Chapter 7: Learning Flashcards
Learning
relatively permanent change in behavior due to experience
Classical Conditioning (aka Pavlovian conditioning)
association between 2 previously unrelated stimuli
Operant conditioning (aka instrumental conditioning)
association between acts and their consequences
Consequences
effects that follow a response
Ivan Pavlov
Pavlov was a Russian doctor who initially was studying digestion
• Used dogs to study salivation when dogs were presented with meat powder
Neutral Stimulus (NS)
a stimulus that does not evoke a response
Unconditioned Stimulus (US)
a stimulus innately capable of eliciting a response
Unconditioned Response (UR)
an innate reflex response elicited by an unconditioned stimulus
Conditioned Stimulus (CS)
a stimulus that evokes a response because it has been repeatedly paired with an unconditioned stimulus
Conditioned response (CR)
a learned response elicited by a conditioned stimulus
Pavlov’s Experiments
Before conditioning, food (Unconditioned Stimulus, US) produces salivation (Unconditioned Response, UR). However, the tone (neutral stimulus) does not.
During conditioning, the neutral stimulus (tone) and the US (food) are paired, resulting in salivation (UR). After conditioning, the neutral stimulus (now Conditioned Stimulus, CS) elicits salivation (now Conditioned Response, CR)
Acquisition
the initial learning stage in which an association between a neutral stimulus and an unconditioned stimulus takes place
• In most cases, for conditioning to occur, the neutral stimulus needs to come before the unconditioned stimulus. (half a second before)
Higher Order Conditioning
a conditioned stimulus is used to reinforce further learning
Expectancy
expectation about how events are interconnected
Extinction
When the US (food) does not follow the CS (tone), CR (salivation) begins to decrease and eventually causes extinction.
Spontaneous Recovery
After a rest period, an extinguished CR (salivation) spontaneously recovers, but if the CS (tone) persists alone, the CR becomes extinct again.
Generalization
tendency to respond to stimuli similar to the CS
Discrimination
the learned ability to distinguish between a conditioned stimulus and other stimuli that do not signal an unconditioned stimulus
Phobia
intense, unrealistic, irrational fear of a specific situation or object
Conditioned Emotional Response
learned emotional reaction to a previously neutral stimulus
Desensitization
exposing phobic people gradually to feared stimuli while they stay calm and relaxed
Vicarious Classical Conditioning
learning to respond emotionally to a stimulus by observing another’s emotional reactions
Conditioned emotional response
n a famous experiment conducted by (Watson & Raynor, 1920) Little Albert was trained through classical conditioning to fear a rat.
A stimulus that does NOT cause a relevant reaction or response before
conditioning
Neutral stimulus