test 1 Flashcards
How does taste aversion violate typical classical conditioning?
In typical classical conditioning, acquiring a CR requires dozens of trials associating the CS and US vs can acquire taste aversion after one single occasion.
Typically, long-delay conditioning is less effective vs the time eating and getting sick can be as long as 24hrs.
What is Learning?
- An adaptive process where the tendency to perform a specific behaviour, emotion, and/or thought is changed by experience
- A more or less permanent change in behaviour potentiality which occurs as a result of repeated practice
- Change in a subject’s behaviour or behaviour potential to a given situation brought about by the subject’s repeated experience in that situation
What is “experience?”
Any effects of the environment mediated by a sensory system
Common features of Learning?
- There is a change (may be invisible - thus the “behaviour potential”)
- Change is lasting
- Experience and practice
- Learning situation is important
Two Major Ways of Learning?
- Non-associative (Habituation)
- - Associative
Habituation?
– a “getting used to it” response
– the organism has “learned” that this stimulus has no special significance
– does not require linking stimuli together
– considered the simplest type of learning
– decline/disappearance of a reflexive response when the same stimulus is repeatedly presented
– ignore unimportant, repetitive events
Why is habituation adaptive?
Allows us to learn that a stimulus is not significant, and therefore you don’t have to be distracted by petty events
3 Key Figures in The History of Associative Learning?
Ivan Pavlov (1849-1936) John Watson (1878-1958) B.F. Skinner (1904-1990)
Cognitive Psychology?
- The study of MENTAL processes such as perceiving, attending, remembering and reasoning
- Psychology as the science of the mind
i. e. The scientific approach (Herschel 1830):
1) gathering of data through experimentation and observation;
2) generation of hypotheses from these data;
3) testing of the hypotheses to see if they can be disproved
- Psychology as the science of the mind
history of cognition
- Wilhelm Wundt (1879) and the method of introspection
- Hermann Ebbinghaus (1885) and the empirical study of memory
- William James (1890) principles of psychology
Behaviorism - who, when, what?
- Watson (1913): psychology as objective study of behavior not mind
- Introspection cannot be measured objectively
- Theories should be as simple as possible
- Metaphor of the ‘black box’- inner workings cannot be understood
- belief in tabula rasa rather than nativism
- belief in equipotentiality
According to Ethology in the 1950s, why is tabula rasa untrue?
- Different species have different genetic predispositions that determine behaviour.
- Fixed-action patterns such as stereotyped mating behaviour, nest building, territory marking etc. (e.g., Niko Tinbergen)
- Critical periods for specific learning such as chicks learning who mother is (ie., imprinting, Konrad Lorenz)
Reemergence of Cognition
- Chomsky: The generativity of human language cannot be explained in behaviorist terms; Psychology as science of behaviour is like defining physics as science of meter reading; Theories of the mind are needed to explain behaviour
- The 1956 MIT conference (Chomsky, Miller, Bruner, Newell & Simon)
- The computer metaphor: Information processing in the ‘black box’ became a legitimate topic of discussion as such processes are, after all, instantiated in a machine
The information-processing model
- A computer uses symbols (series of 0 and 1) to represent something; Neurons can fire (1) or not fire (0)
- Programs specify the rules for the manipulation of these symbols: Software is to hardware, as mind is to brain?
- -The computational theory of mind; From box and arrow models to parallel distributed processing
- The rise of cognitive neuroscience and the rise of evolutionary approaches
Approaches to studying the mind
- Experiments —Classic (a la Ebbinghaus) —Since cognitive revolution: e.g., reaction time as a measure of mental processing load – combining objective measures with introspection
- Neuroscientific investigations —Brain imaging and recording (with introspection or task performance) —Lesion studies: Malfunctioning of the brain/mind
- Modeling —Computer simulations of human performance
- Comparative —Performance comparison across age groups, clinical groups and species
The Domain of Cognitive Psychology
§ Cognitive Neuroscience § Perception § Pattern recognition § Attention § Consciousness § Memory § Imagery § Representation of knowledge § Language § Cognitive Development § Thinking § Intelligence § Comparative Psychology § Evolutionary Psychology*
Basic and higher level cognition
- Low = close to the input from our senses (vision, hearing, touch, taste and smell); Mental representations correspond to objects and events in the environment
- High = abstract, conceptual, relational; Abstract mental representations; Derived from many individual experiences
Cognitivists complained that behaviourism…
- ignored basic mental processes like memory, attention, imagery etc.
- assumed equipotentiality and could not properly explain different learning within individuals and across species
Behaviourists complained that cognitivism…
- made merely inferences about mental constructs
- made no reference to physiology
- ignored emotion and motivational valence
4 elements of classical conditioning
- unconditioned stimulus US: a stimulus that elicits an unlearned response
- unconditioned response UR: the unlearned response to a US
- conditioned stimulus CS: a stimulus to which an organism must learn to respond
- conditioned response CR: the response to a CS (which is learned)
Unconditioned…
connection between stimulus and response is INNATE
Conditioned…
connection between stimulus and response is LEARNED
Conditioned fear
Little Albert
tone + white fluffy rat
generalised to all white fluffy objects
The three stages of classical conditioning
- Stage 1: Habituation – CS presented alone
- Stage 2: Acquisition – CS presented along with US
- Stage 3: Extinction – CS presented alone again
What two factors influence the acquisition curve?
– Intensity of the US (more intense, more rapid learning)
– Order and timing (the CS coming before the US is better)
Different types of timing in Conditoning
- Delay Conditioning-Short
- Delay Conditioning-Long
- Trace Conditioning
- Simultaneous Conditioning
- Backward Conditioning
What is it called when the stimulus that the animal is learning about (CS) is presented before the stimulus that already holds some meaning (US) but there is a delay between the end on the first stimulus and the beginning of the second?
Trace conditioning
In a typical conditioning experiment a neutral stimulus (CS) is presented along with a stimulus that we already know something about (US). What is this phase called?
Acquisition
Two Types of Pavlovian Conditioning
- Excitatory conditioning – CS predicts the occurrence of US
* Inhibitory conditioning – CS predicts absence of US
Tests used to determine if Inhibitory Conditioning has taken place
summation test and retardation test
Retardation test
• First inhibitory conditioning takes place
• To test it - train an inhibitor and a neutral stimulus to become excitatory
– Slower learning to inhibitor
Summation test
- First inhibitory conditioning takes place
- To test it - present a new excitatory CS alone, and then the new excitatory CS + the inhibitor
- The combo should evoke a WEAKER CR.
I think that people who provide us with social support are a natural example of a conditioned inhibitor. To test this I present participants with pictures that they have previously learnt predict a shock alone or along with a picture of their mother. What test am I doing?
Summation test
Name the three types of exctinction
§ spontaneous recovery
§ the renewal effect
§ reinstatement
Spontaneous recovery after extinction
- Reintroduce the CS after a “break”
- - The CR reappears
Renewal effect in extinction
When extinction is context specific
§ Acquisition in context X
§ Extinction in context Y
§ Present CS in context X: CR
Reinstatement in extinction
Reminder Effect
§ present US alone after extinction
§ Then Present CS = CR
The Hidden (and incorrect) Assumptions of Classical Conditioning
- Any two stimuli can be paired together (equipotentiality)
- The more two stimuli are paired, the stronger the individual will associate them (continguity)
- Conditioning changes trial to trial in a regular way (contingency)
The Hidden (and incorrect) Assumptions of Classical Conditioning - equipotentiality
Any two stimuli can be paired together
The Hidden (and incorrect) Assumptions of Classical Conditioning - continguity
The more two stimuli are paired, the stronger the individual will associate them
The Hidden (and incorrect) Assumptions of Classical Conditioning - contingency
Conditioning changes trial to trial in a regular way
Blocking
When a neutral stimulus and an excitatory stimulus together are paired with the US – the learner does not form an association between the neutral stimulus and the US
Superconditioning
When a neutral stimulus and an inhibitory stimulus together are paired with the US – the learner forms a stronger association between the neutral stimulus and the US
You think you have a conditioned inhibitor. You decide to do the retardation test first so you …
(a) Pair the inhibitor with a US and a neutral stimulus with the US over and over and compare CRs
(b) Present an excitatory stimulus with a US and the inhibitor without a US
(c) Present an excitatory stimulus alone and an excitatory stimulus together with the inhibitor and compare CRs
(d) Present a neutral stimulus and a neutral stimulus together with an inhibitor and compare CRs
(a) Pair the inhibitor with a US and a neutral stimulus with the US over and over and compare CRs
According to Kamin, what is necessary for learning?
Surprise
You are Pavlov’s dog. One particular guy always brings you food. You always salivate when you hear his footsteps or see him coming towards you. He starts bringing a friend along with him when he brings the food. One day that friend comes alone and your mouth is dry. What is this an example of
(a) Reinstatement
(b) Superconditioning
(c) Blocking
(d) Acquisition
(c) Blocking
You are Pavlov’s dog. All sorts of people bring you food, but there is this old guy with a beard that never does. One day he comes along with a new person and you get some food. When that new person comes to visit you alone, you are salivating a lot. What is this?
(a) Reinstatement
(b) Superconditioning
(c) Blocking
(d) Acquisition
(b) Superconditioning
Does CS pre-exposure (latent inhibition) affect conditioning?
Yes. Learning is impaired. You’re less likely to respond.
Is CS pre-exposure due to habituation?
No. CS pre-exposure is context specific; but Habituation is not context specific (it occurs regardless of the context)
Is CS pre-exposure due to conditioned inhibition?
No. It only passes the retardation test and not the summation test (needs to pass both)
What evidence is there that CS-pre-exposure/latent inhibition is not the same as inhibitory conditioning?
(a) When a pre-exposed CS is presented along with an excitatory stimulus, conditioned responding is not reduced compared to the excitatory stimulus alone
(b) When a pre-exposed CS is presented along with an excitatory stimulus, conditioned responding is reduced compared to the excitatory stimulus alone
(c) A pre-exposed CS slows excitatory conditioning in a subsequent learning phase
(d) A pre-exposed CS facilitates excitatory conditioning in a subsequent learning phase
(a) When a pre-exposed CS is presented along with an excitatory stimulus, conditioned responding is not reduced compared to the excitatory stimulus alone
You are walking in the sand and see something out of the corner of your eye. You jump back because you think it is a snake. It is actually a stick. What is happening here?
(a) Broadening
(b) Discrimination
(c) Generalisation
(d) Specificity
(c) Generalisation
Generalisation
- Other (similar) stimuli may also produce the CR
- - The more similar to the original CS, the more likely it is to elicit the CR
Discrimination
- Early on during acquisition, generalisation may cause the learner to respond to a variety of stimuli
- As learning continues, the organism learns which CS seems to be best associated with US (they discriminate)
Does generalisation last?
No. It decreases – discrimination.
A model is…
– A formal attempt to explain a wide body of research
– Makes predictions
– Predictions can be tested
I have learned that a tone means a mild shock is coming. I see a yellow light and hear a tone and experience a mild shock. What will I learn about the yellow light?
(a) My association between the yellow light and the shock will become stronger
(b) My association between the yellow light and the shock will be weaker
(c) I will learn very limle about the yellow light
(d) I will learn that a shock predicts a yellow light
(b) My association between the yellow light and the shock will be weaker
Rescorla-Wagner Model
A CR gets stronger if the CS-US pair is surprising
If am using a soft tone as my CS and a weak shock as my US, learning will occur ___________ if I used a loud tone and a strong shock.
(a) Faster than
(b) Slower than
(c) At the same speed as
(d) Backwards from
(b) Slower than
Garcia effect…
Preparedness:
- some associations are learned faster than others, so shows that equipotentiality (i.e. every CS has the same potential to be associated with a US) does not hold.
- have faster acquisition and slower extinction.
Classical conditioning & racial attitudes…
- out groups act like a fearful stimulus
- - however, with more exposure to out groups the effect decreases
Siegel’s heroin experiment…
found that context affects tolerance
Systematic desensitisation…
- presenting the CS without the US
- - exposing the client to the phobic object in a gradual way
What is the difference between Pavlovian conditioning & Operant conditioning?
- Pavlovian conditioning relies on the formation of reflexive associations between stimuli, resulting in involuntary responses
- Operant conditioning (sometimes called instrumental conditioning) relies on the consequences of past actions influencing future behaviour, resulting in increase or decrease of voluntary behaviours
The main principle of Operant conditioning?
– Consequences lead to change in voluntary behaviours
–- A behaviour that results in a reward tends to be repeated or become more frequent.
-– A behaviour that results in a punishment tends to be avoided or become less frequent.
The Law of Effect?
The tendency to perform an action is increased if rewarded, weakened if it is not.
Shaping?
To reinforce any behaviour that could lead to the desired behaviour / selective reinforcement of behaviour resembling the desired target behaviour.
Superstitious Behaviour?
- Random reinforcement / reward
- - Even if there is actually no true association between a behaviour and an outcome we expect and try to find links
Chaining?
Acquiring a behaviour is easier if done in bits and pieces.
Reward and punishment?
- Reward = more likely to repeat
- - Punishment = less likely to repeat
Reinforcers and punishers?
- Reinforcer: increases behaviour
* Punisher: decreases behaviour
Positive and negative?
- Positive (add) – The animal receives something, e.g.: a shock, an ice cream
- Negative (subtract) – Something is taken away from the animal, e.g.: chores, TV privileges
Positive Reinforcement?
Adds something to increase a behaviour, e.g.: gold stars for good behaviour
Negative Reinforcement?
Removes something to increase a behaviour, e.g.: night off from homework after good marks
Positive Punishment?
Adds something to decrease a behaviour, e.g.: anti-barking collars
Negative Punishment?
Removes something to decrease a behaviour, e.g.: time out
Bridging?
A stimulus that comes to signal the arrival of the reward – it is a conditioned reinforcer - and effectively bridges the time between the behaviour and the primary reinforcement.
Continuous (CRF) and Partial (PRF) Reinforcement?
- Continuous (CRF): Each response
* Partial (PRF): Only some
Types of Partial (PRF) Reinforcement?
– Fixed ratio (FR): Every nth (e.g., newspaper delivery)
– Variable ratio (VR): On average every nth (e.g., gambling)
– Fixed interval (FI): First behaviour after N seconds (e.g., waiting for a bus)
– Variable interval (VI): On average, first behaviour after n seconds (e.g., checking email)
The Post- Reinforcement Pause?
Only happens after Fixed (not Variable) reinforcers.
Which schedule is most efficient - ratio or interval?
Ratio.
And VR is most resistant to extinction as it teaches persistence – E.g. Gambling
Which schedule of punishment is most effective -
continuous or partial?
Continuous.
Which is more effective? Punishment or reinforcement?
Reinforcement is more effective.
Problems With Punishment?
- Punishment isn’t as permanent as reinforcement (in rats: Skinner, 1938)
- Punishment reduces trust/increases aggression (Ulrich & Azrin, 1962)
How To Punish Effectively?
- No escape
- As intense as possible (within limits)
- Continuous schedule
- No delay
- Over a short period of time
- No subsequent reinforcement
- Reinforce incompatible, appropriate behaviour concurrently
- Watch for side effects: Changes in other behaviours, Aggression, Fear, Modelling of violence, Learned helplessness
Other than the schedule, what other variables affect conditioning?
– Drive
– Size
– Delay
Reward Variables: Drive
Reinforcement depends on how much the organism wants the reinforcer. e.g.: Hungry organism vs sated organism.
Reward Variables: Size
Animals learn faster if they get more reward, BUT there are diminishing returns.
• Acquisition: faster with large/desired reward
• Extinction: faster with large/desired reward
Reinforcement variables: Delay
Reduces effect
Reinforcers work better when…?
– Drive/Desire is higher
– Reinforcer is Larger (but this tapers off)
– Reinforcer is given right away
The Three Term Contingency?
- The discriminative stimulus - Sets the occasion
- The operant response - The behaviour
- The outcome (reinforcer/punisher) that follows - The consequence
Stimulus Control?
- Occurs when your behaviour comes to be under the control of the stimulus.
- The behaviour happens when the stimulus is present and doesn’t happen when the stimulus is absent.
Stimulus Generalization?
When a response is reinforced in the presence of one stimulus there is a general tendency to respond in the presence of new stimuli that have similar physical properties or have been associated with the stimulus.
Stimulus Discrimination?
Degree to which different stimuli set the occasion for particular responses.
• In the three-term contingency a discriminative stimulus serves to signal the occasion when a particular behaviour will be reinforced/punished
• So learning to discriminate the stimulus is key to operant conditioning
Stimulus selection?
- Which stimuli are most likely to control behaviour?
* Stimuli become signals they’re predictive of a consequence.
‘Superstitious’ behaviour in animals is typically the result of -
(a) Reinforcing a particular behaviour
(b) Punishing a particular behaviour
(c) Providing random reinforcement
(d) Providing random punishments
(c) Providing random reinforcement
You are (secretly) trying to stop your house mates from leaving their dirty dishes in the sink over night. Every time they leave their dirty dishes you squirt them with water. This is an example of? (a) Positive reinforcement (b) Positive punishment (c) Negative reinforcement (d )Negative punishment
(b) Positive punishment
Latent learning?
You don’t have to experience a consequence and be rewarded to learn.
Drive reduction theory?
Motivational theory - drives reduction of physiological needs (e.g.: primary needs like hunger, thirst, etc); is a negative reinforcer and a major cause of learning.
Intra-cranial reinforcers?
- Pleasure seeking
- Positive reinforcer
- e.g.: ratbots
Premack Principle?
- A high probability behaviour can reinforce a low probability behaviour.
- e.g.: child eats small amount of unliked food (green vegies), gets more of favourite food (pasta).
The reinforcer?
The reinforcer becomes part of associative network (stimulus, response and reinforcement) – animal develops expectation.
Skinner’s operational definition of reinforcement?
• Reinforcer increases rate of behaviour
• Punisher decreases rate of behaviour
^^ circular behaviour
Which of these partial reinforcement schedules produces a post-reinforcement pause? (a) Variable ratio (b )Variable interval (c) Fixed ratio (d) both a and b
(c) Fixed ratio
__________ is the process of introducing a new behaviour into an animal’s repertoire by reinforcing each time the animal comes closer to performing the desired behaviour.
Shaping
Punishment: Avoidance vs. Escape?
- Escape learning – emit a response that terminates an aversive consequence (negative reinforcement)
- Avoidance learning – emit a response to prevent the occurrence of an aversive consequence altogether
Seligman’s shock experiment on dogs?
- Dogs in escapable shock condition: Avoidance learning
- Dogs in inescapable shock condition: Learned helplessness
Effects of Learned Helplessness?
▪Impairs subsequent learning (in more difficult task) ▪Depression ▪Reduced activity ▪Reduced immune responses ▪More ulcers (stress related)
How To Combat Learned Helplessness?
• Place the subject in a situation where it cannot fail, so it learns it has some control – an initial experience of control often ‘immunises’ against learned helplessness
Learned Helplessness attributions?
• Depression promoting attributions: internal, stable, global
• Depression reducing attributions: external, unstable, specific
– Internal vs external (because of me/not because of me)
– Stable vs unstable (a trait that I have/one off incident)
– Global vs specific (applies to all contexts/applies to this one context)
Learned helplessness is typically worse if:
- The person thinks everything is hopeless
- The person thinks it’s their fault
- The person sees the helplessness as longterm
Punishment is more effective when delivered -
(a) On a partial reinforcement schedule
(b) Straight away
(c) Using a mild punishment
(d) Both b and c
(b)Straight away
Which of these is not a part of the ‘Three Term Contingency’?
(a) The operant response
(b) The discriminative stimulus
(c) The outcome/ consequence
(d) The organism
(d)The organism
Name each of the terms of the three-term contingency in operant conditioning.
Stimulus; response; consequence.
- The discriminative stimulus - Sets the occasion
- The operant response - The behaviour
- The outcome (reinforcer/punisher) that follows - The consequence
Behavioural Therapies?
- Use conditioning principles
* Aim to modify situation inappropriate behaviours
Functional Analysis?
- Tries to determine what reinforcers are maintaining an undesirable behaviour
- Involves monitoring the relationship between stimuli, behaviour, and consequences.
CBT?
- cognitive behavioural therapy - based on operant conditioning
- a lot of focus on ‘thinking errors’ and ‘core beliefs’, which is cognitive, but other techniques are based on operant
conditioning and classical conditioning, e.g., practice exercises and setting homework
