TEST 2: learning Flashcards
Define learning
A relatively enduring change in behavior or thinking that results from experience
Explain what Pavlov’s studies teach us about classical conditioning.
Learning can be caused by associations between two stimuli. Pavlov rang a bell and presented dogs with food, they began to salivate at the sound of the bell
Evaluate the differences between the US, UR, CS, and CR.
Unconditioned Stimulus: does not require any prior learning (pain)
Unconditioned Response: automatically happens, natural, unlearned, automatic response (fear in response to the feeling of pain)
Conditioned Stimulus: becomes associated with US (dentist drill sound, thinks of pain)
Conditioned Response: new, in response to the CS and US connected (fear in response to the sound of the dentist drill)
Recognize and give examples of stimulus discrimination and stimulus generalization.
Discrimination: organism learns to discriminate between a CS and a stimuli that do not signal a US (a person responds to their own ringtone but not someone else’s)
Generalization: The tendency for stimuli similar to the original CS to cause a CR. Organism starts to respond to more than one CS with a CR (a dog is scared of both a snake and a garden hose)
Evaluate the Little Albert study and explain how fear can be learned.
Albert was classically conditioned into fearing the rat. A hammer would bang on a steel bar whenever he saw the rat, and eventually he learned to fear it.
Explain shaping and the method of successive approximations.
Shaping is when reinforcers guide behavior closer to a desired behavior. Complex target behaviors, like a kid making his bed, can be shaped by rewarding successive approximations. (EX: kid puts one pillow, give small reward. next day kid pulls up the blankets, another reward, until bed is fully made)
Identify the differences between positive and negative reinforcement.
Positive: a response is strengthened by the response (PRESENTED with something, could be a slap or candy)
Negative: a response is strengthened by the removal of an annoying stimulus (child cleans room, parent stops nagging. rat pushes lever, shock goes away)
Distinguish between primary and secondary reinforcers.
Primary: reinforcers that satisfy biological needs (food, water, sex)
Secondary: serve as reinforcers with their parings of primary reinforcers (money, compliments, hugs)
Describe continuous reinforcement and partial reinforcement.
Continuous: reinforces the behavior each and every time is occurs
Partial: reinforces the behavior intermittently (via schedules)
Name the schedules of reinforcement and give examples of each.
Ratio schedules: based on the NUMBER of responses
Interval schedules: based on TIME since last reward
Explain how punishment differs from negative reinforcement.
Negative reinforcement strengthens the response, causes them to do it more. Punishment makes them stop.
Summarize what Bandura’s classic Bobo doll study teaches us about learning
Observational learning: pay attention to the models behavior, retain information in memory, capable of reproducing the behavior, motivated to display the behavior.
