Learning Theory & Behavior Therapy 4 Flashcards
Priority 1
What did Harlow find about extrinsic versus intrinsic rewards?
Some tasks are intrinsically reinforcing. If we are given external reinforcement for an intrinsically rewarding task, we lose interest in them without those rewards (lose intrinsic reinforcement).
Harlow argued for including two new needs to the list of unlearned reinforcers, apart from food, water, and sex. What were they?
The need to explore and the need to manipulate. (Related to his experiments in which monkey’s learned to open doors that would allow them to view interesting scenes.)
What, according to Harlow, is learning how to learn?
Gaining experiences that allow one to solve similar types of problems more efficiently.
What is Hull’s Drive Reduction Theory?
Posits that desire to reduce drive level (hunter, thirst, aggression, sex) is motivation for learning.
Discuss Miller & Dollard’s approach-avoidance conflict.
An organism may have two types of drives: those that lead it to approach or to avoid a target. Some goals elicit both; these represent approach-avoidance conflicts.
Genetic variables can affect an organism’s preparedness to learn. Name four levels of this preparedness.
Complete, very rapid acquisition (instinct or imprinting). Somewhat facilitated (avoiding pain, poisonous foods, dangerous animals). Minimally influenced (normal classical/operant/social learning). Contraprepared (learning that goes counter to species, trait, character, etc.)
Discuss J. A. Olds’ conditioning through self-stimulation experiments with rats.
Olds planted electrodes in rats’ medial forebrain bundle of the lateral hypothalamus and found that rats would press levers to self-stimulate until they dropped from exhaustion. It was postulated that this triggered synaptic release of norepinephrine, which may evoke feelings of well-being, elation, and euphoria.
What is the Yerkes-Dodson Law?
There are optimal levels of arousal for learning and task performance. For very easy and moderately difficult tasks, higher levels are best. For very difficult tasks, moderate arousal levels are best. In all cases, the relationship takes the shape of an inverted U.
What are the three components of behavioral assessment?
Antecedent (situational analysis); behavior (response enumeration); consequences (response evaluation). A.k.a., functional analysis.
Describe Ebbinghaus’ studies of memory.
He practiced memorizing nonsense syllables and assessed methods of measuring learning and retention.
Describe Ebbinghaus’ “savings method” measure of relearning speed.
He found that overlearning, i.e., repeating a memorized list beyond the minimum required to learn it, made for relearning that was faster and had fewer errors.
What did Ebbinghaus find about the nature of forgetting?
Forgetting occurs quickly at first, then slows.
Describe the three parts of the multi-store model of memory.
Sensory memory, working/short-term memory, long-term memory.
Describe the properties and divisions of sensory memory.
Stores large amounts of sensory data for brief periods. Comprised of iconic (visual) and echoic (auditory) stores. Iconic stores retain images for up to 1/2 second; echoic for up to 2 seconds.
Describe the properties of short-term memory.
Stores small amounts (5-9 items) of data for up to 30 seconds. With rehearsal (a.k.a., articulatory loop, repeating data to oneself), information can be held in STM for longer. With chunking (grouping data into small subsets), more data can be retained in STM.
