Unit 4: Learning Flashcards
What is classical conditioning?
Learning to associate one stimulus with another (example: lightening and thunder). For the association to be acquired,
the neutral stimulus (NS) needs to repeatedly appear before the unconditioned stimulus (US)…about a half-second before, in most cases. Conditioned responses weaken if they are not reinforced (extinction), but they may reappear after a rest (spontaneous recovery). Furthermore, conditioned responses may be triggered by stimuli similar to the conditioned stimulus (generalization), but not by dissimilar stimuli (discrimination).
Unconditioned stimulus = (US) something that naturally and automatically triggers an unlearned response (i.e. food)
Unconditioned response = (UR) an event that occurs naturally in response to some stimulus (i.e. salivation)
Conditioned stimulus = (CS) an originally neutral stimulus (NS) that, through learning, comes to be associated with some unlearned response (i.e. tone)
Conditioned response = (CR) the learned response to the originally neutral but now conditioned stimulus (i.e. salivation)
What is operant conditioning?
Learning to associate a response (behavior)
with a consequence. Reinforcement refers to any feedback from the environment that makes a behavior more likely to recur.
- Positive (adding) reinforcement: adding something desirable (e.g., warmth, food, hug, praise, money, etc.)
- Negative (taking away) reinforcement: ending something unpleasant (e.g., the cold, shock, alarm clock, seatbelt buzzer in car, etc.)
- Positive punishment: You ADD something unpleasant/aversive (ex: spank the child)
- Negative punishment: You TAKE AWAY something pleasant/desired (ex: no TV time, no attention)–MINUS is the “negative” here
What is observational learning?
Higher animals, especially humans, learn through observing and imitating others.
What is discrimination?
Discrimination refers to the ability to become more and more specific in what situations trigger a response. Shaping can increase discrimination, if reinforcement only comes for certain discriminative stimuli. For examples, dogs, rats, and even spiders can be trained to search for very specific smells, from drugs to explosives.
What is shaping?
Shaping: an operant conditioning procedure in which reinforcers guide behavior through successively closer approximations toward a desirable behavior while undesirable behavior is ignored.
What is a primary reinforcer?
A primary reinforcer is a stimulus that meets a basic need or otherwise is intrinsically desirable, such as food, sex, fun, attention, or power.
What is a secondary/conditioned reinforcer?
A secondary/conditioned reinforcer is a stimulus, such as a rectangle of paper with numbers on it (money) which has become associated with a primary reinforcer (money buys food, builds power).
What is a secondary/conditioned reinforcer?
A secondary/conditioned reinforcer is a stimulus, such as a rectangle of paper with numbers on it (money) which has become associated with a primary reinforcer (money buys food, builds power).
What is an immediate reinforcer?
Immediate Reinforcer: A reinforcer that occurs instantly after a behavior. For example, a rat gets a food pellet for a bar press, or a cigarette gives immediate relief to a nicotine addict.
What is a delayed reinforcer?
Delayed Reinforcer: A reinforcer that delays gratification. For example, receiving A’s keeps you working hard in school.
What is a fixed-interval schedule?
Fixed-interval schedule: Reinforces a behavior only after a fixed time interval has elapsed. Examples: preparing for an exam/quiz only when the exam/ quiz draws close (i.e. studying on a fixed interval), or checking the mail for college acceptance letters every M, W, and F on a fixed time interval.
What is a variable-interval schedule?
Variable-interval schedule: Reinforces a behavior at unpredictable time intervals. This produces slow, steady responses. Examples: pop quizzes reinforce your learning at unpredictable intervals, or “you’ve got mail” sound on AOL reinforces you to check your mail at unpredictable intervals
What is a fixed-ratio schedule?
Fixed-ratio schedule: Reinforces a behavior only after a specified (fixed) number of responses. Example: frequent flyer programs offer free flights after a fixed number of miles.
What is a variable-ratio schedule?
Variable-ratio schedule: Reinforces a behavior after an unpredictable (variable) number of responses. This is hard to extinguish because of its’ unpredictability. Example: gambling, fishing, and door to door salespeople cannot predict when they will be reinforced with a response/ reward.
What is schedule of reinforcement is most effective?
Variable ratio schedules produce the highest and most consistent rates of response because reinforcers increases as the number of responses increase. For example, the more you gamble, the more you are hooked when you win. This is why gambling addictions are so hard to break.
