Learning Flashcards
learning
relatively permanent change in organism’s behavior due to experience
conditioning
the practice of learning associations
classical conditioning
learning to associate two stimuli, allowing us to anticipate events
operant conditioning
learning to associate our behavior with a consequence (good or bad) and thus learning to repeat (or not) that behavior
What did Ivan Pavlov contribute to psychology ?
salivating dog experiment
stimulus
something that causes you to react or respond
unconditioned stimulus
unlearned thing that makes you respond
* ex: an object flying close to your face will cause you to blink
unconditional response
the natural, unlearned, response to the unconditioned stimulus
* ex: blinking
unconditioned stimulus
- triggers that unconditioned response
- a stimulus that automatically (without conditioning or learning) provokes a reflexive response
unconditioned response
- unlearned, natural instinct
- response resulting from an unconditioned stimulus without prior learning
conditioned stimulus
previously irrelevant stimulus that now triggers a response
conditioned response
- response to the new stimulus
- response elicited by a previously neutral stimulus that has become associated with the unconditioned stimulus
acquisition
initial learning; conditioned response is initiated by a conditioned stimulus
extinction
diminishing response
spontaneous recovery
reappearance of conditioned response after a time
stimulus generalization
tendency to respond to stimuli similar to the conditioned stimulus
stimulus discrimination
abulity to distinguish between conditioned stimulus and irrelevant health
biological predispositions
conditioning takes place more easily when the subject is biologically predisposed to respond a certain way
operant conditioning
- associating actions with consequences
- behavior operates on the environment
Edward Thorndike
law of effect: rewarded behavior is likely to happen again
insight learning
after working on a problem, you may come to a solution while doing something else
primary reinforcement
something that is naturally reinforcing (food, water, warmth); unlearned
secondary reinforcement
something one has learned because it is paired with a primary reinforcement in the long run (good grades, gold stars)
variable ratio schedule
reinforcement schedule that rewards and unpredictable number of correct responses; most powerful type of reinforcement
fixed ratio schedule
schedule that rewards a response only after a defined number of correct answers (ex: buy 6 coffees and get the 7th one free)
variable interval schedule
system that rewards a correct response after an unpredictable amount of time
fixed interval schedule
schedule that rewards a learning only for the first correct response after some defined period of time
interval schedule
rewards subjects after a certain time interval
ratio schedule
rewards subjects after a certain number of responses
intermittent (partial) reinforcement
schedule by which some, not all, correct responses are reinforced; most effective way to maintain a behavior that has laready been learned
continuous reinforcement
schedule of reinforcement that rewards every correct response given (ex: vending machine)
contingencies
- “if a, then b”
- a is the response
- b is the reinforcement
- b is contingent upon a
- a must reliably predict b (or else learning does not occur)
- ex: “your grade on the final is contingent upon how much you study”
shaping
rewarding successive approximations of a behavior
two types of reinforcement
positive and negative
reinforcer
condition in which the presentation or removal of the stimulus, that occurs after a response, behavior more likely to happen in future
positive reinforcement
increases probability of response happening again
negative reinforcement
removal of an unpleasant stimulus that increases the probability of that response happening again
punishment
disliked stimulus which occurs after a behavior, and decreases the probability it will occur again
positive punishment
undesirable event that follows a behavior (ex: speeding ticket)
negative punishment
desireable event ends or is taken away (ex: time-out corner)
reinforcement vs punishment
- punishment must be given constantly
- intermittent punishment is less efective than punishment delivered after every undesired behavior
to make punishment work
- swift
- certain every time
- limited in time and intensity
- clearly target the behavior (not the person)
- no mixed messages
cognitive map
mental representation of a place
latent learning
learning that occurs but is not apparent until the learner has an incentive to demonstrate it
observational learning
new responses acquired after other’s behavior and the consequences of their behavior are observed
what did Albert Bandura do ?
social learning theory
