Learning (Modules 23-25) Flashcards
Learning
A relatively permanent change in an organism’s behavior due to experience
What does it mean that we learn by association?
Our minds naturally connect events that occur in sequence.
Ex. When we smell cookies, eat the cookies and feel satisfaction, we expect satisfaction when we smell the cookies next time.
Habituation
Decreasing responsiveness with repeated stimulation
Ex. As infants gain familiarity with repeated exposure to a visual stimulus, their interest wanes and they look away sooner.
Associative Learning
Learning that certain events occur together. The events may be two stimuli (classical conditioning) or a response and its consequences (operant conditioning)
What is the difference between classical and operant conditioning?
Classical conditioning is the association of two stimuli (beep on pager and arrival of food) while operant conditioning is the association of behaviors and their consequences (doing homework and receiving a good grade).
Cognitive Learning
Awareness of the associations being learned, strengthens likes and dislikes
Person associated with classical conditioning
Ivan Pavlov
Classical Conditioning
A type of learning in which one learned to link two or more stimuli and anticipate events
Behaviorism
View the psychology should 1) be an objective science that 2) studies behavior without reference to mental processes. Today, scientists typically agree with 1, but not 2.
Psychology associated with behaviorism
John B. Watson
Unconditioned stimulus (UCS)
In classical conditioning, a stimulus that unconditionally – naturally and automatically – triggers a response
UCS in Pavlov’s dogs
Food stimulus
Unconditioned Response (UCR)
In classical conditioning, the unlearned, natural response to an unconditioned stimulus
UCR in Pavlov’s dogs
Salivation in response to food
Neutral Stimulus (NS)
In classical conditioning, a stimulus not yet associated with another stimuli (becomes a conditioned stimulus upon association)
NS in Pavlov’s dogs
Tone
Conditioned Stimulus (CS)
In classical conditioning, an originally irrelevant stimulus that, after association with the unconditioned stimulus, comes to trigger a conditioned response
CS in Pavlov’s dogs
Tone
Conditioned Response (CR)
In classical conditioning, the learned response to a previously neutral, but not conditioned, stimulus
CR in Pavlov’s dogs
Salivation in response to tone
Acquisition
In classical conditioning, the initial stage when one links the neutral stimulus to the conditioned response. In operant conditioning, the strengthening of a reinforced response.
What is the biological reason that humans and animals can be conditioned?
Conditioning helps humans and animals prepare for good and bad events. It helps animals survive and reproduce by responding to cues that help it gain food, avoid dangers, find mates, and produce offspring.
Higher-order conditioning
AKA second-order conditioning. A procedure in which the conditioned stimulus in one conditioning experience is paired with a new neutral stimulus, creating a second (often weaker) conditioned stimulus.
Ex. An animal learns that a tone means food. That animal might learn that a light predicts tone and eventually salivates at the sight of the light alone.
Extinction
The diminishing of a conditioned response; occurs in classical conditioning when the unconditioned stimulus does not follow a conditioned stimulus; occurs in operant conditioning when a response is no longer reinforced
Spontaneous Recovery
The reappearance, after a pause, of an extinguished conditioned response
Generalization
The tendency, once a response has been conditioned, for stimuli similar to the conditioned stimulus to elicit similar responses
Discrimination
In classical conditioning, the learned ability to distinguish between a conditioned stimulus and stimuli that do not signal and unconditioned stimulus
Why does Pavlov’s work remain so important? (2 reasons)
1) Pavlov proved that virtually all organisms learn to adapt to their environment – many other responses to many other stimuli can be classically conditioned.
2) Pavlov showed us how a process such as learning can be studied objectively.
Summarize Watson’s “Little Albert” Experiment.
Watson conditioned Little Albert to be scared of rats by accompanying the sight of the rat with a frightening noise. Albert showed generalization by acting with fear when presented with similar objects like a rabbit and a dog.
Operant conditioning
A type of learning in which behavior is strengthened if followed by a reinforcer or diminished if followed by a punisher
Person associated with operant conditioning
B.F. Skinner
Law of effect
Rewarded behavior is likely to recur
Person who created law of effect
Edward K. Thorndike
Describe how a Skinner Box works.
Inside the Skinner box, there is a button for animals to press. Upon pressing the button, the animal is rewarded with food. A device records these responses.
Reinforcement
In operant conditioning, the occurrence of any event that strengthens the behavior that follows
Shaping
An operant conditioning procedure in which reinforcers guide behavior toward closer and closer approximations of the desired behavior
Discriminative Stimulus
A specific, distinct event that prompts a conditioned response
Ex. Conditioning a pigeon to peck when it sees a human face, but not when it sees anything else. Shows that pigeons can recognize that human faces are distinct from the faces of other animals.
What is the difference between positive and negative reinforcement?
Positive reinforcement adds a good thing to encourage behavior; negative reinforcement takes away a bad thing
Ex. Positive reinforcement is when a child is rewarded with a cookie for doing their homework. Negative reinforcement is when the child is rewarded for doing their homework by not having to eat their vegetables for the night.
Primary Reinforcers
An innately reinforcing stimulus such as one that satisfies a biological need
Ex. Getting food when hungry
Secondary Reinforcers
A stimulus that gains its reinforcing power through its association with a primary reinforcer (AKA conditioned reinforcer)
Ex. If the light turns on right before food comes, the rat will work to turn on the light because the light is associated with food.
Reinforcement Schedule
Times when reinforcement occurs
Continuous Reinforcement
Reinforcing every time the desired response occurs
Ex. Giving a child a piece of candy every time they do their homework
Partial (Intermittent) Reinforcement
Reinforcing a response only part of the time; results in slower acquisition of response but greater resistance to extinction
Ex. Giving into children’s tantrums occassionally
Fixed-Ratio Schedule
Reinforces a response after a fixed number of times
Ex. Coffee shop rewarding you with a free drink after every five you buy
Variable-Ratio Schedule
Reinforces a response after an unpredictable number of responses
Ex. Players of slow machines continuing to play even without reward
Fixed-Interval Schedule
Reinforces a response only after a specified time has elapsed
Ex. Getting paid for a job done by the hour
Variable-Interval Schedule
Reinforces a response at unpredictable time intervals
Ex. Seeing the “You’ve got mail!” message pop up on your screen after persistently checking your email
What is the difference between reinforcement and punishment?
Reinforcement encourages an action while punishment discourages an action.
Positive punishment
Administer an aversive stimulus (add bad thing) to discourage a behavior
Ex. spanking
Negative punishment
Withdraw a desirable stimulus (take away good thing to discourage behavior)
Ex. phone taken away
Observational Learning
Learning by observing and imitating others
Modeling
The process of learning and imitating a specific behavior
Person associated with observational learning
Albert Bandura
Summarize Bandura’s Bobo Doll experiment.
Children observed an adult act aggressively to a Bobo Doll (hitting, kicking, screaming, etc.). When left alone with the Bobo Doll, children who had witnessed the bout of aggression were not only more likely to act aggressively toward the doll, but used the same action and words they had observed.
Mirror Neurons
Frontal lobe neurons that fire when performing certain actions or when observing another doing so
What is the theory of mine?
Mirror neurons help give rise to children’s empathy and to their ability to infer another’s mental state.
Prosocial behavior
Positive, constructive, helpful behavior; the opposite of antisocial behavior
When are models most effective?
When their actions and words are consistent
