Chapter 9 - Learning Flashcards
What are the three types of learning?
Classical conditioning, operant conditioning, and observational learning.
Define learning.
Any relatively permanent change in behavior that occurs because of experience.
Describe behaviorism.
It is an approach to psychology that emphasizes the study of observable behavior and the role of the environment as a determinant of behavior.
What is conditioning?
A type of learning that involves associations between environmental stimuli and responses.
What is classical conditioning? Who is most famous for it and what research did they do?
Classical conditioning is based off the principle of learning being conditioned due to environmental conditions. Pavlov was most famous for his research in classical conditioning and he used dogs as subjects. The dogs were trained through classical conditioning to salivate at the sound of a bell by conditioning them to understands hat the bell meant food would come soon after, therefore triggering their salivary glands.
Name the unconditioned stimulus, unconditioned response, conditioned stimulus, and conditioned response from Pavlov’s experiment.
US - food
UR - saliva formed in the dogs mouth from the natural desire for the food
CS - sounds of a bell ringing
CR - saliva formed in the dogs mouth from the bell ringing
How can you get rid of conditioning?
Through the process of extinction, the reduction of a conditioned response that occurs because the conditioned stimulus and unconditioned stimulus are no longer paired.
What is spontaneous recovery?
The reappearance of a learned response after it’s apparent extinction.
Describe an example of stimulus generalization.
The experiment with Little Albert in which her was conditioned through pairing a loud noise when he was exposed to different animals such as bunnies, he began to fear all fluffy things because they resembled the conditioned stimulus.
Describe an example of stimulus discrimination.
Training a dog to salivate to a certain C note Oma. piano. After enough pairings, he will salivate to the piano and discriminate from a C note on guitar strings.
What is taste aversion?
A type of classical conditioning in which a food is paired with feeling ill and the food was the conditioned stimulus that was not directly responsible for the sickness. It can be established with only one pairing and can resist extinction.
Explain how people can learn to fear things or have phobias.
When fear of an object or situation becomes irrational and interferes with normal activities, it qualifies as a phobia. The experiment by Watson and Rayner with Little Albert is an example of how a fear or phobia could be conditioned.
What is systematic desensitization?
It is a form of counter conditioning that involves treatment of adults through gradual pairing of conditioned stimulus with a stimulus that elicits a response that is incompatible with an unwanted conditioned response.
What is operant conditioning and how does it differ from classical conditioning?
The process by which a response becomes more likely to occur or less so, depending on its consequences. Behavior is purposeful and a means to an end. In operant conditioning, the organism’s response operates or produces effects on the environment. In classical conditioning, it does not matter whether the animal or person’s behavior has consequences.
Who is most well known for operant conditioning and what was the experiment performed?
Edward Thorndike was most known for his experiments in operant conditioning that used cats as they attempted to escape from a “puzzle box.” Skinner is also very well known for his experiments with rats in a “Skinner box” where a cage was equipped with a device that delivered food or water when an animal made a desired response.
