L08: Learning Flashcards
The problem of learning
How to create knowledge and behaviour from nothing?
Thorndikes’ Associative Laws
Law of Readiness & Law of Exercise
The Law of Readiness (Motivation)
A satisfying state of affairs results when an individual is ready to learn and is allowed to do so.
The Law of Exercise
Connections may be strengthened by practice
Hebb’s Rule
When the axon of cell A is near enough to excite cell B and repeatedly takes part in its firing, A’s efficiency as one of the cells firing B is increased
Learning (def)
A relatively permanent change in the organism brought on by experience
Performance vs. Knowing
An organism might know something but knowledge will only be shown in performance
Behaviourism
A criticism of introspection: you should only use publically accessible data
Issues with Behaviourism
1) Monistic Theories
- reinforcement is the sole cornerstone of learning
2) Radical Behaviourism Theories
- restricts appropriate data and levels of explanation
Positive Reinforcement
A reward following a response strengthens the response tendency
Circular Reinforcement
A reward strengthens a response
Punishment
Following a response with an aversive stimulus weakens that response
Classical Conditioning
A signal is paired with a biologically significant stimulus and after some amount of training, the animal acts as if it expected the stimulus.
Instrumental/ Operant Conditioning
the strength of a behavior is modified by reinforcement or punishment
Pavlov
Discovered classical conditioning by using quantitative methods to study salivation.
Acquisition of Excitatory Conditioning
Conditioned stimulus was paired with an unconditioned stimulus generating an unconditioned response
Extinction
Following acquisition training, elimination of the US results in the loss of the UR
Spontaneous Recovery
The reappearance of the conditioned response after a period of lessened response. Occurs after about 20 mins
Inhibition
Having the opposite motivational properties to excitation and these properties can be measured (ex. student not doing hwk and teacher not finding out)
Conditioned Inhibition
A stimulus signals something that won’t happen
Compound/ Configural Stimulus
Two stimuli present together
Generalization
If an animal is trained to respond to one stimulus it will elicit a greater or lesser response depending on how similar they are to the training stimulus
Stimulus Dimension
Some graded scale/ continuum along which stimuli may be organized
Associationism
If two events occur together in time, they will be associated
S-S Psych/ Expectation Theory
The organism comes to expect the stimulus but there is no mechanism for the response CS-> US
S-R Psych/ Habit Learning
The stimulus generates the response CS-> UR
Sensory Preconditioning
The original learning doesn’t require reinforcement S-S
Tolman’s Sign Learning
Behaviour is goal-directed. (expectancy theory)
Blocked Path Maze Experiment (Tolman & Honzig)
Animals use their cognitive map to choose the best path
Latent learning
Knowledge only becomes clear once an individual has an incentive to know it. The introduction of rewards improved performance
Skinner’s Radical Behaviourism
Believed in positive reinforcement and behavioral technology. Did not believe learning curves were appropriate to understand the control of behavior. Instead rate of behavior
Continuous Reinforcement
Every response is followed by a reinforcement
Fixed Ratio reinforcement schedule
An animal must emit a given number of responses to obtain reinforcement
Variable Ratio reinforcement schedule
Reinforcement is given at varying ratios
Fixed Interval reinforcement Schedule
Responses are reinforced after a constant interval has elapsed
Variable Interval reinforcement schedule
Reinforcement is given at non-constant intervals
Verbal Behavior (Skinner)
Language can be developed through the laws of reinforcement
Chomsky
The concept of reinforcement is circular and hence explains nothing.
Focused on the abstract communicative function of language
Skinner
Nearly all behaviours can be modified by changing contingencies. Rewards are more effective than punishments
Air Crib
Example of behavioural engineering. Provides a safe, comfortable, environment for babies
Negative Reinfrocement
an attempt to influence behaviour by taking away something unpleasant
Conditioned Stimulus
a previously neutral stimulus that, after becoming associated with the unconditioned stimulus, eventually comes to trigger a conditioned response.
Unconditioned stimulus
a stimulus that leads to an automatic response
Unconditioned response
an unlearned response that occurs naturally in reaction to the unconditioned stimulus
Primary Reinforcer
a stimulus tied to biological needs
Secondary Reinforcer
occurs when a particular stimulus reinforces a certain behaviour via association with a primary reinforcer
Shaping
the process by which undifferentiated behaviours are gradually changed into the desired target behaviour by the reinforcement of successive approximations.
Cognitive Map
A learned internal representation of external space
Classical vs. Operant conditioning
Classical- the animal has no control over the events
Operant- the animal has some control over events
