Final Flashcards
Conditioned Emotional Responses
Consist of emotional and physiological responses that develop to a specific object or situation
Extinction
(1) in classical conditioning, the loss or weakening of a conditioned response when a conditioned stimulus and unconditioned stimulus no longer occur together; (2) in operant conditioning, the weakening of an operant response when reinforcement is no longer available
Learning
A process by which behaviour or knowledge changes as a result of experience
Unconditioned response (UR)
A reflexive, unlearned reaction to an unconditioned stimulus; a stimulus which triggers a response naturally, before/without any conditioning.
Classical/Pavlovian Conditioning
A form of associative learning in which an organism learns to associate a neutral stimulus (e.g. a sound) with a biologically relevant stimulus (e.g. food), which results in a change in the response to the previously neutral stimulus (e.g. salivation); Learning to link two stimuli in a way that helps us anticipate an event to which we have a reaction (associative learning).
Conditioned Stimulus (CS)
A once-neutral stimulus that later elicits a conditioned response because it has a history of being paired with an unconditioned stimulus
Unconditioned Stimulus (US)
A stimulus that elicits a reflexive response without learning
Preparedness
The biological predisposition to rapidly learn a response to a particular class of stimuli
Spontaneous Recovery
The reoccurrence of a previously extinguished conditioned response, typically after some time has passed since extinction; response is smaller than directly after acquisition.
Generalization
Takes place when an operant response occurs in response to a new stimulus that is similar to the stimulus present during original learning; tendency to have conditioned responses triggered by related stimuli.
Conditioned Taste Aversion
Acquired dislike or disgust for a food or drink because it was paired with illness
Acquisition
The initial phase of learning in which a response is established; association between neutral stimulus and US is acquired; know that it has occurred if CS triggers a CR; Ns needs to repeatedly appear before US; strength of association increases over time.
Conditioned Response
The learned response that occurs to the conditioned stimulus
Discrimination
Occurs when an operant response is made to one stimulus but not to another, even if the stimuli are similar.
How are responses learned through classical conditioning acquired/lost?
Acquisition occurs with repeated pairings of CS and US. Once acquired, it can be extinguished if the CS and US no longer occur together. During extinction, the CR diminishes, although it may reappear through spontaneous recovery.
What are the roles of biological and evolutionary factors in classical conditioning?
Responses to biologically relevant stimuli (e.g. snakes) are more easily conditioned than responses to flowers or guns. Avoidance of potentially harmful foods is critical to survival, so organisms can develop conditioned taste aversion quickly.
How is negative political advertising related to conditioning?
It uses evaluative conditioning. Negative images/sounds/statements are paired with images of targeted candidate. Viewers link negative emotions with target. If images are deemed cruel/inappropriate, it is possible that the viewers will feel negative emotions toward the sponsor of the ad.
Partial (intermittent) Reinforcement
A schedule in which only a certain number of responses are rewarded, or a certain amount of time must pass before reinforcement is available; target behaviour takes longer to be acquired but persists longer.
Punisher
A stimulus that is contingent upon a response, and that results in a decrease in behaviour.
Positive (additive) Punishment
A process in which a behaviour decreases in frequency because it was followed by a particular, usually unpleasant, stimulus.
Negative (subtractive) Punishment
Occurs when a behaviour decreases because it removes/diminishes a particular stimulus.
Operant Conditioning
A type of learning in which behaviour is influenced by consequences; changing behavioural responses in response to consequences (contingencies); adjusting to the consequences of our behaviours (functionalism); initiated by organism.
Variable-Interval Schedule
The first response is reinforced following a variable amount of time; slow, consistent responding.
Reinforcement
A process in which an event or reward that follows a response increases the likelihood of that response occurring again.