Learning Flashcards
Operant Conditioning
learning to operate on the environment to produce a consequence (learning to behave in such a way as to get rewards and avoid punishments)
Uses reinforcement and punished to create learned associations to increase or decrease recurrence of certain behaviours
Classical Conditioning (Pavlovian or Respndent Conditioning)
A type of learning that happens unconsciously and is associative. This learning process creates a conditioned response through pairing of an unconditioned stimulus and a neutral stimulus
Behaviourism/Behaviour Analysis
Studies behaviour as a function of environmental influences - interested in observable cause of behaviour and looks to predict and control behaviour
Non-associative Learning
Habituation - get used to a stimulus
Sensitization - hypersensitivity to a stimulus
Extinction (Classical)
Repeated presentation of the conditioned stimulus without the unconditioned stimulus eventually elimates the conditioned response
Extinction (Operant)
The reinforcer no longer follows the behaviour - firstly the behviour will increase (extinction burst) then eventually decline and cease
Shaping (Successive Approximation)
Reinforcing behaviour progressively to reach the target behaviour (small steps)
Three Term Contingency (ABC’s)
Antecedent - Behaviour - Consequence (Operant Conditioning)
Operants
Behaviours that are emitted instead of elicited by the environment - have an effect on the environment
Primary reinforcer
An unconditioned stimulus that is biologically important such as food
Discriminative stimulus (Sd)
An antecedent stimulus that signals that reinforcement will follow - increases the probability of a specific response
Stimulus Delta (SΔ)
An antecedent stimulus signifying that a given response will not be reinforced
Secondary reinforcer
A conditioned stimulus that is created by association - causes learned behaviour
Stimulus generalization
Classical - a conditioned response is elicited from a stimulus that is similar to the CS (not identical)
Operant - learned behaviour occurs in the presence of stimuli that are similiar (but not the same) as when it was reinforced
Two types of scedule reinforcement
Continuous - response it reinforced every time it occurs - fast to learn, fast to extinguish
(fixed ratio FR1)
Intermittent - responses sometimes reinforced
Fixed ratio schedule
Response is reinfored every specified number of times (e.g a rat receiving food everytime it presses a button 5 times) - creates a high rate, stepped pattern
Variable ratio schedule
Response is reinforced after an unpredictable number of times (e.g. pokie machines) - creates a high, steady rate
Fixed interval schedule
The first response after a fixed period of time is reinforced (e.g weekly pay check)
Variable interval schedule
A varying amount of time passes between each reinforcement (e.g checking emails)
Interstimulus intervals
Forward conditioning - NS happens before US (most effective)
Simultaneous - NS and US at the same time
Backward - US happens before NS
Latent learning
Learning has occured but isn’t currently manifested in behaviour
