Exam 2- learning

Question 1

Learning

Answer 1

relatively permanent change in an organism’s behavior due to experience
experience (nurture) is the key to learning
Learning and memory work together – without one, the other cannot function

Question 2

Orienting response

Answer 2

Automatic shift of attention toward a new stimulus

Question 3

Habituation

Answer 3

Sensory process by which organisms adapt to constant stimulation
Results in a decrease in responding to this now familiar stimulus

Question 4

Association

Answer 4

Occurs when one piece of information from the environment is linked repeatedly with another, and the organism begins to connect the two sources of information
Associations are the key to the two major conditioning models of learning

Question 5

Ivan Pavlov

Answer 5

1849-1936
Russian physician/ neurophysiologist
Nobel Prize in 1904
studied digestive secretions

Question 6

Classical Conditioning

Answer 6

organism comes to associate two stimuli
tone and food
begins with a reflex
a neutral stimulus is paired with a stimulus that evokes the reflex
neutral stimulus eventually comes to evoke the reflex

Question 7

Unconditioned Stimulus (UCS)

Answer 7

effective stimulus that unconditionally-automatically and naturally- triggers a response

Question 8

Unconditioned Response (UCR)

Answer 8

unlearned, naturally occurring automatic response to the unconditioned stimulus
Wincing when object hurdles towards your head

Question 9

Conditioned Stimulus (CS)

Answer 9

previously neutral stimulus that, after association with an unconditioned stimulus, comes to trigger a conditioned response

Question 10

Conditioned Response (CR)

Answer 10

learned response to a previously neutral conditioned stimulus

Question 11

Acquisition

Answer 11

the initial stage of learning, during which a response is established and gradually strengthened
in classical conditioning, the phase in which a stimulus comes to evoke a conditioned response
in operant conditioning, the strengthening of a reinforced response

Question 12

Stimulus generalization

Answer 12

Extension of the association between UCS and CS to include a broad array of similar stimuli

Question 13

Stimulus discrimination

Answer 13

Restriction of a CR to only the exact CS to which it was conditioned

Question 14

Extinction

Answer 14

Weakening and eventual disappearance of a conditioned response, which occurs when the UCS is no longer paired with the CS

Question 15

John B. Watson

Answer 15

viewed psychology as objective science
-generally agreed-upon consensus today
recommended study of behavior without reference to unobservable mental processes
-not universally accepted by all schools of thought today

Question 16

Operant Conditioning

Answer 16

type of learning in which behavior is strengthened if followed by reinforcement or diminished if followed by punishment

Question 17

Law of Effect

Answer 17

Thorndike’s principle that behaviors followed by favorable consequences become more likely and behaviors followed by unfavorable consequences become less likely

Question 18

Operant Behavior

Answer 18

complex or voluntary behaviors
-push button, perform complex task
operates (acts) on environment
produces consequences

Question 19

Respondent Behavior

Answer 19

occurs as an automatic response to stimulus

behavior learned through classical conditioning

Question 20

B.F. Skinner

Answer 20

elaborated Thorndike’s Law of Effect

developed behavioral technology

Question 21

Skinner Box

Answer 21

soundproof chamber with a bar or key that an animal presses or pecks to release a food or water reward
contains a device to record responses

Question 22

Reinforcer

Answer 22

any event that strengthens the behavior it follows

Question 23

Shaping

Answer 23

conditioning procedure in which reinforcers guide behavior toward closer approximations of a desired goal

Question 24

Successive Approximations

Answer 24

reward behaviors that increasingly resemble desired behavior

Question 25

Primary Reinforcer

Answer 25

innately reinforcing stimulus

satisfies a biological need

Question 26

Secondary Reinforcer

Answer 26

conditioned reinforcer

learned through association with primary reinforcer

Question 27

Reinforcement

Answer 27

Increases frequency of an act

• Positive reinforcement (adding a reward)
• Negative reinforcement (removing an unpleasant stimulus)

Question 28

Punishment

Answer 28

Decreases frequency of an act

• Positive punishment (adding an unpleasant stimulus)
• Negative punishment (removing a desirable stimulus)

Question 29

Continuous Reinforcement

Answer 29

reinforcing the desired response each time it occurs
learning occurs rapidly
extinction occurs rapidly

Question 30

Partial Reinforcement or Intermittent reinforcement

Answer 30

reinforcing a response only part of the time
results in slower acquisition
greater resistance to extinction

Question 31

Fixed Ratio (FR)

Answer 31

reinforces a response only after a specified number of responses
faster you respond the more rewards you get
different ratios
very high rate of responding
like piecework pay

Question 32

Variable Ratio (VR)

Answer 32

reinforces a response after an unpredictable number of responses
average ratios
like gambling, fishing
very hard to extinguish because of unpredictability

Question 33

Fixed Interval (FI)

Answer 33

reinforces a response only after a specified time has elapsed
response occurs more frequently as the anticipated time for reward draws near

Question 34

Variable Interval (VI)

Answer 34

reinforces a response at unpredictable time intervals
produces slow steady responding
like pop quiz

Question 35

Punishment

Answer 35

aversive event that decreases the behavior that it follows

powerful controller of unwanted behavior

Question 36

Problems with Punishment

Answer 36

Punished behavior is not forgotten, it’s suppressed- behavior returns when punishment is no longer eminent
Causes increased aggression- shows that aggression is a way to cope with problems-
-Escape Behavior
Creates fear that can generalize to desirable behaviors, e.g. fear of school, learned helplessness, depression
Does not necessarily guide toward desired behavior- reinforcement tells you what to do–punishment tells you what not to do- Combination of punishment and reward can be more effective than punishment alone

Question 37

Observational Learning

Answer 37

learning by observing and imitating others

Question 38

Modeling

Answer 38

process of observing and imitating behavior

Question 39

Albert Bandura

Answer 39

Kind of learning that occurs when we model or imitate the behavior of others

Question 40

Modeling

Answer 40

Imitation of behaviors performed by others
Bobo doll study (1960s)
The effects of video games on children and teens

Question 41

Imitation, Mirror Neurons, and Learning

Answer 41

For some neurons in the frontal lobe of the cerebral cortex, the experience of watching someone else do something is like doing it yourself
-Children with autism may have deficits in mirror neuron systems

Question 42

Synaptic Change During Learning

Answer 42

Learning causes physical changes to the neural network in the brain
“Practice makes perfect?”
Synaptic connections can weaken if they are not regularly used
-May be a biological explanation of some forms of forgetting

Question 43

Why do People Smoke?

Answer 43

Social learning theory
--A form of peer acceptance
Operant conditioning
--Helps maintain smoking behavior
--Negative reinforcers
Some use behavior modification to end the habit