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Learning and Behavior > Exam 1 > Flashcards

Exam 1 Flashcards

1
Q

Charles Noris

A

Charles Norris was New York’s first appointed chief medical examiner and pioneer of forensic toxicology in America

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2
Q

Goal of scientific method

A

Establish causal relations

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3
Q

Confounding variables

A

Variables that co-vary with IV. Should be reduced.

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4
Q

What should principles of behavior generalize across?

A

Behaviors (walking, running, food selection, etc), settings, people, and species.

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5
Q

Reinforcer

A

A stimulus that is produced by a response that in turn strengthens the behavior on which it is contingent.

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6
Q

Selectionism

A
  1. Fecundity: a surplus
  2. Variability: That surplus varies in a particular property
  3. Selection: Some aspect of variability leads to survival

Examples:

  • Evolution (when applied to species)
    • Fecundity: lots of finches
    • Variability: different beak types
    • Selection: better beaks leads to higher likelihood of reproducing.
  • Operant coditioning
    • Lots of behavior
    • Different in topography
    • Consequences
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7
Q

Learning (1)

A

The ability to respond to short-term (and long-term), local (and overall) changes in our environment (foraging, adapting to a fire)

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8
Q

Learning (2)

A

Acquisition, maintenance, or change in behavior due to experience.

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9
Q

Acquisition vs performance

A

Acq - process. Perf - product

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10
Q

Two types of learning

A
  1. Operant

2.

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11
Q

Operant

A

Regulation of behavior by its consequences.

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12
Q

Behavior

A

Any act in which an organism engages. Two types:

  1. Observable behavior - evident to two or more people.
  2. Private events: behavior “beneath the skin”; covert
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13
Q

Scientific

A
  1. Observable behavior (eating - partly, thinking - no, seeing - no, speaking - yes
  2. Deterministic: behavior comes from two sources: environment and genes, both of which discovered and analyzed through science. (role of env is emphasized in BA).
  3. Objective: we have a precise language that characterizes behavior without guesswork or anthropomorphization (attributing human characteristics to non-human behavior).
  4. Empirical: we rely on measurement and quantification of behavior through numerical expression.
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14
Q

How the behavioral approach differs from others (traditional).

A
  1. No intervening variables. No construct reification (the label becomes a real explanation, as opposed to a description of the behavior).
  2. Animals are used (though not exclusively).
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15
Q

Problem with intervening variables

A

Construct reification (the label becomes a real explanation, as opposed to a description of the behavior).

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16
Q

Pros and cons of animal research

A

Pros:
* Ability to isolate variables

Cons:
* Can it be generalized?

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17
Q

Misconceptions about behavioral approach

A
  • The organism is a “black box.” Black box connotes an empty “box”. Actual: the same events that govern internal behavior govern observable behavior.
  • Behavioral analysis doesn’t account for emotions and feelings. Actual: Of course behaviorists do. But they do not CONTROL behavior, they are by-products.
  • Behavior analysis is for non-human animals and those of low intelligence. Actual: The principles discovered apply to everyone. In fact the goal of behavior analysis is to discover GENERAL principles of behavior.
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18
Q

What neurons respond to environmental stimuli

A

Sensory receptors

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19
Q

What neurons innervate muscles?

A

Motor neurons

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20
Q

What in the axon terminals contains neurons?

A

Vesicals

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21
Q

Example of chemical changes that take place as part of learning

A

Long-term potentiation (certain connections become more able to fire after firing).

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22
Q

Main point of class

A

Outcomes of our behavior are everything. Behavior is a function of its consequences.

23
Q

Contingency

A

Casual relation: If Behavior, then Consequence. Consequences in turn strengthen or weaken behavior on which it is contingent. Contiguity is not enough.

24
Q

How to categorize the consequence

A

By its impact on the preceding behavior

25
Q

How to operationalize variables

A
  1. Limit to only observable behavior
    * Turn adjectives into verbs
    * Turn constructs into behavior
26
Q

Examples of low self-esteem

A
  • Includes self-deprecating talk
27
Q

Problems with the law of effect

A
  • Anthropogenic
  • Not everything that is satisfying is repeated
  • Unsatisfying behavior is often repeated
28
Q

What did Skinner add to Thorndike?

A

Placed emphasis on function (purpose) of behavior

29
Q

Reinforcer

A

Strengthens behavior that produced it - increases or maintains (?) (it actually has to produce it; it can’t be just temporally related)

30
Q

What are exams in terms of reinforcement?

A

Negative reinforcer

31
Q

Examples of negative reinforcement

A

Alarm clock snooze button, putting on sunglasses,

32
Q

Superstitious behavior

A

Accidental delivery (reinforcement) of an outcome

33
Q

Terminal behavior

A

Behavior right before the delivery of reinforcer

34
Q

Interim behavior

A

Behavior occurring early in interval (typically very hardwired behavior (until reinf happens))

35
Q

Components of superstitious behavior

A

Terminal and interim (adjunctive behavior)

36
Q

Scheduled-induced polydipsia

A

Under time-based deliveries of reinforcement, the addition of a water source -> excessive drinking

37
Q

Examples of superstitions in humans

A
  • Athletes
  • Compulsions
  • Religious behavior (?)
38
Q

What is shaping

A

Differential reinforcement of successive approximations of a terminal behavior. I.e., reinforcing partial successes, gradually setting the standard higher and higher.

39
Q

Differential reinforcement

A

Only reinforcing a single behavior

40
Q

Response

A

Specific part of a behavior

41
Q

Discriminative stimulus

A

Sets the occasion or influences the response. May or may not trigger a response. But it is the context that is linked with the response and consequence relationship. It does not make the subject respond though. The stimulus does not cause the response. (It is a moderator?)

42
Q

Three-term contingency

A

Discriminative stimulus, operant response, and reinforcer/punisher

43
Q

Response chain

A

A set of three-term contingencies in which the reinforcer of one serves as the Sd for another. The chain will end in a primary reinforcer.

44
Q

Primary vs secondary reinforcer

A

Intrinsic (unlearned) vs extrinsic (learned, unique to individuals) reinforcer (satiation vs praise). Secondary reinforcers are learned by being paired with primary reinforcers.

45
Q

Example response chain

A

“get beer”: dog runs to fridge -> towel
towel: pull -> fridge opens
open fridge: grab beer -> beer in mouth
… etc
owner: drop beer in hand -> treat and “good boy!”

46
Q

Operant

A

Something that you do that changes the environment in some way

47
Q

Free operant procedure

A

Procedures where the subject is free to engage with the reinforcer as much as the subject wants.

48
Q

Discrete trial procedure

A

Controlled reinforcement sessions where the subject only gets the reinforcer if the trainer decides. It is highly controlled by the trainer.

49
Q

Response rate

A

?

50
Q

Traditional group design

A

Randomly assign people to a group with different levels.

51
Q

Problems with group design

A
  1. Outliers can create potentially false effects
  2. Snapshot effect: is one instance enough? Does it in fact reflect that person.
  3. The focus is on the average subjects (because we’re looking at the mean)
  4. You can usually get an effect by increasing the number of subjects in your group
52
Q

Single subject design

A
  1. Uses a small number of subjects

2. Look at how a variable affects the behavior of each subject: baseline, treatment, reversal

53
Q

Benefits of single subject design

A
  1. The subject serves as her/his own control
  2. Treatment effects are individualized
  3. No “snapshots” of behavior - a pattern of behavior is able to be established under each condition
54
Q

Drawbacks of single subject design

A
  1. Generalization

Learning and Behavior (4 decks)

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