concept 7c Flashcards
learning
way in which we acquire new behaviors
habituation
repeated exposure to the same stimulus can cause a decrease in response
dishabituation
recovery of a response to a stimulus after habituation has occurred
often occurs when late in habituation of a stimulus a second stimulus is presented
types of learning
associative learning
observational learning
associative learning
creating of a pairing (association) either b/w 2 stimuli or b/w a behavior and a response
2 types: classical and operant conditioning
classical conditioning
a neutral stimulus becomes associated with an unconditioned stimulus such that the neutral stimulus alone produces the same response as the unconditioned stimulus
the neutral stimulus thus becomes a conditioned stimulus
unconditioned stimulus
any stimulus that brings about a reflexive response
this innate or reflexive response is called an unconditioned response
neutral stimuli
stimuli that do not produce a reflexive response
when paired with an unconditioned stimuli the neural stimuli will produce the reflexive response
conditioned stimulus
previously neural stimulus
through association now causes the reflexive response (called the conditioned response)
acquisition
the process of turning the unconditioned stimulus to turn a neural stimulus into a conditioned stimulus which elicits a conditioned response (same as unconditioned response)
extinction
organism becomes habituated to the conditioned stimulus
spontaneous recovery
emergence of previously habituated conditioned response
generalization
broadening effect by which a stimulus similar enough to the conditioned stimulus can also produce the conditioned response
discrimination
organism learns to distinguis b/w 2 similar stimuli
opposite of generalization
organism is conditioned to a specific conditioned stimulus
operant conditioning
links voluntary behaviors with consequences in an effort to alter the frequency of those behaviors
reinforcement and punishment
reinforcement
process of increasing the likelihood that an individual will perform a behavior
positive or negative
positive reinforcement
increase a behavior by adding a positive consequence or incentive following the desired behavior
money is an example
negative reinforcement
increase a behavior by removing something unpleasant
taking aspirin to reduce head ache
escape and avoidance learning
escape learning
the role of the behavior is to reduce the unpleasantness of something that already exists
aspirin to remove headache
reduce present unpleasantness
avoidance learning
meant to prevent the unpleasantness of something that has yet to happen
reduce future unpleasantness
studying to avoid poor score on the MCAT
punishment
uses conditioning to reduce the occurrence of a behavior
decrease the frequency of behavior
positive and negative
positive punishment
adds an unpleasant consequence in response to a behavior to reduce that behavior
thief arrested for stealing, which is intended to stop him from stealing again
negative punishment
reduction of a behavior when a stimulus is removed
removing something of joy to reduce bad behavior
parents grounding kids to stop them from acting out
reinforcement schedules
fixed ratio schedule (second)
variable ratio schedule (most effective)
fixed interval schedule (least effective)
variable interval schedule (third)
fixed ratio schedule
reinforce a behavior after a specific number of performances of that behavior
continuous reinforcement
type of fixed ratio schedule
behavior is rewarded every time it is performed
variable ratio schedule
reinforce a behavior after a varying number of performances
such that the average number of performances to receive a reward is relatively constant
most effective schedule
fixed interval schedule
reinforce the first instance of the behavior after a specified time period has elapsed
variable interval schedule
reinforce a behavior the first time that behavior is performed after a varying interval of time
shaping
process of rewarding increasingly specific behaviors
want to train a bird to spin around and then peck a key, might give treat when bird spins slightly, then increase amount of turn for next treat
use in operant conditioning can allow for the training of extremely complicated behaviors
latent learning
learning that occurs without a reward but that is spontaneously demonstrated once a reward is introduced
problem solving
trial and error approach of learning
testing different behaviors until they yield reward
gain ability to analyze the situation and respond correctly the first time
exp. putting together a puzzle
preparedness
animals are predisposed to learn (or not learn) behaviors based on their own natural abilities and instincts
instinctive drift
difficulty in overcoming instinctual behaviors
observational learning
process of learning a new behavior or gaining information by watching others
learning by watching others
Albert Bandura’s Bobo doll experiment
mirror neurons
affect observational learning
in frontal and parietal lobes of cerebral cortex
fire when an individual performs and action and when the individual observes someone else performing the same action
