Learning Flashcards
What is learning?
Relatively long-lasting changes in an individual’s (organism’s) behavior that are produced by environmental events
How does learning occur at the neural level?
-Synapses used frequently over time get stronger
-Precipitates chemical change in the pre and post synaptic neuron that facilitates communication
-More NT released, more receptors, attachment at the synapse
-Neurons change as a function of experience
Edward Thorndike and the Puzzle Box
-Hungry cats in box, food outside
-Cats had to figure out how to escape
1. Trial and error learning
2. Law and Effect- favorable outcome strengthens to the behavior that produces it
What is the area of Behavioral Analysis?
the relationship between behavior and its consequences
What is Operant Conditioning, Three Term Contingency
Learning is thought to be variants of situations in which there is a:
-Discriminating stimulus
-A response
-Consequence
Operant Conditioning: Reinforcement and Punishment
INCREASING BEHAVIOR (Reinforcers)
-Positive reinforcement
-Negative reinforcement (removal of aversive stimulus)
DECREASING BEHAVIOR (Punishers)
-Punishment (Positive Punishment)
-Response Cost (Negative Punishment)(loss of an appetitive stimulus)
When does acquisition occur fastest?
When rewards are frequent and fixed
When does Shaping occur?
When an animal is rewarded for successive approximations of the behavior
When does extinction occur?
When the behavior is no longer reinforced
What are the different schedules of reinforcement?
Fixed Ratio: Rewards are given after a constant number or responses
Fixed Interval: Rewards are given for the first response after a fixed period of time
Variable Ratio: Rewards are given after a variable number of responses
Variable interval: Rewards are given for the first response after a variable period
What is the difference between Operant and Classical Conditioning?
In Operant Conditioning, the subject’s behavior affects its outcome.
Classical Conditioning influences involuntary responses, while operant conditioning applies to somatic and voluntary responses
Unconditioned stimulus
a trigger that naturally and automatically causes a response without prior learning
Unconditioned response
involuntary response to a stimulus without prior learning
Conditioned stimulus
a neutral stimulus that after being repeatedly paired with an unconditioned stimulus evokes a similar response
Conditioned response
a learned reaction to a stimulus that was previously neutral
