Unit 4: Learning Flashcards
selective attention
focusing conscious awareness on a particular stimuli, used for all senses (cocktail party affect)
Behaviorism
School of thought focused on studying observable behaviors rather than internal mental processes
acquisition
when a NS becomes a CS and gradually established a CR
unconditioned stimulus
meat, always elicits a response
unconditioned response
salivate, automatic response from unconditioned stimulus
conditioned stimulus
bell, once meaningless; now elicits a response
conditioned response
salivate, learned response brought on by conditioned stimulus
extinction
the disappearance of learning
spontaneous recovery
immediately comes back without the conditioning process (scared again after time)
discrimination
not responding to stimuli that is different from the conditioned stimuli (no fear of blocks, crayons, bottle)
generalization
responding the same way to a similar but different stimuli (white rats AND fuzzy toys)
high order condition processing
type of a classical conditioning where a previously conditioned stimulus is used to condition a new, neutral stimulus, building an additional layer of conditioning (light to bell, dog salivates at light)
emotional responses + counter conditioning
replacing an undesirable emotional response with a more desirable one, unlearn reaction from fear to positive/neutral
taste aversions
sick from food you will never want to eat again (food poisoning at TB)
one-trial conditioning
learning to associate a behavior or response with a stimulus ONLY ONCE
biological preparedness
certain organisms are naturally prepared to learn particular associations more easily than others due to evolutionary factors (survival, humans scared of snakes)
habituation
when a person responds less and less to the stimulus (leads to extinction)
social learning theory
emphasizes the role of observation and imitation in learning
vicarious conditioning
classical conditioning through the observation of others, not necessarily direct exposure to the stimulus
insight learning
sudden realization or understanding of how to solve a problem, often without trial-and-error (chimps peeling bananas)
latent learning
learning that occurs without immediate reinforcement or obvious signs of learning (rats in maze going more quickly after receiving cheese)
cognitive maps
mental representation or internal image of the physical environment around us
law of effect
Edward Thorndike: any behavior by a pleasant consequence is likely to be repeated, any behavior followed by an unpleasant consequence is likely to be stopped (cat stuck in a box wanting food)
positive reinforcement
add pleasant stimulus to increase/maintain behavior ($10 for wearing a seatbelt)
positive punishment
add averse stimulus to decrease behavior (stomach ache after Oreos)
negative reinforcement
remove averse stimulus or increase/maintain behavior (medicine)
negative punishment
remove pleasant stimulus to decrease behavior (taking toys from kids)
primary reinforcer
biological, natural, you don’t need to learn it has value (food, drink, pleasure)
secondary reinforcer
learned/conditioned to know it’s rewarding, used to acquire something else (grades, money, poker chips)
shaping
successive reinforcers guide behavior towards the desired targeted behavior
instinctive drift
tendency of animals to revert to their innate behaviors after having been trained to perform a specific task
superstitious behavior
seen in the pigeons when they received consequences for unrelated behavior
learned helplessness
psychological condition where individuals learn to believe that they have no control over the outcome of a situation, even when opportunities for control or escape are available
continuous reinforcement
every instance is reinforced
partial reinforcement schedules
behavior is reinforced some of the time, not all
fixed ratio
reinforcement after a set number of behaviors (1 for 10)
fixed interval
reinforcement after a set amount of time (salary every 2 weeks)
variable ratio
reinforcement after a changing number of behaviors (gambling with poker)
variable interval
reinforcement after a changing amount of time (waiting for a snow day after school)
