modules 20-21 - Learning Flashcards
Why are habits, such as having something sweet with that cup of coffee, so hard to break?
Habits form when we repeat behaviors in a given context and, as a result, learn associations- often withoout awareness. For example, we may have eaten a sweet pastry with a cup of coffee often enough to associate the flavor of the coffee with the treat, so that the cup of coffee alone doesn’t feel right anymore.
An experimenter sounds a tone just before delivering an air puff that causes your eyes to blink. After several repetitions, you blink to the tone alone. What is the NS? US? UR? CS? CR?
NS: the tone before conditioning; US: air puff; UR: blink to air puff; CS: tone after conditioning; CR: blink to tone
If the aroma of a baking cake sets your mouth to watering. What is the US? CS? CR?
The cake including its taste is the US. The associated aroma is the CS. Salivation to the aroma is the CR.
The first step of classical conditioning, when NS becomes a CS, is called … . When a US no longer follows the CS, and the CR becomes weakened, this is called … .
a) acquisition; b) extinction
What conditioning principle is influencing the snail’s affection? (I don’t care if she’s a tape dispenser. I love her.)
Generalization
Companies often pay to make their products visible in popular movies– such as when admired actors drink certain beverage. Based on classical conditioning principles, what might be an effect of this pairing?
If viewing an admired actor (US) elicits a positive response (UR), then pairing the US with the new NS (the beverage) could turn the beverage into a conditioned stimulus (CS) that also elicits positive conditioned response (CR).
In Watson and Rayner’s experiments, “Little Albert” learned to fear a white rat after repeatedly experiencing a loud noise as the rat was presented. In these experiments, what was the US? UR? NS? CS? CR?
The US was the loud noise; the UR was the fear response to the noise; the NS was the rat before it was paired with the noise; the CS was the rat after pairing; the CR was fear of the rat
With classical conditioning, we learn associations between events we (do/do not) control. With operant conditioning, we learn associations between our behavior and (resulting/random) events.
a) do not b) resulting
People who send spam email are reinforced by which schedule? Home bakers checking the oven to see if the cookies are done are reinforced by which schedule? Sandwich shops that offer a free sandwich after every 10 purchases are using which reinforcement schedule?
a) variable-ratio (receiving a response after sending a varying number of emails) b) fixed-interval c) fixed-ratio
Joslyn constantly misbehaves at preschool even though her teacher scolds her repeatedly. Why does Joslyn’s misbehavior continue, and what can her teacher do to stop it?
If Joslyn is seeking attention, the teacher’s scolding may be reinforcing rather than punishing. To change Joslyn’s behavior, her teacher could offer reinforcement (such as praise) each time she behaves well. The teacher might encourage Joslyn toward increasingly appropriate behavior through shaping, or by rephrasing rules as rewards instead of punishments.
Salivating in response to a tone paired with food is a(n) … behavior; pressing a bar to obtain food is a(n) … behavior.
a) respondent b) operant
What is operant conditioning?
Operant conditioning is a type of learning in which a behavior becomes more likely to recur if followed by a reinforcer or less likely if followed by a punisher.
