Learning And memory Flashcards
Habituation
- response to stimuli can change over time depending on the frequency and intensity of the stimulus
- Repeated exposure to the same stimulus can cause a decrease in response.
Didhabituation
-The recovery of a response to a stimulus after habituation has occurred
-The recovery of a response to a stimulus, usually after a different stimulus has been presented.
Note: the term refers to changes in response to the original stimulus, not the new one
Ex: When driving in a car you get used to the scenery, sound of the engine, etc. habituation occurred. Then you take an exit and are more alert with the sentry, etc. recovery of the stimulus happens and similar sceneries now are not ignored.
There are many types of learning but the MCAT focuses on which two
1) associative learning
- creation of a pairing, or association, either between two stimuli or between a behavior and a response
1) classical conditioning
2) operant conditioning
2) observational learning
- process of learning a new behavior or gaining information by watching others
1) What is classical conditioning?
2) Name the other type of conditioning?
1)Takes advantage of biological, instinctual responses to create associations between two unrelated stimuli
1) unconditioned stimulus: any stimulus that brings about such a reflective response - ex: we salivate when we smell bread baking in the oven, jump or recoil when we hear a loud noise 2) unconditioned response: The innate or reflexive response 3) neutral stimuli: when a stimuli does not produce a reflexive response. Many stimuli fall under this category - can be referred to as signaling stimuli if they have the potential to be used as a conditioning stimulus
2) operant conditioning
Who is Ivan Pavlov? What was his experiment?
Did research in classical conditioning
His experiments were on dogs and provide a template for the way the MCAT will test classical conditioning
His study
Unconditioned stimulus: meat unconditioned response: the dog salivates
Neutral stimulus: ringing a bell
Response: dog does not salivate
Conditioned stimulus: ringing bell
Conditioned response: dog salivates
Experiment: rang bell before placing meat in dogs mouth. Initially no salvation, after a few trials salvation when hearing Bell rang even if no meat present. This is an example of a neutral stimulus turning into a conditioned stimulus also known as acquisition
What is a conditioned stimulus? Give example
They normally neutral stimulus that, through association, now causes a reflexive response Called a conditioned response
What is acquisition?
– Turning a neutral stimulus into a conditioned stimulus
Example: dog salivating when bell rang but meat not present
What is extinction
- loss of a conditioned response
- If the condition stimulus is presented without the unconditioned stimulus enough times, the organism can become habituated it to the conditioned stimulus
Ex: A dog will eventually stop salivating at the sound of a bell if meat is not present
What is spontaneous recovery?
After some time, if an extinct conditioned stimulus is presented again, a weak conditioned response can sometimes be exhibited
What is generalization?
A stimulus similar enough to the conditioned stimulus can also produce the conditioned response
Example little Albert experiment
- Albert to be afraid of a white rat by pairing the presence of the rat with a loud sound
- Alberts conditioning had generalized such that he also exhibited fear towards a white stuffed rabbit, white seal skin coat, even a man with a white bread
What is discrimination?
- organism learns to distinguish between two similar stimuli.
- this is the opposite of generalization
Ex: dog is conditioned to salivate for one bell tone but not another Bell tone
1) What is operant conditioning?
2) What is the other type of conditioning?
1) links voluntary behaviors with consequences in an effort to alter the frequency of those behaviors
- B. F. Skinner: considered the father of behavioralism, theory that all behaviors are conditioned.
1) reinforcement and punishment
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2) classical conditioning
What is reinforcement?
1) reinforcement: process of increasing the likelihood that an individual will perform a behavior
1) positive reinforcers: increase a behavior by adding a positive consequence or incentive following the desired behavior
Ex: money. An example of a common and strong positive reinforcer. People will continue to work if they get paid
2) negative reinforcers: they increase the frequency of a behavior, but they do so by removing something unpleasant
Ex: taking an aspirin reduces a headache, so the next time you have a headache, you are more likely to take an aspirin.
What are the types of negative reinforcers?
1) Escape learning: the role of the behavior is to reduce the unpleasantness of something that already exists
EX: You have a headache so you take Tylenol to reduce it.
2) avoidance learning: meant to prevent the unpleasantness of something that has yet to happen
EX: studying for the MCAT now to avoid the unpleasant consequence of a poor score when taking the test on test day.
How can classical and operant conditioning be used hand-in-hand
Dolphin trainers
- Reinforcers are used to train dolphins to perform tricks.
- The trainers will feed the dolphin a fish after it performs trick. The fish is a primary reinforcer
- trainers use clickers as well and they are normally not reinforcers but trainers use classical conditioning to pair the clicker with a fish. The clicker is a conditioned reinforcer sometimes called a secondary reinforcer
- The dolphin may even associate the presence of the trainer with the possibility of reward, making the presence of the trainer a discrimination stimulus: indicates that reward is potentially available in an operant conditioning paradigm
What is punishment? what are the different types?
Uses conditioning to reduce the occurrence of a behavior
1) positive punishment: add is an unpleasant consequence in response to a behavior to reduce that behavior
Ex: A thief is beaten in for stealing, which is intended to stop them from stealing again
2) negative punishment: the reduction of a behavior when a stimulus is removed
Ex: Parent forbids child from watching TV as a consequence for bad behavior. Goal is to prevent the behavior from happening again
What are the different types of reinforcement schedules
Fixed-ratio, variable-ratio, fixed – interval, verbal – interval
-variable ratio works the fastest for learning a new behavior, and is also the most resistant to extinction.
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What is fixed-ratio?
Reinforce a behavior after a specific number of performances of that behavior
Ex: researchers might reward a rat with a food pallet every 3 times it presses a bar in its cage
What is continuous reinforcement?
It is a fixed-ratio in which the behavior is rewarded every time it is performed
What is a variable-ratio?
Reinforce a behavior after a varying number of performances of the behavior, but such that the average number of performances to receive a reward is relatively constant.
Ex: rat will be rewarded first after to process, then eight, then four, then six.
What is fixed interval?
Reinforce the first instance of a behavior after a specific time Has elapsed.
Ex: Once the rat gets a pallet, it Hass to wait 60 seconds before it can get another pallet. The first lever pressed after 60 seconds gets a pellet, but pressing the lever before 60 has passed will not get another pellet
What is variable-interval?
Reinforce a behavior the first time that behavior is performed after a varying interval of time
What is shaping?
The process of rewarding increasingly specific behaviors.
Used to train extremely complicated behaviors
Ex: training a bird to spin around then pack a key on a keyboard. First reward the bird for turning 45, then 90 then 180 then packing
