Mods 26-30 Flashcards
associative learning
linking two stimuli, or events, that occur together
classical conditioning
a type of learning in which one learns to link to or more stimuli and anticipate events
john watson
early behaviorist; famous for the “little albert” experiments on fear conditioning
ivan pavlov
discovered classical conditioning; trained dogs to salivate at the ringing of a bell
neutral stimulus (ns)
a stimulus that elicits no response before conditioning
conditioned stimulus and response
learned stimulus/response
unconditioned stimulus (us)
in classical conditioning, a stimulus that unconditionally, naturally and automatically, triggers a response
unconditioned response (ur)
in classical conditioning, the unlearned, naturally occurring response to the unconditioned stimulus, such as salivation when food is in the mouth
conditioned response
a learned response to a previously neutral stimulus
extinction
the diminishing of a conditional response. occurs in classical conditioning when an unconditioned stimulus does not follow a conditioned stimulus; occurs in operant conditioning when a response is no longer reinforced
acquisition
in classical conditioning, the initial stage, when one links a neutral stimulus and an unconditioned stimulus so that the neutral stimulus begins triggering the conditioned response; in operant conditioning, the strengthening of a reinforced response
higher-order conditioning
occurs when a strong conditioned stimulus is paired with a neutral stimulus, causing the neutral stimulus to become a second conditioned stimulus
spontaneous recovery
the reappearance, after a pause, of an extinguished conditioned response
generalization
the tendency, once a response had been conditioned, for a stimuli similar to the conditioned stimulus to elicit similar responses
discrimination
in classical conditioning, the learned ability to distinguish between a conditioned stimulus and stimuli that do not signal an unconditioned stimulus
edward thorndike
pioneer in operant conditioning who discovered concepts in instrumental learning such as the law of effect; known for his work with cats in puzzle boxes
law of effect
thorndike’s principle that behaviors followed by favorable consequences become more likely, and that behaviors followed by unfavorable consequences become less likely
operant conditioning
a type of learning in which behavior is strengthened if followed by a reinforcer or diminished if followed by a punisher
operant chamber (skinner box)
a chamber containing a bar or key that an animal can manipulate to obtain a food or water reinforcer, with attached devices to record the animal’s rate of bar pressing or key pecking; used in operant conditioning
reinforcements
positive = add good
negative = take away something bad
reinforcement = want to make a behavior occur
discriminating stimulus
in operant conditioning, a stimulus that elicits a response after association with a reinforcement
shaping bahavior
rewarding approximations of desired behaviors
positive reinforcement
increasing behaviors by presenting positive stimuli, such as food; A positive reinforcer is an stimulus that, when presented after a response, strengthens the response
negative reinforcement
increasing behaviors by stopping or reducing negative stimuli, such as shock. a negative reinforcer is any stimulus that, when removed after a response, strengthens the response
primary reinforcement
something that is naturally reinforcing, such as food, (if you were hungry), warmth (if you were cold), and water (if you were thirsty)
conditioned reinforcement (secondary reinforcement)
occurs when a stimulus reinforces set behaviors through its association with a primary reinforcer
immediate reinforcer
a reinforcer that is delayed in time for a certain behavior
fixed-ratio schedule
a reinforcement schedule that reinforces a response only after a specified number of responses
fixed-interval schedule
a reinforcement schedule that reinforces a response only after a specified time has elapsed
variable-ratio schedule
a reinforcement schedule that reinforces a response after an unpredictable number of responses
variable-interval schedule
a reinforcement schedule that reinforces a response at unpredictable time intervals
partial reinforcement schedule
reinforcing a response only part of the time; results in slower acquisition of a response but much greater resistance to extinction than does continuous reinforcement
continuous reinforcement schedule
a schedule that requires a consequence to be administered following every instance of a behavior
drawback of punishment
mis-used or over-used: may lead to negative reinforcement of punisher
lack of generalization: may lead to decrease in behavior only in the presence of the punisher
may increase or escalate the behavior (provoke aggression)
Not always effective in the long term
preparedness
a biological predisposition to learn associations, such as between taste and nausea, that have survival value
john garcia
researched taste aversion. showed that when rats ate a novel substance before being nauseated by a drug or radiation, they developed a conditioned taste aversion for the substance
rebert rescola
role of cognitive processes in classical conditioning
instinctive drift
tendency for animals to return to innate behaviors following repeated reinforcment
edward tolman
cognitive psychologist; latent learning and cognitive map
latent learning (instinctive learning)
learning that takes place in absence of reinforcement
cognitive mapping
an internal representation of the spatial relationships among objects in the environment
insight learning
the process of learning how to solve a problem or do something new by applying what is already known
instrinsic motivation
a desire to perform a behavior effectively for its own sake
extrinsic motivation
a desire to perform a behavior to receive promised rewards or avoid threatened punishment
problem-centered coping
they appraise the situation as changeable, identify the difficulty, and decide what to do about it
emotion-centered coping
internal, private, and aimed at controlling distress when little can be done about an outcome
personal control
the extent to which people perceive control over their environment rather than feeling helpless
martin seligman
conducted experiments with dogs that led to the concept of “learned helplessness”
internal locus of control
the perception that you control your own fate
external locus of control
the perception that chance or outside forces beyond your personal control determine your fate
albert bandura
pioneer in observational learning (social learning), stated that people profit from the mistakes/successes of others
bobo doll experiment
nursery school students observed an adult play aggressively (yelling & hitting) with an inflatable clown; when children were later allowed to play with the toy clown, those children who witnesses the toy clown performed the same aggressive actions and improvised new ways of playing aggressively
neural mirroring
a class of neurons that modulate their activity both when an individual executes a specific motor act and when they observe the same or similar act performed by another individual
observational learning
occurs when an organism’s responding is influenced by others (models)
modeling
the process of observing and imitating a specific behavior
prosocial behavior
positive, constructive, helpful behavior
antisocial behavior
negative, destructive, unhelpful behavior
