Unit 4 Flashcards
Learning
Learning
A relatively permanent change in behavior through experience or practice. Some psychologists believe that everything we have ever learned is stored in our brains, we just cannot access all of it.
Habituation
Decrease in response to a stimulus after repeated presentations. Example: you love a new song on the radio, but listen to it so many times that you begin to skip it.
Dishabituation
When we respond to an old stimulus as if it is new again. Example: you haven’t heard the song you love in years. When it comes on the radio you turn it up.
Unconditioned Stimulus
Something in the environment that leads to an automatic response (food).
Unconditioned Response
The unconditioned response to the UCS (salivating).
Neutral Stimulus
Something else present in the environment that creates no response (bell).
Conditioned Stimulus
What the neutral stimulus becomes once an association is made (bell).
Conditioned Response
The automatic response to the NEW CS (salivating). Usually the same respone, just not as strong.
Ivan Pavlov
Termed classical conditioning as a form of learning, a stimulus that evokes a response, and the response can be modified. Discovered the principle while studying the digestive system in dogs- wanted to measure the amount of saliva present when given food. Food was the stimulus, salivation was the response. Noticed that other elements in the environment could be associated with the UCS and elicit the SAME response. Before presenting the food, Pavlov rang a bell. The dogs began to associate the bell with the food. They began to salivate at the sound of the bell.
Stimulus Generalization
The tendency to respond to a stimulus that is SIMILAR (generalized) to the original conditioned stimulus. Example: the dogs may begin to salivate at the sound of a clinking glass, a wind chime, or a bell ring on TV. Not as strong as the original conditioned stimulus’ response.
Extinction
Disappearance of a conditioned response to a stimulus when it is not reinforced. Example: stop ringing the bell when food is present and over time the bell loses the association.
Spontaneous Recovery
Reappearance of an extinct conditioned response when the original conditioned stimulus returns. Usually short lived and weak.
Higher Order Conditioning
A strong conditioned stimulus is paired with a new neutral stimulus. Now there are TWO conditioned responses. Example: a bell now makes a dog salivate and it is a strong association. Now you add the neutral stimulus of snapping your fingers right before ringing the bell. The dog will begin to associate the finger snapping with the bell. Both of which make the dog salivate without the presence of food.
Conditioned Emotional Response
When a conditioned stimulus is paired with an EMOTION producing unconditioned response. Commonly fears and phobias are conditioned. Example: shots (UCS) make toddlers cry (UCR). Doctor’s office (NS) doesn’t have any response. When toddlers get shots they’ll associate the pain with the location. Doctor’s offices (CS) now make a toddler cry (CR).
Learned Immune Responses
The immune system can be activated during conditioning. Example: mice were exposed to a strong odor. The experimental group received an injection of an acid that promotes activity of natural killer cells (immune response). The control group received no injection. In the EG, the next time they were exposed to the odor, their bodies NATURALLY boosted the amount of NK cells. CG showed no change.
Watson and Little Albert
John B. Watson wanted to study the fear response. Little Baby Albert had no fear of white rats (NS). Little Baby Albert cried (UCR) when he heard loud noises (UCS). Watson paired the white rat with the loud noises. Little Albert began to associate the rat with the loud noises and would cry at the sight of the rat. Generalization occurred- feared white rabbits and fuzzy animals.
Taste Aversions
Also known as the Garcia Effect. Biological form of conditioning. Getting sick from a certain food and avoiding that food in the future. Humans naturally wanted to avoid nausea. It is biologically embedded in humans to avoid things that make us sick for our survival.
Rescorla’s Experiment with Rats
Thorndike and the Puzzle Box
Researched voluntary behaviors. The Puzzle Box- he put a cat in a box and the cat naturally wanted to escape. It rubbed the walls and accidentally found a lever that released it. When it exited the box, it received the reward of food. While the cat didn’t learn that the lever meant freedom (the lever always moved)- it did learn that rubbing walls and finding the lever led to a reward.
Law of Effect
If an action is followed by a pleasurable consequence, it will tend to be repeated. Just like rubbing the walls of the box.
Primary Reinforcer
One that fulfills a basic need. Candy (need for food), juice box (need for thirst), hugs (need for touch).
Secondary Reinforcer
One that is associated with a primary reinforcer. Money- can lead you to buy candy or juice. Marble jar- fill the jar and get a pizza party.
Positive Reinforcement
ADDING something GOOD to INCREASE a behavior. Putting a sticker (adding good) on a test to make students want to get an A.
Negative Reinforcement
REMOVING something BAD to INCREASE a behavior. Taking away vegetables (removing bad) for getting an A on a test to make sure your kids want to get an A.
Positive Punishment
ADDING something BAD to DECREASE a behavior. Spanking a child (adding bad) for fighting with a sibling and wanting to stop this from happening again.
Negative Punishment
REMOVING something GOOD to DECREASE a behavior. Taking away a child’s favorite teddy (removing good) for throwing a tantrum.
Fixed Interval
Reinforcer is received after a certain interval of time. Getting paid every two weeks on a Friday.
Variable Interval
Reinforcer is received at different times. Pop quizzes- teacher wants to increase your studying each night, so gives quizzes at unpredicatable times.
Fixed Ratio
Number of responses to receive reinforcer is always the same number. Punch cards at a restaurant- every 10 punches, you get a free sandwich.
Variable Ratio
Number of responses changes from one trial to the next. Slot machine- not knowing how many times you need to put a coin in before you are reinforced with a jackpot.
Ways To Make Punishment Effective
Punishment needs to immeditately follow the behavior that is meant to punish. Punishment should be consistent. Punishment of wrong behavior should be paired with reinforcement of right behavior.
Discriminative Stimulus
Provides a cue for making a certain response. Many norms are discriminative stimulus, such as stopping at a red light or the bell ringing at the end of class.
Shaping
Small steps toward reinforcing the end goal.
Premack Principle
Higher level rewards can be used to condition less preferred behaviors. Example: Jimmy would rather play games on his Mac than read. If Jimmy reads for 20 minutes, he can play games for an hour. There is an “activity preference hierarchy” that can be used- unique to every individual.
Token Economy
Secondary reinforcers that can be traded for primary reinforcers. Marble jar- fill the jar, get a pizza party.
Overjustification Effect
External motivation such as money or prizes decreases the intrinsic motivation to perform a task. Example: two groups participate in a study to solve a puzzle. One group receives 50 dollars, the other receives no reward. Survey of enjoyment of the task showed that those who received NO reward enjoyed the task MORE.
Applied Behavior Analysis
Modifying the current behavior by using techniques to shape the issue. Broken down into steps. Using reinforcers to increase good behaviors in children with behavioral issues or autism. When the child produces a good response, reinforce the behavior with candy or a treat.
Biofeedback
Technique that trains people to improve their health or state of mind by controlling bodily processes that are involuntary. Deep breathing exercises to lower heart rate, blood pressure, and muscle tension. Form of positive psychology- a branch that focuses on health and happiness rather than medication.
Tolman and the Maze
Taught three groups of rats to run a maze. Group 1 (reinforced)- Day 1-17: got to end, given food. Group 2 (delayed reinforcement)- Day 1-10: got to end, taken out. Day 11-17: got to end, given food. Group 3 (no reinforcement)- Day 1-17: got to end, taken out. The delayed reward group learned the route on days 1-10 and formed a cognitive map of the maze. They took longer to finish the maze because there was no motivation. Day 11 and onward they were motivated to perform because of the food. The second group began to outperform the first group.
Latent Learning
Learning can happen without reinforcement and later affects behavior. Example: you carpool with a friend every day to school and eventually learn the route. However, it never affects your behavior until you get your own car and must drive the route on your own.
Overlearning
“Cramming”. Studies suggest that it may improve skills short term, such as the day before a test. However, long term, studies suggest that those who “crammed” information could not remember a couple months later, opposed to those who studies in chunks.
Positive Transfer
Training on one task can help you perform better on a new task in the future. Learning to roller skate when you are little takes new skills. Learning to ice skate as an adult is difficult, but uses some of the same basic skills.
Kohler and the Smart Chimp
Marooned on an island in the Canaries when WWI broke out- researched chimps at a primate lab. Sultan the chimp was given the problem of a banana placed just out of reach of his cage. First, he got the banana by using a stick that was in the cage. Then it was made harder- the banana was placed out of reach of the stick. Kohler put two sticks in his cage- he tried both.
Insight Learning
Sultan put one stick inside of the other to create a longer stick to retreive the banana. Sultan had an “aha” moment, or used insight learning. This showed that animals too could go beyond trial-and-error learning and demonstrate higher cognitive abilities.
Seligman and Learned Helplessness
Seligman accidentally discovered “Learned Helplessness” while doing a classical conditioning experiment. Group 1: harnessed and received painful shocks at the sound of a tone. Assumed the dogs would fear the tone and try to escape once unharnessed and the tone rang. Group 2: not conditioned to fear the tone. Both placed in a box that was divided into 2 compartments by a low fence.
Group 1 was now unharnessed and could easily jump over the fence. These dogs did not jump when the tone sounded, they just sat there through the shock. Group 2 jumped the fence once the shock occurred. Group 1 learned that there was nothing they could do to escape the shock.
Observational Learning/Vicarious Learning
Learning a behavior through watching someone else model the actions. Can be desirable or bad behaviors.
Bandura and the Bobo Doll Experiment
Children that watched models “beat up” the punch bag and get rewarded, exhibited those same behaviors. Children that watched models “beat up” the punch bag and not get rewarded, did not exhibit those same behaviors.
Performance distinction: the idea that learning can take place without the person performing an action themselves.
