Exam 4 (Part 6) Learning Flashcards
Association learning theories
- people learn by making connections or bonds
2 theories of association learning
classical and operant
Classical conditioning
- making an association between two stimuli (pairing them)
Neutral stimulus (NS)
a stimulus that does not naturally elicit a response in an organism
Unconditioned stimulus (UCS)
- unlearned stimulus
- a stimulus that elicits a reflexive or innate response (UCR) without prior learning (conditioning)
Unconditioned response
- Unlearned (not learned) response
- A reflexive or innate response that is elicited by a stimulus (the UCS) without prior learning
Conditioned stimulus
- Learned stimulus
- A previously neutral stimulus that, through association with a UCS, comes to elicit a conditioned response similar to the original UCR
Conditioned response
- Learned response
- A response elicited by a conditioned stimulus
Acquisition
- period in which a response is being learned
- measured in trials
Trial
every time the NS and the UCS are presented together
Temporal pairings
1) Forward conditioning
- short delay/ trace
2) Simultaneous conditioning
3) Backward conditioning
Short-Delay
- Present the NS
- NS still present
- Present the UCS
Trace
- Present the NS and remove it
- wait 1-2 seconds and present the UCS
Simultaneous
- Present the NS and the UCS at the same time
- Simultaneously/together
Backwards
- Present the UCS
- then present the NS
Extinction
a process in which the CS is presented repeatedly in the absence of the UCS, causing the CR to weaken and eventually disappear
Spontaneous recovery
the reappearance of a previously extinguished CR after a rest period and without new learning trials
Stimulus generalization
Any stimuli similar to the initial CS will elicit a CR
Stimulus discrimination
a CR occurs in the presence of one stimulus but not in the present of others (other stimuli)
Higher-order
- occurs when a neutral stimulus becomes a CS after being paired with an established CS (not an UCS)
- produces a CR that is weaker and extinguishes more rapidly than the original CR
Classical conditioning applications
- acquire fear
- overcome fears (phobias)
John Watson
- Founder of behaviorism
- little Albert (demonstrated that classical conditioning could be used to create a phobia.)
Mary Cover Jones
- Peter experiment
- Deconditioning
- Therapies (treating fears/phobias)
Types of therapy for treating fears/phobias
- Exposure
- Systematic desensitization