Learning and Memory Flashcards
What is the definition of learning?
The way in which we acquire new behaviors
What is the repeated exposure to the same stimulus can cause a decrease in response?
Habituation
What is the name a of stimulus too weak to elicit a response?
Subthreshold stimulus
What is the reverse processes of habituation?
Dishabituation
Is dishabituation temporary or not?
Temporary
What dishabituation refers to?
A change in response of a stimulus that you were habituated to (can be caused by a second stimulus, but doesn’t refer to the new stimulus, but to the original one)
What are the 2 types of learning?
Associative learning
Observational learning
What is an associative learning?
The creation of a pairing, either between 2 stimuli or between a behaviour and a response
What are the types of associative learning?
Classical conditioning
Operant conditioning
What is a classical conditioning?
Association between 2 unrelated stimuli by taking advantage of biological or instinctual response
(ex. Pavlov and the dog)
What is the basis for which a classical conditioning can work?
An unconditioned stimulus: One stimulus need to cause an innate or reflexive physiological response (or an unconditioned response)
For example: we start to salivate when we smell bread baking in the oven
What are neutral stimuli?
A stimulus that doesn’t create an innate or reflexive physiological response
What is the Pavlov’s experiment in summary?
A dog was conditioned to salivate whenever he heard a certain bell ringing.
Unconditioned stimulus: meat (causing salivation)
Neutral stimulus: ringing of a bell
Pavlov rang the bell before giving meat to the dog, after a while, the dog started to salivate even without the meat
What is the name of the process of turning a neutral stimulus to a conditioned stimulus while using an unconditioned stimulus?
Acquisition
What is a conditioned stimulus?
A formally neutral stimulus that is now causing a reflexive reaction (a conditioned response)
What does extinction refer to as?
The loss of a conditioned response
What would happen to the conditioned response if the unconditioned stimulus isn’t presented repeatedly?
Extinction
Is extinction permanent?
No, the conditioned response can happen again if the subject if presented with an extinct conditioned stimulus.
The condition response will be weaker than before and the phenomenon is called spontaneous recovery
What is spontaneous recovery?
The phenomenon of a weaker conditioned response happening again if the subject if presented with an extinct conditioned stimulus.
What is the name of the phenomenon by which a stimulus similar to a conditioned stimulus can cause the same conditioned response?
Generalization
What is the opposite of generalization?
Discrimination (or stimuli discrimination)
The subject learns to distinguish between similar conditioned stimulus
What is an operant conditioning?
The ways in which consequences of voluntary behaviours change the frequency of those behaviors
Who is the father of behaviorism?
B. F. Skinner
What are the possible relationships between stimulus and behavior in operant conditioning?
Positive reinforcement: increase the frequency of a behavior by adding a positive consequence
Negative reinforcement: increase the frequency of a behavior because it is removing something unpleasant
Positive punishment: adds an unpleasant consequence to reduce the frequency of a behavior
Negative punishment: Remove a stimulus in order to reduce the frequency of a behavior
