviour that occurs as an automatic response to a stimulus
Operant behaviour
any behaviour that operates on (affects) the environment
law of effect
behaviours followed by favourable consequences become more likely, and behaviours followed by unfavourable consequences become less likely
Reinforcement
any feedback from the environment that makes a behaviour more likely to recur
Positive and Negative reinforcement
- adding something desirable (e.g., warmth)
- ending something unpleasant (e.g., turn off an annoying sound)
Primary and Secondary/conditioned reinforcer
- a stimulus that meets a basic need or otherwise is intrinsically desirable, such as food, sex, fun, attention, or power
- a stimulus (e.g., money) which has become associated with a primary reinforcer (money buys food, builds power)
Shaping
Through a series of estimates, reinforcers direct behaviour toward the intended target behaviour in the operant conditioning process
Immediate and Delayed Reinforcer
- A reinforcer that occurs instantly after a behaviour. A rat gets a food pellet for a bar press
- A reinforcer that is delayed in time from
behaviour that produces it. For example, a paycheck that comes twice a month
Continuous reinforcement and Partial/intermittent reinforcement
- Reinforces the desired response each time it occurs
- reinforces a response only part of the time
