Exam 3

Question 1

Stimulus control

Answer 1

Occurs when a response:

1. Occurs in the presence of a stimulus and
2. Does not occur in its absence

Question 2

How does stimulus control develop?

Answer 2

Through differential reinforcement

1. Reinforcement behavior in the presence of one stimulus. Sd: response -> Sr+ (Red light: peck -> food)
2. Do not reinforce in the presence of another stimulus

Question 3

S-

Answer 3

Stimulus that signals a punisher

Question 4

Sd

Answer 4

Stimulus that signals reinforcement

Question 5

S-delta

Answer 5

Stimulus that signals extinction (no reinforcement)

Question 6

Other types of stimuli

Answer 6

Look it up somewhere (SD, S-, etc)

Question 7

Parameters that affect SD effectiveness

Answer 7

1. The potency of the reinforcer.

Question 8

Exteroreceptive

Answer 8

External stimuli (public noises, sights, etc)

Question 9

Interoreceptive

Answer 9

Private, internal stimuli (pain, full stomach)

Question 10

What does a full bladder act as?

Answer 10

An Sd to go to the bathroom. Peeing is a negative reinforcer.

Question 11

What can pain act as?

Answer 11

An Sd for finding pain relief.

Question 12

What can drugs function as?

Answer 12

It can act as a discriminative stimulus. For instance, a rat can be trained to pick between two levels depending on whether they’ve had a drug or not.

Question 13

Errorless discrimination

Answer 13

Slowly introduce the S-delta.

Question 14

Benefits of errorless discrimination

Answer 14

1. The S-delta does not become an aversive.
2. S-delta doesn’t cause suppressive responses
3. S-delta could not be used as conditioned aversive stimulus
4. S-delta results in no peak shift in tests of generalization

Question 15

Drawbacks of errorless learning

Answer 15

1. Can take a great amount of time and programming to establish stimulus control.
2. Skinner is attached to it.

Question 16

Relational control

Answer 16

When a relative property is reinforced (e.g., larger).

Question 17

Conceputal stimulus control

Answer 17

When a concept is reinforced

Question 18

Delayed stimuls control

Answer 18

Sample stimulus is shown, it goes away, then another stimuli is presented (comparison stimuli). If it matches, pecking is reinforced. If not, there is no reinforcement.

Question 19

Directed forgetting

Answer 19

A light (or other discriminative stimuli) indicates whether or not the comparison stimuli is going to be differential reinforcement or unconditional reinforcement.

Question 20

What DMTS (delayed matching to sample) shows

Answer 20

• Tests for short-term memory
• The longer the delay, the worse the matching
• Evidence for “mediating” responses (behavior that causes the memory)
• How do we know that mediation happens
  
  • You can disrupt it
  • You can place forgetting under stimulus control (direct forgetting)

Question 21

Phylogenic

Answer 21

Innate behavior - born with it (hardwired).

• Automatic
  
  • In contrast to operant behavior which is voluntary
• Caused by stimulus
  
  • Operants, conversely, are occasioned by stimuli
  • S -> R
  • Operant’s: R -> S (the consequence)
• The result of evolution
  
  • Selection by reproductive fitness
  • Operant: learning is selection by consequences

Question 22

Reflex

Answer 22

A simple, stimulus-response relation of a gland, smooth muscle, or organ. Responses by parts of the body rather than the entire organism.

Properties:

• Inborn (likely)
• Automatic / involuntary (many do not involve the brain)
• Stimulus causes response
• Invariant (across species, individuals, time)
• Difficult to inhibit
• Usually smooth muscle or gland
• Has evolutionary survival value
• Examples: startle to a loud noise, salivation to food, pupil dilation, piloerection to cold, patellar reflex, eyeblink to irritant, coughing to irritant, removing hand from heat, infant reflexes (rooting (moving towards dark spots with mouth), sucking, moro (spreading arms and legs in response to loud noise)).

Question 23

Law of threshold

Answer 23

A reflex law that holds that a reflex will only be activated after a certain stimulus threshold is met.

Question 24

Law of intensity-magnitude

Answer 24

A reflex law that holds the response intensity is a function of the stimulus intensity

Question 25

Habituation

Answer 25

A principle related to reflexes where a response decreases after multiple presentations of the stimulus.

Question 26

Laws of habituation

Answer 26

* First response to first stimulus presentation is largest; decrements from there. * Habituation re-acquires more readily with each habituation run (you relearn to be habituated the second time) * Habituation proceeds more rapidly with weak stimuli * Generalized to physically similar stimuli (habituation to gunshots can generalize to other loud noises, e.g.)

Question 27

Sensitization

Answer 27

Increased response to a repetitive stimulus. Usually occurs when stimulus is meaningful to survival (getting better at hearing gunshots if you're a soldier)

Question 28

Tropisms

Answer 28

More complex innate behavior that involves the entire organism. Automatic movement of entire organism towards a stimulus. * Eg: plants grow toward sunlight, some ant species follow upward.

Question 29

Two types of tropisms

Answer 29

1. Kinesis: random (non-directional) movement until the right stimulus conditions are found; reflexive "stoping (wood louse moves towards moist air) 2. Taxis: directionally moving away from or towards a specific environment; reflexive "going". * Eg: Moths and light, ants can keep sun at a certain angle and change angle by 180 degrees to go home.

Question 30

FAPs

Answer 30

Previously called instincts. Properties * Present at birth * Induced by stimulus * A largely inherited series of interrelated acts * Rigid behaviors, often sequential (one behavior causes another) * Species-specific * Vary little in topography (how they look) * Involves whole organism * Triggered by "releasers" * Many have survival value * E.g.: courtship and mating, dogs digging, migration, spiders building webs, felines burying feces, lordosis, grooming, raccoons wash their food

Question 31

What triggers a FAP?

Answer 31

"Releasers"

Question 32

Do humans have FAPs?

Answer 32

Doesn't seem like it but it's hard to test. There might be some with younger kids.

Question 33

GBTs

Answer 33

Individuals may inherit genes that may make a behavior more likely. * GBT don't mean destiny; environment still plays a role. However, genetic predispositions do play a role. * E.g.: * Aggression - certain genes can increase certain hormone levels * Alcoholism - certain genes can make alcohol more reinforcing * Obesity - certain genes might limit satiety hormone

Question 34

Parameters that effect Sd effectiveness

Answer 34

1. Potency of reinforcer 2. Reliability in predicting reinforcer 3. The immediacy of the reinforcer that the Sd predicts

Question 35

Inhibitory gradient

Answer 35

Generalization w.r.t. inhibitory response (i.e., not responding in the presence of an S-delta or S-).

Question 36

Peak shift

Answer 36

A shift in peaks that happens during intrademensional training where the relational aspect of the stimulus control influences the discrimination gradient.

Question 37

Benefits of errorless learning

Answer 37

* S-delta does not acquire aversive properties * No emotional behavior towards s-delta * S-delta doesn't have suppressive properties * No peak shift in tests of generalization (because no relationship is established)

Question 38

Drawbacks of errorless learning

Answer 38

Can take a lot of time to establish stimulus control.