Learning and Reward Flashcards
what are the main learning theories/ questions?
- how is classical conditioning (paired associated) different from operant conditioning (punishment/reward)?
- the social learning question: how does watching others influence learning?
- how is learning influenced by the biology of reward?
- how does learning occur on a neuron level?
what are the distinctions between the studies of watson, pavlov, skinner, and bandura?
pavlov = classical conditioning
watson= “behaviorism,” classical conditioning “little albert” - can turn anybody into anything? based on idea of “blank state” (ex. babies)
skinner = operant conditioning
bandura = social learning
how is classic conditioning different from operant conditioning?
CC organism is passive/ OC organism is active
CC responses are reflexes/ OC responses are voluntary
CC responses are elicited/ OC responses are emitted
CC reinforcement is unrelated to learning the association (2 things are paired together - ex. startled when hearing a noise)/ OC reinforcement is contingent on desired response (rewards)
What are the basic concepts in classical conditioning?
associative learning - neutral stimulus can produce reflexive behavior
stimulus substitution - stimuli are associated and one comes to substitute for another
learning becomes more complex
what were the different components in pavlov’s dog research? what occured?
US = unlearned stimulus (food)
UR = unlearned response (salivate)
the US automatically elicits the UR (reflex) - natural, nothing was conditioned
when conditioning occured- learning occured…
CS = conditioned/learned stimulus (bell)
CR= conditioned/learned response (salivate to the bell)
no longer need US to get what was UR (salivating) - bell predicts meat - conditioned response
what happens with conditioning?
CS (previously neutral stimulus) is PAIRED repeatedly with the US
over trials (temporal pairings), the CS comes to automatically elicit a response (CR) that closely resembles the UCR
CR is not identical to the UR reflex - similar in form but not as strong
it is a learned automatic associative response with similar form to UR
*has to be temporal pairing (happens right in a row of something)
what is stimulus generalization?
generalizing among stimuli
ex. dogs associating meat with researcher paired with white coat, coming in at a certain time, etc and then start to drool
once a stimulus acquired conditioned properties through stimulus substitution, what happens?
the brain learns
can have stimulus generalization, discrimination, and extinction
what is stimulus discrimination?
discriminating among stimuli
what is extinction?
extinguishing learned associations
ex. when they ring a bell and don’t come in with meat, they will slowly start to stop salivating until it becomes unlearned again
when signaling stimulus occurs without the actual thing being showed, what has happened?
condition is learned
Who is john watson? what did he apply in his research?
researched the case of little albert
applied pavlov’s associative learning (classical conditioning) to albert’s emotional learning of fear
discovered that we can learn emotional responses
what were the different effects of conditioning on little albert?
before conditioning
US = noise and UR =crying (fear/startled)
during conditioning
US paired with UR + CS (white rat)
after conditioning
CR (fearful crying) > CS (white rat)
cries with just seeing the rat and not hearing the noise, led to question - is this why phobias are learned?, stimulus generalization was learned with other furry white animals
how were the CC principles - stimulus substitution, generalization, discrimination, and extinction - presented in the case of little albert?
stimulus substitution? noise for rat
stimulus generalization? was afraid of other animals (rabit, dog, fur coat, etc)
stimulus discrimination? wasn’t afriad of larger animals/ non white animals
extinction? would have to make little albert unlearn his fears, present it in a relaxing manner
what are mower’s 2 factor theory of avoidance learning?
- classical conditioning - conditioned to fear something (CS)
ex. developing fear - paired rat with noise led to fear of the rat - operant conditioning (instrumental)
the individual learns a response to get away from CS
this is an operant conditioning process - avoiding the CS (fear) involves negative reinforcement (removal of negative experience i.e. fear)
ex. plane - never go on a plane again and avoid it in a non fear state therefore you will never unlearn/ extinguish fear because of avoidance - strengthens fear
what is reinforcement in relationship to fears?
avoidance responses are strengthened and this strengthing is “reinforcement”
all reinfocement involves an increase in the behavior preceding it (avoidance)
how is fear maintained?
thorugh operant conditioning
extinction to CS (feared stimuli) never happens
what are some examples of classical conditioning?
salivating in response to thought of food
sexual interests
drug overdoses
coaine and money pairing
smoking - craving develops in certain contexts
advertising - get people to buy products and get positive responses (ex. corona and beach imagery)
anticipatory nausea - cancer patients in hospitals in response to chemo (anticipating their feelings)
what is systematic desensitization?
treatment for phobias
the undoing process
do phobias and addictions have learned components?
YES
counter conditioning - bring up fear and then having an individual learn to be relaxed (unlearning pairing of fear and object)
systematic desensitization - CS/CR 1 (fear) > CS/CR 2 (relaxation)
how does classical conditioning work with sexual arousal?
US = erotic imagery > UR= arousal
CS = previously neutral (ex. shoes) > CR= sexual arousal to CS
independent arousal to shoes > shoe fetish
can treat by unlearning
how does classical conditioning work with drug tolerance?
classical conditioning - body adjusting to effects of drugs
conditioned to stimuli that normally precedes drug use - causes a physiological response that helps the body prepare for the drug
*therefore many overdoses happen because they are taking usual drug dose in a different location
what are the effects of emotional learning?
postive and negative emotions are acquired - some associative process - form connections
CER (conditioned emotional response)
emotionally changed conditional response elicited by a previous neutral stimulus
ex. police cars, 9/11, ocean and jaws, foods like/ hated, music, smells, people, etc
what are phobias? what do they involve?
classified under anxiety disorders
involve panic attacks typically if exposed to feared situation (intense fear response)
some examples…
agoraphobia - fear panic attacks, therefore making an individual avoid many situations
social phobia - thinking people look at you negatively and therefore you don’t want to interact with others
specific phobias like heights, snakes, closed spaces, etc.
how does virtual therapy for fears help? (video example)
man deathly afraid of heights virtually went down an elevator, crossed a bridge, and went on a plane
after treatment he could go up the elevator
*must be exposed to worst fears in order in overcome fears and learn how to be unafraid in situations
what is systematic desensitization?
a “cognitive -behavioral” method of treatment for phobias using the principle of “counterconditioning”
SD takes classical conditioning into realm of cognition
visual imagery and mental associations are actively engaged
overrides learned response
what is counterconditioning?
a CC procedure for weakening a CR by associating the CS (fear-producing stimulus) with a new response incompatible with the fear
an SD technique
how is counterconditioning performed?
- the therapist, with the client, develops a hierarchy of feared situations
ex. CS’s (seeing picutres of snakes to napping with a boa around your neck) - lowest to hights fears - person is taught relaxation and coping imagery and skills
- then, client applies learned skills while imagining CS’s
how does SD work?
pair new and incompatible responses (relaxation, normal breathing, coping thoughts/images, voluntary parasympathetic activity in general) with images of CS’s
leads to new CS-CR associations over trials, called “higher-order conditioning”
extinction processes involves learning fear-inhibition behaviors via counterconditioning
what happens when phobic indiviuals practice SD? what is the result?
conditioned fear (a CR) is counterconditioned by newly developed incompatible responses
practice involves repeated trials (this is form of pairings of stimuli)
result - diminishment of fear achieved through an increases of capacity and motivation for active coping/management of anxiety-producing situations
what are fundamental to behavioral change?
exposure and extinction as a result of SD
in classical conditioning terms - breaking old associative bonds (CS/UCS relations) through exposure to CS, extinction, and re-conditioning leads to learning of new associative bonds
what is an example of desensitization?
snake phobic
irrational fear is cured
after a few sessions he can come in, see snake, and touch it
what is flooding?
a technique used for desenitization
where you are overwhelmed and exposed to what you’re afraid of all at the same time to the point where your fear is exhausted
used rarely (if you can’t get down to relaxed state, it will just elevate your fear)
how is operant conditioning different from classical conditioning?
“operant” is skinner’s word for behavior that operates on the environment, that have effects which are “instrumental” in producing desired results
instrumental learning = operant conditioning
