Learning Flashcards
Explain Pavlov’s dogs
Classical conditioning; dogs began to salivate before food was presented, paired neutral stimuli with presentation of food. Learning by association now known as classical or Pavlovian conditioning.
Explain classical conditioning.
- Classical conditioning explains fears and phobias
- staple in marketing campaigns, explains how automatic behaviour is elicited.
- ‘Little Albert’ through repeated pairing show that fear can be learned.
- Also used in aversion therapy.
What is counter conditioning?
Pairing feared stimulus with feelings of relaxation can treat fears.
What is antabuse?
Used in treatment for addiction to alcohol. Might not work because people can just remove the unpleasant outcome.
What are the stages of learning in classical conditioning?
Acquisition: CS paired with UCS, UCR to UCS, CR to CS, CR in absence of UCS (higher order conditioning).
Extinction: CS without UCS, reinforcers keep conditioned response active.
Spontaneous recovery: CR persist despite extinction processes, CR re-emerges, occurs more frequently with higher intensity of original pairing.
Stimulus generalisation: response to stimulus similar to original
Stimulus or operant discrimination: no response to stimulus to something similar
What research did Edward Thorndike study
Animal problem solving behaviours, instrumental learning (observational) and his Law of Effect. Response followed by satisfying consequences will become more likely to occur
What did Skinner study?
Operant conditioning, role of reward and punishment on behaviour. Shaping and chaining.
Explain Tolman’s research
Studied latent learning:
- rats created mental representations of the lay out of the puzzle, learned skill even if they don’t demonstrate it.
- learning in absence of reinforcement, demonstrated when appropriate motivators are introduced.
Define classical conditioning.
It is an involuntary, reflexive response or elicited response. Pairing of unconditioned stimuli with conditioned stimuli.
Explain Thorndike’s law of effect.
Reinforcement:
- positive = reward following a desired behaviour.
- negative = removal of aversive stimulus, NOT punishment, still involves reward.
Punishment:
- aversive (positive) = adding an aversive consequence.
- negative (response cost) = taking away a good consequence.
Explain schedules of reinforcement.
Fixed ratio schedule: response only reinforced after specified number of responses; rapid learning!
Absence of reinforcement: behaviour can slow
Reinforces removed: risk of extinction
Continuous ratio: reinforcement is delivered after every target response; fastest rate of extinction.
Variable ratio: response is reinforced after an unpredictable amount of target responses; high rate of responding.
Fixed interval: only rewarded after specified amount of target responses.
Variable interval: rewarded after unpredictable amount of responses; least effective in eliciting desired response
Explain token economies
Reinforce desirable behaviours e.g. Gold star on a chart in primary school, loss of tokens for undesirable behaviour.
Explain Bandura’s ARMR
Attention: person must pay attention to the model’s behaviour
Retention: remember info in order to access it
Motivation: motivated to demonstrate the behaviour
Reproduction: physically capable of reproducing the behaviour, must believe we can produce the behaviour.
What are some factors influencing observational learning?
- Imitation of others can influence learning
- behaviour that enhances survival
- behaviours can be learned but only reproduced when conditions are appropriate.
Explain mirror neurons and learning.
When an animals acts and when it observes the action performed by the other. It mirrors the behaviour of the other, activation of neurons strengths associated neural pathways. Research suggests that viewing media violence decreases viewers concern about suffering of victims, habituates people to sight of violence and provides aggressive models.
