Lec 7: Learning

Question 1

Learning

Answer 1

a change in behavior, resulting from experience

Question 2

Conditioning

Answer 2

associations develop through a process in which environmental stimuli and behavioral responses become connected

Question 3

Classical (Pavlonian) conditioning

Answer 3

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

Question 4

Unconditioned Stimulus

Answer 4

a stimulus that elicits a response like a reflex w/out any prior learning

Question 5

unconditioned response

Answer 5

a response that does not have to be learned, such as a reflex

Question 6

neutral stimulus

Answer 6

a stimulus that does not elicit any reflex

Question 7

Conditioned stimulus

Answer 7

stimulus that elicits a response only after learning has taken place

Question 8

conditioned response

Answer 8

a response to a conditioned stimulus; a response that has been learned

Question 9

CC example

Answer 9

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

Question 10

acquisition

Answer 10

gradual formation of an association btw the conditioned stimulus and the unconditioned stimulus

Question 11

critical element in the acquisition of a learned association is

Answer 11

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

Question 12

extinction

Answer 12

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

Question 13

spontaneous recovery

Answer 13

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

Question 14

stimulus generalization

Answer 14

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

Question 15

Stimulus discrimination

Answer 15

subjects learn to differentiate between two similar stimuli if one is consistently associated with the US and one is not

Question 16

Phobia

Answer 16

an acquired fear that is out of proportion to the real threat of an object or situation

Question 17

fear conditioning

Answer 17

the process of classically conditioning animals to fear neutral objects

Question 18

Tabula rasa

Answer 18

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

Question 19

Little Albert experiment

Answer 19

Watson taught a 9 month old boy to fear neutral objects

Question 20

Counterconditioning

Answer 20

type of phobia treatment

exposing a patient to small doses of the feared stimulus while they engage in an enjoyable task

Question 21

systematic desensitization

Answer 21

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

Question 22

Drug tolerance and situation

Answer 22

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

Question 23

exposure

Answer 23

helps extinguish responses to the cues and

prevents them from triggering crav

Question 24

Operant (Instrumental) Conditioning

Answer 24

learning that a behavior leads to a particular outcome

Question 25

Reinforcer

Answer 25

a stimulus that follows a response and increases the likelihood that the response will be repeated

Question 26

skinner box

Answer 26

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

Question 27

shaping

Answer 27

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

Question 28

reward successive approximations

Answer 28

any behavior that even slightly resembles the desired behavior

Question 29

Primary reinforcers

Answer 29

satisfy biological needs such as food and water

Question 30

secondary reinforcers

Answer 30

events or objects established through classical conditioning that serve as reinforcers but do not satisfy biological needs

ex: money or compliments

Question 31

Premack principle

Answer 31

using a more valued activity can reinforce the performance of a less valued activity

ex: eat your spinach and you get ice cream

Question 32

positive reinforcement

Answer 32

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

Question 33

negative reinforcement

Answer 33

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

Question 34

Punishment

Answer 34

reduces the probability that a behavior will reoccur

Question 35

positive punishment

Answer 35

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

Question 36

negative punishment

Answer 36

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

Question 37

Continous reinforcement

Answer 37

a type of learning in which behavior is reinforced each time it occurs

Question 38

partial reinforcement

Answer 38

a type of learning in which behavior is reinforced intermittently

PR’s effect on conditioning depends on the reinforcement schedule

Question 39

partial reinforcement can be administered according to either

Answer 39

the number of behavioral responses or the passage of time

Question 40

interval schedule

Answer 40

reinforcement is provided after a specific unit of time

Question 41

ratio schedule

Answer 41

reinforcement is based on the number of times the behavior occurs

generally leads to greater responding than does interval reinforcement

Question 42

fixed ratio

Answer 42

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

Question 43

variable ratio

Answer 43

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

Question 44

variable interval

Answer 44

you listen to the radio to hear your fave song but you do not know when you’ll hear it

Question 45

fixed interval

Answer 45

when quizzes are scheduled at fixed intervals, students study only when the quiz is going to be given (grade is the reinforcer)

Question 46

latent learning

Answer 46

takes place in the absence of overt reinforcement

Question 47

positive reinforcement works in two ways

Answer 47

provides the subjective experience of pleasure

increases desire for the object or event that produced the reward

Question 48

intracranial self-stimulation

Answer 48

self-administered shock to pleasure centers (dopamine related regions) of the brain

Question 49

dopamine

Answer 49

serves as the neurochemical basis of positive reinforcement in conditioning

Question 50

model based learning

Answer 50

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

Question 51

Law of Effect

Answer 51

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

Question 52

observational learning

Answer 52

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