Learning Flashcards
Assumptions of learning
Experience shapes behaviour, learning is adaptive, laws of learning can be uncovered by experiment.
Psychoneuroimmunology
Study of interaction between physiological processes and the nervous and immune systems.
Blocking
When a stimulus fails to elicit a conditioned response because it is combined with another stimulus that already elicits the response.
Paradoxical conditioning
When the conditioned response is the opposite to the unconditioned response.
Habituation
Decreasing strength of a reflex response after repeated presentations of the stimulus.
Operant conditioning/ instrumental conditioning
Focuses on voluntary behaviours. Learning that results when an organism associates a response with a particular environment effect.
Thorndike’s law of effect
The tendency of an organism to produce a behaviour depends on the effect the behaviour has on the environment.
Operant
Behaviour that is emitted rather than elicited by the environment.
Positive reinforcement
Adding a pleasant stimulus (reward).
Negative reinforcement
Removing an unpleasant stimulus (avoid).
Positive punishment
Adding an unpleasant stimulus (punish).
Negative punishment
Removing pleasant stimulus (deprive).
Shaping
Response taught to organism.
Chaining
Sequencing existing responsesin novel order.
Successive approximations
Gradual stages to teach new behaviour or shaping.
Factors that affect operant conditioning
Behaviours already learnt, enduring characteristics of learner, species specific behaviour.
Primary reinforcer
Satisfy biological needs.
Secondary reinforcer
Money or tokens learnt to exchange.
Social/ observational learning
Vicarious reinforcement or learning through modelling of a response. Needs: attention, retention, motor reproduction and motivation.
Tutelage
Learning through instruction.
Stimulus generalisation
After learning to produce a conditioned response, may respond to a similar stimulus.
Stimulus discrimination
Tendency to respond to restricted range of stimuli.
Extinction
In classical conditioning, A process of a conditioned response weakening by presenting conditioned stimulus without unconditioned stimulus. In operant conditioning, when operant is not followed by learned environmental consequence.
Spontaneous discovery
Reappearance of an extinguished response. Learning is never fully erased.
Interstimulus interval
The time between the presentation of the conditioned stimulus and unconditioned stimulus. Affects acquisition (initial learning).
Other factors that affect classical conditioning
If a conditioned stimulus is predictive of an unconditioned stimulus, Individuals learning history (prior associations), prepared learning (evolved tendency to learn association more than others).
Classical conditioning
Learning where an environmental stimulus produces a response in an organism. Focuses on reflex or involuntary behaviours. A produce of pairing a neutral stimulus to one that elicits a response.
Unconditioned stimulus
A stimulus that produces an innate reflex with no learning.
Unconditioned response
A response to a stimulus that does not have to be learned (automatic).
Conditioned response
Learned to a conditioned stimulus.
Conditioned stimulus
Starts as neutral stimulus that does not elicit a response but does after pairing with an unconditioned stimulus.
Long-term potentiation LTP
Tendency for group of neurons to fire more readily after consistent stimulation from other neurons.
Discriminative stimulus
Precedes a response, can also influence operant behaviour by acting as a signal.
Continuous reinforcement schedule
Environmental consequence occurs after every operant.
Fixed ratio schedule
Receive reinforcement at fixed rate according to number of operant.
Variable ratio schedule
Receive reinforcement on unpredictable percentage of operant (on average amount).
Fixed interval
Reinforcement after fixed period of time.
Variable interval
Unpredictable interval of time to pass.
Latent learning
Forms cognitive maps. Learning that has occurred but not manifested in behaviour.
Expectancies
Expectations of the consequence of behaviours making them more or less likely to occur.
Locus of control
Generalised expectancies on own behaviour to produce desired outcomes.
Explanatory style
The way someone makes sense of events or outcomes, particularly aversive ones (pessimistic, optimistic).
