PSYCH 110 Exam 2 (Chp. 6) Flashcards
What is learning?
Change in behavior or knowledge/skill that is due to experience
Non-associative learning
learning from repeated exposure to a stimulus
Classical Conditioning
learning through association
Operant Conditioning
learning through consequences
Social/Observational Learning
learning through imitation
What was the Pavlov’s dogs experiment?
Pavlov trained their dogs to begin salivating at the sound of a bell. This happened through classical conditioning. Before feeding them, Pavlov would ring a bell. Overtime, the dogs began to ASSOCIATE the sound of the bell to being fed meat.
Unconditioned Stimulus (UCS)
stimulus that provokes an unconditioned response w/o previous conditioning
Part of Pavlov’s experiment that acted as the UCS (unconditioned stimulus)
the meat (dogs will desire meat without being conditioned to do so)
Unconditioned Response (UCR)
unlearned reaction that occurs w/o conditioning/ a reflex
Part of Pavlov’s experiment that acted as the UCR (unconditioned response)
salivating (dogs don’t have to be taught to salivate)
Conditioned Stimulus (CS)
previously neutral stimulus that has acquired meaning through conditioning and the capacity to evoke a response
Part of Pavlov’s experiment that acted as the CS (conditioned stimulus)
the bell (dogs had no relation to bell, until it started being used while they were being fed. then, they built an ASSOCIATION to it)
Conditioned Response (CR)
learned reaction that occurs because of previous conditioning
Part of Pavlov’s experiment that acted as the CR (conditioned response)
the dogs salivating to the bell
The smell of play-dough and crayons makes you think back to your childhood. What is this an result of?
Classical Conditioning. You have built an association between the smells and your childhood, and it provokes an emotional response.
What are phobias often the result of?
classical conditioning
Contiguity (timing)
You apply the CS (conditioned stimulus) a little before the UCS (unconditioned stimulus) and it ends with the UCS
In the movie Jaws, every time a shark attack is about to happen, they play a certain sound right before. What is this an example of?
contiguity. you apply the sound (the conditioned stimulus) right before the unconditioned stimulus.
Novelty
a new stimulus you have no associations to
Biological Preparedness
prepared stimuli that we are evolutionary prepared to learn more easily
What causes the strongest associations in classical conditioning?
contiguity, novelty (you learn faster because you have no other associations with stimulus), biological preparedness (inherently learn easier)
In the experiment with Garcia’s rats, it was found that it’s easier to condition taste or smell with nausea than it is to condition light or sound with nausea. Why is this?
We are biologically prepared to pair internal threats with internal stimulus and external threats with external stimulus.
Monkeys and humans being “hard-wired” to fear snakes is an example of what?
biological preparedness
What is extinction (as it relates to classical conditioning)?
If you continuously present the CS (conditioned stimulus) without the UCS (unconditioned stimulus), the CR (conditioned response) with extinguish
If Pavlov were to constantly ring the bell (CS) without giving the dogs meat (UCS), what would happen?
extinction would occur and the dog would stop salivating at the bell (or stop the CR)
What is spontaneous recovery (as it relates to classical conditioning)?
when the CR (conditioned response) rebounds after a time of no exposure to the CS (conditioned stimulus)
What does spontaneous recovery imply?
that we don’t actually “unlearn” the original association, rather the initial extinction means we learned a NEW response to it (instead of having no response all together)
What is discrimination (as it relates to classical conditioning)?
differentiating between two similar stimulus when one is consistently associated with an Unconditioned Stimulus (UCS)
Operant Conditioning
learning controlled by consequences of a behavior
Reinforcement
occurs when the consequences of a behavior INCREASES an organisms tendency to respond the same way