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The environment Flashcards

1
Q

What is learning?

A

process of acquiring new & relatively enduring info/behaviour
- includes behaviour change resulting from experience/practice

When ppl learn anything, some part of their brain is physically changed to record what was learnt

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2
Q

Social cognition in learning

A

learning includes changes in behaviour & changes in thoughts, expectations & knowledge
- these influence behaviour in a reciprocal process

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3
Q

Behaviourism in learning

A

learning is the result of observable acts & events, excl mental processes

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4
Q

What is conditioning?

A

theory that states behaviours can be modified/learned based on a stimulus & a response

process of learning assoc. (associative learning) = link events that occur close tgt

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5
Q

What are the two types of conditioning?

A
  1. Classical conditioning = assoc. b/w 2 stimuli & a response
  2. Operant conditioning = assoc. b/w response & consequence
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6
Q

What is classical conditioning?

A

when a neutral stimulus becomes associated with a stimulus that naturally produces a behaviour

E.g. dog see food –> dog salivate; if ring bell (neutral stimulus) & give food –> salivate; eventually dog assoc. ring bell w food so just ringing the bell will cause dog to salivate

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7
Q

What is:
unconditioned stimulus (US)
unconditioned response (UR)

A

US: stimulus that triggers a response w/o additional learning

UR: response triggered by US w/o additional learning

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8
Q

What is:
conditioned stimulus (CS)
conditioned response (CR)

A

CS: an initially neutral stimulus triggers a CR, when paired with US
(note: CS & neutral stimulus are essentially the same thing)

CR: response triggered by CS

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9
Q

What must occur for the CS & US for classical conditioning to take place?

A
  1. CS must come BEFORE US
  2. CS & US must occur VERY CLOSE tgt in time (< 5s)
  3. CS must be paired w US MANY TIMES
  4. CS must be DISTINCT frm other competing stimuli
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10
Q

List the features of classical conditioning (5 points)

A
  1. Generalisation
  2. Discrimination
  3. Extinction
  4. Spontaneous Recovery
  5. Higher-Order Conditioning
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11
Q

What is generalisation (classical conditioning features)?

A

tendency to respond to stimulus that is similar to CS –> trigger similar response

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12
Q

What is discrimination (classical conditioning features)?

A

learn to distinguish b/w a CS & other irrelevant stimuli & respond differently

basically, can tell which is the CS and which is not

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13
Q

What is extinction (classical conditioning features)?

A

extinguishing the CR by repeatedly presenting the CS in the absence of the US

basically, now you keep showing the CS w/o US, then the CR eventually disappear

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14
Q

What is spontaneous recovery (classical conditioning features)?

A

reappearance of EXTINGUISHED CR after a pause

basically, you see smth, then the CR come back

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15
Q

What is higher-order conditioning (classical conditioning features)?

A

the CS paired w new neutral stimulus creating a new (weaker) CS

e.g. you get stung by wasp, then you see lots of wasps in the trash can, then later on you see trash can & have slight fear response

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16
Q

What are some classical conditioning applications?

A
  1. Learning to like - +ve emotional responses (for CS) to certain objects/events (US)
  2. Learning to fear - pair US w a stimulus that elicits pain/surprise/embarrassment
  3. Acquired tastes: likes/dislikes for certain foods/odours
  4. React to medical treatments
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17
Q

What is operant conditioning?

A

aka instrumental conditioning

the process by which a response becomes more likely/less likely to occur –> depends on consequences

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18
Q

A response (operant) is influenced by:

A
  1. Reinforcement: strengthens response/make it more likely to happen
  2. Punishment: weakens response/make it less likely to recur
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19
Q

What are primary reinforcers?

A

innately reinforcing stimulus satisfying biological needs

natural & X depend on learning to become desirable

(“UR”)

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20
Q

What are secondary reinforcers?

A

stimulus that gains its reinforcing power through its assoc. w a primary reinforcer

(“CS”)

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21
Q

What is positive reinforcement?

A

Response is followed by presentation/inc in intensity of a pleasurable stimulus –> response becomes stronger/more likely to occur

e.g. praise/direct reward

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22
Q

What is negative reinforcement?

A

Response is followed by removal, delay, dec. in intensity of an unpleasant stimulus –> response become stronger/more likely to happen

rmb, reinforcement means response will become stronger/more likely!!

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23
Q

How does reinforcement schedules play a part?

A

Reinforcement schedule –> pattern that defines how often a desired response will be influenced (e.g. every 5 qns)

Reinforcement timing –> influences speed of learning, strengthens learned response & behaviour pattern (e.g. every hour)

continuous: every time; quick learning
partial: only sometimes; slower but longer lasting learning

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24
Q

look at slide 24 of part 1 of the environment

overview of schedules of reinforcement

A

look at it
LOOK AT IT NOW

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25
What is punishment?
process by which a stimulus/event weakens the response/make it less likely to occur
26
What are the punishment types?
Punishment by application (+ve punishment) = smth UNPLEASANT follows the response Punishment by removal (-ve punishment) = smth PLEASANT is removed
27
look at slide 26 of part 1 of the environment overview of reinforcement & punishment
have you LOOKED AT IT??????
28
What are the features of operant conditioning?
1. Extinction 2. Generalisation 3. Discrimination 4. Instinctive Drift 5. Shaping
29
What is extinction (operant conditioning)?
behaviour is X followed by the consequence that reinforced it (reinforcer stops = behaviour stops)
30
What is generalisation (operant conditioning)?
response reinforced/punished in presence off one stimulus is also done in the presence of a similar stimulus e.g. you know to open the door when the doorbell rings, you will also answer the door if the doorbell rings but with a different sound
31
What is instinctive drift (operant conditioning)?
tendency to revert to instinctive behaviour (bio constraint)
32
What is discrimination (operant conditioning)?
response occurs in presence of one stimulus but not in presence of similar ones that differ from i
33
What is shaping (operant conditioning)?
reinforcing small steps/each successive approximation until desired behaviour occurs
34
Application of operant conditioning
Behaviour modification --> use operant conditioning techniques = teach new resp/reduce/eliminate problematic behaviour E.g. hospital: Children w autism --> improve communication skills brain damage --> train to control inappropriate behaviours
35
What are the problems with punishment?
1. inappropriate administration --> harsh methods 2. harsh/frequent = anxiety/fear/anger 3. effectiveness is temp & dependent on presence of punisher 4. hard to punish immediately 5. X instruct what person should do 6. may be reinforcing bc it brings attention
36
What are some problems with reward?
1. often misused --> give indiscriminately = unrelated to desired behaviour 2. there may be more focus on rewards instead of the purpose of the action (do smth for the reward instead of e.g. joy/learn smth) 3. effectiveness depends on: initial motivation, context in which rewards are achieved & sincerity of person giving praisee
37
What is the biological predisposition of. learning?
predispose organisms to learn assoc. that enhance survival (e.g. babies assoc fear w snakes & spiders more easily than guns; bc guns are evolutionary novel)
38
What is latent learning?
learning occurs but X shown until person demonstrates it suggests that learning happens even w/o reinforcement & is X apparent
39
What is insight learning?
all of a sudden learning by understanding r/s of various parts of the problem, rather than trial & error - unconscious cognitive processes happening in background
40
What is learned helplessness?
tendency to fail to act due to past history of repeated failures
41
What is observational learning?
process. in which an individual learns new responses by observing the behaviour of another (instead of through direct experience)
42
What are the 4 elements of observational learning?
1. Attention 2. Retention 3. Reproduction 4. Motivation
43
Look at slide 34 of the environment part 1 overview of factors that influence learning
look at it PLEASE
44
What is social psycholgy?
scientific study of how a person's thoughts, feelings & behaviour are influenced by social groups (real, imagined, implied)
45
What are the main areas of social psychology?
1. social cognition (thinking) 2. social influence 3. social interaction (r/s)
46
What is social cognition?
how ppl think about other ppl & how these thoughts influence behaviour towards them
47
What is social influence?
the ways in which a person's behaviour can be affected by the presence of others
48
What is social interaction?
+ve & -ve aspects of ppl relating to others
49
look at slide 4 of the environment part 2 overview of social psych
look.
50
What is social influence?
behaviour is intentionally/unintentionally INFLUENCED by others
51
What are the major factors affecting social influence?
1. Conformity - groupthink 2. Group behaviour 3. Compliance (power) 4. Obedience (authority)
52
What is conformity?
comply w social pressures - change in one's opinions to match that of other ppl --> result of real/imagined. pressure from others
53
Why do people conform?
Normative influence = need to feel approved (esp. if they have similar characteristics of group members) Informational influence = need for info; other's behaviour provides info on how to act in ambiguous situations
54
What are some factors that increase conformity?
When: - made to feel incompetent/insecure - in a group where everyone agrees - you admire group's status & attractiveness - you have not made prior commitment to a response - you know others in group will observe your behaviour - from a culture that strongly encourages respect for social standards - task is difficult
55
What is groupthink?
extreme form of conformity - people within the group feel it's more impt to maintain group unity rather than critically evaluate facts when making decisions = faulty decisions
56
What does groupthink lead to?
- Faulty decisions - Illusion of invulnerability - self-censorship (lack of disagreements) - pressure on skeptics to conform - Illusion of unanimity = self-deception & insularity
57
What is group polarisation?
if group is like-minded = discussion strengthens its prevailing opinions = make more extreme decisions (compared to indivs not in discussion) basically, they reinforce e/o opinions, whether +ve/-ve
58
What is social facilitation?
+ve influence of others on performance if task perceived as easy e.g. if simple task, someone watching you = you do better
59
What is social impairment?
-ve influence of others on performance if task perceived as difficult e.g. if difficult task, someone watching you = you do worse (I THINK???)
60
What is social loafing?
people X work as hard when in group than indiv = easy to hide in group
61
What is deindividuation?
loss of awareness of one's own individuality in groups/crowds Increases: - grp gets bigger - grp members wear masks/uniforms - destructiveness/helpfulness depends on cultural norms
62
What is compliance?
doing what you are asked; change in one's behaviour REQUESTED by another person/group (no real authority/power)
63
Compliance vs obedience
compliance: do what you're ASKED; usually asked by person/group of no real authority obedience: do what you're TOLD; usually told by someone of authority
64
What are some compliance techniques?
1. Foot-in-the-door technique: start w small requests then the bigger one 2. Door-in-the-face technique: start with initial (unlikely to be done) request, get rejected, then smaller request 3. Lowball technique: once commitment made, cost inc (make offer vv attractive, this induces acceptance, then you intro the less favourable terms)
65
What is obedience?
Following orders = change in one's behaviour at the COMMAND of an authority behaviour - Potential to be highly destructive & ethnically questionable
66
How likely are ppl too obey authority even when they know that obedience can harm someone else?
~65%
67
What is social thinking based on?
1. Attitudes 2. Impressions (formation + maintenance) 3. Attributions (personal perception, social influence, etc)
68
What are attitudes?
evaluations that predisposes us to respond +vely/-vely to ppl, objects, ideas, situations often poor predictors of behaviour may be implicit (unconscious)/explicit (conscious)
69
What are the 3 components of attitude?
1. Affective (feelings = how you feel) 2. Behavioural (response tendencies = what you do) 3. Cognitive (what you believe)
70
What are the factors influencing attitude formation?
1. direct contact w person/situation/object/idea (experience) 2. interaction w other ppl who hold a certain attitude 3. direct instruction (parents, others) 4. observational learning = watch others' actions & rxns
71
What is persuasion?
Attitude change = process by which person's attitudes/behaviour are influenced by communications from others
72
What are the key elements of persuasion?
1. source of message (communicator - e.g. charismatic) 2. actual message (clear & well-organised) 3. target audience (audience profile) 4. medium (method of comm - speech, post, etc)
73
What is cognitive dissonance?
discomfort experienced when behaviour is inconsistent w personal cognitions
74
How do people reduce cognitive dissonance?
1. Changing conflicting behaviour 2. changing conflicting cognition 3. developing new cognitions to justify behaviour e.g. smoker receives message frm HPB saying smoking bad for health = lung cancer Smoker will: 1. stop smoking 2. refuse to believe smoking = lung cancer 3. believe that his health is diff from others bc his relatives who smoke X lung cancer
75
What is social categrisation?
automatic & unconscious categorisation of people into particular group --> based on characteristics (e.g. race, age) - based on Implicit Personality Theory = sets of assumptions abt how certain traits are linked to other characteristics/behaviours (e.g. learn that someone is very happy, might assume that they are also friendly/kind)
76
What is attribution?
process by which we explain our own behaviour & behaviour of others
77
Situational attribution
cause of behaviour due to external factors = delay, action of others, aspect of situation e.g. man helps otters cross road bc the traffic was busy
78
Dispositional attribution
Cause of behaviour due to internal factors = personality, character e.g. man helps otters cross road bc man is kindW
79
What is fundamental attribution error?
tendency to overest. the influence of person's internal (dispositional) characteristics on behaviour & underest. external (situational) factors e.g. coworker late = attribute this to coworker being unreliable (dispositional) instead of bad traffic (situational)
80
What does social interaction comprise of?
Antisocial relations = prejudice & discrimination; aggression Prosocial relations (socially desirable behaviour) = attraction; altruism
81
What is prejudice?
prejudgement based on unsupported & -ve stereotypes abt members of a social group (e.g. age/ethnicity)
82
What does prejudice comprise of?
1. Beliefs (stereotypes) = more cognitive 2. Emotions (e.g. hostility/fear) 3. Predisposition to action (act on the prejudice = discrimination)
83
What is discrimination?
unjustifiable -ve behaviour towards a grp & its members due to prejudice
84
Prejudice vs Discrimination
Prejudice = attitude/feeling Discrimination = action
85
What are the types of prejudice?
Explicit = conscious (even if X publicly expressed) Implicit = non consciously
86
What are the causes of prejudice?
1. Psychological causes (deflects feelings of anxiety, simplify problems = scapegoat) 2. Social causes (pressure frm friends/family/others) 3. Economic causes (justifies group's economic interests & legitimises war) 4. Cultural & national causes (bonds ppl to their own grp)
87
What are the theories of prejudice?
1. Social cognitive theory 2. Realistic conflict theory 3. Social identity theory
88
How does social cognitive theory relate to prejudice?
prejudice = attitude formed through cognitive processes (e.g. observing, modelling, formation of schemas) in relation to understanding social world
89
How does realistic conflict theory relate to prejudice?
inc degree of conflict b/w in-group & out-group seeking common resources = compete
90
How does social identity theory relate to prejudice?
3 processes --> categorisation, identification, comparison --> responsible for formation of person's identity in a social group influences self-perception & self-esteem = identify strongly w group
91
How to overcome prejudices?
prejudice unavoidable bc will always have diff groups 1. both sides must have equal legal status, economic standing, power 2. authorities & institutions provide moral, legal & economic support for both sides 3. opportunities to work & socialise w e/o 4. cooperate, work tgt for common goal
92
What is aggression?
Any behaviour (verbal/physical) intended to harm someone physically/emotionally Stems frm interaction of biology & experience (psycho & socio-cultural)
93
Relation b/w biology & aggression
Fghting instinct for survival Partly attributed to genetics Triggered by variations in brain function --> amygdala activation Internal/external chemical influences (testosterone/alcohol)
94
How does experience relate to aggression?
Human aggression is influenced by learning: Social learning theory = aggressive behaviour learnt through observation of others Adopting social role (e.g. soldier) = inc in aggressive behaviour Exposure to violent media (movies/video games) = inc physical & verbal aggression
95
What is attraction?
liking or having the desire for a r/s w another Based on: - physical attraction - Proximity - Similarity - Reciprocity
96
What does the love triangle consist of?
1. intimacy = feelings of closeness/connectedness/bond 2. passion = romance/physical attraction/sexual consummation 3. commitment = cognitive aspects; decision making process
97
What are the three types of love?
1. romantic: intimacy & passion 2. companionate: intimacy & commitment 3. consummate: intimacy, passion, commitment
98
What is altruism?
- socially desirable behaviour - benefits others w/o expectation of reward, even at own risk - related to the presence of others
99
What is the bystander effect?
presence of others has an effect on the decision to help/not - help less likely if more ppl
100
What may the bystander effect be due to?
Diffusion of responsibility - X take responsibility/action due to presence of others who are perceived to share responsibility May also X do anth to avoid being blamed May X do anth bc they think X serious since others not helping also
101
Can look at slide 36 of the environment part 2 for the decision points of helping
look just open the slides and LOOK
102
What increases the odds for helping someone?
1. person appears to need & deserve help 2. person similar to us in some way 3. person is woman 4. just observed someone else being helpful 5. not in a hurry 6. small town/rural area 7. feeling guilty 8. focused on others & not preoccupied 9. good mood
103
What are some conditions with impaired social functioning?
1. Autism 2. Alzheimer's 3. Parkinson's 4. Huntington's 5. Depression 6. Personality disorders 7. Anxiety disorders

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