Learning & Ethology Flashcards
reflex
unlearned response elicited by a specific stimulus
unconditioned stimulus
stimulus that can reflexively elicit a response
unconditioned response
response reflexively elicited by an unconditional stimulus
conditioned stimulus
a stimulus that, after conditioning, is able to elicit a nonreflexsive response
conditioned response
response that, after conditioning, is elicited by a conditioned stimulus
acquisition
period during which an organism is learning the association of the stimuli
extinction in classical conditioning
unlearning classical conditioning by not reinforcing conditioned behavior
spontaneous recovery
after period of rest after extinction, a weak conditioned response can occur
generalization
tendency for stimuli similar to conditioned stimulus to elicit conditioned response
forward conditioning
presenting unconditioned stimulus after conditioned stimulus
backward conditioning
presenting conditioned stimulus after unconditioned stimulus (generally unsuccessful)
second-order conditioning
CS, UCS –> neutral, CS –> neutral
sensory preconditioning
neutral 1, neutral 2 –> neutral 2 (becomes CS), UCS –> neutral 1
neutral 1 will elicit salivation even though it was never directly paired with food (UCS)
contingency explanation of classical conditioning
classical conditioning is a matter of learned signals for the UCS
- CS is a good signal for UCS
(Robert Rescorla)
blocking
conditioned stimulus is a good signal for unconditioned stimulus & provides nonredundant information about the occurrence of the UCs
contiguity
CS and UCS are contiguous (near) in time
operant conditioning
reward learning; based on learning the relationship between one’s actions & their consequences
(instrumental conditioning)
law of effect
if a response is followed by an annoying consequence, the animal will be less likely to emit the same response in the future
positive reinforcement
behavior is rewarded
increases probability of response
2 types of negative reinforcement
- escape
2. avoidance
escape
type of negative reinforcement; behavior removes something undesirable
(increases probability of response)
avoidance
type of negative reinforcement; behavior avoids something undesirable
(increases probability of response)
punishment
behavior causes something undesirable
decreases probability of response
extinction in operant conditioning
behavior that used to bring reward no longer does so
decreases probability of response
discriminative stimulus
stimulus condition that indicates that organism’s behavior will have consequences
(pigeon only gets food when light is on)
generalization in operant conditioning
if you train an animal to peck when green light is on, after training, the animal will peck also when similarly colored lights are on. the more similar to green, the more it will peck