Introduction to Learning Flashcards
What was a metaphor for the brain after Newton’s laws and the industrial revolution?
Machines became a metaphor for the workings of the brain
What did Descartes think about the brain?
Like a machine but with a distinct mind
What did Descartes first describe?
Basic reflexes - knee jerk rections
How did the empiricists view the mind?
As a blank slate
What did Hume recognise the importance of and who did this anticipate?
Temporal contiguity between stimulus and response anticipating work by Pavlov
What paved the way for comparative psychology?
Darwin’s evolutionary theory and common ancestry
What did Pavlov discover?
Learned or psychic digestive reflexes
What did Thorndike publish his thesis on?
Intelligence of cats based on studies of learning in puzzle boxes
What did Thorndike propose in 1911?
Law of effect - satisfaction strengthens S-R associations
What did Skinner focus on?
Reflex at the behavioural S-R level
Describe classical/Pavlovian conditioning
the relationship between an environment event or signl and an outcome that matters: CS -> US
How does operant/instrumental conditioning differ to classical conditioning?
Also involves learning what goes with what but the first event is provided by a self-generated response which is followed by an outcoe that matters
Watson and Rayner 1920
Rat paired with loud noise
Generalised fear for rats and other similar stimuli
What makes instrumental conditioning easier?
If the response is an automatic reaction to the unconditioned stimulus
When is learning easy?
When an approach response produces food
