Learning Flashcards
What is learning?
A relatively permanent change in behavior and knowledge that occurs as a result of prior experience.
What school of thought is learning connected to?
Behaviorism.
What is Association Learning Theory?
People learn by making connections or bonds.
What is Classical Conditioning?
Making an association between two stimuli (by pairing them).
Ivan Pavlov
Russian physiologist that found dogs can be conditioned to salivate even when no food is present.
What is a Neutral Stimulus (NS)?
A stimulus that does not naturally elicit a (the desired) response in an organism.
Pavlov Example: Bell
What is an Unconditioned Stimulus (UCS)?
Not learned stimulus. What naturally caused the initial response.
Pavlov Example: The food.
What is an Unconditioned Response (UCR)?
Not learned response. A reflexive or innate response that is elicited by a stimulus (the UCS) without prior learning.
Pavlov Example: Salivation to the food.
What is Conditioned Stimulus (CS)?
Learned stimulus. What caused the response?
Pavlov Example: Bell
What is a Conditioned Response (CR)?
A learned response. A response elicited by a conditioned stimulus. What was Learned?
Pavlov Example: Salvation to bell.
What is Acquisition?
How long it took you to learn the behavior (measured in trails). Making association between NS and UCS.
What is an Acquisition trail?
Every time the NS and UCS are presented together.
What is a Short delay pairing?
Present the NS (wait a fraction of a second or so), NS still on, then present the UCS.
What are Trace Pairings?
Present the NS and remove it, wait a fraction to 1-2 seconds, then present that UCS.
What are Simultaneous Pairings?
Present the NS and the UCS at the same time, simultaneously/together.
What are Backward Pairings
Present the UCS, then present the NS.
When is Classical Conditioning strongest?
When there are repeated pairings of NS and UCS.
or
When the inter stimulus interval (the time between NS and UCS) is short.
What is Extinction?
A process in which the CS is presented repeatedly in the absence of the UCS, causing the CR to weaken and eventually disappear.
What is Spontaneous Recovery?
The reappearance of a previously extinguished CR after a rest period and without new learning trials.
What is Stimulus Generalization?
Any stimulus similar the the initial CS will elicit a CR (cat meows to a automatic razor).
What is Stimulus Discrimination?
A CR occurs in the presence of one stimulus but not in the present of other stimuli (Salivation may not be elicited by a whistle).
What are applications for Classical Conditioning?
Aquire fears/phobias or overcome fears/phobias.
Who was John Watson?
Founder of Behaviorism.
Who was Little Albert?
Boy who played with white rat (NS) showing no fear. Loud noise (UCS) created fear (UCR) in him.
This was repeated over and over again. Eventually he was scared of white rats.
