lesson 8 Flashcards
Learning
Experience that results in a relatively permanent change in the state of the learner
two main approaches to learning
classical conditioning and operant conditioning
Classical conditioning
When a neutral stimulus produces a response after being paired with a stimulus that naturally produces a response; first studied by Ivan Pavlov (1849‐1936)
Unconditioned stimulus (US)
Something that reliably produces a naturally occurring reaction in an organism
Unconditioned response (UR)
Reflexive reaction that is reliably produced by an unconditioned stimulus
Conditioned stimulus (CS)
Stimulus that is initially neutral and produces no reliable response in an organism
Conditioned response (CR)
Reaction that resembles an unconditioned response but is produced by a conditioned stimulus
Acquisition
Phase of classical conditioning when the CS and the US are presented together
Extinction
Gradual elimination of a learned response that occurs when the US is no longer presented
Second‐order conditioning
Conditioning where the US is a stimulus that acquired its ability to produce learning from an earlier procedure in which it was used as a CS
Spontaneous recovery
Tendency of a learned behaviour to recover from extinction after a rest period
Generalization
Process by which the CR is observed even though the CS is slightly different from the original one used during acquisition
Discrimination
Capacity to distinguish between similar but distinct stimuli
Rescorla‐Wagner model suggests that
classical conditioning only occurs when the organism has learned to set up an expectation.
Eyeblink conditioning research argues that
classical conditioning draws upon implicit but not explicit memory
The amygdala (central nucleus) is responsible for
fear conditioning
Biological preparedness
Propensity for learning particular kinds of associations over others
Operant conditioning
Type of learning in which the consequences of an organism’s behaviour determine whether it will be repeated in the future
Edward Thorndike
(1874‐1949) focused on instrumental behaviours and created a puzzle box to show the law of effect.
Law of effect
Principle that behaviours that are followed by a ‘satisfying state of affairs’ tend to be repeated and those that produce an ‘unpleasant state of affairs’ are less likely to be repeated
Operant behaviour
Behaviour that an organism produces that has some impact on the environment; coined by B.F. Skinner (1904‐1990)
Reinforcer
Any stimulus or event that functions to increase the likelihood of the behaviour that led to it; more effective than punishment in promoting learning
Punisher
Any stimulus or event that functions to decrease the likelihood of the behaviour that led to it
Over justification effect
Circumstances when external rewards can undermine the intrinsic satisfaction of performing a behaviour
Three‐term contingency
discriminative stimulus, response, reinforcer
Fixed interval schedule (FI)
Reinforcements are presented at fixed time periods, provided the appropriate response is made
Variable interval scheduled (VI)
Behaviour is reinforced based on an average time that has expired since the last reinforcement
Fixed ratio schedule (FR)
Reinforcement is delivered after a specific number of responses have been made
Variable ratio schedule (VR)
Delivery of reinforcement is based on a particular average number of responses
Intermittent reinforcement
When only some of the responses made are followed by reinforcement; produce slightly higher rates of responding and are more resistant to extinction (intermittent‐reinforcement effect)
Shaping
Learning that results from the reinforcement of successive steps to a final desired behaviour
Superstitions
Rare or odd behaviours may be repeated if they are accidentally reinforced, which may lead to mistaken beliefs regarding causal relationships
Edward Tolman
(1886‐1959) saw operant conditioning as a means‐ ends relationship.
Latent learning
Condition in which something is learned but it is not manifested as a behavioural change until sometime in the future
Cognitive map
Mental representation of the physical features of the environment
Pleasure centers of the brain are located
limbic system
Structures and pathways in the brain that deliver rewards through stimulation include
Medial forebrain bundle, hypothalamus, nucleus accumbens
Observational learning
Condition in which learning takes place by watching the actions of others
Albert Bandura
(1925‐) studied aggressive observational learning using the Bobo doll experiment
Diffusion chain
Process in which individuals initially learn a behaviour by observing another individual perform that behaviour, and then serve as a model from which other individuals learn the behaviour
Implicit learning
Learning that takes place largely without awareness of the process or the products of information acquisition
Habituation
General process in which repeated or prolonged
exposure to a stimulus results in a gradual reduction in response
Serial reaction time tasks
participants got faster in reaction time but were unaware of the pattern.
Cramming
Neglecting to study for an extended period of time and then studying intensively just before an exam
Massed practice
Studying information with little or no time between repetition
Distributed practice
Spreading out study activities with more time between repetition of the to‐be‐learned information
