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Psychology of Learning > Test 1 > Flashcards

Test 1 Flashcards

1
Q

Conditioned Stimulus (CS)

A

A neutral stimulus that activates a specific response (from the US)

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2
Q

Unconditioned Stimulus (US)

A
  • Stimulus that causes a reflex
  • Typically a biologically significant stimulus to the organism (food/something that brings pain)
  • A US can acquire significance as well
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3
Q

Conditioned Response (CR)

A

learned response to a stimulus that was previously neutral/meaningless

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4
Q

Unconditioned Response (UR)

A

The reflexive response

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5
Q

Reflex

A

Swift, automatic response to a stimulus - no prior learning required
- Grasping
- Flexor withdrawal
- Suckling
- Rooting

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6
Q

Neutral Stimulus

A

A stimulus that does not elicit the reflex being studied

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7
Q

Classical Conditioning

A

An association is made between 2 stimuli that occur independently of the organism’s behavior
- The neutral stimulus and US are “paired”, and the neutral stimulus eventually becomes a CS

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8
Q

Excitatory Conditioning:

A

A CS is followed by an US

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9
Q

Inhibitory Stimulus

A

A CS followed by no US

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10
Q

Acquisition

A

The initial learning of the CR

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11
Q

Extinction

A

The strength of the CR declines following a procedure in which the CS is presented without the US
- However, the decline in Cr strength does not mean the CS-US association is lost

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12
Q

Factors Affecting Strength/Speed of Classical Conditioning

A
  • # of CS-US pairings
  • Features of US
  • Features of CS
  • Timing
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13
Q

Number of CS-US Pairings:

A

The more often the CS and US appear together the more likely a conditioned response is to occur
- However this is not a linear relationship, eventually flattens out

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14
Q

Features of the US

A
  • The intensity of the US is very important, with stronger stimuli producing better results, in general than weaker ones
  • Generally, a longer US duration is accompanied by a faster and stronger learning
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15
Q

Features of the CS

A
  • Intensity is important; more intense stimuli produce faster, stronger learning than weaker ones
  • Neutral stimuli are capable of becoming a CS when paired with an US, may be ineffective as part of a compound stimulus
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16
Q

Overshadowing

A

When the effects of a higher-intensity stimulus prevents a lower-intensity stimulus from becoming a CS

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17
Q

Compound Stimulus

A

Involves presenting 2 or more stimuli (such as a light and a buzzer) simultaneously as the CS

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18
Q

Contiguity

A

The closeness in time or space between 2 events
- In classical conditioning, the more contiguous the CCS and US the more quickly a CR would appear

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19
Q

Intertrial Interval

A

An interval separating the trials of a discrete trials procedure - the gap between successive trials
- In general, longer intertrial intervals are more effective than shorter ones in producing a CR

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20
Q

Contingency

A

The probability that one event (like a US) occurs if and only if another event (like a CS) occurs
- ‘One event is a good predictor of another’

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21
Q

4 temporal arrangements

A
  • Trace Conditioning
  • Delayed Conditioning
  • Simultaneous Conditioning
  • Backward Conditioning
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22
Q

Trace Conditioning

A

The CS begins and ends before the US is presented
- Strong for quick learning

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23
Q

Delayed Conditioning

A

The US begins right when or before the CS has ended
- Generally the strongest for quick learning

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24
Q

Simultaneous Conditioning

A

The CS and US coincide exactly
- Can be bad for quick learning

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25
Backward Conditioning
The CS follows the US - Bad for quick learning
26
Advantages of Animal Studies
- Control over the environment - Fewer ethical restrictions, no informed consent needed - Cheap/easy - Results generalizable to us bc of similar biology - Faster outcome, shorter lives - Large numbers available for research - Less social pressure/influence - Easier to find results -simpler systems
27
Concerns with Animal Studies
- Ethics (killing w/out consent) - Humans not the same biologically or physiologically - No communication; must infer from behavior - Dangerous/unpredictable animals - Cost of animal care through their lives
28
6 Ways to Accept Ideas (Helmstadter, 1970)
- Tenacity - Intuition - Authority - Rationalism - Empiricism - Science
29
Tenacity
A willingness to accept ideas as valid because they have been accepted for so long
30
Intuition (common sense)
Accepting ideas as valid because they 'feel' intuitively true
31
Authority
Accepting ideas as valid because some respected authority asserts that they are true
32
Rationalism (Reason)
A process that develops valid ideas using existing ideas and principles of logic
33
Empiricism
Gaining knowledge by observing events around us
34
Science
Combines rationalism with empiricism to develop tentative statements (hypothesis) and empiricism to test them
35
Plato
- Truth/knowledge are inborn; all one needs to do is 'bring it out' through discussion - True knowledge involves ideas, inner contemplation, not the environment
36
Aristotle
- In De anime, he states only curiosity is inborn; knowledge is gained through sensory experience - Tabula rasa - 'blank slate' - "All men by nature desire to know" - "Plato is dear to me, dearer still is truth" - "We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but habit"
37
Rene Descartes
Mind-body dualism: SOME human behavior is the result of free will, but SOME is reflexive, mechanical (and can therefore be studied scientifically)
38
John Locke
- Re-emphasized and popularized Aristotle's 'tabula rasa' - We are born with no knowledge, and we gain knowledge from our experiences
39
David Hume
Laws of Association, extending the work of Aristotle, describing how ideas are created and combined - Laws of Similarity, Contiguity, and Frequency
40
Law of Similarity
A sensation may trigger a particular idea because the two are similar
41
Law of Contiguity
One idea can trigger the memory of another idea if the two have occurred close together in space and time
42
Law of Frequency
One idea can trigger the memory of another idea if the two have occurred together often in the past
43
Ivan Pavlov
- Classical Conditioning
44
E. L. Thorndike
The first to study instrumental (operant) conditioning
45
B. F. Skinner
- Followed Thorndike's lead - Believed the goal of psychology should be practical and looked solely at environmental causes of behavior
46
Confounding Variables
Variables not chosen by the researcher for the study but affect the outcome anyway
46
Independent Variable
Variable that the experimenter manipulates; not influenced; not influenced by what happens during the experiment
46
Dependent Variable
What the experimenter expects will be influenced by the independent variable(s)
47
Validity (accuracy)
Refers to how well a dependent variable measures the behavior or trait of interest
48
Spontaneous Recovery
Following an extinction procedure, if some time is allowed to pass before the CS is presented again, the previously extinguished response would appear
49
CR Renewal
If extinction procedures are performed in an environment different from that used in acquisition, the CR will decline only in the extinction environment
50
Conditioned Inhibitor (CS-)
A stimulus that has properties antagonistic to a conditioned excitor - A CS- is typically paired with the absence of a US
51
Explicitly Unpaired Procedure to Produce a Conditioned Inhibition
- Trial 1) US - Trial 2) CS-
52
Conditional Procedure to Produce a Conditioned Inhibition
- Trial 1) CS+ --> US - Trial 2) CS+ CS- (simultaneous) --> no US
53
Differential Procedure to Produce a Conditioned Inhibition
- Trial 1) CS+ --> US - Trial 2) CS- --> no US
54
Trace Procedure to Produce a Conditioned Inhibition
- Trial 1) CS- --> gap --> US
55
Marlin
Conducted the lick suppression test and studied higher order conditioning
56
Sensory Preconditioning
2 neutral stimuli are paired, after which one is repeatedly paired with a US. If the other stimulus is then presented alone, it should elicit a CR even though it was never paired with the US
57
Blocking
- Involves the failure of a stimulus to become a CS when it is part of a compound stimulus that includes an effective CS - The effective CS is said to block the formation of a new CS
58
Generalization
A CR is elicited by a stimulus because of the similarity of that stimulus to a CS
59
Discrimination
A stimulus is just different enough from a CS that it will not elicit the CR
60
Sensitization
Increase in the strength of a reflexive response when a stimulus is repeated
61
Pseudoconditioning
Increase in the response to a CS due to presentation of a US by itself
62
Counterconditioning
Using pavlovian procedures to reverse any unwanted effects of conditioning
63
Systematic desensitization
- A person with a phobia is exposed to (or even imagines) a very weak form of the frightening stimulus wile he.she is relaxed - Slowly, stronger versions of the stimulus are presented
64
Flooding
A person with a phobia is directly exposed to the fear-evoking stimuli until the fear responses are extinguished
65
Latent Inhibition
- The appearance of a stimulus in the absence of a US interferes with the subsequent ability of the stimulus to become a CS

Psychology of Learning (2 decks)

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