Learning Slides Flashcards
what does learning mean
a change in behaviour from experience
what are the three types of learning
- nonassociative learning
- habituation (stop reacting to noise after a while) and sensitization (being extra cautious from previous experience) - Associative learning (forming connections)
- classical and operant conditioning - Observational learning (watching others)
- social learning theory
explain associative learning (classical and operant conditioning)
2 types = classical or operant conditioning
classical conditioning = occurs when there are 2 different stimuli are they are associated with one another - reflex response
operant conditioning = occurs when a learner operates on their environment to produce a particular result - learning a trick for a treat
- engaging in behaviour to see if they will be doing it again
explin classical conditioning
a type of learning where 2 stimuli have an association
a type of learning in which a neutral stimulus (which has no response to the learner) becomes a reflexive response after it has been associated with a stimulus that produces the same result
EX: sound effect = neutral
but when paired with getting shot with a Nerf gun = association
now the sound effect = reflexive response
first assign the unconditioned S/R before starting
unconditioned stimulus: a stimulus that naturally triggers a response = getting hit by a bullet
unconditioned response: flinching from the bullet
during conditioning - the association pairing occurs repeatedly. after conditioning assign the conditioned S/R
conditioned stimulus = the sound effect
conditioned response = flinching when the sound effect is heard, even when bullet is not there
what is the term called when you have gradual formation of an association between conditioned and unconditioned stimuli
acquisition
- they need to be close tg in time
what is extinction in classical conditioning
the process in which the conditioned response is weakened when the conditioned stimulus is repeated way too many times without the unconditioned stimulus
(the salivation (CR) is weakened because the bell (CS) kept ringing but with no food (UCS)
what is a spontaneous recovery in classical conditioning
a process in which a previously weakened/dead response re-emerges following presentation of the conditioned stimulus
- after some time, when the extinction has occurred, you can have reconditioning if you ring the bell and present food (CS)
what is stimulus generalization
occurs when stimuli that are not identical but slightly different to the conditioned stimulus produce the same conditioned response
a different type of bell sound, if generalized, can make a dog salivate
what is stimulus discrimination
a differentiation between the 2 stimuli when one of them is consistently paired wit the unconditioned stimulus
2 different bell sounds, but the dog understands and can discriminate the difference - knows that sound #2 doesn’t = feed
what is second-order conditioning
when something is consistently paired with the conditioned stimulus. but when an unconditioned stimulus is not presented, it still leads to the conditioned response when paired
the dog is presented with the sound (CS) and salivates (CR) and sees the chef, now paired, when they see the chef, they still salivate (UCR)
what is latent inhibition
in classical conditioning where a familiar stimulus takes longer to be associated with a new response compared to a stimulus that is already known
if a person has been exposed to a stimulus repeatedly without a consequence, it will become more difficult to change and make the stimulus associated with a new conditioned response
- eating taco bell all the time, one time gets sick, you will still eat taco bell again
how can some associations in classical conditioning become earlier to learn than others?
we are very quick to relate food consumption to sickness - this is easier to learn and we will avoid the food = TASTE AVERSION
it is also easier for us to learn things that are a part of our biology
- more easily to learn and associate sounds/sights with danger (loud sounds = hunted by predators)
what is the rescorla-wagner model
a model of classical conditioning which states that the strength of the CS-UCS association is determined by the extent to which the UCS is surprising to the person or not
- this leads to the learner taking in a greater effort by the leader to understand why the UCS appeared
- if the dog knew that the food was going to appear = won’t be surprised
what does Hebb’s rule in learning say
neurons that fire together, wire together
cells that are active together are linked tg
- neuroplasticity = learning wouldn’t be possible without plasticity because the rewiring is learning
- relevant neurons stay, irrelevant neurons leave
what is operant conditioning
a learning process in which the consequences of an action determine the likelihood that it will be performed in the future
- makes the person decide if they should do it again
what is Thorndike’s laws of effect
any behaviour that leads = to satisfaction will most likely be repeated and any annoying behaviour is less likely to be repeated
- a cat repeating behaviour because of food
what does a reinforcer mean in operant conditioning
reinforcer is a stimulus that occurs after a response which will increase the likelihood that the response will be repeated again
primary reinforcers = food, things for survival
secondary reinforcers = not biological need, money
what does shaping mean in operant conditioning
involves reinforcing behaviours that are increasingly similar to the desired behaviour
- step-by-step reward system or praising system until they make it into a desired behaviour
- makes the animal know which behaviours are being reinforced
- good feedback, good job
explain the difference between positive reinforcement and negative reinforcement
positive reinforcement = increases the chance of the behaviour being repeated again by giving them a rewarding stimulus (treat)
negative reinforcement = increases the chance of the behaviour being repeated by removing an unpleasurable stimulus (taking unpleasent medication to get rid of a headache, will likely take medication again bc of its strong ability to remove pain)
positive punishment vs negative punishment
positive punishment = decreases the chance of a behaviour being repeated by giving them a punishing stimulus (time out)
negative punishment = decreases the probability of a behaviour being repeated by removing a pleasurable stimulus
what is the premack principle / relativity theory of reinforcement
also called grandmas rule
higher probability behaviours can be used to reinforce lower probability behaviours
- EX: telling kid to first do the lower probability behaviours to get the higher probability behaviour = token economies
- finish your homework then bubble time
how does the schedule of reinforcement impact the learner
continuous or partial reinforcement
continuous is better because they are constantly reminded
there are 4 types of partial reinforcement
what are the 4 partial reinforcements
FIXED: reinforcement is consistent and predictable - every time they have that behaviour = reinforced
VARIABLE: reinforcement occurs after a varying number of times that they displayed this behaviour or varying amounts of time = unpredictable (1st, 2nd)
RATIO: based on the number of times the behaviour occurs
INTERVAL: based on the passage of time
can have fixed interval or fixed ratio
can have variable interval or variable ratio
fixed interval = mom checks to see if the room is clean one time, so he gets rewarded every Friday - doesn’t matter if he did it every day or not
fixed ratio = getting tipped after every 6 food deliveries he makes - based on the number of times behaviour is occurring (loyalty card at Tims)
variable interval = mom checking to see if the sons room is clean every 5 days on average, and then rewards him
variable ratio = getting tip after 6, on average, deliveries he makes but the number of deliveries required changes on average (winning after 3 pulls or 50 pulls in a slot machine)
what are biological constraints in operant conditioning
animals have a difficult time learning behaviours that are incompatible with what they naturally do biologically
- pigeons usually peck for food so its difficult to train them to flap their wings for food instead - this goes against what they naturally do
what makes a reinforcer rewarding? why does it lead to increased behaviour
results from the activation of dopamine receptors in the nucleus accumbens
how does Edward Tolman suggest that reinforcement is necessary for performance
latent learning - argued that reinforcement had more impact on performance than acquisition/learning
rats can learn a path thru a maze without reinforcement but not reveal their learning until it is reinforced - hides the fact that they learned the path until there is a pleasurable reinforcer at the end
- the rats with the least errors in the maze where the ones that had no food reward till the 11th day
what is observational learning
learning that occurs by watching other and imitating them or modelling the behaviour of others
what did albert bandura say about imitation
that learning is largely due to the modelling and imitations of others - basically saying that we learn a lot from the type of environment we are in - social, cultural, environmental (lev vgotsky said instead of jean piaget recall)
- agreed with behaviourist ideas but also showed a role of the social factors in learning
the learner has to pay ATTENTION to the behaviour being modelled, the learner has to RETAIN/REMEMBER the model, the learner has to be able to REPRODUCE the mode, the learner has to be able to be MOTIVATED by the model to imitate
