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