U3AOS2 - Conditioning And Learning Flashcards
three types of conditioning
classical
operant
observational
classical three phase model
- first stage = before conditioning
- second stage = during conditioning
- third stage = after conditioning
before conditioning (classical)
- 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
during conditioning (classical)
- involves development of an association between neutral stimulus and unconditioned stimulus
- this causes the neutral stimulus to become a conditioned stimulus
after conditioning (classical)
- results in the now conditioned stimulus providing a conditioned response a result of its association with the unconditioned stimulus
unconditioned stimulus
any stimulus that constantly provides a naturally occuring automatic response
unconditioned response
the response that occurs automatically when the unconditioned stimulus is presented
neutral stimulus
a stimulus that hasn’t been conditioned and doesn’t cause a response
conditioned stimulus
a previously neutral stimulus that has been conditioned to create a response
conditioned response
the response provided by the conditioned stimulus
key processes in classical conditioning
acquisition exhaustion spontaneous recovery stimulus discrimination stimulus generalisation
acquisition (classical)
- 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
extinction
- 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
spontaneous recovery
- 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
stimulus discrimination
- occurs when a person or animal responds to the CS only but not any stimulus similar to the CS
stimulus generalisation
- 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
factors influencing classical conditioning
nature of response association of stimuli frequency and timing of stimulus presentation
pavlov’s experiment
- 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
conditioned reflexes
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)
aversion therapy
- 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
systematic desensitisation
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
little albert experiment
- 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
little albert experiment - ethics
- 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
bobo doll experiment
- 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
social learning theory
- 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
social learning
the process where social influences alter people’s thoughts, feelings and behaviours
observational learning
the process of acquiring social learning - when the observer demonstrates the behaviour it is referred to as modeling
the four principles of observational learning
- 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
process of observational learning
attention
retention
reproduction
motivation
reinforcement
attention
- 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
retention
- 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
reproduction
- simply means having the physical and intellectual ability to convert the mental responsibilities into actions (not actually doing it)
motivation
- the learner must wait to initiate the learnt behaviour - depends on the perceived consequences for the participant
reinforcement
- 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
reinforcement can come from
- 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)
application of observational learning
- role models are powerful sources of influence regardless of if they are real or imagined -> children of television violence -> success of observational learning
children of television violence
- 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
success of observational learning
- 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
violence - observational learning
- 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
operant conditioning abc model
- antecedent
- behaviour
- consequences
the antecedent (environment) can make the conditions right for the behaviour which can be reinforced or distinguished by consequences
elements of operant conditioning
reinforcers (increase possibility)
- positive reinforcer
- negative reinforcer
punishers (decrease possibility)
- punishment
- response cost
positive reinforcer
a reward ADDED that strengthens a response by providing pleasant or satisfying consequences
negative reinforcer
a negative consequence REMOVED that strengthens a response by getting rid of a undesired consequence
punishment
ADDING a negative experience after a behaviour
response cost
REMOVING a desired consequence after a behaviour
generalisation and discrimination (operant)
- 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
extinction and spontaneous recovery (operant)
- 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)
factors influencing punishment
- order of presentation: follows undesired behaviour
- timing: needs to be presented immediately after behaviour
- appropiateness: needs to be appropiate and relate to the behaviour
side effects of punishment
- 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
ethical issues for conditioning
- integrity
- respect for persons
- benefience
- justice
integrity
a commitment made by a researcher to search for knowledge to recognise principles for conducting research in an honest and ethical way
respect for persons
Proper regard by the researcher for the welfare, rights, beliefs,
perceptions, customs and cultural heritage of all individuals involved in research.
beneficence
- The researcher’s responsibility to maximise potential benefits of the research and minimise risks of harm or discomfort to all research participants.
justice
- Ensuring a fair distribution of benefits and burdens within the population of research interest, as well as for any research participant.
neural plasticity
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
stages from birth to adult of plasticity
proliferation
migration
circuit function
circuit pruning
myelination
proliferation
in the foetus where neurons grow and divide
migration
where cells move to a position they will occupy in the developed nervous system
circuit formation
where axons grow outwards and connect to adjacent neurons
circuit pruning
about ages two or three and again during early adolescence circuits are removed
myelination
from childhood to early adulthood the myelin sheath is growing and insulating axons
long term potentiation
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
long term depression
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
synaptic formation
- 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
neurotransmitters in learning
- glutamate and synaptic plasticity
- adrenaline and emotional arousal
glutamate and synaptic plasticity
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
adrenaline and emotional arousal
- 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
episodic memories
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)
flashbulb memories
- 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
