Learning - Book Flashcards
What did Pavlov show in his classical conditioning experiment? Be sure to be able to identify the US, UR, CS, and CR
Dogs’ brains were learning that if a certain condition was met (food bowl arrived), the food would soon arrive.
Unconditioned stimulus: Food
Unconditioned response: Dog’s saliva
Conditioned stimulus: Pavlov entering the room / bell
Condition response: Salivation
What is stimulus generalization?
Tendency to respond to stimuli that are similar to the conditioned stimulus so that learning is not tired too narrowly to the specific stimuli
What is discrimination?
Occurs when we learn to respond to a specific stimulus but not to similar stimuli, thus preventing overgeneralization
What do the Little Albert studies show? How can fear be conditioned?
That fear, a more complex response than salivating, can also be conditioned. Negative associations that are learned from past experiences (going to the dentist)
How do advertisers use classical conditioning principles?
Build association between brand and good feelings by using attractive people
What is a conditioned taste aversion?
Associate nausea with food rather than other environmental factors
How is operant conditioning different from classical conditioning?
Mechanism by which our behavior operates on the environment, acting as an instrument or tool for us to change it. Involves voluntary actions or behaviors
What was Thorndike’s Law of Effect?
Behavior is a function of its consequences
What are reinforcers? What’s the difference between primary and secondary reinforcers?
Increased likelihood of behavior being repeated
Primary: Satisfy some biological need and effective regardless of prior experience like hunger
Secondary: Learned, acquiring value through experience because of their association with primary reinforcers
How are positive and negative reinforcements procesess similar and different?
Positive: Behavior leads to a stimulus being presented; Negative: Behavior leads to a stimulus being removed
Increases likelihood of a behavior; Independent of whether the outcome is desired or undesired; objective facts about observable responses
How are positive and negative punishments similar and different?
Weakens or decreases the likelihood of a behavior; positive - stimulus is presented so behavior decreases (ticket for speeding), negative: decreases behavior by removing stimulus (losing your license after too many tickets)
hat is the difference between a continuous schedule of reinforcement and a partial schedule of reinforcement?
Continuous: Behavior is rewarded every time, rapid acquisition of the behavior, but also rapid extinction
Partial: Behavior is rewarded only some of the time
What are the different types of partial schedules of reinforcement? How are the outcomes differ for each?
Ratio schedules: Determined by behavior
Interval schedules: Determined by time
Both have fixed and variable forms, variable schedules more resistant to extinction
What is operant conditioning?
A method of learning that uses rewards and punishment to modify behavior.
What is a Skinner box?
Examine operant conditioning in lab animals; small world where the researcher had complete control over everything the animal might experience
