Learning Flashcards
What are some specific types of learning?
Conditioning, observational learning, explicit and implicit learning, more
Which form of learning is one of the best forms of learning?
Conditioning
What is conditioning learning? What are the 2 types?
- A type of learning which offices through forming associative relationships b/ween behavior and or stimuli
- classical and operant
What did Pavlov study? What did he measure? What were his findings? What conclusion were made from his study?
- measured dog salivary response depending on the type of food
- found dogs salivate before food was ever presented
- classical conditioning was responsible for this response
What is an unconditioned stimulus? Give an example.
Some stimulus that elicits a natural response (ex: food)`
What is an unconditioned response? Give an example.
The reflexive response to the unconditioned response (ex: salivation)
What is a neutral stimulus?
Some stimulus that’s unrelated to the unconditioned response
What is acquisition? What does it form?
- a phase of presenting the neutral stimulus with the unconditioned stimulus
What is conditioned stimulus? Give an example.
Previously neutral stimulus which now produces the previously unconditioned neutral response (ex: metro email ticking)
What is a conditioned response? Give an example.
Previously neutral response to unconditioned stimulus. Now elicited by the conditioned stimulus (ex: drooling)
What is generalization?
When conditioned responses are given to similar stimuli as the conditioned stimuli
What is discrimination in conditioning? Give an example.
The ability to distinguish between similar stimuli
(ex: not salivating with whistle or metronome
What is second-order conditioning?
Learning where a new conditioned stimuli is paired with a learned conditioned stimuli
What did Watson study? How did he study this? What did he find?
- wanted to demonstrate that complex reaction can be conditioned, anxiety and fear could be conditioned, humans can be classically conditioned
- he second-order conditioning (striking a gong and displaying a mouse) to condition a baby to fear mice
- he showed emotional responses can be conditioned and generalized to other white, fluffy things
What is conditional extinction? How quickly does it happen?
- the process of unlearning a conditioned association
- occurs abruptly
What is spontaneous recovery?
Recovery from extinction after break period
What does the Rescorla-Wagner Model state?
- Learning depends on strength and reliability of stimuli ?(US and CS)
- learning involved cognitive components (actively processing information about reliability)
What can help explain high overdose rates in unfamiliar settings?
- the body’s physiological responses to expectations from CS
- in expectation of drug use, the body adapts for drugs effects
- Ex: increased breathing for heroin users; CS = environment, CR = physiological adaptation
What does “classical conditioning is reactive” mean? Give example.
Conditioned behaviors are reflexive or involuntary (ex: drooling or fear)
What is operant behavior?
Behaviors that organisms perform which impact their environment (things we actively do in an attempt to influence the world)
Explain Thorndike’s study and the law of effect.
learning principle in which responses followed by satisfying effects are strengthened (more likely to occur again), but responses followed by dissatisfying effects are weakened (less likely to occur again).
What is operant conditioning?
Learning process involving changing the probability that a response will be repeated by manipulating the consequences of that response
What is reinforcement in conditioning
the occurrence of a stimulus or an event following a response that increases the likelihood of that response being repeated
What did BF Skinner argue about behavior?
That all behavior can be explained through conditioning
What is stimulus control?
The probability of operant behavior is determined by the presence/ absence of a discriminative stimulus
What is discriminative stimulus? Give examples.
Stimulus which indicates whether a behavior will lead to a specific outcome (ex: social setting, environmental setting, specific stimuli)
What are the types of reinforcing stimulus?
Primary reinforcers, conditioned/ secondary reinforcers, aversive stimulus
What is a primary reinforcer?
A reinforce that satisfies biological needs and desires
What is a conditioned/ secondary reinforcer?
A reinforcer which is effective through associations with primary reinforcers
What is aversive stimulus?
Stimulus that evokes physical or psychological discomfort which an organism seeks to avoid or escape
What is positive reinforcement?
Reinforcement where response is followed by addition of reinforcing stimulus which increases the probability that the response will be repeated in similar stimulus
What is negative reinforcement?
Reinforcement where a response is followed by the removal of averse stimulus which increased the probability that the response will be repeated in similar stimulus
Does punishment increase or decrease the likelihood that a behavior will occur?
Decrease
What is positive punishment? Give an example.
A situation where operant behavior is followed by the presentation of an an aversive stimulus (ex: extra chores for getting bad grades)
What is negative punishment? Give an example.
A situation where operant behavior is followed by the removal or subtraction of reinforcing stimulus (ex: team placed under curfew for violating team policies)
When talking about reinforcement and punishment, what does negative or positive mean when describing the different types?
Positive = consequences is something added
Negative = consequence is something removed
Does behavior sometimes depend on context? Give an example.
Yes, think about discriminant stimulus (telling a dirty joke with friends vs with family)
Does the time between behavior and consequence matter? Give an example.
Yes, longer time between behavior and consequence reduces learning
(Ex: if a dog poops on floor while owner is away, they wont learn to not do it because they’re punished much later)
What is shaping?
The process of learning from reinforcement of successive steps to a desired outcome
Is reinforcement or punishment generally more effective?
Reinforcement b/c it identifies the desired behavior and behaviors return when punishment consequences are removed
What are reinforcement schedules? What are the different kinds?
- How reinforcements are administered through time
- ratio, interval, fixed, and variable
What are ratio reinforcement schedules? Give an example.
Reinforcement is based on time since number of responses since last reinforcement (ex: reward every 5 lever presses)
What are interval reinforcement schedules? Give an example.
Reinforcement based one time since last reinforcement
(Ex: reward when behavior occurs again after 2 minutes have passed since last reward)
What are fixed reinforcement schedules? Give an example.
Reinforcement based on a set value since last reinforcement
(Ex: reinforcement every 5 lever presses or the first lever press after 2 minutes)
What are variable reinforcement schedules? Give an example.
Reinforcement based on an average frequency since last reinforcement
(Ex: reinforcement on a average every 5 lever presses or on average after 2 minutes since last reinforcement
What is a fixed-interval reinforcement schedule? Give an example.
Reinforcement that occurs at set time points
(Ex: reinforcement every 2 minutes once behavior occurs again)
What is a variable-interval reinforcement schedule? Give an example.
Reinforcement occurs an average time since last reinforcement
(Ex: reinforcement on average every 2 minutes once behavior occurs again)
What is a fixed-ratio reinforcement schedule? Give an example.
Reinforcement based on number of responses since last reinforcer
(Ex: reinforcement every 5 lever presses)
What is a variable-ratio reinforcement schedule? Give an example.
Reinforcement occurs an average number of times with number responses
(Ex: reinforcement on average once every 5 presses)
What is intermittent reinforcement? What does it lead to?
- reinforcement where only some responses are followed by reinforcement
- leads to more resistant learning compared to continuous reinforcement
What is the intermittent reinforcement effect?
- operant behaviors maintained by intermittent reinforcement are more robust to extinction
What is latent learning?
- the process of learning something without behavioral change until later
Describe the example of latent learning with rats.
- rats are allowed to explainer a maze
- they’re split into 3 groups: those presented a treat at the end of the maze, those never reinforced with a teat, those who got a treat at the end of the maze after day 11
- last group showed obvious knowledge of the maze once reinforced
What is a cognitive map?
A mental representation of a spatial environment
What us observational learning?
Learning which occurs through watching the actions of others
What did Bandura demonstrate through his work?
Actual learning occurs when watching others
Explain the Bobo doll studies.
- adults modeled behaviors
- children who watched acted similarly and imitates novel behaviors
- they learned from consequences (they were lesson likely to perform behaviors when they saw the adults punished
What are the requirements for imitation?
- attention (must attend to other behaviors)
- remember (must be able to remember the specific behaviors
- reproducible (able to transfer the behavior into something they can do
- motivation (must be motivated to imitate some behavior
What are some mechanisms of observational learning?
- cognitive components (social interpretations and expectation of reinforcement)
- mirror neurons (cells become activated both when organisms perform a motor action and when observing that action
Give/ explain an example of community learning among animals.
- a community of monkeys were fed different colored corn (one of which was flavored to be bitter)
- the community developed a preference for a specific color of corn
- even after corn was no longer flavored, there was still a preference for the better tasting corn
What is diffusion chain? Give an example.
When individuals who learned from modeled behavior become models for others
(Learning social rules through a culture)
