Chapter 7: Learning and Adaptation

Question 1

Describe learning

Answer 1

Having experience change behavior or performance capabilities

Question 2

Tabula Rasa

Answer 2

Organisms start with a blank slate and are shaped by how they interact with their environment

Question 3

Give an example of personal adaptation

Answer 3

Seeing that being aggressive gets you your way, so acting that way more often

Question 4

Habituation

Answer 4

Decrease in response to a repeated stimulus

Question 5

Sensitization

Answer 5

Increase in response to repeated stimulus (eg. focusing on what someone is saying)

Question 6

Explain classical conditioning

Answer 6

Associating two stimulus so one stimulus elicits the same reaction as the other

Question 7

Unconditioned stimulus(UCS)

Answer 7

Producing a response to a stimulus without prior training.

Question 8

Conditioned stimulus(CS)

Answer 8

Through learning, having a stimulus produce a reaction similar to that from the unconditioned stimulus.

Question 9

Unconditioned response

Answer 9

Response from unconditioned stimulus

Question 10

Conditioned response

Answer 10

The response from the conditioned stimulus

Question 11

Acquisition

Answer 11

Refers to the time period in which classical conditioning is learned.

Question 12

What are the 4 types of acquisition?

Answer 12

• Forward-short delay (CS presented, then UCS)-Fastest
• Forward-trace (CS presented, then taken away, then UCS appears)-2nd fastest
• Simultaneous-(Both CS and UCS at the same time)-3rd fastest
• Backward-(UCS then CS)-Slowest

Question 13

Extinction

Answer 13

Unlearning a CR associated with a CS by not providing the CS with the UCS

Question 14

Spontaneous recovery

Answer 14

The reappearance of a previously extinguished CR

Question 15

Generalization

Answer 15

Extensions of associations to other stimuli.

Question 16

Discrimination

Answer 16

CR is provided to one stimulus but not another

Question 17

Higher-order conditioning

Answer 17

Adding a neutral stimulus to a CS and making it into a CS as well

Question 18

Exposure therapy

Answer 18

Associating something someone is afraid of with something good so they lose that fear

Question 19

Aversion therapy

Answer 19

Making someone afraid of a poor tendency so they cease to carry it out

Question 20

Describe Edward Thorndike’s puzzle box

Answer 20

He would place a cat into a box, and by trial and error the cat would escape by pressing a lever. When places in the box again, the cat is more likely to press the lever.

Question 21

Law of Effect

Answer 21

Responses with favored consequences are more likely to occur

Question 22

Operant Conditioning

Answer 22

A type of learning where behavior is made up by how its rewarded/punished

Question 23

Reinforcement

Answer 23

Response strength by the outcome that follows.

Question 24

Punishment

Answer 24

Response less likely to happen again because outcome is unfavorable

Question 25

Describe Skinner’s ABC

Answer 25

Antecedent(Stimuli before behavior)+ Behavior= Consequence(What happens after behavior)

Question 26

What’s the difference between classical and operant conditioning

Answer 26

Classical focuses on automatic behavior while operant focuses on controlled behavior

Question 27

Positive reinforcement

Answer 27

Response strengthened by favored outcome

Question 28

Negative reinforcement

Answer 28

Response strengthened by removal of unfavorable

Question 29

Positive punishment

Answer 29

Response weakened by adding something unfavorable

Question 30

Negative punishment

Answer 30

Response weakened by removal of something valued

Question 31

Primary reinforcers

Answer 31

Stimuli that are reinforced because they are biological needs

Question 32

Secondary reinforcers

Answer 32

Reinforcing properties because they are associated with primary reinforcers

Question 33

Delay Gratification

Answer 33

Giving a reward later than the action is committed, which may cause the action to not be repeated

Question 34

Shaping

Answer 34

To perform a desired action, perform a smaller action and build up to the desired action

Question 35

Chaining

Answer 35

A sequence of actions are reinforced in steps

Question 36

Fixed Schedule

Answer 36

Reinforcement is predictable
Fixed ratio-Reinforcing occurs after completing a certain amount of tasks
Fixed interval- Reinforcement happens in time intervals

Question 37

Variable schedule

Answer 37

Reinforcement isn’t predictable

Question 38

Continuous reinforcement

Answer 38

Reinforcement is constant and learning is quick but so is extinction

Question 39

Partial reinforcement

Answer 39

Only sometimes reinforced and learning is slower but extinction is less likely to occur

Question 40

Escape conditioning

Answer 40

Terminating harmful stimuli (aloe to sooth sunburn)

Question 41

Avoidance conditioning

Answer 41

Learning to avoid stimuli before it happens

Question 42

Token economy

Answer 42

Reinforcing behavior with tokens that can be exchanged for any item

Question 43

Biological preparedness

Answer 43

Evolution has prewired us to learn based on survival

Question 44

Instinctive drift

Answer 44

Drifting back to instinctive behavior

Question 45

What does the cerebellum do in terms of learning

Answer 45

Acquires classical conditioning

Question 46

Hippocampus

Answer 46

Memories

Question 47

Amygdala

Answer 47

Fear anticipation

Question 48

Dopamine

Answer 48

Feeling of reward

Question 49

Fear conditioning

Answer 49

Learning avoidance associated with stimulus. Quantified by measuring freezing behavior

Question 50

Cognitive maps

Answer 50

Non-human species creating maps in new environments based of known ones

Question 51

Insight learning

Answer 51

Sudden realization of key piece to solving a problem

Question 52

Latent learning

Answer 52

Learning that occurs without being demonstrated