Learning Flashcards
Learning definition
It is a relatively permanent change in behaviour that occurs as a result of experience or practice
Classical conditioning - definition
Learning to make involuntary response to a stimulus other than the original, natural stimulus that normally produces a response
Operant conditioning - definition
Learning to make voluntary actions based on positive or negative consequences
Probability learning - definition
Learning associations in our environments by attending to probabilistic information
e.g. Children learn that sharing increases probability of making friends than being bossy
Programmed learning - definition
In Programmed learning, material that is to be learned is broken up into small parts which are linked together. Arrangement of these parts is called program and that’s why it’s called programmed learning
Theories of classical conditioning
- Stimulus substitution
2. Information expectation
Conditioned emotional response
John Watson - Little Albert experiment - Learning of phobias is and example of conditioned emotional response
Classical counterconditioning was demonstrated by Mary Cower Jones
Important researchers
- Ivan Pavlov - Classical Conditioning (1890s)
- E.L. Thorndike - Law of effect (1898)
- B.F. Skinner - Instrumental conditioning
- Breland and Breland - Instinctive drift (1961)
- Albert Bandura - Observation learning (social learning, modeling) (Bobo doll experiment -1960s)
- Tolman - Latent learning (1930)
- Kohler - Gestalt learning
- Rescorla - cognitive explanation for IC
- Pressey - Programmed learning
- Brunswick - Probability learning
- Seligman - Learned helplessness
- Lewis Terman - High IQ students
- John Watson - Phobias are learned (conditioning of emotional responses)
- Mary Cover Jones - classical counter conditioning
Habituation and Sensitization
Habituation - Behavioral response decreases to a innocuous stimulus
Sensitization - Behavioral response increases to fearful stimuli
Observation learning - definition
It is the learning of new behavior through watching the actions of a model/others
Learned helplessness - definition
The tendency to fail to act to escape from a situation because of a history of repeated failures in the past
Insight learning - definition
Insight learning occurs when a new behavior is learned through cognitive processes rather than through interactions with the outside world
Learning that happens when you gain a sudden insight. It involves perceptual reorganization of the elements in the environment such that new relationship among objects is suddenly seen
Latent learning - definition
Latent learning is learning that is not apparent from behavior until it’s application becomes useful
Probability learning
It emerged from Brunswick’s experiments
- he put rats in a T maze and varied reward probability
- Rats learned probability matching
Probability learning is descriptive, not prescriptive. It is not a question of rationality
1. What it does is correctly describe how animals are good at modifying their behavior to match unpredictable nature of our world
Factors contributing to reach optimal strategy
- Large financial incentives
- Regular feedback
- Extensive training - In an experiment, optimal strategy was achieved after about 1600 trials
Programmed learning
It is developed by Pressey and popularized by Skinner
In Programmed learning, material that is to be learned is broken up into small parts which are linked together
- Arrangement of these parts is called program and that’s why it’s called programmed learning
Features
- Small steps
- Immediate feedback
- Self pacing
- Active responding
It uses many principles of shaping like small steps (successive approximations), immediate rewards etc.
Types of programmes - Linear and Branching
Advantages and Disadvantages
Self Instructional learning
The ability to cognitively plan, organize, direct, reinforce and evaluate one’s own independent learning without a teacher’s prompting
1. Use of computers is ideal e.g. Coursera
Modeling and social learning
Processes that determine if child reproduces behavior
Factors affecting modeling
Evaluation of social learning theory
Classical conditioning - Importance, elements, principles
Pavlov’s experiments helped study the mental processes through direct observation of behavior, leading to a more rigorous and scientific study in Psychology
Elements - UCS, NS, CS, UR, CR
Principles
- CS must come before UCS
- CS and UCS must come very together in time; ideally no more than 5 seconds apart
- Neutral stimulus must be paired with UCS many times before conditioning takes place
- CS is usually a stimulus that stands out i.e. distinctive from others
Acquisition in CC
It is the process of CS acquiring the ability to elicit CR after repeated reinforced trials
Factors affecting acquisition
- Temporal arrangement of CS-UCS (simultaneous, trace, delayed, backward)
- Type of unconditioned stimuli
- Intensity of CS
- Biological constraints
- Schedules of reinforcement
Extinction and Spontaneous recovery in CC
If CS is presented in the absence of UCS repeatedly, CS loses the ability to elicit CR. It is called extinction
- But, after a period of rest, if CS is presented again, it elicits CR, but to a weaker degree than before. This is called spontaneous recovery
- -This shows that the original learning is not completely extinguished, but is just inhibited
For IC, if the response is not reinforced for a number of trials, the frequency of response drops
Diagram
Variations and exceptions of CC
Variations 1. Higher Order Conditioning 2. Pseudo conditioning Exceptions 1. Conditioned taste aversion 2. Biological constraints
Instrumental conditioning
Thorndike - Law of effect - If an action is followed by a pleasurable consequence, it will tend to be repeated. If an action is followed by an unpleasant consequence, it will tend not to be repeated
- This is the basic principle behind learning voluntary behavior
Skinner experiments
- The heart of operant conditioning is the effect of consequences of behavior
- Skinner box - organism’s rate of response is measure of conditioning
Schedules of reinforcement
Continuous and Partial
- Fixed ratio
- Variable ratio
- Fixed interval
- Variable interval
Partial reinforcement effect - The tendency for a response that is reinforced after some, but not all correct responses will be more resistant to extinction than if a response receives continuous reinforcement
Diagram
Types of reinforcement and punishment
Positive reinforcement
Negative reinforcement
Punishment
Omission training