Psychology Midterm (2) - Chapter 7 Flashcards
Learning
A permanent change in behaviours, thoughts, emotions as a result of experience
Learning: Forces
Can choose to use/teach good forces or evil forces
Learning and Adaptability
Because of our ability to learn we are adaptable, flexible and adjustable
Learning: Hope
There is hope because we learn
3 Major ways we Learn:
Classical conditioning
Operant conditioning
Observational learning
Conditioning
learn to form associations
Classical conditioning
Learn to associate to events and to stimulis
one event signals the arrival of another event
It allows us to prepare ahead of time
ex: fire alarms
one of the fundamental ways we can learn
Pavlov
One of the famous names in psychology
he was a philosophist
Psychic secretions in Pavlov’s experiment
Dogs salivated not at the food but at Pavlov presence
When we give the dog food..
What is the food?
What the salivation?
Dog salivates
Food is the unconditioned stimulus: no training is needed
Salivation is the unconditioned response: no response is needed (it is neutral and a reflex)
What type of stimulus is the Bell
What happens when the bell is introduced in Pavlov’s Experiment?
Bell + food
Bell is a neutral stimulus
Has nothing to do with salivation
Bell + food = dog salivates because of food
When Pavlov gets the dog used to the bell:
What type of stimulus is the bell in this case?
Sound of bell causes the dog to salivate
Bell is a conditioned stimulus because learning and training is required
Higher order conditioning
It is a conditioning procedure: conditioned signal is paired with a neutral stimulus
(ex: using a bell for the dog to salivate)
Acquisition
Doing something repeatedly
Ex: We make the dog salivate by doing bell then red triangle
Excitatory conditioning
Conditional stimulus indicates that an unconditional stimulus will occur
(there is a postive relationship)
Inhibitory conditioning
Condition stimulus indicates that no unconditionnel stimulus will occur
(negative relationship)
Factors which influence Pavlov’s experiment:
Frequency: the more frequent we do bell food, bell food, the better the learning
Timing: once bell is sounded, must immediately give the dog food, otherwise learning will not happen
Order of presentation: always sound bell (CS) first and then the food, one event signals the other
Exitinction procedure:
Stop the behaviour
extinction procedure: sound the bell and do not give him food, dog willl then stop salivating at the sound of bell
Spontaneous recovery:
The extinction procedure is done, and dog stops salivating
One day without further training, we sound the bell and the dog starts salivating
This shows that the dog did not forget what he learned
If there is no further training this fades away.
Stimulus generalization:
Ex: one dog bites you, you become afraid of all dogs
Adaptive Stimulus Generlization
Ex: teaching to cross roads, see red cars and can teach to avoid all cars
This is good stimulus generlization
Maladaptive Stimulus Generlization
Ex: women is assaulted by all black man, she gets scared of all black man (can seem racist)
This is bad stimulus generalization
Stimulus discrimination
Dog only salivates to only one type of bell and not other types of bells.
Discriminates against other stimulus
Cognitive processes in Pavlov Experiment
Pavlov VS Modern Research
Pavlov believed that if we were to study classical conditioning, we do not need to know what a dog is thinking
However, modern researchers thought that cognitive processes are important
Ex: Animals act like scientists, they look at how useful and reliable the information is, if the answer is yes they will learn it and if it is not they will not learn it
Biological Constraints:
Pavlov VS Modern Research
Pavlov say: as long as we follow the rules of classical conditioning we can train anything
Modern researchers: we can teach a lot, but nature puts limits on what we can teach
Biological Constraints examples:
Radiation
Light + Radiation
Light
Sugared water + Radiation
Sugared water
Nausea
Nausea
no nausea; ( because, in nature, light doesn’t cause nausea)
Nausea
Nausea/ aversion (learns because in nature food can sometimes lead to nausea)
Objective study
Take complex mental processes and study them objectively using the scientific method
John Watson and his goal
Pavlov influenced John Watson, founder of behaviourism
Before: goal was to study the mind (consiousness)
by using inspection
- Absence of own mind/thoughts
He would predict and control behaviour
Introspection
the method used to observe your own mind/thoughts and report on them
Watsons believe on psychology
How did Pavlov help Watson?
Psychology should only be studied on what is observed directly
Opposed introspection, supported direct observation and used prediction and controls
His work helped Watson develop a methodology
Behaviourism
studied for 50 years (1920s -1960s)
Classical Conditioning in relation to stimulus
Behaviours are triggered by a stimulus in the environment, it responds to a stimulus
Observational Conditioning
Learn to associate the behaviour with its consequences
Ex: eating to much sweets makes us fat
Operant behaviour:
Operate and initiate on the environment, Behaviours are controls by the consequences
The law of effect:
when behaviour produces a desirable consequence, its more likely to repeat
when it produces undesirable consequence, its less likely to repeat
Thorndike:
Started the research and created the law of effect
Came up with the term instrumental learning
Skinner:
took over the law of effect after Thorndike died
We learn our ABCs: through O.C
A: Antecedent (Dad’s mood)
B: behaviour (Telling jokes)
C: Consequence (Laughing)
Differential Consequences:
Picking up different items as instructed (ex: file or chip) and getting corresponding treats for it.
Fasted way for learning
Ex: When the file is picked up, the child gets a chip and when the clip is picked up, the child gets a cookie.
Non-Differential Consequences:
Picking up different items as instructed (ex: nail or socket) and getting the same treat
Ex: When picking up nail, the child receives a raisin and when the pickles up the socket the child also receives a raisin
Reinforcer
Engage in behaviour and produces a consequence
the consequence is such that we are more likely to repeat the behaviour in the future
The 2 major types increase the probability that the behaviour will likely occur again
Positive Reinforcer: positive (means addition)
Engage in a behaviour and produces a desirable consequence which we are more likely to repeat the behaviour in the future
It has the longest-lasting effect on behaviours
Negative Reinforcer: negative (means subtraction)
Engage in behaviour and produces a consequence which we are more likely to repeat the behaviour
uncomfortable stimulus is stopeed due to the behaviour
2 Types of Negative Reinforcer
Escape: getting rid of something unpleasent
Ex: having a bad headache and take an aspirin, after you take it the headaches gone
Avoidance: avoiding something unpleasant
Ex: do not have a bad headache but you know that after typing on the computer you get one, but you don’t want it, so you take it to prevent the headache from happening.
Primary reinforcers:
reinforces which are naturally satisfying, no learning is required
Conditioned reinforcers (Secondary reinforcers):
Stimuli which is not naturally enforcing/ rewarding, through experience and learning we appreciate them
Generalized conditioned reinforcers:
Objects traded for several other reinforcements
Immediate reinforcers:
Do the behaviour and reinforce right after it
Delayed reinforcers:
do the behaviour and there is a delay in the reinforcement
Scheduling Consequences (Schedules of Reinforcement):
A description in words and numbers of how and when we’ll earn reinforcers
Continuous reinforcement:
Every time the behaviour occurs it is reinforced
What type of teaching would continuous reinforcement be?
Teaching new behaviours should be continuous, once the behaviour is well learned: must switch to an intermittent schedule
Why? Because continuous is not resistant to extinction, intermittent is resistant
Partial extinction effect:
Continuous is not resistant to extinction, intermittent is resistant
Intermittent (or Partial):
Sometimes the behaviour is reinforced or not reinforced, its on and off
Ratio:
The number of responses which determines when the behaviour will be reinforced produces a higher rate of reaction
2 Types of Ratios
Fixed Ratio: very specific number of responses must occur for the behaviour to be reinforced
Ex: tend to work hard or fast, once we get reinforced we take a little break and then we go back to working hard and fast
Variable ratio: number of responses that must occur for the behaviour to be reinforced varies. It produces a higher rate of responding with little to no break
Interval:
the passage of time which determines when the behaviour is reinforced
2 Types of Intervals
Fixed interval: very specific amount of time must be given for the behaviour to be reinforced
- Least amount of repeating
Variable interval: the amount of time that must occur for the behaviour to be reinforced
- Slow and steady, produces the third-highest rate of responding
What is a break and run pattern of responding?
Run: quickly produce many responses until we earn a reward
Break: Occurs after the delivery of a reinforcer
Characteristic of Fixed ratio
Punishment:
produces a consequence in a way that the behaviour is less likely to be repeated in the future
It stops an undesired behaviour faster
2 Types of Punishments
Positive punishment: receive something uncomfortable due to a bad behaviour
Negative punishment: something we enjoy is removed due to a bad behaviour
What did Skinner advocate using?
Positive reinforcements, It has a longer lasting effect on behaviour
Reasons not to use punishment procedures
- Punishment does not teach what to do to get reinforcements
- Punishment involves strong stimuli, including some that cause pain
- A person who uses punishment successfully once is more likely to use it again
- The person whose behaviour is punished also learns to use punishment to control others behaviours
- Punishment only decreases behaviour if the response is punished immediately, and with a large strong stimulus
Shaping Behaviours
Operant conditioning
Reinforcing closer behaviour until the correct behaviour is shown
Operant Extinction
Must stop reinforcing the bad behaviour, It must be consistent and takes a while for it to work
Ex: child behaves in a way which is unacceptable, and we want it to stop
Extinction burst
Turns up the volume of the bad behaviour
During the process, the child becomes frustrated and more aggressive
Self-injurious behaviours
Combines the extinction procedure with interventions.
It results in: less aggressive behaviour and fewer extinction bursts
Tolman
Father of psychology
Latent learning:
Why did Tolman disagree with this?
For learning to take place there must be reinforcement
Tolman disagreed, because reinforcement is occasional
Cognitive map:
Mental map
Study by Tolman and Honzik
Tolman and Honzik had a 14 unit T-maze in which rats could turn down 14 incorrect path
How many groups of rats were there?
2 groups
Food Group Rats
No Food Group Rats: did not have food for 10 days
What were the conditions for each group?
Food Group Rats: received food when they reached the end of the maze
No Food Group Rats: received food only on the 11th day
What were the results for each group?
Food Group Rats: they made fewer errors compared to the No Food Group Rats
No Food Group Rats: they made fewer errors and ran faster than they did on previous days and also ran faster than the rats who got food
Learned helplessness
example of how important cognitive processes are
Learn to expose repeatedly to a stimulus that is uncomfortable
We learn there is nothing we can do about it, we stop trying
Bandura’s opinion on learning
Learning by Observation is known as
Learning is a pioneered social learning research
Vicarious learning & Social learning
Biologically predisposed
we are biologically predisposed to learn the observation
Evidence of Biologically predisposed
Babies and Monkey Babies: start imitating very early in life
Mirror neurons: highly specialized neurons which are activated when we perform a behaviour and When we watch or assume someone else performing a behaviour
Bandura’s Model
Showed that children who observed an adult aggressively interacting with a Bobo doll were more aggressive.
They engaged in new aggressive behaviours towards the doll more than (a) children who observed an adult gently playing with the doll or (b) the control children who were not exposed to an adult model interacting with a Bobo doll.
Cognitive processes:
Essential when learning
4 steps to imitate a behaviour
- Attention: Pay attention to the behaviour
- Memory: Commit to memory which we have observed
- Action/motor skills: Must be able to reproduce the behaviour
- Motivation: Must be motivated to do it
When are we more likely to imitate a behaviour
We are more likely to imitate a behaviour when we admire a person or are similar to them
if we get similar rewards we are more likely to repeat the behaviour in the future
