L08: Learning

Question 1

The problem of learning

Answer 1

How to create knowledge and behaviour from nothing?

Question 2

Thorndikes’ Associative Laws

Answer 2

Law of Readiness & Law of Exercise

Question 3

The Law of Readiness (Motivation)

Answer 3

A satisfying state of affairs results when an individual is ready to learn and is allowed to do so.

Question 4

The Law of Exercise

Answer 4

Connections may be strengthened by practice

Question 5

Hebb’s Rule

Answer 5

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

Question 6

Learning (def)

Answer 6

A relatively permanent change in the organism brought on by experience

Question 7

Performance vs. Knowing

Answer 7

An organism might know something but knowledge will only be shown in performance

Question 8

Behaviourism

Answer 8

A criticism of introspection: you should only use publically accessible data

Question 9

Issues with Behaviourism

Answer 9

1) Monistic Theories
- reinforcement is the sole cornerstone of learning

2) Radical Behaviourism Theories
- restricts appropriate data and levels of explanation

Question 10

Positive Reinforcement

Answer 10

A reward following a response strengthens the response tendency

Question 11

Circular Reinforcement

Answer 11

A reward strengthens a response

Question 12

Punishment

Answer 12

Following a response with an aversive stimulus weakens that response

Question 13

Classical Conditioning

Answer 13

A signal is paired with a biologically significant stimulus and after some amount of training, the animal acts as if it expected the stimulus.

Question 14

Instrumental/ Operant Conditioning

Answer 14

the strength of a behavior is modified by reinforcement or punishment

Question 15

Pavlov

Answer 15

Discovered classical conditioning by using quantitative methods to study salivation.

Question 16

Acquisition of Excitatory Conditioning

Answer 16

Conditioned stimulus was paired with an unconditioned stimulus generating an unconditioned response

Question 17

Extinction

Answer 17

Following acquisition training, elimination of the US results in the loss of the UR

Question 18

Spontaneous Recovery

Answer 18

The reappearance of the conditioned response after a period of lessened response. Occurs after about 20 mins

Question 19

Inhibition

Answer 19

Having the opposite motivational properties to excitation and these properties can be measured (ex. student not doing hwk and teacher not finding out)

Question 20

Conditioned Inhibition

Answer 20

A stimulus signals something that won’t happen

Question 21

Compound/ Configural Stimulus

Answer 21

Two stimuli present together

Question 22

Generalization

Answer 22

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

Question 23

Stimulus Dimension

Answer 23

Some graded scale/ continuum along which stimuli may be organized

Question 24

Associationism

Answer 24

If two events occur together in time, they will be associated

Question 25

S-S Psych/ Expectation Theory

Answer 25

The organism comes to expect the stimulus but there is no mechanism for the response CS-> US

Question 26

S-R Psych/ Habit Learning

Answer 26

The stimulus generates the response CS-> UR

Question 27

Sensory Preconditioning

Answer 27

The original learning doesn't require reinforcement S-S

Question 28

Tolman's Sign Learning

Answer 28

Behaviour is goal-directed. (expectancy theory)

Question 29

Blocked Path Maze Experiment (Tolman & Honzig)

Answer 29

Animals use their cognitive map to choose the best path

Question 30

Latent learning

Answer 30

Knowledge only becomes clear once an individual has an incentive to know it. The introduction of rewards improved performance

Question 31

Skinner's Radical Behaviourism

Answer 31

Believed in positive reinforcement and behavioral technology. Did not believe learning curves were appropriate to understand the control of behavior. Instead rate of behavior

Question 32

Continuous Reinforcement

Answer 32

Every response is followed by a reinforcement

Question 33

Fixed Ratio reinforcement schedule

Answer 33

An animal must emit a given number of responses to obtain reinforcement

Question 34

Variable Ratio reinforcement schedule

Answer 34

Reinforcement is given at varying ratios

Question 35

Fixed Interval reinforcement Schedule

Answer 35

Responses are reinforced after a constant interval has elapsed

Question 36

Variable Interval reinforcement schedule

Answer 36

Reinforcement is given at non-constant intervals

Question 37

Verbal Behavior (Skinner)

Answer 37

Language can be developed through the laws of reinforcement

Question 38

Chomsky

Answer 38

The concept of reinforcement is circular and hence explains nothing. Focused on the abstract communicative function of language

Question 39

Skinner

Answer 39

Nearly all behaviours can be modified by changing contingencies. Rewards are more effective than punishments

Question 40

Air Crib

Answer 40

Example of behavioural engineering. Provides a safe, comfortable, environment for babies

Question 41

Negative Reinfrocement

Answer 41

an attempt to influence behaviour by taking away something unpleasant

Question 42

Conditioned Stimulus

Answer 42

a previously neutral stimulus that, after becoming associated with the unconditioned stimulus, eventually comes to trigger a conditioned response.

Question 43

Unconditioned stimulus

Answer 43

a stimulus that leads to an automatic response

Question 44

Unconditioned response

Answer 44

an unlearned response that occurs naturally in reaction to the unconditioned stimulus

Question 45

Primary Reinforcer

Answer 45

a stimulus tied to biological needs

Question 46

Secondary Reinforcer

Answer 46

occurs when a particular stimulus reinforces a certain behaviour via association with a primary reinforcer

Question 47

Shaping

Answer 47

the process by which undifferentiated behaviours are gradually changed into the desired target behaviour by the reinforcement of successive approximations.

Question 48

Cognitive Map

Answer 48

A learned internal representation of external space

Question 49

Classical vs. Operant conditioning

Answer 49

Classical- the animal has no control over the events | Operant- the animal has some control over events