Learning

Question 1

What is Learning?

Answer 1

• Any relatively durable change in behaviour/knowledge that is due to experience

Question 2

Define Conditioning

Answer 2

• Involves learning associations between events that occur in an organism’s environment

Question 3

What is Classical Conditioning? (Pavlovian Conditioning)

Answer 3

• Type of learning in which a stimulus acquires the capacity to evoke a response that was originally evoked by another stimulus

Question 4

List the Terminologies & Procedures of Classical Conditioning

Answer 4

Unconditioned Stimulus (US) : Stimulus that evokes an unconditioned response without previous conditioning

Unconditioned Response (UR) : Unlearned reaction to an unconditioned stimulus that occurs without previous conditioning

Neutral Stimulus (NS) : A stimulus which does not originally produce a response to the US

Conditioned Stimulus (CS) : A previously NS that has acquired the capacity to evoke a CR (through conditioning)

Conditioned Response (CR) : A learned reaction to a CS that occurs because of previous conditioning

Question 5

Explain Conditioned Fear & Anxiety and Other Conditioned Responses

Answer 5

Conditioned Fear & Anxiety : Classical Conditioning plays a role in shaping emotional responses (fear, anxiety and phobias)

Other Conditioned Responses : Classical conditioning affects physiological processes (immune suppression)
- Studies have demonstrated that classical conditioning can influence sexual arousal
E.G Little Albert experiment

Question 6

What is Evaluative Conditioning?

Answer 6

• Changes in the liking of a stimulus that results from pairing that stimulus with other positive/negative stimuli
  E.G Product A + Humour would score higher than Product B + No Humour (vice versa)

Question 7

List the Basic Processes in Classical Conditioning

Answer 7

1. Acquisition : The initial stage of learning a new response tendency

2. Extinction : Gradual weakening/disappearance of a conditioned response tendency

3. Spontaneous Recovery : Reappearance of an extinguished response after a period of nonexposure to the conditioned stimulus

4. Renewal Effect : Phenomenon that occurs if a response is extinguished in a different environment than it was acquired, extinguished response will reappear if the animal is returned to the original environment where acquisition took place

5. Stimulus Generalisation : Phenomenon that occurs when an organism that has learned a response to a specific stimulus responds in the same way to new stimuli that are similar to the original stimulus

6. Stimulus Discrimination : Phenomenon that occurs when an organism that has learned a response to a specific stimulus does not respond in the same way to new stimuli that are similar to the original stimulus

Question 8

What is Higher-Order Conditioning?

Answer 8

• When the conditioned stimulus (CS) functions as if it were an unconditioned stimulus (US)
  E.G Light is introduced which initially has no effect on the dog. Light is repeatedly turned on just before the bell is rung (without presenting food). Over time, the dog starts to associate the light with the bell, even though the light was never directly paired with food.

Question 9

What is Operant Conditioning?

Answer 9

• A form of learning in which voluntary responses come to be controlled by their consequences (Organisms tend to repeat responses that are followed by favourable consequences)
  E.G Training a dog to sit. Trainer can use a mix of positive reinforcement, negative reinforcement and punishment to get the dog to obey the command

Question 10

What is Reinforcement?

Answer 10

• An event following a response that increases an organism’s tendency to make that response
  E.G Studying to get good grades, working to get a paycheck

Question 11

Describe the Skinner Box and its Terminology & Procedures

Answer 11

Skinner Box : A small enclosure in which an animal can make a specific response that is systematically recorded while the consequences of the response are controlled

Reinforcement Contingencies : The circumstances/rules that determine whether responses lead to the presentation of reinforcers
- Key dependant variable in most research on operant conditioning is the subjects’ response rate over time

Cumulative Recorder : A graphic record of responding and reinforcement in a Skinner box as a function of time
- No response : Pen stays still, a straight horizontal line is drawn
- Designated response occurs : Pen moves up a notch

Question 12

List the Basic Processes in Operant Conditioning

Answer 12

1. Acquisition and Shaping :
Acquisition : Formation of a new response tendency (same as classical conditioning)
Shaping : Reinforcement of closer & closer approximations of a desired responses

2. Extinction : Gradual weakening/disappearance of a response tendency because the response is no longer followed by reinforcement

Resistance to Extinction : Occurs when organism continues to make a response after delivery of the reinforcer for it has terminated
E.G Casinos want to see patrons continue to gamble even after they encounter a lengthy losing streak

Discriminative Stimuli : Cues that influence operant behaviour by indicating the probable consequences of a response

3. Reinforcement :
Primary Reinforcers : Events that are inherently reinforcing because they satisfy biological needs (food, water, warmth)
Secondary (Conditioned) Reinforcers : Events that acquire reinforcing qualities by being associated with primary reinforcers, depends on learning (Money, grades, attention, praise)

Question 13

Describe the Schedules of Reinforcement

Answer 13

• A schedule of reinforcement is a specific pattern of presentation of reinforcers over time
• Continuous reinforcement occurs when every instance of a designated response is reinforced
• Intermittent reinforcement occurs when a designated response is reinforced only some of the time

Question 14

List the 4 Schedules of Reinforcement

Answer 14

1. Fixed-Ratio (FR) Schedule : Reinforcer is given after a fixed number of nonreinforced responses

2. Variable-Ratio (VR) Schedule : Reinforcer is given after a variable number of nonreinforced responses

3. Fixed-Interval (FI) Schedule : Reinforcer is given for the first response that occurs after a fixed time interval has elapsed

4. Variable-Interval (VI) Schedule : Reinforcer given for the first response after a variable time interval has elapsed

Question 15

Discuss Positive Reinforcement VS Negative Reinforcement

Answer 15

Positive Reinforcement : Response leads to the presentation of a rewarding stimulus

Negative Reinforcement : Response leads to the removal of an aversive (unpleasant) stimulus

Question 16

Discuss Escape Learning and Avoidance Learning

Answer 16

Escape Learning : Organism acquires a response that decreases/ends some aversive stimulation
E.G Leaving a party where you get picked on by peers

Avoidance Learning : Organism acquires a response that prevents some aversive stimulation from occurring
E.G Quitting going to parties because of the concern of getting picked on by peers

Question 17

Explain Punishment

Answer 17

• Occurs when an event following a response weakens the tendency to make that response
• Involves the presentation of an aversive stimulus/removing a rewarding stimulus
  E.G Caning, taking away a child’s TV-watching privileges

Question 18

Explain the Correlation between Physical Punishment & Aggressiveness

Answer 18

• Plausible that extensive reliance on physical punishment causes children to be more aggressive
• Possible that highly aggressive children cause their parents to depend heavily on physical punishment
• Parents with an aggressive, hostile temperament pass on genetic tendencies for aggressiveness to their children, model aggressive behaviour and rely on heavy use of physical punishment.

Question 19

Explain Conditioned Taste Aversion

Answer 19

• Natural selection favours organisms that quickly learn what not to eat
• Evolution may have biologically programmed some organisms to learn certain types of associations more easily than other types of

Question 20

Explain Preparedness and Phobias

Answer 20

Preparedness : Species-specific predisposition to be conditioned in certain ways and not others (acquire fears more readily than others)
- Phobias that are more common than others were once genuine threats to our ancient ancestors (snakes, spiders, heights and darkness)
- Evolutionary forces gradually wire the human brain to acquire conditioned fears of these stimuli easily and rapidly

Question 21

Explain the Evolved Module for Fear Learning

Answer 21

• Preferentially activated by stimuli related to survival threats in evolutionary history (snakes, heights etc.)
• Relatively resistant to conscious efforts to suppress resulting fears

Question 22

Describe Cognitive Processes in Conditioning (Latent Learning & Cognitive Maps)

Answer 22

Latent Learning : Learning that is not apparent from behaviour when it first occurs
- Suggests that learning can take place in the absence of reinforcement
E.G If someone drives a specific route regularly as a passenger, they may not consciously try to memorise the directions. However if they need to drive the route themselves later, they can do so without much difficulty

Cognitive Mapping : A mental representation of the spatial layout

Question 23

Describe Cognitive Processes in Conditioning (Signal Relations)

Answer 23

• Studies of signal relations have shown that the predictive value of a CS is an influential factor governing classical conditioning
• Suggest that classical conditioning may involve information processing rather than reflexive responding
• Environmental stimuli serve as signals, some are better/more dependable
  E.G Good signal = accurate prediction of the US

E.G Drivers learn that a red light signals ‘stop’ and a green light signals ‘go’, colour of the light (signal) predicts the appropriate driving behaviour (outcome)

Question 24

Describe Cognitive Processes in Conditioning (Response-Outcome Relations and Reinforcements)

Answer 24

• Studies highlight the role of cognitive processes in conditioning
• Skinner argued that ‘superstitious behaviour’ could be established through noncontingent reinforcement, occurs when a response is accidentally strengthened by a reinforcer that follows it
• Accidental reinforcements may sometimes contribute to superstitions, along with various types of erroneous reasoning
• Reinforcement is not automatic when favourable consequences follow a response

Question 25

What is Observational Learning?

Answer 25

• A type of learning that occurs when an organism’s responding is influenced by the observation of others (models)

Question 26

Name and Describe the 4 Processes in Observational Learning

Answer 26

1. Attention : Paying attention to another person’s behaviour and its consequences

2. Retention : Storing a mental representation of what you have witnessed in your memory since you may not have occasion to use an observed response for weeks/months/years

3. Reproduction : Enacting a modelled response depends on your ability to reproduce the response by converting your stored mental images into overt behaviour

Motivation : Unlikely to reproduce an observed response unless you are motivated to do so
- Depends on whether you encounter a situation in which you believe the response is likely to pay off for you

Question 27

Discuss Observational Learning and the Media Violence Controversy

Answer 27

• Decades of research agreed that media violence fosters increased aggression
• Recent research shows that media violence desensitises people to the effects of aggression in the real world
• Observational learning plays an important role in regulating behaviour

E.G Bandura’s experiment with the bobo doll, children were more aggressive after watching violent videos