Learning Theories Flashcards
Define
Generalisation
When a conditioned response is elicited in response to things similar to the conditioned stimulus
Define
Deconditioning
Reversing conditioning to eliminate the conditioned response
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Phobia
An intense fear of a specific thing
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Progressive relaxation
Learning how to systematically relax your body so your mind calms
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Flooding
Confronting your worst fear head-on all at once
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Discrimination
Narrowing the conditions that produce the conditioned response
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Extinction
Eliminating the conditioned response
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Spontaneous recovery
Relearning a conditioned response
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Habituation
Getting used to somethhing in the environment and not responding as strongly anymore
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Systematic desensitisation
A treatment for phobias that attempts to reduce fear in many small steps by associating the feared thing with calmness
Define
Conditioned response
The response produced by the conditioned stimulus after classical conditioning (for example, salivation following the sound of the bell)
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Reinforcement value
How enticing a particular reward is
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Internal locus of control
Believing that your actions have an effect on events
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Unconditioned stimulus
The stimulus normally produced by the unconditioned response (for example, food producing salivation)
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Conditioned stimulus
The stimulus that produces the conditioned response after classical conditioning (for example, a bell causing dogs to salivate)
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Generalised expectancies
Belief about how often actions lead to rewards versus punishment
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External locus of control
Believing that events are more a matter of luck and the arbitraty decisions of powerful people
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Unconditioned response
The response normally produced by the conditioned response (for example, salivation being produced by food)
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Reciprocal determinism
The idea that people choose the environments they enter and then change them
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Fixed-interval reinforcement
Giving out a reward after a certain amount of time has passed
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Variable-interval reinforcement
Giving out a reward after a random amount of time has passed
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Social learning
Observational learning that occurs when someone watches others get rewarded or punished for behaviour
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Behaviour modification
Using conditioning to improve behaviour
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Expectancies
What someone expects to happen based on past experiences of what was rewarding
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Socialisation
How children learn to become mature members of society; also known as acculturation
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Token economy
A program in which good behaviour is rewarded with tokens that can be exchanged for privileges
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Continuous reinforcement schedule
Always giving out a reward for good behaviour
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Variable-ratio reinforcement
Giving out a reward after a random number of behaviours
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Reinforcement schedule
Giving out rewards for good behaviour at certain intervals
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Natural consequences
Punishments enacted naturally as a consequence of the negative behaviour
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Negative punishment
Stopping bad behaviour by taking away something good; also known as a time-out
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Partial reinforcement schedule
Only sometimes giving out a reward for good behaviour
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Fixed-ratio reinforcement
Giving out a reward after a certain number of behaviours
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Positive reinforcement
Rewards or incentives for good behaviour
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Shaping
Gradual training that rewards behaviour progressively closer to the desired one
Define
Negative reinforcement
Rewards desired behaviour by taking away something aversive
Define
Positive punishment
Administering something aversive after misbehaviour; what people usually mean when they refer to punishment
Define
Internal-External Locus of Control
The tendency to behave that things happen because we control them versus believing that good and bad outcomes are out of our control
Define
Perceived Control
The belief that we can influence our environment in ways that determine whether we experience positive or negative outcomes
Define
Operant Conditioning
The phenomenon whereby behaviours we freely choose to perform become more or less frequent, depending on whether they are followed by a reward or punishment
Define
Insufficient Punishment
The dissonance aroused when individuals lack sufficient external justification for aving resisted a desired activity or object, usually resulting in individuals devaluing the forbidden activity or object
Define
Behaviourism
A school of psychology maintaining that to understand human behaviour, one need only consider the reinforcing properties of the environment
Define
Classical conditioning
a learning process that occurs when two stimuli are repeatedly paired: a response which is at first elicited by the second stimulus is eventually elicited by the first stimulus alone
Definition
When a conditioned response is elicited in response to things similar to the conditioned stimulus
Generalisation
Definition
Reversing conditioning to eliminate the conditioned response
Deconditioning
Definition
An intense fear of a specific thing
Phobia
Definition
Learning how to systematically relax your body so your mind calms
Progressive relaxation
Definition
Confronting your worst fear head-on all at once
Flooding
Definition
Narrowing the conditions that produce the conditioned response
Discrimination
Definition
Eliminating the conditioned response
Extinction
Definition
Relearning a conditioned response
Spontaneous recovery
Definition
Getting used to somethhing in the environment and not responding as strongly anymore
Habituation
Definition
A treatment for phobias that attempts to reduce fear in many small steps by associating the feared thing with calmness
Systematic desensitisation
Definition
The response produced by the conditioned stimulus after classical conditioning (for example, salivation following the sound of the bell)
Conditioned response
Definition
How enticing a particular reward is
Reinforcement value
Definition
Believing that your actions have an effect on events
Internal locus of control
Definition
The stimulus normally produced by the unconditioned response (for example, food producing salivation)
Unconditioned stimulus
Definition
The stimulus that produces the conditioned response after classical conditioning (for example, a bell causing dogs to salivate)
Conditioned stimulus
Definition
Belief about how often actions lead to rewards versus punishment
Generalised expectancies
Definition
Believing that events are more a matter of luck and the arbitraty decisions of powerful people
External locus of control
Definition
The response normally produced by the conditioned response (for example, salivation being produced by food)
Unconditioned response
Definition
The idea that people choose the environments they enter and then change them
Reciprocal determinism
Definition
Giving out a reward after a certain amount of time has passed
Fixed-interval reinforcement
Definition
Giving out a reward after a random amount of time has passed
Variable-interval reinforcement
Definition
Observational learning that occurs when someone watches others get rewarded or punished for behaviour
Social learning
Definition
Using conditioning to improve behaviour
Behaviour modification
Definition
What someone expects to happen based on past experiences of what was rewarding
Expectancies
Definition
How children learn to become mature members of society; also known as acculturation
Socialisation
Definition
A program in which good behaviour is rewarded with tokens that can be exchanged for privileges
Token economy
Definition
Always giving out a reward for good behaviour
Continuous reinforcement schedule
Definition
Giving out a reward after a random number of behaviours
Variable-ratio reinforcement
Definition
Giving out rewards for good behaviour at certain intervals
Reinforcement schedule
Definition
Punishments enacted naturally as a consequence of the negative behaviour
Natural consequences
Definition
Stopping bad behaviour by taking away something good; also known as a time-out
Negative punishment
Definition
Only sometimes giving out a reward for good behaviour
Partial reinforcement schedule
Definition
Giving out a reward after a certain number of behaviours
Fixed-ratio reinforcement
Definition
Rewards or incentives for good behaviour
Positive reinforcement
Definition
Gradual training that rewards behaviour progressively closer to the desired one
Shaping
Definition
Rewards desired behaviour by taking away something aversive
Negative reinforcement
Definition
Administering something aversive after misbehaviour; what people usually mean when they refer to punishment
Positive punishment
Definition
The tendency to behave that things happen because we control them versus believing that good and bad outcomes are out of our control
Internal-External Locus of Control
Definition
The belief that we can influence our environment in ways that determine whether we experience positive or negative outcomes
Perceived Control
Definition
The phenomenon whereby behaviours we freely choose to perform become more or less frequent, depending on whether they are followed by a reward or punishment
Operant Conditioning
Definition
The dissonance aroused when individuals lack sufficient external justification for aving resisted a desired activity or object, usually resulting in individuals devaluing the forbidden activity or object
Insufficient Punishment
Definition
A school of psychology maintaining that to understand human behaviour, one need only consider the reinforcing properties of the environment
Behaviourism
Definition
a learning process that occurs when two stimuli are repeatedly paired: a response which is at first elicited by the second stimulus is eventually elicited by the first stimulus alone
Classical conditioning
What are behaviourists?
Determinists who assume that persons can be viewed as collections of machine-like
What is determinism?
belief that an event is caused by some prior event
cause being something that can be understood according to basic laws of science
stands in opposition to the belief in “free will”
What are the basic assumptions of the behavioural approach?
- behaviour is explained in terms of the causal influence of the environment on the person
- an understanding of people should be built entirely upon controlled laboratory research
- research could involve either people or animals
What are the implications of environmental determinism on the concept of personality?
- we are subject to physical laws that can be understood through scientific analysis
- people have thoughts and feelings, but they are “behaviours” that also are caused by the environment
- if we could explain all behaviour in terms of general laws of learning, would completely eliminate the need for a distinct field of study called “personality psychology”
- the variables of other theories are merely descriptions of patterns of psychological experience that are caused by the environment
According to environmental determinism, if behaviour is determined by the environment then what?
- manipulate environmental variables to learn how they influence on behaviour in carefully‐controlled laboratory experiments
- study things that are observable
What is the challenge of environmental determinism?
- it may be impractical and/or unethical to manipulate environmental variables that affect everyday behaviours
- human actions may be determined by a large number of complexly related variables
- difficult to sort out the potentially lawful relations between any one environmental factor and behaviour
How do we overcome the issues of environmental behaviourism?
study simple responses by simpler organisms, such as rats and pigeons
Why can we study simple organisms to overcome the issues with environmental determinism?
- Simple system contains important features that are the same as the features of the system in which you are interested
- There is enough similarity in the makeup of animals and people that the animal study will provide valuable information
- Will the results of these experiments generalize from animals in the lab to humans in the social world?
Who founded behaviourism?
John B. Watson
What are the two limits of the generalisability of classical conditioning?
Discrimination
Extinction
What behaviourism techniques can we use to “unlearn” a phobia?
Systematic desensitisation
Progressive relaxation
Flooding
What is emotional conditioning?
Refers to classical conditioning when the CRs are emotional responses
Who proposed operant conditioning?
Skinner
What are the two reasoning that Skinner’s approach greatly deemphasises psychological structure?
behaviourists view behaviour as an adaptation to situational forces
behaviourists wanted to build a theory based on observable variables
What is Skinner’s definition of personality?
- Overt behaviours that reliably occur in the presence of quantifiable stimuli
- Not interested in constructs (e.g., thoughts, feelings, the unconscious)
- Looked at how certain behaviours are acquired and eliminated.
- Operant conditioning: Reinforce desired behaviour and ignore undesirable behaviour
Why did Skinner reject the term “personality”?
It implies inner causes
How does a Skinner Box work?
- Pushing the lever is the operant response (desired outcome)
- Food pellet is the reinforcer
- Before reinforcer introduced, rat presses lever randomly
- If response followed by reinforcer, frequency of the action increases
- Operant conditioning measured by the change in rate of responding
- When lever pressing increased relative to operant level, op
According to operant conditioning, how do we increase behaviour?
positive reinforcement (reward following behaviour)
negative reinforcement (remove aversive stimulus)
According to operant conditioning, how do we decrease behaviour?
extinction (do not give reward)
punishment (give aversive stimulus or remove positive stimulus)
What are primary reinforcers?
Events that are inherently reinforcing because they satisfy biological needs – Eg. food, water, warmth, sex, affection
What are secondary reinforcers?
Events that acquire reinforcing qualities by being associated with primary reinforcers
Therefore secondary reinforcers are conditioned – Eg. money, good grades, attention, flattery, praise, and applause
What are the shortcomings of using punishment to control behaviour?
- Causes the punished person to become fearful
- Indicates what the person should not do instead of what he/she should do (how do you work out what to do?)
- Justifies inflicting pain on others
- Often causes aggression (modeling)
What are the practical applications of behaviourism?
- suggests that parents should attend carefully to exactly how and when they are reinforcing a child’s behaviour
- the most effective procedure: reinforce good behaviour immediately after it occurs
- development does not occur in any particular sequences of stages
- the set of behaviours that a person can perform increases gradually as they experience more reinforces
What does behaviourism suggest about psychopathology?
- Behavioural pathology is a response pattern learned according to the same principles of behaviour as are all response patterns
- Individuals are not sick, they merely do not respond appropriately to stimuli
- Either they
- Fail to learn a response (and there is a behavioural deficit)
- Learn a maladaptive response
Who proposed social learning?
Bandura
According to Bandura, what are the four key processes involved in social learning?
Attention
Retention
Reproduction
Motivation
What is attention in observational learning?
observer must be focused on the task being learned.
What is retention in observational learning?
observer must be able to retain the learned information in memory
What is reproduction/initiation in observational learning?
observer must be able to perform the learned task
What is motivation in observational learning?
observer must want to perform the learned task
How can we use operant conditioning in the real world?
- Using conditioning to improve behaviour
- Effective for treating behaviour problems and psychological disorders
- Also useful for changing typical behaviour
- Token economy
- Behavioural activation
What is behavioural activation?
Effective therapy for depression based on behaviour modification
People are encouraged to do specific things that will lead to rewards.
What is the impact of conditioning on personality?
- We are born with certain tendencies, but our environment also shapes how we behave.
- Includes rewards and punishments
- Reciprocal determinism
- People choose the environments they enter and then change them.
What is reciprocal determinism?
People choose the environments they enter and then change them.
Who proposed expectancies and locus of control?
Rotter
What is behavioural potential according to Rotter?
- evaluating options
- the likelihood of a specific behaviour occurring in a particular situation as a means of achieving a specific goal
- you have to understand the options available to an individual to predict behaviour
What are expectancies according to Rotter?
- subjective belief about the reinforcements of particular behaviour
- what we think will happen to us if we engage in a behaviour
- specific vs generalised expectancies
What is reinforcement value according to Rotter?
- the expressed preference an individual has for one source of reinforcement over others
- influenced by the expectancy that reinforcement will meed your needs and choices available
According to Rotter, what is important in predicting behaviour?
the likelihood of performing a particular behaviour
in a given situation
is a function of the expectancy
you have that the behaviour will produce a reinforcement that is desirable to you
What are the strengths of learning theory?
- Strong empirical evidence, and committed to this approach
- Highly systematic
- Testable predictions
- Breadth (e.g., societies, children’s conduct)
- Applied value: to education, therapy, society
What are the limitations of learning theory?
- Excessive generalisation from nonhuman animals to humans
- De‐humanizing (i.e., like machines, not distinct from animals)
- Cognition ignored
- Radical environmentalism
- Personality considered irrelevant
- The learning theory approach tends to see the main determinants of behaviour as being
a) inside the organism.
b) under mostly cognitive control.
c) external to the organism.
d) a combination of internal drives and cognitive controls.
- The learning theory approach tends to see the main determinants of behaviour as being
a) inside the organism.
b) under mostly cognitive control.
c) external to the organism.
d) a combination of internal drives and cognitive controls.
- The learning theory approach to psychology tends to emphasise the _______ approach to research.
a) univariate
b) multivariate
c) correlational
d) experimental
- The learning theory approach to psychology tends to emphasise the _______ approach to research.
a) univariate
b) multivariate
c) correlational
d) experimental
- Behaviourists reject concepts such as will and intention because
a) such phenomena are unimportant.
b) such phenomena are inappropriate.
c) the observations are not public and replicable.
d) they do not exist in animals.
- Behaviourists reject concepts such as will and intention because
a) such phenomena are unimportant.
b) such phenomena are inappropriate.
c) the observations are not public and replicable.
d) they do not exist in animals.
- Behaviour theory has been used in psychiatric hospital settings to control and develop the behaviour of patients through a system of applied rewards. This system has been called
a) token economy.
b) desensitisation with psychotics.
c) reinforcement economy.
d) counter conditioning.
- Behaviour theory has been used in psychiatric hospital settings to control and develop the behaviour of patients through a system of applied rewards. This system has been called
a) token economy.
b) desensitisation with psychotics.
c) reinforcement economy.
d) counter conditioning.
- John Watson was influenced in his thinking by
a) Clark Hull.
b) Ivan Pavlov.
c) BF Skinner.
d) Edward Tolman.
- John Watson was influenced in his thinking by
a) Clark Hull.
b) Ivan Pavlov.
c) BF Skinner.
d) Edward Tolman.
- Stability in behaviour over many situations might be due to
a) extinction.
b) generalisation.
c) discrimination.
d) intermittent reinforcement.
- Stability in behaviour over many situations might be due to
a) extinction.
b) generalisation.
c) discrimination.
d) intermittent reinforcement.
- Longstanding disgust for certain foods may be based on
a) unconscious wishes.
b) approach-avoidance conflicts.
c) classical conditioning.
d) systematic desensitisation.
- Longstanding disgust for certain foods may be based on
a) unconscious wishes.
b) approach-avoidance conflicts.
c) classical conditioning.
d) systematic desensitisation.
- Paul goes to the doctor for allergy shots in his arm every spring. He has done this for so long that now just seeing the doctor makes his arm hurt. This is an example of
a) instrumental conditioning.
b) operant conditioning.
c) punishment conditioning.
d) classical conditioning.
- Paul goes to the doctor for allergy shots in his arm every spring. He has done this for so long that now just seeing the doctor makes his arm hurt. This is an example of
a) instrumental conditioning.
b) operant conditioning.
c) punishment conditioning.
d) classical conditioning.
- For B.F. Skinner, depression may be viewed as a result of
a) punishment.
b) withdrawal of positive reinforcers.
c) intermittent reinforcement.
d) all of the above.
- For B.F. Skinner, depression may be viewed as a result of
a) punishment.
b) withdrawal of positive reinforcers.
c) intermittent reinforcement.
d) all of the above.
- The learning theory account for psychotherapy is that individuals are not mentally sick, but rather
a) they are mentally ill.
b) they have failed to learn a response or they have learned a maladaptive response.
c) they are physically sick.
d) they suffer from stimulus generalisation and response constriction.
- The learning theory account for psychotherapy is that individuals are not mentally sick, but rather
a) they are mentally ill.
b) they have failed to learn a response or they have learned a maladaptive response.
c) they are physically sick.
d) they suffer from stimulus generalisation and response constriction.
- Social-cognitive theory has roots in
a) drive theory.
b) phenomenology.
c) learning theory.
d) all of the above.
- Social-cognitive theory has roots in
a) drive theory.
b) phenomenology.
c) learning theory.
d) all of the above.
- Social-cognitive theorists are critical of behaviourism because behaviourists
a) underestimated people’s capacity for personal agency.
b) based their theory on experimental rather than correlational research.
c) underestimated people’s capacity to adapt their behaviour to situations.
d) were too interests in individual differences.
- Social-cognitive theorists are critical of behaviourism because behaviourists
a) underestimated people’s capacity for personal agency.
b) based their theory on experimental rather than correlational research.
c) underestimated people’s capacity to adapt their behaviour to situations.
d) were too interests in individual differences.
- According to social-cognitive theory, the process of reciprocal determinism suggests that
a) people influence their environments.
b) environments influence people.
c) both (a) and (b).
d) neither (a) nor (b).
- According to social-cognitive theory, the process of reciprocal determinism suggests that
a) people influence their environments.
b) environments influence people.
c) both (a) and (b).
d) neither (a) nor (b).
- A major theme is Albert Bandura’s work is that people
a) can learn merely by observation.
b) have the capacity to self-regulate their actions and experiences.
c) contribute agentically to their own development.
d) all of the above.
- A major theme is Albert Bandura’s work is that people
a) can learn merely by observation.
b) have the capacity to self-regulate their actions and experiences.
c) contribute agentically to their own development.
d) all of the above.
- Like George A. Kelly’s personal construct theory, social-cognitive theorists believe that much human thought and action is
a) future-oriented.
b) influenced by submerged constructs.
c) determined by childhood events.
d) determined by environmental rewards.
- Like George A. Kelly’s personal construct theory, social-cognitive theorists believe that much human thought and action is
a) future-oriented.
b) influenced by submerged constructs.
c) determined by childhood events.
d) determined by environmental rewards.
- Experiments that demonstrate that a subject can develop a conditioned response through the observation of another person (model) being conditioned are taken as evidence of
a) negative modelling.
b) vicarious conditioning.
c) reverse modelling.
d) identification with the conditioner.
- Experiments that demonstrate that a subject can develop a conditioned response through the observation of another person (model) being conditioned are taken as evidence of
a) negative modelling.
b) vicarious conditioning.
c) reverse modelling.
d) identification with the conditioner.
- In social-cognitive theory, one of the ways in which self-regulation is achieved is
a) through the use of external rewards.
b) through the use of external cues.
c) through the use of internal standards and self-evaluation.
d) through the use of internal cues.
- In social-cognitive theory, one of the ways in which self-regulation is achieved is
a) through the use of external rewards.
b) through the use of external cues.
c) through the use of internal standards and self-evaluation.
d) through the use of internal cues.
- According to social-cognitive theory, goals
a) allow us to engage in altruistic behaviour.
b) allow us to form social groups.
c) allow us to organise behaviour over extended periods of time.
d) allow the future to govern behaviour more than the past.
- According to social-cognitive theory, goals
a) allow us to engage in altruistic behaviour.
b) allow us to form social groups.
c) allow us to organise behaviour over extended periods of time.
d) allow the future to govern behaviour more than the past.
