Learning Flashcards
Chapter 6 of the Pearson Textbook. Covers the definition of learning, the different types of learning/conditioning, including Classical and Operant Conditioning, Modeling/Observational Learning, the biological influences, and learning fads and myths.
What is learning?
The change of behaviour or thought as a result of experience, an adaptive process
What are the 2 most basic types of learning?
- Habituation - responding to stimuli less over time
- Sensitization - responding to stimuli more over time
We can learn through 3 different types of conditioning/learning. What are they?
- Classical Conditioning - learning by association
- Operant Conditioning - learning with consequences
- Modeling/Observational Learning - learning by observation
What was Ivan Pavlov most famous for?
His work on the digestion of the dog, theory of classical conditioning
What are the 5 primary components of classical conditioning?
- Neutral stimulus - an object that triggers no particular reaction
- Unconditioned stimulus - a stimulus that elicits a response without prior training
- Conditioned stimulus - a stimulus that elicits a response as a result of prior training
- Unconditioned response - a response that triggers naturally to the unconditioned stimulus
- Conditioned response - a response that triggers naturally to the conditioned stimulus
What are the 4 Classical Conditioning Principles?
- Acquisition - the phase where a conditioned response is established
- Extinction - the reduction and eventual elimination of the conditioned response
- Stimulus Generalization - when similar conditioned stimuli elicit a conditioned response
- Stimulus Discrimination - when a conditioned response is triggered by certain stimuli but not similar others
How can classical conditioning be applied to advertisements?
Advertisers repeatedly pair their products with stimuli that give positive emotions; e.g., attractive women in certain outfits will appeal to those attracted to them
What is operant conditioning?
Learning determined by the consequences of behaviour
In classical and operant conditioning, how is target behaviour brought out?
Classical: Automatically
Operant: Voluntarily
In classical and operant conditioning, what is behaviour a function of?
Classical: Stimuli that precede the behaviour
Operant: Consequences that follow the behaviour
In classical and operant conditioning, what does behaviour primarily depend on?
Classical: Autonomic nervous system
Operant: Skeletal muscles
What is the Law of Effect?
A principle asserting that if we are rewarded for a response to a stimulus, we are more likely to repeat that stimulus in the future
How did E.L. Thorndike discover the principles of the Law of Effect?
He experimented with cats and put them in puzzle boxes to gain access to cat food
How was B.F. Skinner inspired by Watson and Thorndike’s work on behaviour?
He designed the Skinner box to more effectively record activity
What is reinforcement?
The usage of rewarding consequences that strengthen the probability of a behaviour, encouraging
What is punishment?
The usage of harming consequences that weaken the probability of a behaviour, discouraging
When using reinforcement and punishment, what do positive and negative mean in this context?
Positive: application of stimuli
Negative: removal of stimuli
Why is reinforcement more effective than punishment? List 4 disadvantages.
- Tells what NOT to do rather than what TO do
- Creates anxiety
- Encourages subversive and sneaky behaviour
- May provide a model for aggressive behaviour
What is a discriminative stimulus?
A stimulus in the presence of which a given response has a history of being reinforced
True or False: The Classical Conditioning principles also apply to Operant Conditioning.
True
What is Spontaneous Recovery?
The sudden re-emergence after an extinct conditioned response is displayed with a conditioned stimulus
What is higher-order conditioning?
The process by which organisms develop classically conditioned responses to previous neutral stimuli that later become associated with the original conditioned stimulus
What is latent inhibition?
Difficulty establishing classical conditioning when a conditioned stimulus is experienced alone many times to another stimulus
What is fetishism?
Sexual attraction to non-living things, often due to classical conditioning
What is a schedule of reinforcement?
A pattern of delivering reinforcement
What are the 4 basic schedules of reinforcement?
- Fixed ratio (FR) schedule - reinforcement after a specific number of responses
- Variable ratio (VR) schedule - reinforcement after a specific number of responses on average, with a number varying randomly
- Fixed interval (FI) schedule - reinforcement for a response at least once in a specific amount of time
- Variable interval (VI) schedule - reinforcement for a response at least once after an average time interval, with that varying randomly
What is shaping, in terms of operant conditioning?
Conditioning a certain behaviour by reinforcing behaviours that get closer to the target behaviour, even if not exactly
What is latent learning?
Non-directly observable learning
What is the difference between competence and performance?
Competence: what we know
Performance: showing what we know
What are cognitive maps?
Mental representations of how physical space is organized
What is observational learning?
Learning by watching others, like models who are influential to us
What are mirror neurons?
Cells in the prefrontal cortex that become activated by specific motions when an animal both performs and observes a certain action
What is insight?
Sudden understanding of the solution to a problem
What is a conditioned taste aversion?
Refers to that classical conditioning can lead us to develop avoidance reactions to the taste of food
What is preparedness?
An evolutionary predisposition to fear certain stimuli over others, owing to survival value; e.g., steep cliffs and poisonous animals were threats to our early ancestors
What is instinctive drift?
The tendency for animals to return to innate behaviours after repeated reinforcement
What are learning styles?
Individuals’ preferred or optimal means of learning, but often people have mixtures of each type
