U3AOS2 - Conditioning And Learning Flashcards

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1
Q

three types of conditioning

A

classical

operant

observational

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2
Q

classical three phase model

A
  • first stage = before conditioning
  • second stage = during conditioning
  • third stage = after conditioning
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3
Q

before conditioning (classical)

A
  • involves a response to a stimulus that has not yet been conditioned (neutral) explained as an unconditioned stimulus that results ina. unconditioned response
  • in this stage there is also a neutral stimulus that causes no response
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4
Q

during conditioning (classical)

A
  • involves development of an association between neutral stimulus and unconditioned stimulus
  • this causes the neutral stimulus to become a conditioned stimulus
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5
Q

after conditioning (classical)

A
  • results in the now conditioned stimulus providing a conditioned response a result of its association with the unconditioned stimulus
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6
Q

unconditioned stimulus

A

any stimulus that constantly provides a naturally occuring automatic response

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7
Q

unconditioned response

A

the response that occurs automatically when the unconditioned stimulus is presented

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8
Q

neutral stimulus

A

a stimulus that hasn’t been conditioned and doesn’t cause a response

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9
Q

conditioned stimulus

A

a previously neutral stimulus that has been conditioned to create a response

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10
Q

conditioned response

A

the response provided by the conditioned stimulus

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11
Q

key processes in classical conditioning

A

acquisition exhaustion spontaneous recovery stimulus discrimination stimulus generalisation

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12
Q

acquisition (classical)

A
  • each paired presentation of the CS with the UCS is referred to as a trial
  • this is the overall process in which the organism learns to associate two events
  • the duration of the stage is measured by the number of trials it takes for the CS to be learned
  • learning rate is fast in the early stages of acquisition
  • the end is said to be when the CS alone produces the CR
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13
Q

extinction

A
  • the gradual decrease in strength or the rate of a CS that occurs when the UCS is no longer present
  • extinction is said to occur when a CR no longer occurs upon the presentation of the CS
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14
Q

spontaneous recovery

A
  • extinction is not always permanent
  • this is where there is a reappearance of a CR when the CS is present following a rest period after the CR appears to be extinguished does not always occur and when it does it is short lived
  • if the extinction process is repeated several times the CR will disappear and spontaneous recovery will not occur
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15
Q

stimulus discrimination

A
  • occurs when a person or animal responds to the CS only but not any stimulus similar to the CS
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16
Q

stimulus generalisation

A
  • the tendency for another stimulus to produce a similar response to the CR from the CS
  • greater similarity between the stimuli the greater the possibility that generalisation will occur
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17
Q

factors influencing classical conditioning

A

nature of response association of stimuli frequency and timing of stimulus presentation

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18
Q

pavlov’s experiment

A
  • the first psychologist who described classical conditioning - observed how dogs salivated not only at the sight of food or when consuming but also at the sound or sight of the lab technician preparing it
  • he began experimenting on associating various sounds with the food and sound the dogs eventually would respond to the new sound
  • also found extinction would occur if the bell was rung may times without food
  • found spontaneous recovery too
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19
Q

conditioned reflexes

A

people who have been swooped by a magpie sitting in a tree may experience anxiety when other birds are seen (stimulus generalisation)

  • this can be reinforced by extreme swooping cases (may become strong enough to create a phobia)
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20
Q

aversion therapy

A
  • a form of behaviour therapy that applies to classical conditioning to block or discourage behavior by associating it with an unpleasant stimulus
  • e.g. coating nails with a foul substance to stop biting them
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21
Q

systematic desensitisation

A

attempts to replace an anxiety or fear response with a relaxation response through classical conditioning

  • the client needs to associate being relaxed with the anxiety or fear arousing stimulus by a series of graded steps
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22
Q

little albert experiment

A
  • 9 month old kid borrowed from childcare selected on the ground he hadn’t been seen to cry in response to animals or human masks
  • when a white rat was paired with one of the only sounds that little albert feared he became conditioned to experience fear with the rats
  • stimulus generalisation occured to dogs, rabbits, fur coats and a santa claus mask
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23
Q

little albert experiment - ethics

A
  • harm occurred (left the study due to being psychologically distressed)
  • Watson failed to obtain informed consent from participants (Albert too young to understand and permission wasn’t sought from the mother)
  • did not debrief and extinguish the conditioned response
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24
Q

bobo doll experiment

A
  • involved a large inflatable plastic doll designed to spring back when knocked over
  • children were shown adults acting aggressively towards it and then were placed in a room alone with the doll
  • this showed learning occured as the children acted the exact same way
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25
Q

social learning theory

A
  • this fueled the social learning theory that acknowledged the important of classical and operant conditioning but added that learning also occurred through direct observation and observational learning
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26
Q

social learning

A

the process where social influences alter people’s thoughts, feelings and behaviours

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27
Q

observational learning

A

the process of acquiring social learning - when the observer demonstrates the behaviour it is referred to as modeling

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28
Q

the four principles of observational learning

A
  • learning occurs by observing the behaviour of others and the consequences of these behaviours
  • learning can occur without there being an immediate change in behaviour
  • cognition plays a role in observational learning as the learner has awareness and expectations of future reinforcement and punishment
  • observational learning is a link between the behaviourist theories of learning (classical and operant) and cognitive learning theories
29
Q

process of observational learning

A

attention

retention

reproduction

motivation

reinforcement

30
Q

attention

A
  • must be paid to the models behaviour and consequences
  • can be influenced by characteristics of the observer such as perceptual and cognitive levels as well as arousal levels
  • characteristics of the model influence this (are they liked? does the observer wish to be like them?)
  • also influenced by event characteristics
31
Q

retention

A
  • the learnt behaviour must be stored in memory as a mental representation so the behaviour can be used at a later time
  • another cognitive aspect of observational learning as the memory must be stored and later retrieved in order to reproduce the behaviour
32
Q

reproduction

A
  • simply means having the physical and intellectual ability to convert the mental responsibilities into actions (not actually doing it)
33
Q

motivation

A
  • the learner must wait to initiate the learnt behaviour - depends on the perceived consequences for the participant
34
Q

reinforcement

A
  • when there is a prospect of positive results for imitating the behavior they are more likely to do so // the same is true for punishment
  • the expectation can also affect the cognitive process of the observer
35
Q

reinforcement can come from

A
  • the model (direct person or punishment)
  • a third person (praise or punishment from outside the model)
  • personal (internally satisfying consequences as a result)
  • vicariously (seeing the reinforcement of the model)
36
Q

application of observational learning

A
  • role models are powerful sources of influence regardless of if they are real or imagined -> children of television violence -> success of observational learning
37
Q

children of television violence

A
  • children are more likely to pay attention to ads if relevant models are present
  • television aggression may have adverse impacts on children’s behaviour
  • TV also had the potential to act as a positive influence
38
Q

success of observational learning

A
  • for the behaviour to be copied the model must be seen to be rewarded for appropriate or inappropriate behaviour
  • model must be appropriate for the learner
  • learning can occur in or out of real life
39
Q

violence - observational learning

A
  • if violence is learnt then being around aggressive people may lead others to initiate
  • it can also be an established way of acting in family or social groups
  • this does not mean that violence may be controlled
40
Q

operant conditioning abc model

A
  • antecedent
  • behaviour
  • consequences

the antecedent (environment) can make the conditions right for the behaviour which can be reinforced or distinguished by consequences

41
Q

elements of operant conditioning

A

reinforcers (increase possibility)

  • positive reinforcer
  • negative reinforcer

punishers (decrease possibility)

  • punishment
  • response cost
42
Q

positive reinforcer

A

a reward ADDED that strengthens a response by providing pleasant or satisfying consequences

43
Q

negative reinforcer

A

a negative consequence REMOVED that strengthens a response by getting rid of a undesired consequence

44
Q

punishment

A

ADDING a negative experience after a behaviour

45
Q

response cost

A

REMOVING a desired consequence after a behaviour

46
Q

generalisation and discrimination (operant)

A
  • when a behaviour elicited as a result of a discriminative stimulus that is similar to the original
  • when there is no reinforcement made to the behaviour a stimulus generalisation can be created
47
Q

extinction and spontaneous recovery (operant)

A
  • extinction is where the conditioned response disappears over time after reinforcement has ceases
  • spontaneous recovery is the reappearance of an extinguished response after a rest period (never as strong as the original)
48
Q

factors influencing punishment

A
  • order of presentation: follows undesired behaviour
  • timing: needs to be presented immediately after behaviour
  • appropiateness: needs to be appropiate and relate to the behaviour
49
Q

side effects of punishment

A
  • frustration and agression
  • punishment may be an outlet of frustration
  • punishment may make the punisher feel better rather than the person being punished deserving it
50
Q

ethical issues for conditioning

A
  • integrity
  • respect for persons
  • benefience
  • justice
51
Q

integrity

A

a commitment made by a researcher to search for knowledge to recognise principles for conducting research in an honest and ethical way

52
Q

respect for persons

A

Proper regard by the researcher for the welfare, rights, beliefs,
perceptions, customs and cultural heritage of all individuals involved in research.

53
Q

beneficence

A
  • The researcher’s responsibility to maximise potential benefits of the research and minimise risks of harm or discomfort to all research participants.
54
Q

justice

A
  • Ensuring a fair distribution of benefits and burdens within the population of research interest, as well as for any research participant.
55
Q

neural plasticity

A

the way the brain changes in response to stimulation from the environment

  • neural connections are formed, remade and removed constantly
  • changes to the brain occur more frequently in the foetal stage (developmental plasticity)
  • the process throughout life is referred to as adaptive plasticity
56
Q

stages from birth to adult of plasticity

A

proliferation

migration

circuit function

circuit pruning

myelination

57
Q

proliferation

A

in the foetus where neurons grow and divide

58
Q

migration

A

where cells move to a position they will occupy in the developed nervous system

59
Q

circuit formation

A

where axons grow outwards and connect to adjacent neurons

60
Q

circuit pruning

A

about ages two or three and again during early adolescence circuits are removed

61
Q

myelination

A

from childhood to early adulthood the myelin sheath is growing and insulating axons

62
Q

long term potentiation

A

the increased tendency of a group of neurons to fire together after they have been electronically simulated at a particular electrical frequency

  • can last a few min to a few months
  • each time the same electrical frequency is administered the same neurons fire and the synapses become stronger again
63
Q

long term depression

A

a similar process to potentiation but in reverse (the electrical simulation is reversed)

  • this most likely occur due to a neuron firing out of sync with another neuron
  • plays an important role in removing memories that are old
64
Q

synaptic formation

A
  • the process of new synaptic formation is synaptogenesis
  • during learning the terminal buttons of the presynaptic neurons release glutamate into the synapse
  • when learning occurs the neurons form new connections with one another // this means new sprouts grow from the axon terminals towards the dendrites of neighbouring postsynaptic neurons
65
Q

neurotransmitters in learning

A
  • glutamate and synaptic plasticity
  • adrenaline and emotional arousal
66
Q

glutamate and synaptic plasticity

A

glutamate is the main excitatory neurotransmitter for learning

  • this acts on two types of glutamate receptor: ADMA receptor (activates postsynaptic neuron) NMDA (produces long lasting modifications to the synapse)
  • repeated glutamate release stimulates the release of dopamine which promotes growth in the postsynaptic neuron // it also makes the postsynaptic neuron more sensitive to future firing of neighbouring neurons
67
Q

adrenaline and emotional arousal

A
  • low amounts of adrenaline secreted within 30 seconds of learning have a role in the consolidation of memory
  • emotions that produce adrenaline have an effect on the strength of that memory
  • therefore memories fired under circumstances of emotional arousal are often vital for survival
68
Q

episodic memories

A

episodic memories are a form of a declarative memory and encompass the autobiographical information we collect from out life experiences

  • different from other forms of memory
  • if adrenaline is present in the encoding of this type of memory the encoding is enhanced
  • it can be helpful in future situations // in other circumstances it can cause a problem (PTSD)
69
Q

flashbulb memories

A
  • these are detailed, vivid and long-lasting memories of important or emotional events in our lives
  • participants in a study who were shown an emotionally arousing image of something had an enhanced memory compared to images that were not emotionally arousing