Unit 7 - Learning

Question 1

the process of acquiring new and relatively enduring information or behaviors

Answer 1

learning

Question 2

Two types of learning

Answer 2

Associative learning = We learn to associate two stimuli (classical conditioning) or a response and its consequence (operant conditioning)

Observational learning = We learn by watching others’ experiences and examples

Question 3

where one stimulus is paired with another stimulus to create a response that it did not have before

US (unconditioned stimulus) – causes not learned response (UR)

CS (conditioned stimulus) – previous meaningless now caused a learned response (CR)

Answer 3

Classical conditioning

Question 4

Example of classical conditioning

Answer 4

Pavlov’s dogs

before conditioning:
- unconditioned stimulus = food
- unconditioned response = salivation
- neutral stimulus = tuning fork

After conditioning:
- conditioned stimulus = tuning fork
- conditioned response = salivation

Question 5

Watson and Baby Albert experiment

Answer 5

Watson paired the white rat with a loud bang repeatedly to create an association between the two unrelated stimuli, and little Albert began fearing the white rat without the noise.

Question 6

a learned response to eating spoiled or toxic food
- poison
- generalization vs discrimination

Answer 6

taste aversion

Question 7

when danger is gone so is CR. If CS stops being associated with US then CR will become extinct

Answer 7

Extinction

Question 8

keep exposing person to harmless stimuli until they are no longer afraid

Answer 8

flooding

Question 9

Taught relaxation techniques while slowly being exposed to feared stimuli

Answer 9

Systematic Desensitization

Question 10

pair pleasant stimuli with unpleasant stimuli to counteract fear - done a lot with younger children

Answer 10

Counter-conditioning

Question 11

reinforcing behavior
a type of learning in which behavior is strengthened if followed by a reinforcer or diminished if followed by a punisher

Answer 11

operant conditioning

Question 12

Example of operant conditioning

Answer 12

BF Skinner –> learning to do something because of the consequences it has
- pigeons learned to peck at target because they received food
- also did experiment with rats (rats learn to press the lever because they received food)

Question 13

GIVES reward when desired behavior is done (dog gets a bone when he doesn’t bark)

Answer 13

positive reinforcement

Question 14

TAKES away unpleasant stimulus when desired is done (cage is removed when dog doesn’t bark)

Answer 14

negative reinforcement

Question 15

GIVES negative stimulus to stop behavior (child misbehaves and gets a spanking)

Answer 15

Positive Punishment

Question 16

TAKES away a positive stimulus to stop behavior (child misbehaves so they can’t go outside to play)

Answer 16

Negative Punishment

Question 17

Reinforcement

Answer 17

Increases behavior

Question 18

Punishment

Answer 18

decreases behavior

Question 19

Positive

Answer 19

means something is being given

Question 20

Negative

Answer 20

means something is being taken away

Question 21

after X number of desired results

Answer 21

Fixed ratio

Question 22

reinforcement giving after X number of responses unknown to learner

Answer 22

Variable ratio

Question 23

after X passage of time

Answer 23

Fixed interval

Question 24

after X passage of time unknown to the learner

Answer 24

Variable interval

Question 25

Albert Bandura and Bobo Doll

Answer 25

• Modeling/observational learning
  Bobo doll experiment demonstrated that children are able to learn social behavior such as aggression through the process of observation learning, through watching the behavior of another person.

Question 26

people try not to get out of negative situations because past experiences have shown them that they do not have control

Answer 26

Learned helplessness

Question 27

Martin Sielegman and Learned Helplessness

Answer 27

the dogs didn’t try to escape the shocks if they had been conditioned to believe that they couldn’t escape.
theorized that animals learned that outcomes were independent of their responses—that nothing they did mattered – and that this learning undermined trying to escape.

Question 28

Ed Tolman and latent rats/Cognitive Maps

Answer 28

latent = hidden
rats put in a maze with no obvious reward
rats were developing cognitive mas (a mental representation of their surroundings)

Tolman’s latent learning experiment showed that rats can learn about their environment and form cognitive maps even in the absence of immediate reinforcement. Once a reward was introduced, the rats were able to demonstrate this knowledge quickly.

Question 29

proposed by Albert Bandura, suggests that people learn through observation, imitation, and modeling. According to this theory, individuals acquire new behaviors based on what they observe from their environment and the consequences that follow those behaviors.

Answer 29

Social Learning Theory

Question 30

focuses on understanding how people acquire knowledge, process information, solve problems, and form mental representations. It emphasizes the role of thinking processes in learning.

Answer 30

Cognitive Learning theory