L1 - Introduction to Learning

Question 1

What is a stimulus?

Answer 1

An event that happens to you
- sight, smell, sound, touch, taste

Question 2

What is a response?

Answer 2

Something you do
Voluntary - under your control
Involuntary - breathing

Question 3

What is learning?

Answer 3

The process of acquiring new knowledge
Persistent change in behaviour as a result of experience
Do we ask?
Can’t do this in animals or small children
Can be unaware or unable to express

Question 4

What is a sign stimulus?

Answer 4

Elicits the response
Experiments needed to find out what it is
Stimulus hard wired to elicit response

Question 5

What is a fixed action pattern?

Answer 5

Stereotypes response triggered by sign stimulus

Question 6

What is a supernormal stimulus?

Answer 6

Stimuli more effective than naturally occurring sign stimuli

Question 7

What is habituation?

Answer 7

Reduction in response to a stimulus after repeated exposure
Becomes increasingly unbothered

Question 8

Is habituation learning?

Answer 8

Short term habituation is not
Long term habituation and reduced response remains is learning
BUT no new associations are formed so it is not associative learning

Question 9

What is an example of a causal relationship - prediction?

Answer 9

A cough with tickling
A stimulus is paired with a stimulus outcome
Classical conditioning - stimulus predicts stimulus

Question 10

What is an example of causal relationships - control?

Answer 10

Tidying up (R) with praise (US)
A response is paired with a stimulus outcome
Operant conditioning - response predicts stimulus

Question 11

What is classical conditioning?

Answer 11

Child starts to react to the cough as it did to the tickles
The cough predicts tickles

Question 12

What is instrumental conditioning?

Answer 12

Child starts tidying up to get the praise
Tidying up produces praise

Question 13

What is the difference between classical and instrumental conditioning?

Answer 13

Classical predicts what is going to happen
Instrumental controls what’s going to happen
Classical - CR is involuntary
Instrumental - R is voluntary

Question 14

What are some of the issues faced during conditioning?

Answer 14

We can control what a response produces but can’t make an animal perform it
If they face the wrong way they might miss the key or the food
Can’t remove all other stimulus

Question 15

What is omission training?

Answer 15

Tries to remove unwanted behaviour
Light S predicts food but pecking R prevents food
If pecking remains - classical
If pecking reduces - Instrumental
Eventually he stops pecking but orientation toward the key continues
Pigeon can be rational and do instrumental but classical interferes with expressing it