Learning Flashcards
What is habituation?
The relatively persistent waning of a response as a result of repeated stimulation which is not followed by any kind of reinforcement. It is found in all animals, and means they can adjust its behaviour to repeated and non-threatening stimuli.
What affects the speed of habituation?
The stimulus type
The interval between presentation of the stimuli
What phenomenon did Pavlov discover with his dog experiments? And what does it allow organisms to do?
Classical conditioning. It allows us to anticipate certain events. Some protozoa have demonstrated something akin to classical conditioning
What is the difference between trace conditioning and simultaneous conditioning?
Trace conditioning is presenting the conditioned stimulus, then presenting the unconditioned stimulus after an interval. Simultaneous conditioning is this process, but with no interval.
What happens if the ISI (Inter-stimulus interval) is long?
The association will take longer to make
What is an ideal ISI?
0.5 seconds
What is operant conditioning?
The association between a stimulus and an independent motor action, through punishment and reward.
What are some variables that effect operant conditioning?
1) Reinforcement - whether it is positive or negative
2) Magnitude of reinforcement
3) Partial reinforcement - increases resistance to extinction
4) Delay of reinforcement - Intervals over 5 seconds make learning hard
Partial reinforcement is to avoid extinction. What are the following meanings of FR4, VR6, FI3 and VI5?
FR4 - animal is reinforced every fourth response
VR6 - animal is reinforced, on average, every sixth response
FI3 - after reinforcement, the animal has to wait three minutes until the next reward.
VI5 - after a reinforcement, animal has to wait 5 minutes until the next reward
What is extinction in terms of animal learning?
The effect on a response when the reinforcement stops, how long does it continue before it stops?
