PSYD13 Delkurs 1 - Learning

Question 1

Define learning

Answer 1

Process by which experience produces a relatively enduring and adaptive change in an organism’s capacity for behaviour

Question 2

Habituation?

Answer 2

A decrease in the strength of response to a repeated stimulus, i.e. less synapses between sensory and motor neuron = decrease in strength of response

Question 3

Sensitisation?

Answer 3

An increase in the strength of response to a repeated stimulus, i.e. more synapses between sensory and motor neuron

Question 4

Classical conditioning?

Answer 4

An organism learns to associate two stimuli such that one stimulus comes to elicit a response that was originally elicited only by the other stimulus

Question 5

Unconditioned stimulus (UCS)?

Answer 5

A stimulus that elicits a reflexive or innate response (the UCR) without prior learning

Question 6

Unconditioned response (UHR)?

Answer 6

A reflexive or innate response that is elicited by a stimulus (the UCS) without prior learning

Question 7

Conditioned stimulus (CS)?

Answer 7

A stimulus that, through association with a UCS, comes to elicit a conditioned response similar to the original UCR

Question 8

Conditioned response (CR)?

Answer 8

A response elicited by a conditioned stimulus

Question 9

What is the acquisition phase in classical conditioning?

Answer 9

The conditioned stimulus paired with the unconditioned stimulus, i.e. where the organism learns to associate the CS with the UCS

Question 10

What is the extinction phase in classical conditioning?

Answer 10

The conditioned stimulus alone - over time the CR decreases in intensity (ex, drops of salvia with pavlov’s dogs)

Question 11

What is the first spontaneous recovery phase?

Answer 11

Still the CS alone, however because of the 24h rest between extinction and this phase, there is initially an increase in the CR intensity, however it decreases over time

Question 12

What is the second spontaneous recovery phase?

Answer 12

After another 24h after the first recovery phase, the organism is exposed to the CS again, however there is now a low intensity in CR

Question 13

Stimulus generalisation?

Answer 13

Stimuli similar to the initial CS elicit a CR

Question 14

Stimulus discrimination?

Answer 14

When a CR occurs to one stimulus but not to others

Question 15

Higher-order conditioning?

Answer 15

A neutral stimulus becomes a CS after being paired with an already established CS

Question 16

Explain exposure therapies with classical conditioning

Answer 16

A patient is exposed to a stimulus (CS) that aroused an anxiety response without the presence of the UCS, allowing extinction to occur

Question 17

What is aversion therapy?

Answer 17

It attempts to condition an aversion (a repulsion) to a stimulus that triggers unwanted behaviour by pairing it with a noxious UCS

Question 18

Anticipatory nausea and vomiting (ANV)?

Answer 18

When you become nauseated and may vomit anywhere from minutes to hours before a treatment session (ex. cancer treatment + hospital)

Question 19

How can you use classical conditioning to trigger a reduced immune response?

Answer 19

Sweet water + drug (UCS) -> immune suppression (UCR) —-> sweet water = CS and immune suppression = CR

Question 20

What is Thorndike’s Law of effect? (Instrumental learning)

Answer 20

In a given situation, a response followed by a satisfying consequence will become more likely to occur and a response followed by an annoying consequence will become less likely to occur

Question 21

With is operant conditioning?

Answer 21

A type of learning in which behaviour is influenced by the consequences that follow it

Question 22

Skinner box?

Answer 22

A special chamber used to study operant conditioning experimentally (with rats and buttons)

Question 23

Reinforcement?

Answer 23

Is when a response is strengthened by an outcome that follows it, can either be positive or negative

Question 24

Punishment?

Answer 24

Occurs when a response is weakened by outcomes that follow it, can either be positive or negative

Question 25

Discriminative stimulus?

Answer 25

Signal that a particular response will now produce certain consequences, ex. the light in the skinner box

Question 26

Primary reinforcers?

Answer 26

Stimuli, such as food and water, that an organism naturally finds reinforcing because they satisfy biological needs

Question 27

Secondary (conditioned) reinforcers?

Answer 27

Stimuli that acquire reinforcing properties through their association with primary reinforcers

Question 28

Operant extinction?

Answer 28

The weakening and eventual disappearance of a response because it is no longer reinforced

Question 29

Aversive punishment?

Answer 29

= same as positive punishment, ex. hitting a child:(

Question 30

Response cost?

Answer 30

= same as negative punishment, ex. taking away a kids xbox

Question 31

What is shaping?

Answer 31

i.e. methods of successive approximations, involves reinforcing successive approximations towards a final response, ex. learning a dog a complicated trick

Question 32

What is chaining (in relation to shaping)?

Answer 32

Used to develop a sequence of responses by reinforcing each response with the opportunity to perform the next response

Question 33

Operant generalisation?

Answer 33

An operant response to a new antecedent stimulus or situation that is similar to the original one

Question 34

Operant discrimination?

Answer 34

An operant response will occur to one antecedent stimulus but not to another

Question 35

Stimulus control?

Answer 35

A behaviour that is influenced by discriminative stimuli is said to be under stimulus control, ex a police siren when driving a car

Question 36

Schedules of reinforcement?

Answer 36

When reinforcement comes in different patterns and frequencies -> we create schemas of behaviour/what to expect

Question 37

Continuous reinforcement?

Answer 37

Every response of a particular type is reinforced

Question 38

Partial (intermittent) reinforcement?

Answer 38

Only a portion of the responses of a particular type is reinforced

Question 39

Ratio schedule?

Answer 39

A certain % of responses are reinforced

Question 40

Interval schedule?

Answer 40

A certain amount of time must elapse between reinforcements

Question 41

Fixed schedule?

Answer 41

Reinforcement always occurs after a fixed time interval

Question 42

Variable schedule?

Answer 42

The required number of responses, or the time interval between them, varies at random

Question 43

Escape conditioning?

Answer 43

The organism learns a response to terminate an aversive stimulus

Question 44

Avoidance conditioning?

Answer 44

The organism learns a response to avoid an aversive stimulus

Question 45

Two-factor theory of avoidance learning?

Answer 45

Both classical and operant conditioning are involved in avoidance learning (classical -> fear, avoiding the fear = negative reinforcement

Question 46

Relational Frame Theory (RTF)

Answer 46

Posits that we learn language through interactions with the environment. The post-Skinnerian and behaviourist approach identifies principles that are useful in cognitive interventions such as acceptance and commitment therapy

Question 47

Acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT)?

Answer 47

An approach where clients are taught to notice, accept and embrace their thoughts and feelings

Question 48

What does preparedness refer to?

Answer 48

Through evolution, animals are biologically pre-wired to learn some associations more easily than others

Question 49

Conditioned taste aversion?

Answer 49

A conditioned response to which the taste (and sometimes sight and smell) of a particular food becomes disgusting and repulsive

Question 50

How is the phenomenon insight a problem for behaviorism?

Answer 50

Insight = cognitive function, if monkey learns something by insight, behaviourists cannot explain it

Question 51

Cognitive map?

Answer 51

A mental representation of the spatial layout, ex. rats learn a cognitive map, which is hard to explain by reinforcement

Question 52

Latent learning?

Answer 52

Learning that occurs but is not demonstrated until later, when there is an incentive to perform - an argument against behaviourism

Question 53

What is the expectancy model?

Answer 53

A theory that states that classical conditioning creates expectation in the organism, and it is the expectation that actually elicits the CR.

Question 54

Blocking?

Answer 54

Obstruction of conditioning of CR, because that response has already been conditioned to a different stimulus, ex.

Question 55

Rescorla-Wagner theory?

Answer 55

A theory of classical conditioning which states the the strength of conditioning is determined by how surprising the UCS is

Question 56

Latent inhibition?

Answer 56

The weakening of classical conditioning due to the prior presentation of the CS on its own

Question 57

Attentional theories of classical conditioning?

Answer 57

State that the strength of conditioning is determined by how much attention is paid to the CS during the learning episode

Question 58

Observational learning?

Answer 58

Learning that occurs by observing the behaviour of a model

Question 59

Bandura's Social-cognitive theory?

Answer 59

= social-learning theory = emphasises that people learn by observing the behaviour of models and acquiring the belief that they can produce behaviours to influence events in their lives

Question 60

Self-efficacy?

Answer 60

People's belief that they have the capability to perform behaviours that will produce a desired outcome

Question 61

Neural network (connectionist) models?

Answer 61

Each memory is represented by a unique pattern of interconnected and simultaneously activated nodes