Learning

Question 1

learning

Answer 1

the relatively permanent change in knowledge or behavior that is the result of experience

Question 2

conditioning

Answer 2

behaviorist’s fundamental aspect of learning:

the ability to connect stimuli (the changes that occur in the environment) with responses (behaviors or other actions)

Question 3

Classical conditioning

Answer 3

Ivan Pavlov

learning that occurs when a neutral stimulus (e.g., a tone) becomes associated with a stimulus (e.g., food) that naturally produces a behavior

Question 4

unconditioned stimulus (US)

Answer 4

something (such as food) that triggers a natural occurring response,

Question 5

unconditioned response (UR)

Answer 5

he naturally occurring response (such as salivation) that follows the unconditioned stimulus

Question 6

conditioned stimulus (CS)

Answer 6

a neutral stimulus that, after being repeatedly presented prior to the unconditioned stimulus, evokes a similar response as the unconditioned stimulus

Question 7

conditioned response (CR)

Answer 7

the acquired response to the formerly neutral stimulus

Question 8

Extinction

Answer 8

the reduction in responding that occurs when the conditioned stimulus is presented repeatedly without the unconditioned stimulus

Question 9

spontaneous recovery

Answer 9

Pavlov found that, after a pause, sounding the tone again elicited salivation, although to a lesser extent than before extinction took place. The increase in responding to the CS following a pause after extinction

Question 10

Generalization

Answer 10

refers to the tendency to respond to stimuli that resemble the original conditioned stimulus

Question 11

discrimination

Answer 11

the tendency to respond differently to stimuli that are similar but not identical.

Question 12

second-order conditioning

Answer 12

an existing conditioned stimulus can serve as an unconditioned stimulus for a pairing with a new conditioned stimulus

e.g., associating the whistle with a black square and getting the same CS from both

Question 13

phobia

Answer 13

a learned strong and irrational fear of a specific object, activity, or situation

argued that we are innately wired to develop specific types of phobias due to evolution

Question 14

innateness in conditionin

Answer 14

we are wired to make certain learning more easily, e.g., associating smells with illness vs sounds or light with illness

Question 15

Operant conditioning

Answer 15

Edward L. Thorndike

learning that occurs based on the consequences of behavior and can involve the learning of new actions.

when a dog rolls over on command because it has been praised for doing so in the past

Question 16

law of effect

Answer 16

the principle that responses that create a typically pleasant outcome in a particular situation are more likely to occur again in a similar situation, whereas responses that produce a typically unpleasant outcome are less likely to occur again in the situation

successful responses, because they are pleasurable, are “stamped in” by experience and thus occur more frequently. Unsuccessful responses, which produce unpleasant experiences, are “stamped out” and subsequently occur less frequently

Question 17

Skinner Box/operant chamber

Answer 17

designed by BF Skinner - behavioral psychologist that expanded on Thorndike’s work

a structure that is big enough to fit a rodent or bird and that contains a bar or key that the organism can press or peck to release food or water. It also contains a device to record the animal’s responses

Question 18

reinforcer

Answer 18

any event that strengthens or increases the likelihood of a behavior

Question 19

punisher

Answer 19

any event that weakens or decreases the likelihood of a behavior

Question 20

positive reinforcement

Answer 20

strengthens a response by presenting something pleasant after the response

Question 21

negative reinforcement

Answer 21

strengthens a response by reducing or removing something unpleasant

taking aspirin to reduced the pain of a headache represents negative reinforcement

Question 22

Positive punishment

Answer 22

weakens a response by presenting something unpleasant after the response

Question 23

negative punishment

Answer 23

weakens a response by reducing or removing something pleasant

Question 24

continuous reinforcement schedule

Answer 24

the desired response is reinforced every time it occurs; whenever the dog rolls over, for instance, it gets a biscuit

rapid learning and rapid extinction

Question 25

partial (or intermittent) reinforcement schedule

Answer 25

a schedule in which the responses are sometimes reinforced, and sometimes not.

partial reinforcement schedules lead to slower initial learning, but they also lead to greater resistance to extinction

schedules are determined by whether the reinforcement is presented on the basis of the time that elapses between reinforcement (interval) or on the basis of the number of responses that the organism engages in (ratio), and by whether the reinforcement occurs on a regular (fixed) or unpredictable (variable) schedule

Question 26

fixed-interval schedule

Answer 26

reinforcement occurs for the first response made after a specific amount of time has passed

Question 27

variable-interval schedule

Answer 27

the reinforcers appear on an interval schedule, but the timing is varied around the average interval, making the actual appearance of the reinforcer unpredictable

tend to produce stronger response than fixed

Question 28

fixed-ratio schedule

Answer 28

a behavior is reinforced after a specific number of responses

once the organism has learned to act in accordance with the fixed-reinforcement schedule, it will pause only briefly when reinforcement occurs before returning to a high level of responsiveness

Question 29

variable-ratio schedule

Answer 29

provides reinforcers after a specific but average number of responses

Winning money from slot machines or on a lottery ticket

Question 30

shaping

Answer 30

Used by Skinner in his boxes

the process of guiding an organism’s behavior to the desired outcome through the use of successive approximation to a final desired behavior.

e.g., reward first by rat moving close to bar, then only when pressing, then only when pressing twice

Question 31

primary reinforcer

Answer 31

stimuli that are naturally preferred or enjoyed by the organism, such as food, water, and relief from pain

Question 32

secondary reinforcer (sometimes called conditioned reinforcer)

Answer 32

neutral event that has become associated with a primary reinforcer through classical conditioning

the whistle given by an animal trainer, which has been associated over time with the primary reinforcer, food
or money

Question 33

insight

Answer 33

the sudden understanding of a solution to a problem

Question 34

Wolfgang Köhler

Answer 34

Köhler argued that it was this flash of insight, not the prior trial-and-error approaches, which were so important for conditioning theories, that allowed the animals to solve the problem

Question 35

Latent learning

Answer 35

Edward Tolman

learning that is not reinforced and not demonstrated until there is motivation to do so

Question 36

Observational learning (modeling)

Answer 36

Bandura

learning by observing the behavior of others

allows us to learn without having to actually engage in what might be a risky behavior

Question 37

programmed instruction,

Answer 37

an educational tool that consists of self-teaching with the aid of a specialized textbook or teaching machine that presents material in a logical sequence

Skinner

Question 38

commons dilemma

Answer 38

Garrett Hardin

basic dilemma of individual desires versus the benefit of the group as whole can also be found in many contemporary public goods issues, including the use of limited natural resources, air pollution, and public land

Question 39

social dilemma

Answer 39

a situation in which the behavior that creates the most positive outcomes for the individual may in the long term lead to negative consequences for the group as a whole

because the long-term negative outcome (the extinction of fish species or dramatic changes in the earth’s climate) is far away in the future and the individual benefits are occurring right now, it is difficult for an individual to see how many costs there really are

Question 40

prisoner’s dilemma game

Answer 40

Poundstone

represents a social dilemma in which the goals of the individual compete with the goals of another individual (or sometimes with a group of other individuals)

police believe that the two worked together on the crime, but they have only been able to gather enough evidence to convict each of them of a more minor offense.

each of the prisoners is interrogated individually in return for a promise of a reduced sentence if he confesses first. Each prisoner can make either the cooperative choice (which is to not confess) or the competitive choice (which is to confess).

prisoner’s dilemma matrix is arranged such that each individual player is motivated to take the competitive choice, because this choice leads to a higher payoff regardless of what the other player does

Question 41

payoff matrix

Answer 41

numbers are used to express the potential outcomes for each of the players in the game, given the decisions each player makes