Learning Flashcards
Define Learning
Learning is any enduring change in the way an organism responds, based on its experience.
- change/adaptation in behaviour
- endures over time
- necessary for survival in a changing environment
Which Psychological perspective is learning a central issue of?
Behaviourism - only the observable is studied
Explain the theory behind classical conditioning.
The association of a neutral stimulus with a stimulus that leads to a reflexive response.
In classical conditioning all responses are reflex or autonomic responses (involuntary)
What is extinction as a principle of classical conditioning?
The weakening of the conditioned response when the conditioned stimulus is presented with out the unconditioned stimulus.
Extinction is a learned inhibition of response
What is Spontaneous recovery as a principle of classical conditioning
The re-emergence of a previously extinguished conditioned response.
What is operant conditioning?
The learning of a new association between a behaviour and its consequences through reinforcement and punishment to condition the operants to occur more or less.
The behaviour (response) is voluntary as behaviour is modified according to its consequences
What is an ‘operant’?
a behaviour that is voluntarily produced
Key difference between operant and classical conditioning …
classical - what happens before the behaviour is most important for learning
operant - what happens after the behaviour is most important for learning
Define reinforcement.
the process by which a behaviour is made more likely to occur by adding a rewarding environmental consequence (positive) or removing an aversive environmental consequence (negative).
Define Punishment.
The process by which a behaviour is made less likely to occur by adding an aversive environmental consequence (positive) or removing a rewarding environmental consequence (negative).
What needs to be considered for successful operant conditioning?
immediacy - reward/punishment must be delivered immediately to reinforce behaviour
extinction - behaviours that are not reinforced will stop
What is Shaping int he context of operant conditioning?
the production of novel behaviours by reinforcing closer and closer approximations to the desired response
beginning with an existing response and progressively modifying it to something new.
What is Chaining in the context of operant conditioning?
putting together a sequence of existing responses together in a novel order
concept of Latent Learning
- some learning takes place without reward
- reinforcement increases learning
concept of Modelling
- the behaviour of a child will be influenced by a model figure
