LM 10.0: Classical, Operant and Social Conditioning Flashcards
what is the definition of learning?
a relatively permanent change in mental processing, emotional functioning and/or behavior, as a result of some experience
what are the 4 ways of learning?
- associative learning
classical conditioning and operant conditioning
- social/observational learning
- Fraud’s theory: id, ego, superego
what is an unconditioned stimulus?
UCS = a stimulus that produces a response without prior learning
what is an unconditioned response?
UCR = an unlearned reaction that is automatically elicited by the unconditioned stimulus
what is a conditioned stimulus?
CS = a previously neutral stimulus that eventually elicits a conditioned response after being paired with the unconditioned stimulus
what is a conditioned response?
CR = the learned response to the conditioned stimulus that occurs after the conditioned stimulus-unconditioned stimulus pairing
in Pavlov’s dogs example, what is the unconditioned stimulus, unconditioned response and conditioned stimulus?
UCS = meat
UCR = salivation
CS = bell
why does classical conditioning work?
classical conditioning works because certain stimuli will provoke an automatic physiological reaction like a cold stimulus produces shivering response or the strong smell of garbage stimulus produce nauseated/queasy feeling response
positive responses also occur after certain stimuli
with white coat hypertension example, what is the unconditioned stimulus, unconditioned response and conditioned stimulus?
UCS = highly unpleasant experience in office
UCR = initial elevated blood pressure
CS = standard office visit
CR = post-elevated blood pressure
what is extinction?
when the conditioned response is weakened when the unconditioned stimulus is absent
how can you classically condition the immune system?
a young girl with Lupus who was struggling with side effects of medication had the “taste of Castor Oil and the smell of rose” paired with the medication and eventually the castor oil and rose smell had a similar effect on her immune system
the pairing with medication was repeated every other month to limit extinction = when the conditioned response is weakened when the unconditioned stimulus is absent.
what is stimulus generalization?
when stimuli similar to the conditioned stimuli begin to produce the conditioned response
ex. As a child I loved pancakes and I am told I devoured them whenever Mom made them. One morning I must have had a stomach virus because as I ate my pancakes I became real sick. It was a mess. I have not had a pancake since. Why? The unconditioned stimulus (UCS), the virus, caused the gastrointestinal upset and vomiting (UCR). The sight, smell and taste of pancakes were the conditioned stimulus (CS), occuring at the same time as the virus and the vomiting. This is an example of one trial learning - it only needed to be paired once for me to learn pancakes are not good. For many years I would become nauseated at the sight and smell of pancakes. This also became true for waffles, even though I had not had waffles that morning = stimulus generalization
what is a spontaneous recovery?
a process where a conditioned response (CR) reoccurs after a long period when no conditioning had been taking place for sometime aka a relapse in addiction term
ex. I smoked cigarettes as a teen but stopped in my twenties. I went decades not thinking about or desiring a cigarette. One day I was particularly stressed and happened to be near a group who were smoking. The conditioned stimulus of a group laughing, relaxing and smoking, along with the smell of the smoke was previously linked to smoking behavior. I suddenly had a craving for a cigarette. While the CSs had not produced a desire/craving to smoke for decades the situation triggered a spontaneous recovery
UCS = inhalaing nicotine
UCR = dopamine release/pleasure associated with inhaling nicotine
CS = sights/smells of cigarette and social interaction
CR= dopamine release/pleasure associated with sights and smells of cigarette
Every time you take a shower your partner/roommate flushes the toilet in the room. This causes you to jump due to a change in water temperature. Conditioning has taken place. You were at a party yesterday having a conversation in the hallway when someone flushed the toilet in the bathroom off the hallway. You jumped. According to classical conditioning principles your jumping in the hallway at the party would be the:
conditioned response
what is operant conditioning?
a form of associative learning in which the consequence of a behavior changes the probability of that behavior recurring
operant conditioning is based on the “Law of Effect” –> this law states that behaviors followed by positive outcomes are strengthened and those followed by negative outcomes are weakened
positive refers to adding something and negative refers to removing something
what is reinforcement?
when a reinforcing/rewarding stimulus or event following a particular behavior - increases the probability of that behavior occurring again
reinforcement always, always, always, always increases a behavior
positive reinforcement is when some reward is added and behavior increases
negative reinforcement is when something unpleasant is removed and behavior increases –> or doing a behavior removes a bad stimuli
what is punishment?
when the consequence of a behavior decreases the likelihood of that behavior occurring
punishment always, always, always, always decreases a behavior
positive punishment is when something unpleasant is added
negative punishment is when something rewarding is removed
what are the problems with punishment?
- punished behavior is not forgotten, it’s suppressed –behavior returns when punishment is no longer present.
- can create fear that can be generalize to desirable behaviors, (e.g., fear of school, seeing a doctor)
- does not necessarily guide toward desired behavior–reinforcement tells you what to do, punishment only tells you what not to do
what is continuous reinforcement?
reinforcing the desired response each time it occurs
learning occurs rapidly and extinction occurs rapidly
examples = vending machine, parking meter
what is partial reinforcement?
reinforcing a response only part of the time
learning occurs slowly but there’s resistance to extinction
ex. receive paycheck every 2 weeks, play slot machine
what is the difference between an interval and ratio schedule of reinforcement?
- ratio = reinforced after fixed or variable number of behaviors
ex. receive bonus after every 10th sale, slot machine - interval = reinforced after fixed or variable amount of time
ex. paycheck every friday, random drug tests
what is observational learning?
observational learning has 4 processes that are required for learning to take place:
- attention
- retention
- motor reproduction
- reinforcement
if the model is reinforced it increases the likelihood the learner will continue the behavior, even if they are not experiencing the reinforcement themselves = vicarious reinforcement
if the model is punished it decreases the likelihood the learner will continue the behavior, even if they are not experiencing the punishment themselves = vicarious punishment
what is Freud’s theory of psychodynamic learning?
the mind creates strong desires and wishes that are often shut down by means of defense mechanisms BEFORE we become consciously aware of them
our actions/behaviors are influenced by these unconscious impulses and defense mechanisms, unbeknownst to us
the concept of defenses (independent of the concepts of the Id, Ego and Superego) can help us to understand some human behavior
what are the id, ego and superego?
Id = always seeking pleasure, any pleasure
superego = always wanting to do the right and moral thing
ego = the part of the self trying to reconcile and make peace between the Id and superego
what are the 3 types of defenses according to the Freudian theory?
- mature defenses
- immature defenses
- neurotic defenses
what are the 4 mature defenses?
- altruism
- humor
- suppression
- sublimation
what are the 2 immature defenses?
- projection
2. regression
what are the 6 neurotic defenses?
- repression
- denial
- displacement
- intellectualization
- somatization
- reaction formation
what is altruism?
a mature defense
constructive service to others that satisfies internal needs (defending against potential discomfort)
ex. I am in distress over the Newtown shooting and death of 20 - 1st graders. I mobilize my church/community to provide assistance to survivors
what is humor?
a mature defense
Expression of ideas/feelings (that might be unpleasant to focus on or talk about) that gives pleasure to others.
ex. Looking at the humorous aspects of personally troubling situation. “I go to the chemo bar weekly trying to meet chicks/dudes.” Said by someone getting chemotherapy. Humor can be pathological to the degree that it substitutes for authentic emotional experience.
what is suppression?
a mature defense
A conscious decision to delay paying attention to an emotion/need. This is a ‘voluntary’ temporary forgetting
ex. A medical student knows they need to find a new apartment by months end but finals are next week and s/he chooses not to think about the living situation for the next two weeks
what is sublimation?
a mature defense
sublimation occurs when you transform your conflicted emotions, unmet desires or unacceptable impulses into productive outlets
ex. one has aggressive/violent impulses and becomes a professional fighter/boxer.
what is projection?
an immature defense
one’s own unacceptable impulses and desires are disowned and attributed to another
ex. Resident is attracted to MS3 (the superego is saying that is unacceptable) and so the problem is solved by believing the MS3 is attracted to the resident. Project one’s feelings onto the other
what is regression?
immature defense
return to earlier stage of development or psychological time when faced with significant stressor
ex. MS1 student experiencing home sickness and has pulled out their Teddy to sleep with
what is repression?
a neurotic defense
results from uncomfortable ‘internal’ pressure and so one unconsciously puts painful thoughts/memories/emotions out of mind and forgets
ex. parents were emotionally abusive as child grew up, but as a young adult, child now sees them as caring parents who were always there for them; the incidents of abuse are repressed
what is denial?
neurotic defense
refusal to accept ‘external’ reality because it is too threatening; one is aware but choosing to set aside
ex. smoker refuses to admit smoking to be a problem despite digit amputation and having COPD
what is displacement?
neurotic defense
separate emotion from its real target and redirect to less threatening target
ex. Your lecturer is unfairly demanding and makes you very angry. You cannot lash out at him/her and so you pick a fight with one of your fellow medical students who make a simple request of you.
what is intellectualization?
neurotic defense
it’s an extreme separation of emotion from ideas so as to reduce anxiety
ex. an individual with a life threatening illness speaks exclusively of procedures, statistics and clinical symptoms – not addressing feelings associated with having the illness
ex. someone going through a divorce says it’s normal and sites divorce statistics
what is somatization?
neurotic defense
negative thoughts/emotions turned inward against self and expressed physically
ex. an individual who is overwhelmed by life circumstance (jobless, unable to care for family, etc.) develops pseudo-seizures (the appearance of seizures with no apparent organic cause) and now has a legitimate reason for not being able to carry through with responsibilities to family. This is NOT done consciously!
what is reaction formation?
neurotic defense
goes beyond denial by behaving in the opposite way to which you think or feel
aka behaving often in the opposite way to one’s impulses
ex. The typical example is one where a political or religious figure voices strong protests against the LBGBT community only to reveal later they are gay or engaging in same sex behaviors
what are transference and counter-transference?
these are a special form of projection/displacement and are typically NOT seen as a defense
patients sometimes have strong emotional reactions to their providers (transference) and providers towards their patients (counter-transference)
a patient may relate to you, their provider in ways that reproduce or relive important relationships in their lives. The patient’s parents never gave the patient enough attention as a child and so when you keep them waiting and appear to rush them through the exam, the patient responds to you as they did with their parents - engage in attention seeking behavior. Transferring these parent child feelings onto you.
maybe your parent was very emotional and as you grew up whenever you did not fulfill your parents need, they cried which created guilt and you gave in. Now, when a patient cries during an office visit, you feel guilt and give in to them - just as you did growing up. Counter-transferring these parent child feelings onto your patient.
Transference and counter-transference do not have to be bad or create dysfunctional interactions. It will depend on you and your patient’s developmental history.
T/F: a defense mechanism is usually used unconsciously
true
