Unit 6 Test- AP PSYCH

Question 1

CLASSICAL CONDITIONING (CC)

Answer 1

process of learning when a previously neutral stimulus becomes associated with the neutral cause of behavior and creates a similar or related response

Question 2

Ivan Pavlov (1849-1936)

Answer 2

conducted conditioned response experiments
- experiment= chemical digestion of food, he harnessed dogs and fed them food to maximize saliva and then measure how the dogs reacted to the food
Steps:
1) took dried spoiled beef & soaked it in blood and then dried it
2) put it in front of the dogs and then measured how much they salivated
3) then Pavlov associated the sound of a bell with the food and eventually the dogs salavated when they heard the sound of the bell (even if there was no food)

Question 3

John Watson (1878-1958)

Answer 3

conducted the “Little Albert Experiment” which experimented how phobias can be learned, generalized, and extinguished based upon C.C. principles
Steps:
1) had a child who was scared of loud noises touch a rat
2) when he reached out to touch the rat, a loud bang was played right behind his head
3) eventually cried when he only saw the rat, associating a loud bang was going to come next

Question 4

Unconditioned Stimulus (UCS)

Answer 4

any natural stimulus that causes a reflexive (natural, automatic) behavior

Question 5

Unconditioned Response (UCR)

Answer 5

the automatic (unlearned) behavior reflex of a stimulus

Question 6

Conditioned Stimulus (CS)

Answer 6

a previously neutral stimulus that, through sessions of a acquisition, causes a learned behavioral response

Question 7

Conditioned Response (CR)

Answer 7

learned behavior developed in association with a Conditioned Stimulus (CS)

Question 8

Extinction

Answer 8

gradual erosion of conditioned behaviors due to a disassociation of C.S and U.C.S
- learned associations of stimuli becomes broken
- C.S. no longer causes a Conditioned Response (CR) & reverts back to a meaningless neutral stimulus

Question 9

Spontaneous Recovery

Answer 9

sudden reappearance of a previously extinguished CR that is displayed following an extended delay in C.S presentation or after a brief requisition of the C.S
- the Conditioned Response (CR) is weaker than it was when 1st learned
- the Conditioned Response (CR) is extinguished earlier than when 1st learned

Question 10

Stimulus Generalization

Answer 10

conditioned responses that are triggered by the conditioned stimulus and other stimulus that resemble the CS.
- focusing on similarities among related stimuli and responding with similar behaviors

Question 11

Stimulus Discrimination

Answer 11

behavioral changes that result from differences between two stimuli that are otherwise similar to the conditioned stimulus
- focusing on differences among stimuli and responding with different behaviors

Question 12

Superstition

Answer 12

false and irrational associations of stimuli conditioned through illogical coincidence

Question 13

Taste Aversion- “Food Aversion”

Answer 13

a learned (conditioned) avoidance of a specific food
- learned association of food and illness
- typically only one bad experience results in the conditioned behavior to develop

Question 14

Phobias

Answer 14

irrational fears that often develop as a result of exaggerated conditioned learning

Question 15

Behavioral Therapy techniques for learned phobias (there are three)

Answer 15

extinction of fear based upon conditioning principles of disassociation
1) Flooding - exposure to overwhelming amounts of the fear-provoking stimulus (“facing fears”)
2) Systematic Desensitization - gradual exposure to progressive increments of the fear-provoking stimulus in conjunction w/relaxation techniques
3) Counter Conditioning - substituting the fearful stimulus with a more appealing CS so that the phobic response is counteracted/neutralized

Question 16

OPERANT CONDITIONING

Answer 16

learned associations between actions and behavioral consequences
- learning in response to trial and error
initiating or stopping actions as learned associations of
Behavioral Modifiers = “reinforcements” and “punishments”

Question 17

Edward Thorndike (1874-1949)

Answer 17

“The Law of Effect” = learned by trial and error
- focused on reinforcement-based behavioral modification
- studied animal behavior in “puzzle boxes”
- “The Learning Curve”

Question 18

David Premack (1925-2015)

Answer 18

desirable stimuli are effective motivators to modify undesirable behaviors (incentive-based learning)
- reinforcement after-the-fact to “reward” behavior
EX: “if you eat all your vegetables, then you may have ice cream.”

Question 19

B.F. Skinner (1904-1990)

Answer 19

adapted Thorndike’s puzzle boxes to include both reinforcements and punishments
= “Skinner Boxes”

Question 20

Behavioral Modification: Reinforcement

Answer 20

any stimuli added or taken away to make a behavior increase frequency
- promotes likelihood of reoccurrence

Question 21

Behavioral Modification: Punishments

Answer 21

stimuli (actions) added or taken away that will decrease behavioral responses
- punishment alone is proven to be effective
- reinforcement alone is proven to be more effective
- reinforcement + punishment = most effective, Burrhus Frederic Skinner

Question 22

Types of Reinforcements (Positive v.s Negative)

Answer 22

Positive Reinforcement= stimuli added so that the frequency of learned behavior increases
–> stimulus is typically desirable - reward incentive

Negative Reinforcement= stimuli taken away or the removal or avoidance of a stressor or high-anxiety environment to promote behavior
–> typically the removal of unpleasent stimuli

Question 23

Types of Punishments (Positive vs. Negative)

Answer 23

Positive Punishments= stimuli added that will reduce the reoccurrence of a behavior
–> stimulus is typically aversive / unpleasant
–> pacification develops into reinforced behavior

Negative Punishments= withdrawing a stimulus as means to lessen the reoccurrence of a behavior
–> typically the deprivation of desired stimuli

Question 24

Schedules of Reinforcement: Continuous

Answer 24

applying a reinforcement upon the completion of every display of conditioned behavior
- promotes the quickest response for learning new behaviors
- often leads to behavioral dependency and promotes extinction when reinforcements stop

Question 25

Schedules of Reinforcement: Partial

Answer 25

says that behavior is not reinforced every time, but is reinforced frequently enough so that a conditioned behavior develops or is maintained
- behavior becomes more resistant to extinction, even when reinforcements stop
- partial reinforcement is set according to schedules
–> based upon interval (time) and ratio (amount)

Question 26

Types of Ratio Schedules (there are 4)

Answer 26

1) Fixed Ratio
2) Variable Ratio
3) Fixed interval
4) Variable Interval

Question 27

Fixed-Ratio

Answer 27

reward is applied after completion of a constant number of behavioral responses
LAB EX: pigeon receives bird seed after every 3rd time it presses the correct button
HUMAN APPLICATION EX: store membership cards
–> effectiveness= high response rates as you approach the reward, followed by a drop-off after receipt

Question 28

Variable-Ratio

Answer 28

the number of correct behaviors fluctuate before reinforcement is awarded –> amount is set to an average
LAB EX: pigeon is to be reinforced after an average of 10 correct behavioral responses
–> reward may be received upon the 2nd press of the put-on, the 6th, 14th, 19th, etc. (average = 10)
HUMAN APPLICATION EX: casino slot machines
–> effectiveness = high response rates + high resistance to extinction

Question 29

Fixed-Interval

Answer 29

reinforcement is received after a preset, constant amount of time passes upon successful completion of the behavior
LAB EX: a pigeon receives birdseed 10 sec. after properly pressing the correct buttons
HUMAN APPLICATION EX: weekly paycheck cycles
–> effectiveness = similar to fixed-ratio, behavior progressively increases, then drops off

Question 30

Variable-Interval

Answer 30

unpredictable amounts of time pass between completion of the behavior and the receipt of the reinforcement
LAB EX: pigeon receives birdseed 12 sec. after completing trial 1, waits 19 sec for trial 2, then waits 7 sec. after completing trial 3, etc.
HUMAN APPLICATION EX: AP Psych “Pop Quizzes”
–> effectiveness = comparably lower responsiveness but more constant/stable rates overall

Question 31

Social Learning: Shaping

Answer 31

technique of instructing complex behaviors by breaking then down into smaller components and applying reinforcement upon the successful completion of each step
–> building upon prior knowledge and skill sets

Question 32

Social Learning: Modeling

Answer 32

observational learning- process of learning new behaviors by mimicking the actions of other

Question 33

Edward Tolman (1886-1959)

Answer 33

Cognitive Mapping Experiments “mouse mazes”
- latent learning (memory) = learned behaviors that develop with no direct reinforcement and only tend to appear out of necessity…. learning with no awareness of doing so…. learning is displayed only when their is an incentive/advantage to do so
- incentive-based
–> behavioral
–> modification

Question 34

Wolfgang Kohler (1887-1967)

Answer 34

studied problem solving insight through a series of “chimpanzee experiments”
–> Insight = sudden flash of understanding and problem solving ability

Question 35

Albert Bandura (1925- )

Answer 35

“Bobo Boll Experiment”
- aggressive behavior in children learned via observational modeling
- The experiment was executed via a team of researchers who physically and verbally abused an inflatable doll in front of preschool-age children, which led the children to later mimic the behaviour of the adults by attacking the doll in the same fashion.