Learning

Question 1

Learning : classical conditioning

Answer 1

Any relatively permenant change in behaviour brought about by experience or practic

Question 2

Behaviourists believed what ?

Answer 2

believed psychology should be the scientific study of observable behaviour and all learning occurs through the environment

Question 3

Who is Ivan Pavlov

Answer 3

Russian physiologist who noticed that dogs began to salivate as soon as they saw food

Pavlov designed a series of experiments in which he used various sound objects, such as a buzzer, to condition the salivation response in dogs

The dogs had learned to associate the sound of the buzzer with being fed

Question 4

What are the components of classical conditioning ?

Answer 4

stimulus: is any event that elicits a response from an organism

Response: is a reaction by an organism to a stimulus

Question 5

Classical conditioning

Answer 5

forming an association between two stimuli resulting in a learned response we learn to anticipate events

Question 6

Before conditioning

Answer 6

neutral stimulus - produces no effect until parties with an unconditioned stimulus

Unconditioned stimulus - one that unconditionally naturally and automatically triggers an unconditioned response or reflex - biological and not learned natural

Conditioned stimulus = neutral no reaction and the unconditioned stimulus produce biological reaction

Conditioned response - is the learned response to the previously neutral stimulus

The conditioned response will only occur after an association has been made between an unconditioned stimulus and a conditioned stimulus

Question 7

What are the key principles of classical conditioning /

Answer 7

acquisition - initial learning when a response is first established and gradually strengthen

The cs needs to come half a second before the us for the acquisition to occur

Question 7

What are the key principles of classical conditioning /

Answer 7

acquisition - initial learning when a response is first established and gradually strengthen

The cs needs to come half a second before the us for the acquisition to occur

Question 8

Extinction

Answer 8

The occurrences of a conditioned response decreases or disappears this happens when a conditioned stimulus is no longer paired with an unconditioned stimulus

Question 9

Spontaneous recovery

Answer 9

Refers to the return of the previously extinguished conditioned response following a rest period

Question 10

Stimulus generalisation

Answer 10

The tendency for the conditioned stimulus to evoke similar responses after the response has been conditioned

Question 11

Stimulus discrimination

Answer 11

The ability to differentiate between a conditioned stimulus and other stimuli that have not been paired with an unconditioned stimulus

Question 12

Watson little Albert

Answer 12

Watson’s “Little Albert” Experiment:
Controversial classical conditioning experiment on an infant boy called “Little Albert.” Watson was interested in examining the effects of conditioning on the fear response in humans

The child initially showed no fear of a white rat, but after the rat was paired repeatedly with loud, scary sounds (hammer on a metal bar), the child would cry when the rat was present

Question 13

How was watson’s experiment on little Albert generalised ?

Answer 13

They were also able to demonstrate that this fear could be generalized to other white, furry objects including Watson in a Santa Claus mask

The ethics of the experiment are often criticized today, especially because the child’s fear was never deconditioned

Question 14

How was little Albert conditioned to hate the rat

Answer 14

They placed him on a mattress in a room where a white lab rat (CS) was within reaching distance.

Albert showed no initial fear of it and played with it.

They then struck a hammer on a steel bar behind Albert (loud noise, UCS) and Albert began to cry.

For the next 17 days Watson and Rayner began a series of fear-conditioning experiments.

They also conducted tests to find out if Albert’s fear response could be generalised.

Albert also seemed to fear a white rabbit, a dog and a seal skin coat.

Question 15

Edward thorndike’s law of effect

Answer 15

Edward Thorndike’s Law of Effect: According to this principle, actions that are followed by desirable outcomes are more likely to be repeated while those followed by undesirable outcomes are less likely to be repeated

Thorndike’s discovery had a major influence on the development of operant conditioning

Question 16

Skinner

Answer 16

B.F. Skinner: Founder of modern behavioral perspective, research on operant conditioning & schedules of reinforcement

Where the early behaviorists had focused their interests on associative learning, Skinner was more interested in how the consequences of people’s actions influenced their behavior.
Skinner designed an operant chamber, popularly known as a Skinner Box

The chamber was essentially a box that could hold a small animal such as a rat or pigeon

The box also contained a bar or key that the animal could press in order to receive a reward of food - Positive Reinforcement

A mild electric current was passed through the box until the rat pulled the lever - Negative Reinforcement

Question 17

Operant conditioning

Answer 17

Operant Conditioning: Learning through consequence

Term operant refers to any “active behavior that operates upon the environment to generate consequences”

Question 18

Shaping

Answer 18

Shaping: Procedure in which reinforcers gradually guide an animal’s actions toward a desired complex behavior

Successive approximations, you reward responses that are ever-closer to the final desired behavior, and you ignore all other responses

Chaining: Breaks a task down into small steps and then teaches each step within the sequence by itself

Question 19

Reinforcing stimulus

Answer 19

Reinforcing Stimulus (Reinforcement): Reinforcement is any event that strengthens or increases the behavior it follows

Reinforcement occurs each time the desired behavior occurs

Involves the most amount of effort and resources

Question 20

Positive reinforcement

Answer 20

Positive (+) Reinforcement: Favorable events or outcomes that are presented after the behavior, response or behavior is strengthened by the addition of something

Praise or a direct reward. For example, if you do a good job at work and your manager gives you a bonus

Question 21

Negative reinforcement

Answer 21

Negative (-) Reinforcement: The removal of an unfavorable events or outcomes after the display of a behavior, response is strengthened by the removal of something considered unpleasant

Eliminating something painful or annoying but reinforcing it to happen again

Question 22

Token reinforcer

Answer 22

Token Reinforcer: Reinforcers are symbols or tokens that can be exchanged for other reinforcers

Can be exchanged for material reinforcers, services, or privileges otherwise the tokens are worthless

Question 23

Punishment

Answer 23

Punishing Stimulus (Punishment): Punishment is the presentation of an adverse event or outcome that causes a decrease in the behavior it follows

The timing of a consequence must be close to the behavior to make it effective

Question 24

Positive punishment

Answer 24

Positive (+) Punishment: Presents an unfavorable event or outcome in order to weaken the response it follows

Sometimes referred to as punishment by application

Question 25

Negative punishment

Answer 25

Negative (-) Punishment: Occurs when a favorable event or outcome is removed after a behavior occurs

Sometimes referred to as punishment by removal

Question 26

What factors influence the effectiveness of operant conditioning ?

Answer 26

Appropriateness

Timing

Schedules of Reinforcement

Question 27

Appropriateness

Answer 27

Appropriateness

Reinforcement or behaviour needs to match the behaviour

A parent helping their child pay for a car would be appropriate reinforcement for a good ATAR but not for keeping their room tidy

Detention would not be an appropriate punishment for a student throwing a chair at a teacher, but would be for not doing homework

Question 28

Timing

Answer 28

Timing

The punishment or reinforcement must occur after the behaviour, so it is seen as a consequence.

Must be immediate

Question 29

Continuous reinforcement

Answer 29

Continuous Reinforcement: Desired behavior is reinforced each and every time it occurs, used to teach a new behavior.
The rat gets food every time it pulls lever
Response: Slow
Extinction: Fast
(+) Desired behavior is typically learned quickly
(-) Difficult to maintain over a long period of time due to the effort of having to reinforce a behavior each time it is performed

Question 30

Fixed ratio

Answer 30

Fixed-Ratio: Response is reinforced only after a specific number of responses

(+) Builds a high response rate

(-) Irregular responding may occur if reinforcement is stopped

The rat received food every 5th time it pushed the lever

Response: Fast
Extinction: Medium

Question 31

Variable- ratio schedules

Answer 31

Variable-Ratio Schedules: Response is reinforced after an unpredictable number of responses

(+) Learner’s rate of responding remains constant

(-) Not effective for teaching new behaviors

Rat received food every 5 times it pushed the lever, then every 2 times, 10 times, etc.
Response: Fast
Extinction: Slow

Question 32

Fixed interval schedules

Answer 32

Fixed-Interval Schedules: The first response is rewarded only after a specified amount of time has elapsed

(+) Tend to respond more frequently as the anticipated time for reward draws near
(-) Produces a choppy stop-start pattern rather than a steady rate of response
Rat received food every 5 minutes if it had pushed during that period of time
Response: Medium
Extinction: Medium

Question 33

Variable - interval schedules

Answer 33

Variable-Interval Schedules: Occur when a response is rewarded after an unpredictable amount of time has passed

(+) Produce slow, steady responding, minimal pause after reinforcement is given
The rat received food from pushing the lever every 5 minutes if it had pushed the lever, then 2 minutes, 10 minutes, etc.
Response: Fast
Extinction: Slow

Question 34

Observational learning

Answer 34

Observational Learning: The process of learning through watching others (models) and the reinforcement they receive.

Observational learning is sometimes also referred to as shaping, modeling, and vicarious reinforcement

Question 35

Albert Bundura

Answer 35

Albert Bandura and the Bobo Doll: Bandura demonstrated that young children would imitate the violent and aggressive actions of an adult mode

Sample: 36 boys & 36 girls between ages of 3-6
Method:
Split sample into 3 groups:
24 children were shown a model behaving aggressively towards a “Bobo doll” (i.e. hitting it with toys like a hammer)

Question 36

The method for the boho doll experiment

Answer 36

Albert Bandura and the Bobo Doll:

Method:

Children were then subjected to a mild arousal task; placed in a room with toys, but told that other children had been given better toys

Children were then placed in a room with aggressive toys (i.e. hammer), non-aggressive toys (i.e. a tea set) and a Bobo doll, and were observed for 20 minutes

Question 37

The results for the bobo doll experiment

Answer 37

Results
Children who observed the aggressive model made far more imitative aggressive responses than those who were in the non-aggressive or control groups.
The girls in the aggressive model condition also showed more physical aggressive responses if the model was male, but more verbal aggressive responses if the model was female.
Boys were more likely to imitate same-sex models than girls.
Boys imitated more physically aggressive acts than girls.

Question 38

According to Bandung’s research what are the factors that increase the imitation of behaviours

Answer 38

According to Bandura’s research, there are a number of factors that increase the likelihood that a behavior will be imitated

People who are in an authoritative position in our lives
People who are similar to us in age, sex, and interests
People who we admire or who are of a higher social status
When the situation is confusing, ambiguous, or unfamiliar

Question 39

What are the four important factors in observational learning

Answer 39

Attention:
Individuals pay attention to the modelled behaviour.
Retention
Individuals make a mental representation of the behaviour and retains it.
3. Reproduction
The mental representation is turned into an action that the individual is capable of producing.
4. Motivation
The individual needs to be motivated to reproduce the behaviour. Typically influenced by reinforcement (received or vicarious), and the importance of the model.

Question 40

Systematic desensitisation

Answer 40

The patient is taught relaxation techniques

Creating a hierarchy of fear

Begin to go through the hierarchy while practicing relaxation techniques patients stay at the stages untill they feel no Systematic Desensitisation

Typically 4-6 sessions
More severe phobias can take more than 10
Exposure to stimuli can be in vitro (imagined) OR in vivo (actual exposure)
In vivo more effective

Question 41

What are the strengths of systematic desensitisation

Answer 41

Systematic Desensitisation

*Strengths
*Is supported by empirical evidence.

*Limitations
*In vitro exposure is may not be effective, and in vivo exposure is not always practical.
*
*Treats the symptoms of the phobia and not the underlying cause, and doesn’t appear to be effective for social phobias.

Question 42

Token economies

Answer 42

Token Economies
Based on Operant Conditioning

Desired behaviours are reinforced by tokens (secondary reinforcers) which can then later be traded for another reward (primary reinforcers)

Effectively used in schools, prisons and psychiatric institutions

Token Economies
Secondary reinforcers are more attractive as they can be traded in for different primary reinforcers
Same primary reinforcers may become ineffective if used continuously (saturation)

Main disadvantage is the desired behaviour may become extinct if the token economy is removed

Question 43

Strength of token economies

Answer 43

Token Economies
*Strength
*Secondary reinforcers are more attractive as they can be traded in for different primary reinforcers
*Same primary reinforcers may become ineffective if used continuously (saturation)
*Limitation
*The desired behaviour may become extinct if the token economy is removed

Question 44

Cognitive behaviour therapy

Answer 44

Cognitive Behavioural Therapy
Believes that people are a result of social learning

Focuses on current feelings, thoughts & behaviours
Providing patients with strategies to replace negative feelings, thoughts & behaviours with positive ones (cognitive restructuring)

Short term - ~8-12 sessions

Homework crucial to success
Patient practices new skills and strategies(ie. Role playing difficult social situations etc)

Cognitive Behavioural Therapy
*Strengths
*Supported by evidence, time effective, and focuses on the causes of current negative behaviours.
*
*Limitation
*Requires commitment from patient in order to be effective