Learning Flashcards
Learning definition
Enduring changes in behaviour that occur with new experiences
- dependent upon storing information about past experience and using this information to alter behaviour in the future
- learning and memory work together
- learning occurs when information moves from short term to long term memory
Orienting response
- Automatic shift of attention toward a new stimulus
- eg. If a dim light is turned on in a dark room you would immediately turn toward it
Habituation
- a sensory process by which individuals adapt to constant stimulation
- eg. If the dim light stayed on for a while in the dark room, eventually you would get used to it
- result is a change in your response stemming from experience
- learning in its simplest form
Association
-occurs when one piece of information from the environment is link repeatedly with another and the individual begins to connect the two sources of information
Conditioning
- a form of associative learning in which a behaviour becomes more likely because the individual links that behaviour with certain events in its environment
- 2 types of conditioning: classical and operant
- classical: individuals learn from relations between stimuli
- operant: individuals learn from the consequence of their behaviour
Classical conditioning
- occurs when a neutral stimulus becalmed associated with a stimulus to which the learner has an automatic, inborn response.
- Pavlov
Unconditioned response
- the automatic, inborn response to a stimulus
- unlearned
Unconditioned stimulus
- stimulus that always produced the same unconditioned response
- meat is the unconditioned stimulus for salivation the unconditioned response
Conditioned stimulus
-a previously neutral stimulus that an individual learns to associate with the unconditioned stimulus
Conditioned response
-behaviour that an individual learns to perform when presented with the conditioned stimulus alone
Fundamental criteria of classical conditioning
- Multiple pairings of US and CS (neutral stimulus) are necessary for an association to occurs and for the CS to produce the CR
- The US and CS must be paired very close together in time in order for an association to form
Forward conditioning
Showing the neutral stimulus just before the unconditioned stimulus
Backward conditioning
Showing the neutral stimulus after the unconditioned stimulus
Stimulus generalization
-extension of the association between US and CS to a broad array of similar stimuli
Stimulus discrimination
- occurs when a CR occurs only to the exact CS to which it was conditioned
- opposite of stimulus generalization
Extinction
- weakening and disappearing of a conditioned response
- usually learned once the individual finds out that the CS really has nothing to do with the UR
- occurs when US no longer paired with CS
- just because the CR is extinguished does not mean that relationship between CS and US has disappeared
Sleeping and extinction
-sleep promotes faster extinction of a conditioned fear
Spontaneous recovery
- passing of time can lead to the reappearance of a conditioned stimulus
- never completely extinguishes association, just suppresses it
Higher-order conditioning
-once conditioning has been established, the CR can be elicited by pairing the CS with a new neutral stimulus
Little Albert
- Watson trained Albert to fear white rats and other white fluffy objects
- paired white rats with alarming noise
- eventually used other white fluffy objects creating stimulus generalization