PSYCH Exam #4

Question 1

What is conditioning

Answer 1

Learning, the process of training or accustoming a person or animal to behave in a certain way or to accept certain circumstances.

Question 2

What are the 3 types of conditioning

Answer 2

Classical Conditioning, Operant Conditioning, and observational learning

Question 3

How did Pavlov discover and investigate classical conditioning??

Answer 3

used dogs to study the production of saliva through the bell

• associated the natural response of food to the bell
  -creating a CS

Question 4

Why is classical conditioning sometimes referred to associative learning?

Answer 4

it involves forming associations between different stimuli and behaviors. This type of learning is based on the principle that certain responses can be conditioned (or learned) when a neutral stimulus is consistently paired with another stimulus that naturally and automatically elicits a response.

Question 5

Acquisition Phase (& pavlovian example)

Answer 5

repeating paring of pairings until subject forms a mental association

bell + food= salivate… continued pairing of bell to food causes conditioned stim and CR

Question 6

dentify; the neutral stimulus, unconditioned stimulus, unconditioned response, conditioned stimulus and
conditioned response.

Answer 6

neutral stimulus: has no reflexive effect/response
unconditioned stimulus/response: naturally occurring stimulus that elicits an automatic, reflexive response
conditioned stimulus and
conditioned response: conditioned stimulus alone can elicit the response that previously required the unconditioned stimulus

Question 7

Interstim Interval

Answer 7

Period of time between stim. Effects how well and quickly an association is learned

Question 8

stimulus discrimination

Answer 8

Responding differently to similar but different stims. (occurs when one stim elicits the CR but another similar stim does not)
Ex. Different models of car

Question 9

Stim Generalization

Answer 9

responding the same way to similar but different stimuli (when a new stim that is similar to the CS but another elicits the same CR)
Ex. A dog is conditioned to drool when it hears a clicking noise. The dog may also drool when it hears similar sounds, like tapping and beeping noises

Question 10

Higher Order Conditioning

Answer 10

Occurs when an established CS functions as UCS in a new conditioning trial

Ex. Painful injection (UCS) made baby cry (UCR). soon develops conditioned response in which the sight of a doctors jacket (CS) triggered crying (CR)

Question 11

extinction

Answer 11

gradual weakening and disappearance of conditioned behavior
ex. ticking was consistently presented without food the response would gradually disapear

Question 12

spontaneuos recovery

Answer 12

reappearance of previously extinguished CR after a period of time without exposure to the CS

Question 13

shaping

Answer 13

Shaping is a behavioral modification technique that involves reinforcing behaviors that are closer to a desired outcome. It’s a form of operant conditioning.
ex.when a baby or a toddler learns to walk. They are reinforced for crawling, then standing, then taking one step, then taking a few steps, and finally for walking

Question 14

Relationship between pavlov and watson

Answer 14

Watson took Pavlov’s theories about animals and applied them to humans, arguing that the principles of classical conditioning could explain not just simple behaviors (like salivation in dogs) but complex human behaviors and emotional reactions.

Question 15

Rescorla

Answer 15

Proposed Classical involves learinng relationships between events. 20 tones followed by 20 shocks.

Question 16

Darwin

Answer 16

Darwin’s work provides a broader evolutionary context that helps explain why certain conditioned responses may have evolved due to their adaptive value in natural environments

Question 17

öhman & Mineka

Answer 17

They have demonstrated through their research how some fears are more easily acquired due to evolutionary predispositions.

Question 18

John Garcia

Answer 18

Discovered associations are more common when they are biologically prepared, ie taste aversions

Question 19

Thorndike’s Law of Effect (how did it affect skinners ideas)

Answer 19

Behaviors followed by bad results are less likely to occur and behaviors followed by good results are more likely to occur again (influenced the skinner box)
-Behavioral Consequence,Refinement and Systematization,Experimental Rigor,Theory Expansion

Question 20

positive and negative reinforcement

Answer 20

POS: addition of rein stim strengthening an operant response
NEG: removal of averse stim strengthen an operant

Question 21

Pos and neg punishment

Answer 21

POS: add of a punishing stim weakening an operant response
NEG: removal of a rein stim weakens an operant response

Question 22

What is the difference between a primary reinforcer and a
conditioned (secondary) reinforcer?

Answer 22

primary reinforcers are biological stimuli
that are essential for survival. Secondary reinforcers, also known as conditioned reinforcers, are learned stimuli that are used to obtain primary reinforcers.

Question 23

how are behaviors affected in the skinner box and in everyday life

Answer 23

positive reinforcement increases the likelihood of the behavior being repeated
-Reinforcement Schedules,Behavior Modification,Habit Formation,Product Design and Marketing

Question 24

continuous reinforcement, partial reinforcement and accidental

Answer 24

C: specififc/targeted constant during beginning stages of association
P: uses 4 schedules, involves only occasional reinforcement of a behavior

Question 25

fixed ratio

Answer 25

A reward is given after a set number of responses.
Strengths:

Encourages a high response rate due to the clear link between behavior and reinforcement.
Weaknesses:
May lead to a pause in response after reinforcement, reducing overall effectiveness.

Question 26

variable ratio

Answer 26

Rewards are given after an unpredictable number of responses, which tends to create a high and steady rate of response.
Strengths:

Generates a high and consistent rate of responding, as reinforcement might follow any response.
Weaknesses:
Can encourage continuous, potentially compulsive behavior with little respite, similar to gambling.

Question 27

fixed interval

Answer 27

Rewards are provided after a fixed amount of time, as long as the desired behavior occurs within that interval.
Strengths:
Provides consistent and predictable reinforcement intervals, easing the understanding of reward timing.
Weaknesses:
Often results in a “scallop” effect, where response rates increase only as the next reinforcement time approaches, then drop.

Question 28

variable interval

Answer 28

Rewards are given after variable amounts of time, following the first occurrence of the behavior after the time has elapsed.
Strengths:

Produces a moderate and steady rate of response, making it highly resistant to extinction.
Weaknesses:
Can lead to frustration or disengagement due to the unpredictability and perceived sparsity of reinforcements.

Question 29

Edward C Tolman

Answer 29

Believed opposite of thorndike and skinner; cognitive processes play an important role in learning of complex behaviors (cognitive maps and latent learning)
-did experiment with rats:group with food incentive first round knew the map more than the group without food

Question 30

Cognitive maps

Answer 30

mental representation of a familar layout of an enviorment

Question 31

Latent learning

Answer 31

occurs in the absence of reinforcement but is not behaviorally demonstrated until a reinforcer becomes available

Question 32

Martin Seligmin

Answer 32

research on the theory of learned helplessness. “Learned helplessness is a term specifying an organism learning to accept and endure unpleasant stimuli, and unwilling to avoid them, even when it is avoidable.”
-Group Two Dogs: The dogs that had experienced uncontrollable shocks did not try to escape; they passively endured the shocks, demonstrating what Seligman termed “learned helplessness.” These dogs had learned from the first phase of the experiment that nothing they did had any effect on the shocks, leading them to give up in the second phase, even though escape was possible.

Question 33

Keller and Marian Breland

Answer 33

the tendency of an animal to revert to unconscious and automatic behaviour that interferes with learned behaviour from operant conditioning. Instinctive drift was coined by Keller and Marian Breland, former students of B.F.
-The Brelands realized that this wasn’t an isolated incident but a pattern seen across different species. They noticed that trained behaviors could degrade into instinctual behaviors, particularly when those behaviors were somewhat related to the trained tasks. This observation led them to coin the term “instinctive drift.”

Question 34

reinforcement: avoidance and escape

Answer 34

1. Reinforcement by Escape
   Escape reinforcement occurs when a behavior results in the termination of an aversive stimulus that is already present. The behavior is negatively reinforced because it allows the individual to escape from the unpleasant situation.

Example: Turning off a loud alarm that rings every morning serves as an escape from the noise. If pressing a button stops the alarm, you will likely press the button again in the future to escape the unpleasant sound.

2. Reinforcement by Avoidance
   Avoidance reinforcement occurs when a behavior prevents the occurrence of an aversive stimulus before it starts. The behavior is negatively reinforced because it allows the individual to avoid the unpleasant situation altogether.

Example: If you take an alternate route to work to avoid heavy traffic, your behavior of taking that route is reinforced because you avoid the stress of being stuck in traffic.

Question 35

Albert Bandura

Answer 35

Albert Bandura, a prominent psychologist, demonstrated the principles of observational learning most famously through his Bobo doll experiment conducted in the early 1960s.
- Children who had observed the aggressive model were significantly more likely to exhibit aggressive behavior towards the Bobo doll themselves, mimicking the actions and words of the adult model. Those who observed the non-aggressive model showed significantly less aggression, and the control group fell in between.

Question 36

Mirror Neuron

Answer 36

Def:a type of brain cell that respond when a person performs an action or observes someone else performing the same action
How it improves self control: mirror others emotional responses

Question 37

discriminative stimulus.

Answer 37

A discriminative stimulus is a cue or signal that indicates the availability of reinforcement or punishment following a particular behavior