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Psych109 > Learning > Flashcards

Learning Flashcards

1
Q

Define Learning.

A

Learning means a long lasting changes in behaviour that are caused by environmental changes not by internal factors (e.g. surgery or growth).

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2
Q

What is the Law of Effect and who created it?

A

The LOE is the fundamental law of behaviour and it originated from E.L.Thorndike.

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3
Q

Explain the Law of Effects 4 key principles.

A
  1. If a response is followed by a favourable consequence, the response will be more
    likely to occur again
    2.A response is an item of behaviour
    3.A favourable consequence is a reinforcer
  2. A response should be followed by a reinforcer.
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4
Q

Define Operant Behaviour.

A

Operant behaviour is behaviour that is controlled by its consequence.

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5
Q

Define Operant Conditioning.

A

Operant conditioning or instrumental conditioning is learning an association between a response and its consequences.

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6
Q

Explain was Contingency is.

A

Contingency is when the response causes the reinforcer and the reinforcer needs the response in order to occur.

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7
Q

What should you do in order to get the animal to respond?

A

Use the Shaping/Method of successive Approximations.

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8
Q

Explain Shaping/Method of successive Approximations.

A

This is when you begin by rewarding any behaviour, a broad approach then start scaling it down until you are only rewarding the desired behaviour.

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9
Q

What are the 6 tips for shaping successfully?

A
  1. Use a suitable and relevant reinforcer (food for hungry pigeon)
  2. Be sure you’re what response you want to reinforce (want the pigeon to turn left so make sure you only reward/reinforce this)
  3. Reinforce as soon as possible after the response. (pigeon turns left, release food straight away)
  4. Try to stay a little ahead of the changes behaviour. (if you want the pigeon to turn the full way around don’t repeat the ¼ turn to much, use variability)
  5. Make sure you get enough reinforcers (enough food)
  6. Make sure you don’t have too many reinforcers (pigeon gets full, loses interest(satiates))
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10
Q

What are the 2 types of reinforcement?

A

Positive and Negative.

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11
Q

What is the basic principle of positive reinforcement?

A

Positive Reinforcement is to add something

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12
Q

What is the basic principle of negative reinforcement?

A

Negative Reinforcement is to remove something. This is not to be confused with punishment.

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13
Q

What is reinforcement?

A

This is the act of reinforcing the behaviour presented by the subject.

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14
Q

What is another name for a favourable event?

A

Appetitive Event

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15
Q

What is the opposite of Appetitive Event and the unfavourable event?

A

Aversive Event

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16
Q

What are the 3 parts of the Law of Effect?

A
  1. Reinforcement
  2. Punishment
  3. Extinction
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17
Q

Explain what reinforcement suggests.

A

If a response is followed by a favourable consequence it will be more likely to happen again. It will increase the tendency that the goal behaviour will occur again.

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18
Q

Explain what punishment suggests.

A

If a response is followed by an unfavourable consequence it will be less likely to happen again. It will decrease the tendency that the behaviour will occur again.

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19
Q

What is an example of Positive Reinforcement?

A

If your goal behaviour is for the child to put their seatbelt on before driving, you will reward them with a lolly to increase that behaviour to occur again.

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20
Q

What is an example fo negative reinforcement?

A

If your goal behaviour is for the child to put their seatbelt on before driving, the car will beep continuously until the seatbelt is put on. This will increase the behaviour but is not a positive enforcer because the beep goes away when the seatbelt is put on.

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21
Q

What is an example of positive punishment?

A

If your goal behaviour is to stop speeding, you will be given a ticket (adding something) to decrease the speeding behaviour.

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22
Q

What is an example negative punishment?

A

If your goal behaviour is to stop speeding, you will lose your license if you speed too much and taking your license away and this decreases the speeding behaviour.

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23
Q

What is positive punishment?

A

Adding something to decrease the behaviour.

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24
Q

What is negative punishment?

A

Taking something away to decrease the behaviour.

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25
Q

What is positive reinforcement?

A

Adding something to increase behaviour.

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26
Q

What is negative reinforcement?

A

Taking something away to increase behaviour.

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27
Q

What is operant conditioning?

A

Operant conditioning is a method of learning that occurs through rewards and punishments for behavior. Through operant conditioning, an individual makes an association between a particular behavior and a consequence (Skinner, 1938)

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28
Q

What is classical conditioning?

A

Classical conditioning (also known as Pavlovian or respondent conditioning) refers to a learning procedure in which a biologically potent stimulus (e.g. food) is paired with a previously neutral stimulus (e.g. a bell).

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29
Q

Explain Extinction.

A

This is when reinforcement stops.

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30
Q

Explain Escape Behaviour.

A

Response terminates ongoing aversive event. The behaviour stop the unfavourable event.

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31
Q

What are the 2 parts of Aversive Control?

A
  1. Escape Learning

2. Avoidance Learning

32
Q

Explain Aversive Control.

A

An Aversive control is use to describe situation in which a behaviour is motivated by the threat of something unpleasant.

33
Q

Provide an example of Escape Behaviour.

A

A fire breaks out, I leave to terminate the aversive stimulus (fire).

34
Q

Provide an example of Avoidance Behaviour?

A

A fire breaks out, the fire alarm goes off, I leave before the aversive stimulus(fire)is even there.

35
Q

Can escape turn into avoidance?

A

Yes.

36
Q

Explain the Avoidance Paradox.

A

Because reinforcers are not present in avoidance in order to maintain the behaviour they are using something called conditioned anxiety.

37
Q

Explain Conditioned Anxiety.

A

This is when the subject will be aware of the aversive event and will use this awareness to avoid the event.

38
Q

Provide an example of conditioned anxiety.

A

The dog does not want to get a shock and knows the shock is coming so they move away before the shock happens because they know it is going to happen.

39
Q

What can Reinforcers and Punishers be divided up into?

A

Primary and Secondary.

40
Q

Explain what a primary is reinforcer/punisher is?

A

This is when the behaviour is affected by their innate biological significance. E.g. warmth, food, escape pain.

41
Q

Explain what a secondary is reinforcer/punisher is?

A

This was once a neutral stimuli (no meaning, neither good nor bad) that have gained reinforcement properties because they were paired with a primary consequence.

42
Q

What can secondary reinforcer/punishers be called?

A

Conditioned reinforcers

43
Q

What does PREE stand for?

A

The Partial Reinforcement Extinction Effect

44
Q

What is The Partial Reinforcement Extinction Effect (PREE)?

A

This is when the response(behaviour) is maintained after extinction because it was previously maintained by intermittent reinforcement.

45
Q

What is intermittent reinforcement arranged by?

A

Schedules of Reinforcement.

46
Q

What are Schedules of Reinforcement?

A

These are rules that specify when a response will be reinforced.

47
Q

If we are only to reinforce a response after a certain number of times this is called …

A

Ratio Schedules.

48
Q

If your rules for reinforcement are based on time this is called…

A

Interval Schedules.

49
Q

Schedules can be either…

A

Fixed or Variable.

50
Q

Results from Schedules of Reinforcement are shown on a…

A

Cumulative Record.

51
Q

Explain FR.

A

Reinforcement is caused on the last of the fixed number of responses emitted since the last reinforcer. E.g. FR5 means every 5 response is reinforced.

52
Q

Explain VR.

A

Reinforcement is caused on the last of a variable number of responses emitted since the last reinforcer. E.g. VR 10 means every 10th response, on average, is reinforced.

This has a high constant rate of responding (no pausing). The animal cannot predict the reinforcement method for this one because every response has the chance of being reinforced. This schedule maintains the highest possible rate of behaviour.

53
Q

Explain FI.

A

A response is reinforced after a fixed amount of time has elapsed since the last reinforcer. E.g. FI15s means a response will be reinforced when 15s has elapsed since the last reinforcer.

Like FR, but with a smoother transition from break to run. FI Scallop (smoother than pause then terminal run).

54
Q

Explain VI.

A

A response is reinforced after a variable amount of time has elapsed since the last reinforcer. E.g. VI 30s means a response will be reinforced 30s on average since the last reinforcer.

Like VR there shouldn’t be any pauses but there is usually a lower response rate.

55
Q

What does a cumulative recorder do?

A

Track behaviour.

56
Q

What does an up line represent on a cumulative record?

A

High Response Run.

57
Q

What does a down line represent on a cumulative record?

A

Low response amount.

58
Q

What does a tick, dot, spot, represent on a cumulative record?

A

A reinforcer.

59
Q

What does a straight line represent on a cumulative record?

A

Pause after reinforcement or no behaviour.

60
Q

What does DRO stand for?

A

Differential Reinforcement of Other Behaviour.

61
Q

What is DRO and what is it good for?

A

This is when the reinforcer is delivered after a fixed amount of time after the last response. It is good for training or teaching because it reinforces other behaviour and punishes unwanted behaviour.

62
Q

What is FT?

A

This is Fixed Time Schedule. It is when the reinforcer is delivered when a fixed amount of time has passed regardless of whether there has been a response.

63
Q

What is Stimulus Control of Operant Behaviour?

A

This is when the reinforced behaviour becomes mores likely to occur again in the environment or stimulus context in which it was reinforced.

64
Q

What happens if we change the stimulus context?

A

The response and the probability of the response with change.

65
Q

What is the decremental Gradient?

A

This is the gradient which shows there is a higher response at the stimuli S+.

66
Q

What is stimulus control?

A

Stimulus Control means the amount affect the stimuli has of the probability of the behaviour occurring.

67
Q

What is classical conditioning?

A

This is the study of the association between 2 stimuli, it focusses on before the response not after it.

68
Q

In classical conditioning the operant behaviour is ______ and the respondent behaviour is _______.

A

Emitted and Elicited. Or Produced and Drawn out.

69
Q

Define Unconditioned Stimulus in the Pavlov Dog experiment.

A

The food. It automatically draws out the unconditioned response.

70
Q

In Pavlov’s Dogs experiment what was the bell called before and after it was associated with the food?

A

Neutral Stimulus then after association it was called Conditioned Stimulus.

71
Q

In Pavlov’s Dogs experiment, after the bell was paired/associated with the food what did the salivation become?

A

The conditioned response.

72
Q

What is the difference between CR and UR?

A

CR is after the CS is established and UR is before the CR is established.

73
Q

When studying choice what schedule should you use?

A

Con-concurrent Schedule.

74
Q

Explain what a Concurrent schedule is.

A

This is when you have 2 schedule operating at the same time. You vary the schedules and therefore the rate fo reinforcement for each choice they make. Subjects choose according to the reinforcers for each behaviour.

75
Q

Explain Herrnstein’s Matching Law.

A

This is when we state that the % of responses on one option equals or matches the % of the reinforcers of the option.

76
Q

What is it called when the matching law does not occur?

A

Under-matching, it is the usual result.

Psych109 (3 decks)

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