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mind and behaviour > learning > Flashcards

learning Flashcards

- includes mostly definitions = make mind maps of concepts, weaknesses etc.

1
Q

what is learning?

A

the process by which experience produces a relatively enduring and adaptive change in an organisms capacity for behaviour

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2
Q

what is habituation?

A

a decrease in the strength of a response to a certain stimulus. it occurs in response to a single stimulus

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3
Q

what is sensitisation?

A

an increase in the strength of response to a repeated stimulus. it occurs in response to a single stimulus

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4
Q

what is classical conditioning?

A

when an organism learns to associate two stimuli such that one stimulus comes to elicit a response that was originally elicited only by the other stimulus

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5
Q

explain Pavlov’s experiment.

A

food (UCS) = salivation (UCR)
food (UCS) + bell (NS) = salivation (UCR)
bell (CS) = salivation (CR)

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6
Q

what is an unconditioned stimulus?

A

a stimulus that elicits a reflexive or innate response without prior learning

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7
Q

what is an unconditioned response?

A

a reflexive or innate response that is elicited by a stimulus without prior learning

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8
Q

what is a conditioned stimulus?

A

a stimulus that, through association with a UCS, comes to elicit a conditioned response similar to the original UCR

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9
Q

what is a conditioned response?

A

a response elicited by a conditioned stimulus

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10
Q

what factors change the effectiveness of classical conditioning?

A
  • intensity of the stimulus
  • frequency (interval) of pairing
  • sequence of pairing
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11
Q

what are the types of pairing sequence in classical conditioning?

A
  • forward pairing = the CS appears first and is still present when the UCS appears
  • simultaneous pairing = the CS and UCS appear at the same time
  • backwards pairing = the CS is presented after the UCS
  • forward trace pairing = the CS appears and disappears shortly before the UCS
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12
Q

when are the effects of classical conditioning strongest?

A

when there are repeated CS-UCS pairings, when the UCS is more intense, when the sequence involves forward pairing and when the time interval between CS and UCS is short (2-3 seconds).

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13
Q

what is extinction?

A

a process in which the CS is presented repeatedly in the absence of the UCS, causing the CR to weaken and eventually disappear.

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14
Q

what is spontaneous recovery?

A

reappearance of a previously extinguished CR after a rest period and without new learning trials

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15
Q

what is temporal contiguity?

A

the idea that it is vital the CS and UCS are presented close together in time

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16
Q

what is stimulus generalisation?

A

stimuli similar to the initial CS to elicit a CR

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17
Q

what is discrimination?

A

when a CR occurs to one stimulus but not to others

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18
Q

what is higher order conditioning? (also referred to as second order conditioning)

A

a neutral stimulus becomes a CS after being paired with an already established CS.

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19
Q

how can a fear be acquired through classical conditioning?

A 
being bitten (UCS) = fear (UCR)
being bitten (UCS) + dog doing the biting (NS) = fear (UCR)
dog (CS) = fear (CR)
then generalisation explains how this fear of a dog may be spread to fear of all dogs
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20
Q

what are exposure therapies?

A

a patient is exposed to a stimulus (CS) that arouses an anxiety response (such as fear) without the presence of the UCS, allowing extinction to occur

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21
Q

what are two examples of exposure therapies?

A
  • flooding = large extreme exposure in one go

- systematic desensitisation = a gradual build up of stimuli intensity over a large number of sessions

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22
Q

what is aversion therapy?

A

attempts to condition an aversion (repulsion) to a stimulus that triggers unwanted behaviour by pairing it with a noxious UCS.

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23
Q

how can conditioning cause random allergic reactions?

A

items with similar appearance, taste or smell to those that actually trigger allergic reactions can trigger the body to have a reaction with no medical cause

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24
Q

how can conditioning explain anticipatory nausea and vomiting?

A

people may become nauseated or vomit minutes or hours before a stimulus that has made them ill in the past

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25
Q

how can conditioning boost the immune system?

A

studies have shown that when sugar pills are paired with medication, patients show a greater immune response to sugar pills alone

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26
Q

what is the law of effect?

A

in a given situation, a response followed by a satisfying consequence will become more likely to occur and a response followed by an annoying consequence will become less likely to occur - proposed by Thorndike

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27
Q

what is operant conditioning?

A

a type of learning in which behaviour is influenced by the consequences that follow it

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28
Q

what is Skinner’s box?

A

a special chamber used to study operant conditioning experimentally

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29
Q

what is reinforcement?

A

when a response is strengthened by an outcome that follows it

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30
Q

what is punishment?

A

occurs when a response is weakened by outcomes that follow it

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31
Q

what is Skinner’s three part contingency?

A
  1. antecedents (things that occur before a behaviour)
  2. behaviours (performed by the organism)
  3. consequences (things that follow the behaviour)
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32
Q

what was Skinners theory on when operant conditioning will occur?

A

IF antecedent stimuli are present (a dog is told to sit)
AND a behaviour occurs (the dog sits)
THEN consequences occur (a treat is given)
the behaviour is conditioned.

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33
Q

what are some main differences between operant and classical conditioning?

A
  • classical conditioning elicits a reflex like response, operant elicits a response under the control of the organism
  • in classical conditioning occurs through a pairing of stimuli, operant occurs through consequences of actions
  • in classical conditioning, the CS occurs first and elicits a CR. in operant conditioning the consequence follows the behaviour
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34
Q

what is a discriminative stimulus?

A

a signal that a particular response will now produce certain consequences. (antecedent stimulus)

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35
Q

what is positive reinforcement?

A

occurs when a response is strengthened by the subsequent presentation of a stimulus

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36
Q

what are primary reinforcers?

A

stimuli, such as food and water, that an organism naturally finds reinforcing as it satisfies biological needs

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37
Q

what are secondary (conditioned) reinforcers?

A

stimuli that acquire reinforcing properties through their association with primary reinforcers

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38
Q

what is negative reinforcement?

A

a response is strengthened by the subsequent removal (or avoidance) of an aversive stimulus

39
Q

what is operant extinction?

A

the weakening and eventual disappearance of a response because it is no longer reinforced

40
Q

what is aversive punishment?

A

a response is weakened by the subsequent presentation of a stimulus

41
Q

what is response cost? (also known as negative punishment)

A

a response is weakened by the subsequent removal of a stimulus

42
Q

what is shaping?

A

involves reinforcing successive approximations towards a final response

43
Q

what is chaining?

A

used to develop a sequence (or chain) of responses by reinforcing each response with the opportunity to perform the next response

44
Q

what is operant generalisation?

A

an operant response occurs to a new antecedent stimulus or situation that is similar to the original one

45
Q

what is operant discrimination?

A

an operant response will occur to one antecedent stimulus but not to another

46
Q

what is stimulus control?

A

a behaviour that is influenced by discriminative stimuli

47
Q

what is continuous reinforcement?

A

every response of a particular type is reinforced

48
Q

what is partial (intermittent) reinforcement?

A

only a portion of the responses of a particular type is reinforced

49
Q

what differences in learning are produced by different reinforcement schedules?

A 
continuous = learnt more rapidly but also extinguished more rapidly 
intermittent = learnt more slowly but much harder to extinguish
50
Q

what is escape conditioning?

A

the organism learns a response to terminate an aversive stimulus

51
Q

what is avoidance conditioning?

A

the organism learns a response to avoid an aversive stimulus

52
Q

what is the two factor theory of avoidance learning?

A

both classical and operant conditioning are involved in avoidance learning
classical creates a fear of an aversive stimulus, then operant reinforces the avoidance behaviour

53
Q

challenges to behaviourism:

what is preparedness?

A

through evolution, animals are biologically predisposed to learn some associations more easily than others

54
Q

challenges to classical conditioning:

what is conditioned taste aversion?

A

a conditioned response in which the taste (sometimes also smell or sight) of a particular food becomes disgusting or repulsive

55
Q

what is insight?

A

the sudden perception of a useful relationship that helps to solve a problem

56
Q

what is a cognitive map?

A

a mental representation of the spatial layout

57
Q

what is latent learning?

A

learning that occurs but is not demonstrated until later, when there is an incentive to perform

58
Q

what is blocking?

A

obstruction of conditioning of a CR, because that response has already been conditioned to a different stimulus

59
Q

what is Rescorla-Wagner theory?

A

a theory of classical conditioning which states that the strength of conditioning is determined by how surprising the UCS is

60
Q

what is latent inhibition?

A

the weakening of classical conditioning due to the prior presentation of the CS on its own

61
Q

what are attentional theories of classical conditioning?

A

theories that state that the strength of conditioning is determined by how much attention is paid to the CS during the learning episode

62
Q

what is observational learning?

A

learning that occurs by observing the behaviour of a model

63
Q

what is social cognitive theory? (also known as social learning theory)

A

emphasises that people learn by observing the behaviour of models and acquiring the belief that they can produce behaviours to influence events in their life

64
Q

what is self-efficacy?

A

the belief that you have the capability to perform behaviours that will produce the desired outcome

65
Q

what are neural network models?

A

the idea that we learn through changes in the connections between mathematically simulated neurons

66
Q

where does habituation have a greater effect than sensitisation?

A

when the stimulus is unthreatening

67
Q

where does sensitisation have a greater effect than habitation?

A

when the stimulus is threatening

68
Q

how did Thorndike create the Law of effect?

A

he placed a hungry cat in a puzzle box. the cat would pace, struggle and scratch in an attempt to get out. they would eventually accidentally step on a lever which then released them and gave them food. they eventually learnt that pushing the lever meant they got food

69
Q

what is the difference between a reward and a positive reinforcer?

A

a reward can be given for one instance of a behaviour i.e. a child getting a toy for tidying their room. but if they don’t get it when they next clean their room then it has not reinforced the behaviour. so reinforcers have to make the behaviour more likely by occurring more frequently and in the same form each time.

70
Q

what are some benefits of computer education designed by Skinner?

A
  • immediate performance feedback

- self-paced learning

71
Q

what is S-R (stimulus response) psychology?

A

the viewpoint that links between stimulus and response occur relatively automatically

72
Q

why is ‘insight’ a weakness of behaviourism?

A

sometimes animals perform a behaviour that has not been previously reinforced but occurs as a result of previous learning such as moving things to stand on to reach objects high up

73
Q

what is resistance to extinction?

A

the degree to which non-reinforced responses persist

74
Q

how does conditioning inform the corporal punishment debate?

A

corporal punishment is a form of aversive punishment and should therefore in theory decrease the likelihood of negative behaviours being repeated. however, evidence is mixed for this - some studies claim that the use of corporal punishment temporarily (at least) reduces unwanted behaviours. however, other studies such as a longitudinal study found that a ban in corporal punishment led to reduced rates of theft, rape and drug trafficking in teenagers.

75
Q

what is an example of a response cost punishment?

A
  • making a child sit out on the naughty step, removing their freedom to play temporarily
76
Q

what is a weakness of the response cost punishment system?

A

it punishes a behaviour but does not alter it - they don’t cause the organism to forget how to perform the behaviour or what to do instead in future situations

77
Q

what is a weakness of punishment in general?

A

it can create negative emotions towards the person punishing the behaviour

78
Q

what is more effective in changing behaviour, reinforcement or punishment?

A

reinforcement

79
Q

what is operant discrimination training?

A

when an organism is trained to perform a response to a certain stimuli by reinforcement but when the stimuli alters slightly (different coloured light) they do not respond to it as the behaviour is then not reinforced

80
Q

what are the four categories of partial reinforcement?

A

ratio vs interval schedules:
- ratio schedules: a certain percentage of responses are reinforced. the more responses, the more reinforcement occurs
- interval schedules: a certain amount of time must elapse before the response is reinforced again. it doesn’t matter how many times the behaviour occurs in between these periods.
fixed vs variable schedules:
- fixed schedules: reinforcement always occurs either after a certain number of responses or a certain time period
- variable schedules: the required number of responses or time interval between responses varies at random around an average

81
Q

how is the principle of a ‘cognitive map’ a weakness of behaviourism?

A

when rats learn a maze, they do not behave randomly when the map is changed but act in a way which implies they have an intrinsic understanding of the space. behaviourism would assume that they learn through trial and error but this theory proposes that learning provides knowledge and knowledge allows organisms to develop expectancy. (i.e. an idea of what leads to what without having to experience it)

82
Q

what is the experiment with rats that illustrates latent learning?

A

rats in one condition found food at the end of a maze
rats in the other condition ran the maze once a day for 10 days without finding any food. then found food on the 11th day.
those in the second condition performed just as well as the first condition after just one day. this is because when running the maze in the first 10 days they were learning the layout of the maze but the learning remained hidden. when they were given an incentive, they ran the maze far quicker.

83
Q

what is the expectancy model?

A

the idea that it is not simply the number of times that the CS is paired with the UCS that predicts a behaviour but the how well the appearance of the CS predicts the UCS.

84
Q

what is modelling?

A

humans’ capacity to learn through observation

85
Q

who came up with social learning theory?

A

Bandura

86
Q

what are the four steps of social learning theory?

A
  1. attention
  2. retention
  3. reproduction
  4. motivation
87
Q

describe the bobo doll experiment

A

children were shown clips of adults behaving violently towards a bobo doll. the children then displayed the same behaviour towards the doll. the effect was more significant when the adults were shown to be praised for their violent behaviour and least significant when they were shown to be punished

88
Q

what is the Hebb rule?

A

the idea that learning doesn’t occur through the creation of new cells or connections but is as a result of increased connection strength between neurons caused by concurrent activity in the synapse

89
Q

what role does the hypothalamus play in learning?

A

regulates ability to experience reward and is involved with the pleasure systems in the brain

90
Q

what is the role of the cerebellum in learning?

A

involved in classically conditioned responses such as eye blink reflexes

91
Q

what is the role of the amygdala in learning?

A

conditioned/learnt fear responses

92
Q

what is off-line learning or consolidation?

A

our ability to practice and improve skills without actually performing the action. this can happen when we are asleep

93
Q

how does behaviourism study learning?

A
  • assumes there are laws of learning that apply to all organisms
  • learning is explained solely in terms of directly observable events, avoids speculating about cognition

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