Test 2 Flashcards
Learning
A relatively permanent change in behavior that results from one’s experiences
Classical Conditioning
After repeated exposure to two stimuli occurring in a sequence, we associate those stimuli with each other. (Like see lightning, hear thunder)
The result is that our natural response to one stimulus now can be triggered by the new, predictive stimulus.
Examples of Classical Conditioning
whenever you come home wearing a baseball cap, you take your child to the park to play. So, whenever your child sees you come home with a baseball cap, he is excited because he has associated your baseball cap with a trip to the park.
Pavlov
Studied salivation in dogs, after conditioning dogs to salivate upon hearing a bell. The dog would then salivate upon hearing the tone (neutral stimulus becomes conditioned stimulus)
CLASSICAL CONDITIONING
John Watson
The father of American Behaviorism. He said he could take an infant and turn it into whatever you wanted. He experimented on baby Albert. fears can be unlearned and learned
Little Albert
The metal bar was hit every time a rat was with Albert. He then became scared of everything furry.
Generalization
Albert associating fear with every furry animal or thing that resembled a rat.
Counterconditioning
Unlearn fears by pairing previous things with a positive stimulus.
Critique of Classical conditioning
It underestimates the importance of cognitive processes and of biological constraints on an organism’s learning capacity. (Like teaching a pig to sing)
Operant Conditioning
Skinner said people learn through this. Most learning is operant conditioning. A learner first emits a response/behaves in some way and comes to associate this action with the positive or negative consequences.
Positive Reinforcement
adding something desireable to strengthen a behavior
Negative Reinforcement
taking something unpleasant away to strengthen a behavior (the cold)
Punishment
when you impose a negative consequence to reduce an undesirable behaviour.
Example of positive reinforcement
A child receives money for doing chores.
Example of negative reinforcement
Getting up from the bed to avoid the noisy alarm.
Taking an antacid before having a spicy meal.
Applying sunscreen before heading to the beach to avoid getting sunburned. Leaving early from the house to avoid traffic jams.
Example of Punishment
spanking a child when he throws a tantrum is an example of positive punishment.
Punishment
when you impose a negative consequence to reduce an undesirable behavior.
Shaping
Breaking down complex behavior into small manageable steps
Continuous schedule of reinforcement
reinforcement is provided every single time after the desired behavior
Fixed ratio schedule
reinforces behavior after a specified number of correct responses
Variable ratio schedule
where a behavior is reinforced after a random number of responses (gambling)
Fixed interval schedule
when reinforcement is given to a desired response after specific (predictable) amount of time has passed.
Variable interval schedule
when the reinforcement is provided after a random (unpredictable) amount of time has passes and following a specific behavior being performed
Example of Continuous
Candy machines are examples of continuous reinforcement because every time we put money in (behavior), we receive candy in return (positive reinforcement).
