learning Flashcards
What is the definition of learning?
a relatively durable change in behaviour or knowledge that is due to experience
- knowledge
- skills
- personal habits
- emotional responses
- preferences
Describe classical conditioning
a type of learning where an initial neutral stimulus acquires the capacity to evoke a response that was originally evoked by another stimulus
learned response= involuntary automatic reaction
describe an example of classical conditioning
sense of dread when you see flashing lights or hear a police siren while driving
Commercials for drug companies- endorsing celebrity elicit happy feeling toward their drugs
healtcare - white coat syndrome
what applications of classical conditioning are there in the healthcare system?
prevent or change responses learned through classical conditioning
- prevent conditioned responses by reducing anxiety during medical interventions
- prevent conditioned involuntary reactions - by preventing anticipatory nausea or treating phobias
*don’t give chemotherapy patients the same drink every time they come in
give an example of a desirable physiological response to classical conditioning
we can use it to condition positive attitudes/responses - or positive physiological responses
ex) an immune response using the same flavor of drink as medication
describe operant conditioning
a form of learning in which voluntary responses/behaviours come to be controlled by their consequences -
so the consequences of the behavior control the behaviour itself
what is ‘reinforcement’
what is the positive/negative form?
occurs when an event following a response/behaviour increases the likelihood of the response/behaviour occuring again
positive = (add something rewarding) studying to receive praise
negative=( remove something aversive) studying to remove feelings of guit
what is ‘shaping’?
operant conditioning can only reinforce already existing behaviours, so we use shaping
shaping = reinforcement of successive approximations to the desired response/behaviour i.e) training animals to do elaborate routines
what is non-reinforcement? how is that different from punishment?
non-reinforcement= likelihood of behaviour/response is decreased because reinforcement is not presented i.e) decrease tantrums by ignoring them
punishment = likelihood of the behaviour/response is decreased because an aversive/negative event is presented
describe the differences between negative reinforcement and punishment
negative reinforcement = removing something aversive- increases response
punishment = adding something aversive - decreases response
what are the applications of operant conditioning in healthcare?
improving knowledge and skills
changing behaivours - adherence, drug addiction
rehabilitation - improve physical functioning following surgery
what are the key differences between classical and operant conditioning?
classical = learning based on paired associations, so the stimuli that precede a response come to impact that response = involuntary
operant= learned based on consequences - which come AFTER a behavior to impact that behaviour = voluntary actions
what is ‘generalisation’?
when learning is applied to similar situations -
clasical ex) little albert the baby is afraid of white rats- he is also as a result aftriad of white bunnies
operant ex) a rat pressing a level when it hears ANY music, not just jazz
what is discrimination?
when learning is only applied in the presence of a specific discriminative stimulus/context -
classical i.e) fear response only occurs when a rat is present -
operant ex) rat pressing lever only when it hears jazz, not just when it hears any music
what is extinction?
when a learned response/behaviour decreases after the paired association or reinforcement stops
classical ex) fear response decreases after repeated exposure to rat without any negative event occuirng
operant ex) lever pressing decreases when reinforcement stops
