Learning & Motivation Lectures 4-7 Flashcards
Lecture 4: Stimulus Control
What is stimulus generalization?
→Stimulus generalization is the tendency for stimuli that is similar to the conditioned stimulus, to evoke the same or similar responses as the conditioned response.
→It is the tendency for a conditioned response to the conditioned stimulus to generalize or transfer to other stimuli similar to the conditioned stimulus.
Example 1: J. B. Watson & The Little Albert Experiment
→Little Albert was conditioned to fear a white rat. As a result, Albert experienced stimulus generalization by showing fear in response to similar stimuli including a dog, rabbit, a fur coat, a Santa Claus beard, and Watson’s hair.
Example 2: Razran: Meaning & Generalization (1939)
→Razran (1939) paired words with lemon juice in students→ salivation was the Conditioned Response (CR)
→The trained Conditioned Stimuli were: Style, Urn, Freeze, and Surf.
Then the response to two groups of words were tested:
a. Fashion, Vase, Chill, and Wave
b. Stile, Earn, Frieze, and Serf
→Results found that Group A words evoked the Conditioned Response more than Group B
→Suggests that generalization is stronger when the meaning is similar rather than the physical similarity of the stimuli. Also suggests ability to categorise.
What is a discriminative stimulus?
→Discriminative stimulus: is a particular stimulus that the subject can differentiate from other similar stimuli and elicit the conditioned response to.
Example:
What is discrimination learning?
→Discrimination learning is when a subject learns to differentiate between similar stimuli and learns to only respond to a specific stimulus.
→In discrimination conditioning, a subject is taught to differentiate between similar stimuli and to only respond to a specific stimulus.
How do generalization and discrimination differ for classical versus instrumental conditioning?
Classical Conditioning
→Generalization: Generalization occurs after repeated conditioning.
→Discrimination: After repeated and sufficient number of stimulus specific trials, subjects learn to differentiate between similar stimuli and the specific stimulus, and only respond to the specific stimulus.
Example: Rats learned to discriminate between the 1000Hz tone and the 900Hz tone. They learnt that only the 1000Hz tone would trigger an electric shock and thus responded to it.
Instrumental Conditioning:
Generalization & Discrimination MAIN DIFFERENCE: Instrumental behaviour only becomes controlled by the situational cues if and only if these cues signal whether or not the response is going to be reinforced or not.
What are the differences in generalization for positive reinforcement versus punishment?
→Generalization is strengthened with positive reinforcement
→Generalization is weakened with punishment. Punishment is very specific, and every unwanted behaviour or generalized stimulus association must be punished. Punishment also tends to be more short-lived than other types of learning.
Lecture 5: Social Learning
What is social learning?
Social learning occurs when an organism’s responding is influenced by the observation of others, who are called models.
Social learning theory states that learning is a cognitive process that takes place in a social context and can occur purely through observation or direct instruction, even in the absence of motor reproduction or direct reinforcement.
Example: Lab-raised monkeys are normally not afraid of snakes, but wild monkeys are. If a lab-raised monkey observes a wild monkey being afraid of snakes, the lab-raised monkey will also act afraid of snakes→lab-raised monkey acquires the fear of snakes.
What is the bird and milk bottle example suggestive of? What are other ways of explaining this?
The bird and milk bottle example is suggestive of instrumental conditioning (trial and error learning):
→Pecking the lid
→Access to milk
→Action is repeated because of reinforcement
→Other birds seemed to also start pecking the lids of milk bottles after a few did. This was suggested to be a result of possible social learning. However, it is more likely that is was a result of social facilitation.
Social facilitation processes: are social processes or situations that facilitate individual learning.
What are other social processes that affect learning? (Goal enhancement, stimulus enhancement, increased motivation to act, contagious behaviour)
Goal Enhancement: Getting access to some wanted goal may facilitate later trial and error learning. Example: Bird pecking on lid gets access to cream, thus the bird might peck on the lid of similar items in the same proximity next time such as juice bottle.
Stimulus Enhancement: When a subject observes others, they are more likely to approach places they see other subjects approaching. Example: if a bird approaches a milk bottle, another bird is likely to also hang around the milk bottles and happen to peck the lid and get access to the cream.
Increase Motivation to Act: People and animals alike tend to try more things in the company of others such as friends and family.
Contagious Behaviour: Mimicking an already established behaviour, such as yawning.
What are mimicry, emulation, and imitation?
Mimicry: is a copied action that is made without reference to a goal, or that may not be reinforced by some consequence→It is replicating the action regardless of the result→There is no reference to the goal and no understanding of the goal.
→Copying without reference to the goal
Emulation: There is understanding of the goal but the response required to obtain the goal may not be well understood
→Understanding there is a goal but not using the same method to gain access to the goal
Imitation: Copied actions made with respect to the goal/consequence→Copied actions are made with the aim of achieving the goal with full understanding of the required action to achieve it.
→Copying with reference to the goal and with full understanding of how to achieve the goal.
What is a two-action test?
A two-action test involves two models, which two groups observe, then the two groups are each presented with the same task in which they must solve with a method/model.
Example: Two groups of Japanese quail. One group observed a Japanese quail pecking to get food; another group observed a Japanese quail stepping to get food (these are the two models). Then both groups were also presented with the task of getting food.
Results: The group who observed pecking tended to exhibit high pecking behaviours across the group. However, those who observed the stepping did not seem to copy the action as much. Thus what can be said is that social learning did not really occur, but rather social facilitation, as pecking is more natural to birds than stepping.
Two Action Test with Chimpanzees and Children:
→Showed that chimpanzees solved the puzzle without regard to the way they solved it. The chimpanzees did not solve the puzzle in the way that was demonstrated. Thus social learning was not strong in this case.
→Children were much more likely to engage in social learning as a higher percentage used the method shown to solve the puzzle.
What is modelling?
Modelling is:
→A process whereby the subject learns by imitation alone without any verbal instruction given
Example: Bandura, Ross & Ross, 1961:
→Children not only imitated the experimenter’s actions (hitting the doll) but also modelled the general styles of aggressive behaviour towards the doll.
Suggested cognitive aspects of social learning:
→People actively watch others to gain knowledge about the type of things that they do→Then they use that knowledge in situations when it’s useful.
Is social learning reinforcement dependent?
Social learning is reinforcement dependent as demonstrated in modelling which is a form of social learning.
→Bandura (1965) found that modelling of behaviour is reinforcement dependent. He tested two conditions, one where the model was rewarded and another where the model was punished. Children were more likely to imitate the behaviour when the model was rewarded.
→Modelling can also occur through television, not just in person.
What is social cognition theory?
Social cognitive theory suggests that learning occurs in a social context and that much of what is learned is gained through observation.
1. Observation of and attention to model
2. Incorporation of the model’s actions into memory
3. Requires the ability to reproduce the actions of the model
4. The motivation to reproduce the actions of the model depend on the reinforcement:
→Was the model reinforced?
→Is the reinforcer currently desired?
Lecture 6: Immediate Sources of Motivation
What is motivation?
→Motivation is something that drives, energises, activates, or impels certain actions and behaviours. It is a necessary condition of behaviour and a temporary state that can vary over time.
What is an instinct?
→An instinct is a behavioural sequence.
→It is genetically determined and hence typical of all members of a species.
→It is evolutionarily developed and essential for the survival of the species (typically involves food or reproduction).
Instincts are not learnt or reinforced.
→Instincts are innate and occur “automatically” in response to certain stimuli.
