Unit 4: Learning Flashcards
Learning
The process of acquiring through experience new and relatively enduring information or behaviors
Habituation
Decreasing responsiveness with repeated exposure to a stimulus
** wearing a perfume every day, you eventually won’t notice it
Associative learning
learning that certain events occur together. the events may be two stimuli (classical conditioning) or a response and its consequences (operant conditioning)
**sitting earns a dog a treat
Classical conditioning
learning to associate two stimuli (any event or situation that evokes a response) and thus anticipate events
Operant conditioning
learning to associate a response (an automatic response to a stimulus) with its consequences, thus we learn/repeat good actions followed by good results
- operant behavior: behavior that operates on the environment, producing concequences
Behaviorism
- the view that psychology should be an objective science that studies behavior without reference to mental processes
- Pavlov explored classical conditioning, driving Watson to create behaviorism
Pavlov Dog
A dog was set up in a room, salivating upon the arrival of food. Pairing various neutral stimuli that the dog did not associate with food with the arrival of food; the dog learned to link them and salivated before the arrival of food in the presence of a stimulus.
NOTE: taught us how to objectively study processes like learning, and that classical conditioning is how organisms learn to adapt to their environment
Unconditioned stimulus
a stimulus that unconditionally - naturally and automatically - triggers an unconditioned response
e.g. food in Pavlov experiment
Unconditioned response
an unlearned, naturally occurring response to an unconditioned stimulus
e.g. salivation in Pavlov experiment
Conditioned stimulus
an originally neutral stimulus that, after associating with an unconditioned stimulus, comes to trigger a conditioned response
e.g. the tone in Pavlov experiment
Conditioned response
a learned response to a previously neutral stimulus
e.g. salivation in Pavlov experiment
Acquisition
The initial stage, when one links a neutral stimulus and an unconditioned stimulus so that the neutral stimulus beings triggering the conditioned response - in operant conditioning, the strengthening of a reinforced response
Higher-order conditioning
a procedure in which the conditioned stimulus in one conditioning experiment is paired with a new neutral stimulus, creating a second, weaker, conditioned stimulus
** a light that precedes the tone, where the tone predicts food, may instigate a response from an animal (Pavlov)
Extinction
-the diminishing of a classically conditioned response when an unconditioned stimulus does not follow a conditioned stimulus
- occurs in operant conditioning when a response is no longer reinforced
Spontaneous recovery
the reappearance, after a pause, of an extinguished conditioned response
Generalization
classical: the tendency, once a response has been conditioned, for similar stimuli to the one conditioned to elicit similar responses
operant: when responses learned in one situation occur in another, similar situation
Discrimination
classical: the learned ability to distinguish between a conditioned stimulus and similar stimuli that do not signal an unconditioned stimulus
operant: distinguishing reinforced responses from similar, unreinforced responses
Little Albert
Watson and Rayner: “Little Albert” feared loud noises, not white rats. By precursing the loud noise with the arrival of a white rat, he began to fear the rats alone.
- counterconditioning like this is now used to treat emotional disorders and promote personal growth
Law of effect
- Thorndike
- principle that behaviors followed by favorable consequences become more likely, and that behaviors followed by unfavorable consequences become less likely
Law of effect
- Thorndike
- the principle that behaviors followed by favorable consequences become more likely and that behaviors followed by unfavorable consequences become less likely
Skinner Box/operant chamber
a chamber containing a bar or key that an animal can manipulate in order to obtain a food or water reinforcer; attached devices record the rate of bar pressing or key pecking
Shaping
an operant conditioning procedure in which reinforcers guide behavior toward closer and closer approximations of the desired behavior
Discriminative stimulus
a stimulus that elicits a response after association with reinforcement (in contrast to related stimuli not associated with reinforcement)
Positive reinforcement
increasing behaviors by presenting positive reinforcers, any stimulus that, when presented after a response, strengthens the response
Negative reinforcement
Increasing behaviors by stopping or reducing aversive stimuli. A negative reinforcer is any stimulus that, when removed after a response, strengthens the response
Primary reinforcers
An innately reinforcing stimulus, such as one that satisfies a biological need
Conditioned reinforcers
(sometimes called secondary reinforcers)
A stimulus that gains its reinforcing power through its association with. primary reinforcer
Immediate vs. delayed reinforcement
While humans respond to delayed reinforcement, our desire for instant gratification often prioritises immediate reinforcement
Continuous reinforcement
reinforcing the desired response every time it occurs
Partial reinforcement
reinforcing a response only part of the time; results in slower acquisition of a response but much greater resistance to extinction than does continuous reinforcement
Schedules of partial reinforcement
FIXED-RATIO
reinforces a response only after a specified number of responses
** a free drink after every 10 cups
VARIABLE-RATIO
reinforces a response after an unpredictable number of responses
** slot machines/gambling
FIXED-INTERVAL
reinforces a response only after a specified time has elapsed
** mail delivery
VARIABLE-INTERVAL
reinforces a response at unpredictable time intervals
** waiting for an important text message
Positive punishment
administering an aversive stimulus
Negative punishment
withdrawing a rewarding stimulus
Biofeedback
a system for electronically recording, amplifying and feeding back information regarding a subtle psychological state, such as blood pressure or muscle tension
Limits on conditioning
classical conditioning: an animal’s capacity for conditioning is limited by biological constraints
operant conditioning: we most easily learn and retain behaviors that reflect our biological predispositions
Instinctive drift
the tendency of learned behavior to gradually revert to biologically predisposed patterns
Latent learning
learning that occurs but is not apparent until there is an incentive to demonstrate it
Cognitive map
a mental representation of the layout of one’s environment after passing through it previously
Insight learning
a sudden realization of a problem’s solution; contrasts with strategy-based solutions
Intrinsic motivation
a desire to perform a behavior effectively for it’s own sake
Extrinsic motivation
a desire to perform a behavior to reap rewards/avoid punishments
Two types of coping with personal problems
- problem-focused coping: attempting to alleviate stress directly by changing the stressor or the way we interact with that stressor
- emotion-focused coping: attempting to alleviate stress by avoiding or ignoring a stressor and attending to emotional needs related to our stress reaction
Two types of locus of control
- external locus of control: the perception that chance or outside forces beyond our control determine our fate
- internal locus of control: the perception that we control our own fate
Learned helplessness
the hopelessness and passive resignation an animal or person learns when unable to avoid repeated aversive events
observational learning
learning by observing the behaviors of others
modeling
the process of observing and imitating a specific behavior
mirror neurons
Frontal lobe neurons that some scientists believe fire when we perform certain actions or observe another doing so. The brain’s mirroring of another’s actions may enable imitation and empathy.
Albert Bandura “Bobo Doll Experiment”
- Bandura was a leading observational learning researcher
- children imitated the very acts they observed and used the very words they had heard after actions were modeled to them by adults by the treatment of a doll
Prosocial models
positive, constructive, helpful behavior demonstrated by a role model; after helpful/good behavior is exemplified by a prosocial model, it often prompts similar behavior from others
