learning Flashcards
reflexes
motor/ neutral reaction to a specific stimulus
you don’t think about it, you just do it
simpler than instincts
e.g. when pupils shrink in bright light
instincts
behaviors triggered by a broader range of events
more complex
involves movement of organism as a whole
ex. migration
learning
change in behavior or knowledge as a result of experiences
associative learning
when an organism makes connections between stimuli and events that occur together
three types of learning
classical conditioning, operant conditioning, and observational learning
ivan pavlov
he studied dogs digestive systems which led him to unexpectedly discover classical conditioning
ivan pavlov’s dog experiment
the dog would salivate (unconditioned response) at the sight of food (unconditioned stimulus) and then the sound of a bell (neutral stimulus) would be followed by food, so eventually the dog would salivate (conditioned response) to the sound of the bell (conditioned stimulus)
classical conditioning
process by which events or consequences can be anticipated through associated stimuli
higher order conditioning
an established conditioned stimulus is paired with a neutral stimulus (second order stimulus) so eventually that new stimulus causes the same response without the original stimulus
acquisition
initial period of learning during classical conditioning when an organism learns to connect a neutral stimulus and an unconditioned stimulus
extinction
decrease in the conditioned response when the unconditioned stimulus isn’t presented with the conditioned stimulus anymore
spontaneous recovery
the return of a previously extinguished conditioned response following a rest period
stimulus discrimination
when an organism learns to respond differently to various stimuli that are similar
ex. dogs can tell the difference between their specific bell sound and a different bell
stimulus generalization
when an organism demonstrated the conditioned response to stimuli that are similar to the conditioned stimulus
behaviorism
john b watson studied it
believed all behavior could be studied as a stimulus- response reaction
john b watson
studied behaviorism
conducted a famous study with little albert
operant conditioning
organisms learn to associate a behavior with its consequences
law of effect
behaviors followed by pleasant consequences were more likely to be repeated and vice versa with bad
proposed by edward thorndike
the skinner box
b f skinner would put animals in this box that contained a lever, and when it was pressed it dispensed food as a reward
positive (operant conditioning)
to add something
negative (operant conditioning)
to take something away
punishment (operant conditioning)
to decrease a behavior
reinforcement (operant conditioning)
to increase a behavior
shaping
instead of only rewarding the target behavior, we reward steps in the right direction until the target behavior is reached
primary reinforcers
the value of these does not need to be learned, mostly necessities
water, food, sleep, shelter
secondary reinforcers
becomes valuable and reinforcing when linked w/ a primary reinforcer
ex. money
continuous reinforcements
organism receives reward every time it completes behavior
partial reinforcement
reinforced intermittently, not every time
fixed/variable and interval/ratio (4 types)
observational learning
we learn by watching others and imitating what they do
vicarious reinforcement/ punishment
observer sees model rewarded or punished, this affects whether they are more or less likely to repeat the behavior
albert bandura
proposed the social learning theory (internal mental state is also involved in observational learning)
conducted the bobo doll experiment
edward c tolmam
found that learning can occur without reinforcement
b f skinner
discovered operant conditioning
made the skinner box, would reward rats w food for pushing a lever
