Learning and Motivation Flashcards
What is classical conditioning
Classical conditioning is a type of learning where an individual learns to associate two stimuli, resulting in a change of behaviour
What was Pavlov doing to discover classical conditioning
Pavlov was experimenting with dogs, and was interested in digestion. But he noticed that the dogs would salivate even before being presented food
Pavlov would ring a bell and then give food to dog, but the dog would salivate in response to other bell rings
What did Pavlov initially call conditioning
Psychic reflex
What are the 4 components to a classical conditioning example
Unconditioned stimulus (US), unconditioned response (UR), conditioned stimulus (CS), conditioned response (CR)
What is an unconditioned stimulus (US)
This is a stimulus which naturally elicits a response (i.e. food)
What is an unconditioned response (UR)
This is a natural response to an unconditioned stimulus (i.e. salivating in response to food)
What is a conditioned stimulus (CS)
This is a previously neutral stimulus, which is then paired with a US to produce a learned response (i.e. a bell)
What is a conditioned response (CR)
This is a learned response to conditioned stimulus alone (i.e. salivation in response to bell)
Why do you want a neutral stimulus for the CS
Because if not, it is hard to learn a new response because it could otherwise stimulate another behaviour
Why isn’t conditioning called stimulus substitution
This is because it isn’t true in some cases. Especially as sometimes in conditioning, the CR isn’t always the same as UR (i.e. case of salivation), which you would expect if the stimuli were substituted
For example, after providing a mildly painful /unpleasant experience as a US, the animal might try avoiding it, but eventually as you keep repeating it to get classical conditioning, the animal would stop trying to escape –> CR is just laying down or not trying to escape (Different CR to UR)
What is second order conditoning
This is where previous conditioned stimulus is used to condition a new, neutral stimulus, allowing for a chain of associations to form
Give an example of second order conditioning
Already associating a bell with food, and then associating the bell with exposure to light –> the dog might think that the presence of light indicates presence of food
What is appetitive conditioning? Give examples
This is where a pairing of stimulus with rewards –> +ve CR
I.e. Food preferences, place preferences
What is aversive conditioning? Give examples
This is where pairing of neutral stimulus with unpleasant US –> CR of fear/avoidance etc
I.e. Conditioned fear, anticipatory nausea, conditioned taste aversion, place avoidance
Explain how conditioning in advertising works
An individual might associate a certain person or the product with a feeling
I.e. Advertising operates by associating stimuli that elicits positive affective responses w/ a brand/product (such as a famous person with the brand or pdouct)
What is acquisition
This is the process of repeatedly presenting the CS with the US –> increase in conditioned response when CS is presented
What is extinction
It is where there is a repeated presentation of CS alone, following acquisition –> reduction in conditioned response (when CS is presented), which aims to break the association / memory by presenting the stimulus alone
However, extinction isn’t necessarily ‘unlearning’, but whats happening is that there are two memories being formed; an acquisition and an extinction memory, which both compete with each other, and certain ones are dominant in certain scenarios (i.e. could be dependent on place - an individual might be used to the extinction memory in a psych lab, but anywhere else, the acqusition memory might be doinant)
What is renewal
This is where a change in context might cause an acquired behaviour to come back.
I.e. if environment changes, extinguished response can return (contextual shifts from original/extinction context)
I.e. extinguished a few of the responses to dogs in psych office, but if encounters a dog in a park –> renewal can occur because of different context, and fear could come back
What is spontaneous recovery
This is where over time, even after the extinction phase, there might be some “spontaneous recovery” of the conditioned stimulis
Shows that learnt associations aren’t entirely erased from extinction
What is Thorndike’s Law of Effect
Given a particular situation, if an action is met with satisfaction the organism will be more likely to make the same action next time it finds itself inthat situation
WHat was Thorndike’s puzzle box
It was a small cage with a button/lever, which an animal had to press to get out and receive a reward (food)
What was the findings of Thorndike’s puzzle box
Animals learn to escape the puzzle box by trial and error, however there is a progressive improvement over many trials. However, there is no sudden “insight” (where they are successful once and can do the same over and over).
Long time to get out of the box initially
So there is no insight, rather there needs to be a reinforcement of a certain action to produce a reward and escape from the box
What was radical behaviourism
The belief that behaviour was only a result of environmental stimuli. It ignores the use of internal mental processes such as beliefs, motivations.
Rejects anything unobservable
Belief that all human psychology was reduced to relationships between stimuli, response and consequence
Thorndike was a behaviourist, but he wasn’t a radical one. WHat did he believe about cat incentivisation?
He believed that the cat was incentivised to leave the box because of the internal process of a desire for a satisfying reward. However, radicals would have discounted this completely
What are reinforcers
These are stimuli that increase the likelihood of a behaviour being repeated
In the context of operant conditioning, reinforcer is any consequence that strengthens or maintains a behaviour. They can be classified as positive or negative
Give an exxample of reinforcer
food
WHat is a secondary reinforcer
They acquire reinforcing properties through exposure (not naturally beneficial)
I.e. money and clicker training
What is shaping? Give an example
This is a type of learning where gradual changes in behaviour are rewarded, until ultimately there is a more complex behaviour being performed
In other words, it is a technique to teach a new behaviour by reinforcing successive approximations of desired behaviour. I.e. reinforcing small steps that lead to target behaviour
I.e. reward for a dog for just touching a dog, followed by a reward by making the door move, and then a reward when the door closes –> ultiately trains the dog to close the door through small approximations of behaviour (gradual changes)
What is instrumental conditioning
This is a type of learning where individual’s behaviour is modified by its consequences / reinforcing benefits. These increase or decrease the likelihood of those behaviours being repeated
What is the difference between classical and instrumental conditioning
Instrumental actually involves a consequence, whereas classical is just associative
What is an appetitive vs an aversive consequence
Appetitive = a desired consequence (i.e. getting food)
Aversive = an undesired punishment (i.e. getting punished with a slap)
What is ‘response produces consequences’ vs ‘response prevents consequences
In the name
What happens when ‘Response produces consequence’ is combined with ‘appetitive consequence’? Give an example
Positive reinforcement
I.e. a dog successfully does a trick and is given some treats
What happens when ‘Response produces consequence’ is combined with ‘aversive consequence’? Give an example
Positive punishment
I.e. a dog biting someone gets punished with a reprimanding
What happens when ‘Response prevents consequence’ is combined with ‘appetitive consequence’? Give an example
Negative punishment
I.e. a dog bites someone and isn’t allowed to play outside
What happens when ‘Response prevents consequence’ is combined with ‘aversive consequence’? Give an example
Negative reinforcement
I.e. a dog runs away from a loud sound (behaviour allows them to escape the ‘punishment’)
What is meant by a ratio vs interval reinforcement
Ratio = responses
Interval = time
What is meant by a fixed vs variable reinforcement
Fixed = a reinforcement is given after a set number of times / set time
Variable = a reinforcement is given after an average number of times / average time
WHat happens when a ‘ratio’ is combined with a ‘fixed’ reinforcement? Give an example
This results in the reinforcement happening every ‘n’ times.
I.e. loyalty cards
WHat happens when a ‘ratio’ is combined with a ‘variable’ reinforcement? Give an example
This happens when the reinforcement happens on average ‘n’ times
I.e. Slot machine (would get a win on avg after 10 times for example)
WHat happens when a ‘interval’ is combined with a ‘fixed’ reinforcement? Give an example
This happens when the reinforcement is given after ‘n’ minutes/weeks/hours
I.e. paycheck (get a reinforcement every week)
WHat happens when a ‘interval’ is combined with a ‘variable’ reinforcement? Give an example
Reinforcement is available on average after n minutes / day
Explain the impacts of fixed, variable, ratios and intervals on the number of responses over time (i.e. explain the graph)
Fixed ratio causes the fastest time to reach 1000 responses, followed by variable ratio (these have steep lines)
Meanwhile the intervals are a more gradual line/slope, with the fixed intervals getting more responses than the variable interval
WHat is the stimulus control theory
Stimulus Control Theory is a behavioral theory that examines how environmental cues, or stimuli, influence behavior. According to this theory, behaviors are more likely to occur in the presence of specific cues that signal certain consequences. When a particular behavior consistently leads to a desired outcome in a specific context, that behavior becomes “under stimulus control” of the cues associated with that context.
