Exam#2 Chapter 5: Learning

Question 1

1. What is classical conditioning and who discovered it?

Answer 1

a. Classical Conditioning: A type of learning where an organism comes to create associations between multiple stimuli
b. Ivan Pavlov - Discovered classical conditioning through his study of salivary reflexes with dogs

Question 2

2. What is an unconditioned stimulus?

Answer 2

a. A stimulus that elicits a reflexive response in the absence of learning.

Question 3

3. What is an unconditioned response?

Answer 3

a. A reflexive response elicited by a stimulus in the absence of learning.

Question 4

4. What is a conditioned stimulus?

Answer 4

a. An initially neutral stimulus that comes to elicit a conditioned response after being associated with an unconditioned stimulus.

Question 5

5. What is a conditioned response?

Answer 5

a. A response that is elicited by a conditioned stimulus; it occurs after the conditioned stimulus is associated with an unconditioned stimulus.

Question 6

6. What is a Temporal Contiguity and the Contingency Theory?

Answer 6

a. Temporal Contiguity Theory
i. Responses develop when the interval between UCS and CS is very short
ii. Backward conditioning?
b. Contingency Theory
i. Association was dependent upon the perceived predictability of the CS of the UCS

Question 7

7. What were Rescorla and Wagner’s Study?

Answer 7

a. Two types of trials:
i. Format A
1. Tone à followed by SHOCK
b. Format B
i. Tone with light à followed by SHOCK
c. Randomized trials
i. A,B,B,A,A,A,B,A,B,B,B,A,etc

Question 8

8. What are the four principles of conditioning?

Answer 8

a. Generalization
b. Extinction
c. Spontaneous Recovery
d. Higher Order Conditioning

Question 9

9. What is Generalization?

Answer 9

a. A new stimulus resembling the original elicits a response similar to CR

Question 10

10. What is Extinction?

Answer 10

a. weakening of the relationship between the CR and the CS by continual presentation of the CS alone

Question 11

11. What is Spontaneous Recovery?

Answer 11

a. CR recurring after a time delay

Question 12

12. What is Higher Order Conditioning?

Answer 12

a. A procedure in which a neutral stimulus becomes a conditioned stimulus through association with an already established conditioned stimulus.

Question 13

13. What are the three APPLIED principles of conditioning?

Answer 13

a. Conditioning Fear
b. Conditioned Taste Aversion
c. Learned Helplessness

Question 14

14. What is Conditioning Fear and what is an example?

Answer 14

a. John Watson’s experiment on 11 month old “Little Albert”
i. Each time he reached for the rat, Watson made a loud clanging noise right behind Albert
b. Little Albert’s fear generalized to just about anything white and furry

Question 15

15. What is Conditioned Taste Aversion and what was the original study?

Answer 15

a. When an organism becomes nauseated some time after eating a certain food, which then becomes aversive to the organism
b. Original Study: John Garcia and his radiated rats

Question 16

16. What is Learned Helplessness?

Answer 16

a. tendency to fail to act to escape from a situation because of a history of repeated failures
i. Classic Study
ii. Real-Life Applications

Question 17

17. What is operant conditioning?

Answer 17

a. changes in voluntary behavior based on experienced consequences

Question 18

18. Who is Edward Thorndike?

Answer 18

a. Created the Law of Effect – responses followed by pleasurable consequences are repeated

Question 19

19. What is shaping behavior and what is the Skinner Box?

Answer 19

a. rewarding approximations of desired behaviors
b. Skinner Box: A controlled environment for training
i. When an animal in a Skinner box presses a bar, a food pellet or drop of water is automatically released.

Question 20

20. What is reinforcement?

Answer 20

a. The process by which a stimulus or event strengthens or increases the probability of the response that it follows.

Question 21

21. What is punishment?

Answer 21

a. The process by which a stimulus or event weakens or reduces the probability of the response that it follows

Question 22

22. What is positive and negative REINFORCEMENT?

Answer 22

a. Positive Reinforcement
i. addition of pleasurable stimulus to increase the behavior
b. Negative Reinforcement
i. removal, escape or avoidance of aversive stimulus to increase the behavior

Question 23

23. What is positive and negative PUNISHMENT?

Answer 23

a. Positive Punishment
i. addition of unpleasant stimulus to decrease the behavior
b. Negative Punishment
i. removal of pleasurable stimulus to decrease the behavior

Question 24

24. What is a FIXED RATIO?

Answer 24

a. same number of desired responses required

Question 25

25. What is a VARIABLE RATIO?

Answer 25

a. number of responses required varies for each event

Question 26

26. What is a FIXED INTERVAL?

Answer 26

a. always same time before reinforcement opportunity

Question 27

27. What is a VARIABLE INTERVAL?

Answer 27

a. Reinforcement possibilities after varying amounts of time

Question 28

28. Define observational learning and summarize the results from Bandura’s Bobo doll experiment.

Answer 28

a. Two conditions
i. Group1: viewed aggressive model interacting with the Bobo doll
ii. Group 2: viewed non-aggressive model playing with toys in the room
b. Results – No violence in second group compared to group 1

Question 29

29. What is Latent Learning and what is an example of it?

Answer 29

a. Latent Learning: Learning isn’t always the same as performance
b. Tolman’s study on rats and maze learning