Lec 7: Learning Flashcards
Learning
a change in behavior, resulting from experience
Conditioning
associations develop through a process in which environmental stimuli and behavioral responses become connected
Classical (Pavlonian) conditioning
a neutral object elicits a response because it has been associated with a stimulus that already produces that response
two types of events occur together
Unconditioned Stimulus
a stimulus that elicits a response like a reflex w/out any prior learning
unconditioned response
a response that does not have to be learned, such as a reflex
neutral stimulus
a stimulus that does not elicit any reflex
Conditioned stimulus
stimulus that elicits a response only after learning has taken place
conditioned response
a response to a conditioned stimulus; a response that has been learned
CC example
1) Food (US) causes dog to salivate (UR)
2) metronome (NS) doesn’t cause the dog to salivate (UR)
3) During conditioning trials, clicking metronome (NS) is presented to a dog with the food (US)
4) During critical trials, the clicking metronome becomes the conditioned stimulus and is presented without the food and the dog’s response is measured
5) dog associates metronome with food, causing him to salivate
acquisition
gradual formation of an association btw the conditioned stimulus and the unconditioned stimulus
critical element in the acquisition of a learned association is
time or contiguity
conditioned response is stronger when there is a very brief delay btw the conditioned stimulus and the unconditioned stimulus
you can’t imagine that the dogs would salivate if the metronome was presented hours after the food
extinction
if the conditioned stimulus is presented without the unconditioned stimulus, the conditioned response disappears
ex: if the metronome (CS) was presented without the food (US) the dog would not have salivated because it wouldn’t associate the metronome with the food
spontaneous recovery
a previously extinguished response reemerges after the presentation of the Conditioned stimulus
recovery will fade again unless the CS is paired with the US
extinction inhibits the associative bond, but does not eliminate it
ex: after extinction of salivation response, if the metronome is presented after some time, there may be a response of salivation, but in order to maintain that response you need to keep pairing the metronome with the food
stimulus generalization
responding to stimuli that are similar but not identical to the CS produce the CR
ex: you can classically condition a dog to salivate after it hears a 1000 Hz sound. after the CR is established, tones similar to 1000 will also produce salivation. the farther the tones are from 1000, the less the dog will salivate
Stimulus discrimination
subjects learn to differentiate between two similar stimuli if one is consistently associated with the US and one is not
Phobia
an acquired fear that is out of proportion to the real threat of an object or situation
fear conditioning
the process of classically conditioning animals to fear neutral objects
Tabula rasa
JB Watson argued that the infant mind was a blank slate and that the environment and its effects on behavior were the sole dominants of learning
Little Albert experiment
Watson taught a 9 month old boy to fear neutral objects
Counterconditioning
type of phobia treatment
exposing a patient to small doses of the feared stimulus while they engage in an enjoyable task
systematic desensitization
type of phobia treatment
CS–>CR1 (fear) connection can be broken by developing a CS–>CR2 (relaxation) connection
1) client is taught to relax their muscles
2) client is asked to imagine the feared object or situation while continuing to use the relaxation methods
3) client is exposed to the feared object during relaxation excercises
Drug tolerance and situation
The body has learned to expect the drug in that location and
compensates by altering neurochemistry or physiology to metabolize it
Conversely, if addicts take their usual large doses in novel settings, they
are more likely to overdose because their bodies will not respond
sufficiently to compensate
exposure
helps extinguish responses to the cues and
prevents them from triggering crav
Operant (Instrumental) Conditioning
learning that a behavior leads to a particular outcome
Reinforcer
a stimulus that follows a response and increases the likelihood that the response will be repeated
skinner box
an operant chamber that allowed repeated conditioning trials without requiring interaction from the experimenter
contained a lever connected to a food supply
allowed learning research to be done
more quantitatively and objectively, by making
the rate of response a dependent variable
that can then be studied experimentally
shaping
an operant conditioning technique that consists of reinforcing behaviors that are similar to the desired behavior
ex: teaching a dog to roll over
initially reward the dog for any behavior that resembles rolling over such as lying down and once this behavior is established, you reinforce behaviors more selectively
reward successive approximations
any behavior that even slightly resembles the desired behavior
Primary reinforcers
satisfy biological needs such as food and water
secondary reinforcers
events or objects established through classical conditioning that serve as reinforcers but do not satisfy biological needs
ex: money or compliments
Premack principle
using a more valued activity can reinforce the performance of a less valued activity
ex: eat your spinach and you get ice cream
positive reinforcement
the administration of a stimulus to increase the probability of behavior being repeated
ex: giving a reward to encourage to encourage an action
mice: press the lever, they get food
negative reinforcement
the removal of an upleasant stimulus to increase the probability of a behavior being repeated
ex: removing something bad to encourage an action
if a rat pressed a lever to turn off the electric shock
Punishment
reduces the probability that a behavior will reoccur
positive punishment
the administration of a stimulus to decrease the probability of a behavior returning
ex: delivering something bad to discourage an action
a rat receiving a shock for pressing the lever
negative punishment
removal of a stimulus to decrease the probability of a behavior returning
ex: removing something good to discourage an action
taking away driving privileges for bad behavior
Continous reinforcement
a type of learning in which behavior is reinforced each time it occurs
partial reinforcement
a type of learning in which behavior is reinforced intermittently
PR’s effect on conditioning depends on the reinforcement schedule
partial reinforcement can be administered according to either
the number of behavioral responses or the passage of time
interval schedule
reinforcement is provided after a specific unit of time
ratio schedule
reinforcement is based on the number of times the behavior occurs
generally leads to greater responding than does interval reinforcement
fixed ratio
reinforcement is provided after a specific number of occurrences or after a specific amount of time
ex: you are paid each time you complete a chore
variable ratio
BEST ONE
reinforcement is provided at different rates or at different times
ex: a slot machine pays off on average every few pulls, but you never know which pull will pay
variable interval
you listen to the radio to hear your fave song but you do not know when you’ll hear it
fixed interval
when quizzes are scheduled at fixed intervals, students study only when the quiz is going to be given (grade is the reinforcer)
latent learning
takes place in the absence of overt reinforcement
positive reinforcement works in two ways
provides the subjective experience of pleasure
increases desire for the object or event that produced the reward
intracranial self-stimulation
self-administered shock to pleasure centers (dopamine related regions) of the brain
dopamine
serves as the neurochemical basis of positive reinforcement in conditioning
model based learning
imitation of behavior through observational learning
only works if observer is physically capable of imitating the behavior
ex: adolescents who associate smoking with admirable figures are more likely to begin smoking
Law of Effect
any behavior that leads to a “satisfying state of affairs” is likely to occur again and any behavior that leads to an “annoying state of affairs” is less likely to occur again
observational learning
the acquisition or modification of a behavior after exposure to at least one performance of that behavior
ex: exposing children to violence may encourage them to act aggressively
