Unit VI - Learning Flashcards
What is learning?
the process of acquiring through experience new and relatively ENDURING information or behaviors
What are some ways we learn?
COCO
Classical conditioning
Operant conditioning
Cognitive learning
Observational learning
Classical conditioning
learn to expect & prepare for SIGNIFICANT events (pain or food)
associate 2 STIMULI
ANTICIPATE events
Operant conditioning
learn to REPEAT acts that bring rewards/ AVOID acts with unwanted results
associate RESPONSE & CONSEQUENCE
Observational learning
learn by OBSERVING events & people
Cognitive learning
learn things we have neither EXPERIENCED/OBSERVED
Associative learning
Learning to ASSOCIATE an event with another
May be 2 STIMULI or RESPONSE & CONSEQUENCE
positive/negative
How do positive associations factor in learning?
Connect positive events when they occur in sequence
Positive association example
Hang out with new group of classmates for lunch- positive time
Next lunch- associate them with fun/positivity
How do negative associations factor in learning?
Connect negative events when they occur in sequence
Negative association example
Put hand on stove-> get burned
Next time-associate stove with pain
What are the two types of associative learning?
Classical
Operant
How do associations lead to habits?
Learned associations also feed our habitual behaviors.
Eating popcorn at movie theater
How do associations lead to habituation
1 -Sea slug-disturbed by squirt of water Continual squirt--> habituation 2- Slug- shock after squirt Protective response increases Associate squirt with shock
What is habituation?
repeated stimulation produces waning responsiveness.
Habituation v. Sensory adaptation
1- type of LEARNING/ permanent- reduced response due to REPEATED exposure
2-PERCEPTUAL phenomenon- brain STOPS recognizing CONSTANT stimulus
What is a stimulus?
any event or situation that evokes a response
What is a response?
the behavior that follows the stimulus
How is classical conditioning defined?
type of associative learning that involves learned INVOLUNTARY responses.
Involuntary response example
salivation, blinking, sweating, cringing, reactions to strong emotions
How does classical conditioning occur?
STIMULUS 1 - lightning STIMULUS 2 - thunder RESPONSE - startled reaction associate thunder with lightning REPETITION STIMULUS - lightning RESPONSE - startled reaction
How is operant conditioning defined?
associate a response (our VOLUNTARY behavior) and its consequence
Operant behaviors
behavior that operates
on the environment,
producing
consequences
How does operant conditioning occur?
RESPONSE : BEING POLITE
CONSEQUENCE : TREAT
Voluntary REPETITION
behavior STRENGTHENED
Respondent behaviors
behavior that occurs
as an automatic
response to
some stimulus
Do classical and operant conditioning work together?
YES
Cattle ranch
CLASSICAL- cows associate beep with arrival of food
OPERANT- hustling to food trough associated with pleasure of eating
What is behaviorism’s view of learning?
Psychology’s “goal is the prediction and control of behavior
Who was Ivan Pavlov?
Influenced Watson
Both believed the basic laws of learning were the same for all animals
What did Ivan Pavlov contribute to the field of psychology?
spent two decades studying dogs’ digestive system and earned
the Nobel Prize.
experimented with classical conditioning
Pavlov’s dog experiment
Before conditioning
Unconditioned STIMULUS: food in mouth
Unconditioned RESPONSE: salivation
Neutral STIMULUS: tone from bell
NO RESPONSE
Pavlov’s dog experiment
During conditioning
NS (bell) + US (food in mouth)
UR: salivation
REPETITION
Pavlov’s dog experiment
After conditioning
Conditioned STIMULUS: tone from bell
Conditioned RESPONSE:
salivation
What is acquisition?
in CLASSICAL- initial stage-link NS and US- NS trigger conditioned response
in OPERANT- strengthening of reinforced response/ decreasing of punished response
Can onion breath be attractive?
It can be conditioned to be
How does classical conditioning support reproduction?
Conditioning helps an animal survive and reproduce—by RESPONDING to CUES that help it gain food, avoid dangers, locate mates, and produce offspring
What is higher-order conditioning?
procedure in classical conditioning in which the conditioned stimulus in one conditioning experience is paired with a new neutral stimulus, creating a second (often weaker) conditioned stimulus
Higher-order conditioning example
Animal learned tone predicts food
Learn light predicts tone
Therefore, respond to light
How does extinction occur?
when an unconditioned stimulus (US) does not follow a conditioned
stimulus (CS)
What is spontaneous recovery?
the reappearance, after a pause, of an extinguished conditioned response
Extinct occurs ______ spontaneous recovery
before
What is is generalization?
tendency, once a response has been conditioned,
for stimuli similar to the conditioned stimulus to elicit similar responses
Generalization example
Salivate to tone
Playing note on flute may cause salivation
How did Pavlov demonstrate generalization?
Conditioned salivation to stimulation of thigh
Closer a stimulated spot was to thigh, stronger salivation
What is discrimination?
the learned ability to distinguish between a conditioned stimulus and similar stimuli that
do not signal an unconditioned stimulus
Discrimination example
Food(US) after bell(CS) but not tuning fork
Dog learn to discriminate between sounds and only drool(CR) to bell
Why does Pavlov’s work remain so important?
significant psychological phenomena can be studied OBJECTIVELY
classical conditioning is a BASIC form of learning
that applies to ALL species.
What have been some applications of Pavlov’s work to human health and well-being?
former drug users- CRAVING when in drug-using context
people struggling with weight- CONDITIONED to eat food keeping them in poor health
Taste accompanies drug influence immune response, taste PRODUCE response by itself
How did Watson apply Pavlov’s principles to learned fears?
human emotions and behaviors, though biologically influenced, are mainly a bundle of CONDITIONED responses.
Little Albert experiment
Watson & Rayner caused Albert to associate loud sounds with rats
Albert scared of rats after REPETITION
Generalized fear to dog, rabbit, sealskin coat
Classical conditioning is __________ (________) behavior, while operant conditioning is __________
(_______) behavior.
involuntary
respondent
voluntary
operant
Who was B.F. Skinner?
behaviorism’s most influential and controversial figure
His work elaborated
on the law of effect.
What did Thorndike do?
used a fish reward
to ENTICE cats to find their way out of a puzzle box through a series of maneuvers.
What is the law of effect?
behaviors followed by FAVORABLE consequences
become MORE likely behaviors followed by UNFAVORABLE
consequences become LESS likely
What did Skinner design?
Operant chamber or Skinner box
What is an operant chamber?
contains BAR /KEY an animal can MANIPULATE to obtain food/water reinforcer
recorded RATE of bar pressing/key pecking
How does a Skinner box operate
inside box, rat presses bar for food
outside box, measuring devices record accumulated response
What does the Skinner box allow researchers to investigate?
Animals act out concept of reinforcement
Reinforcement
any event that strengthens
(increases the frequency of) a preceding response
People reinforcement examples
praise
attention
paycheck
Rate reinforcement example
Food
water
Are all reinforcers created equal
NO
Reinforcing to one animal may not be to another
What makes a reinforcer a reinforcer?
A reinforcer increases the likelihood that the behavior will increase
How is behavior shaped through operant conditioning?
SHAPING -operant conditioning procedure in which REINFORCEMENT guides behavior toward closer and closer approximations of desired behavior
How would Skinner shape a rat’s behavior to press a bar to get food?
OBSERVE initial behavior
LURE rat with food towards bar
REQUIRE rat to` actually touch bar to get food
What is a discriminative stimulus?
a stimulus that elicits a response after
association with reinforcement
Discrinative stimulus example
training pigeon to peck at green circle (DS) but not a red one
research on discriminative stimulus training in animals.
Dogs- sniff out landmines/locate ppl
Pigeons- identify new object (ppl, cars, chairs,etc.) /distinguish between Back & Stravinsky
What is positive reinforcement?
Increasing behaviors by presenting POSITIVE reinforcement
any stimulus PRESENTED after a response STRENGTHENS the response
What is negative reinforcement?
increasing behaviors by stopping
or reducing AVERSIVE stimuli
Any stimulus when REMOVED after a response STRENGTHENS the response
Positive reinforcement example
Studying hard to receive an A
Arriving at work on time to receive praise/ pay raise from boss
Negative reinforcement
Taking aspirin to reduce headache
Hitting snooze button to shut off alarm
Negative reinforcement is ___ punishment
NOT
Provides relief
What are primary reinforcers?
innately reinforcing stimuli such as those that satisfy a biological need
What are conditioned/secondary reinforcer?
stimuli that gain their reinforcing power through their learned association with a primary reinforcer
Primary reinforcers examples
Food, pain relief
Conditioned reinforcers examples
Money, good grades, pleasant tone of voice
How does the immediacy of the reinforcement impact behavior?
Some animals will need immediate (within 30 seconds for instance) reinforcement in order to tie the reinforcement to the behavior.
Humans respond to delay ______________ as a point of maturity
GRATIFICATION
Delayed gratification examples
paycheck at end of month
trophy at end of season
good grade at end of year
What are reinforcement schedules?
patterns that define how often a desired response will be reinforced
What is continuous reinforcement schedule?
Reinforcing desired response every time it occurs
What is partial/intermittent reinorcement schedule?
Reinforcing a reponse only part of the time
How does continuous reinforcement impact learning?
CR- learning occurs rapidly
no CR- extinction occurs rapidly
How does partial (intermittent) reinforcement impact learning?
PR- learning is slower to appear
Resistance to extinction is GREATER
Continout reinforcement examples
Putting money into a gumball machine for a gumball
Partial reinforcement example
Pitching a sale pitch and only making a sale occasionally
What are the four types of partial reinforcement?
FVFV
fixed ratio schedules
fixed interval schedules
variable ratio schedules
variable interval schedules
Fixed ratio schedules
reinforcement occurs after a set number of responses
Fixed interval schedules
reinforcement occurs after a set length of time
Variable ratio schedules
reinforcement occurs after an unpredictable number of responses
Variable interval schedules
reinforcement occurs after an unpredictable length of time
Fixed ratio schedules example
one free coffee after every 10 purchased
Fixed interval schedules example
mail arriving at 2pm every day
Variable ratio schedules example
payoff on slot machine
after a varying number of plays
Variable interval schedules example
checking our phone for a text from our friend
“Interval” in schedules mean…
An interval of time must PASS before reinforcement
“Ratio” in schedules mean…
Ratio of RESPONSES to REINFORCEMENTS
greater frequency = more reinforcement
What is punishment?
event that tends to DECREASE the behavior it follows
ADDS an AVERSIVE stimulus
REMOVES a PLEASANT stimulus
Punishment v neg reinforcement
1- tells you what not to do
2- tells you what to do
What are two ways to punish unwanted behavior?
positive punishment
negative punishment
Positive punishment
administer an averise stimulus
negative punishment
withdraw a rewarding stimulus
positive punishment example
spraying water on barking dog
Giving ticket for speeding
negative punishment example
Taking away misbehaving driving privileges
Revoking rude person’s chat room
What are four major drawbacks to the use of physical punishment?
Punished behavior is suppressed
Teaches discrimination among situations
Teach fear
Increase aggression
Why did Skinner’s legacy provoke controversy?
his approach DEHUMANIZED people by NEGLECTING personal freedom /seeking to CONTROL their actions.
Skinner replied actions are ALREADY controlled by external consequences/ reinforcement is more HUMANE than punishment
How can operant conditioning techniques be applied?
Self-improvement
Manage stress
School application
Online adaptive quizzing- immediate feedback
reinforcement for correct understanding.
Sports application
first reinforcing small successes
gradually increasing the challenge.
How do operant conditioning principles underlie superstitions?
VOLUNTARY BEHAVIOR: tapping plate with bat
REINFORCEMENT: hitting the ball
SUPERSTITION: tapping plate increases chances of hitting the ball
Work Application
Rewards- increase productivity if desired performance is well-defined/achievable
Operant parenting tips:
Give well-behaved children ATTENTION
DON’T yell/hit misbehaving children
EXPLAIN misbehavior/ punish it through actions
Self improvement
To build self-control, reinforce own desired behaviors/ extinguish undesired ones
5 steps toward self-control
State REALISTIC/MEASURABLE goal
Decide WHEN/ HOW/ WHERE you will work toward goal
Monitor HOW OFTEN you engage in desired behavior
REINFORCE desire behavior
Reduce rewards GRADUALLY
Manage stress
Changing bodily responses when presented with feedback
Rats control heartbeat
Humans control blood pressure
What is biofeedback?
allow people to monitor their subtle physiological responses.
Classical v Operant conditioning
Forms of associative learning
How do biological constraints affect classical conditioning?
1956 -researcher Kimble claimed any activities an organism is capable of doing can be conditioned
Proven wrong
So we can’t teach any organism any thing?
Animal’s CAPACITY for conditioning is LIMITED by biological CONSTRAINTS
BIOLOGY MATTERS
Preparedness
Species predispositions PREPARE it to learn the associations that enhance its SURVIVAL
Biopsychosocial influences on learning
Learning can be partially attributed to cognitive & biological influences
Biological influences on learning
Genetic predispositions
Unconditioned responses
Adaptive responses
Neural mirroring
Psychological influences on learning
Previous Experiences Predictability of associations Generalization Discrimination Expectations
Social-cultural influences on learning
Culturally learned preferences
Motivation
Presence of others
Modeling
Who was John Garcia?
challenged
the prevailing idea that all associations can be learned
equally well.
What experiments were conducted?
Garcia & Koelling exposed a group of particular taste, sight, or sound
Later to radiation/drugs –> nausea & vomiting
What were two findings in Garcia and Koelling’s study?
1- even if sickened as late as several hrs after tasting a new flavor, rats would avoid
2- sickened rats developed conditional aversions to tastes/ not to sights & sounds
Taste aversion
Avoidance of food that cause sickness
exp=oysters
Taste aversion application
Coyotes & wolves tempted into eating sheep carcasses with poison
Developed aversion to sheep meet
How do biological constraints affect operant conditioning?
Biological constraints predispose
organisms to learn associations that
are naturally adaptive.
In other words, don’t try to teach a pig to sing
Naturally adaptive behaviors are easy to condition.
Pigeons- easily conditioned to flap wings to avoid being shocked/ peck to obtain food- NATURALLY ADAPTIVE
What is instinctive drift?
the tendency
of learned behavior to gradually revert
to biologically predisposed
patterns
Instinctive drift example
Pigs conditioned to pick up large wooden dollars will drop dollars to push with snouts
How do cognitive processes affect classical conditioning?
Pavlov & Watson
UNDERESTIMATED the importance of the effects of COGNITIVE processes (thoughts, perceptions, expectations).
What did Rescorla and Wagner show?
Animal can learn predictability
More PREDICTABLE the association, the STRONGER the conditioned response
How do associations influence attitudes?
When British children viewed
novel cartoon characters alongside either ice cream (Yum!) or brussels sprouts (Yuck!), they
came to prefer the ice-cream-associated characters.
How are associations limited in their influence on attitudes?
People receiving therapy for alcohol use disorder may be given alcohol spiked with a nauseating drug.
partial association between alcohol and sickness
How does cognition influence association?
Knowing that the nausea is induced by the drug, not the alcohol, often weakens the association between drinking alcohol and feeling sick, reducing the treatment’s effectiveness.
THOUGHTS that COUNT
What is a cognitive map?
a mental
representation of the layout of
one’s environment
What is latent learning?
learning that
occurs but is not APPARENT
until there is an INCENTIVE to
DEMONSTRATE it.
How did Tolman and Honzik research latent learning?
CLASSIC experiment
Rats in one group repeatedly explore maze ALWAYS w/food reward at end
Rats in second group explored maze W/O food reward
Once given food reward, rats in second groups ran as QUICKLY as first group
Latent learning involves cognition.
There is more to learning than associating a response with a consequence; there is also COGNITION.
What is insight learning?
a SUDDEN realization of a problem’s SOLUTION; contrasts with
strategy-based solutions
Insight learning example
10 year old Johnny SOLVED problem stumping construction workers: how to RESCUE young robin from narrow hole in cement wall
SOLUTION: pour sand slowly, give time for bird to keep feet on top
What is the difference between extrinsic and intrinsic motivation to learn?
1- OUTSIDE factors
2- INSIDE factors
What is extrinsic motivation?
a DESIRE
to perform a behavior to receive promised REWARDS or avoid threatened PUNISHMENT
What is intrinsic motivation?
a DESIRE to
perform a behavior effectively for
its OWN SAKE
Extrinsic motivation example
completing homework due to DEADLINE
GRADES
AP CREDIT
Intrinsic motivation example
Material INTERESTING
Learning with NO GRADES
How does the cognitive perspective show us the limits of rewards?
EXCESSIVE rewards can DESTROY intrinsic motivation
Promising people a REWARD for a task they already
ENJOY can BACKFIRE
Overjustificaiton effect
an EXPECTED external incentive such as money or prizes DECREASES a person’s INTRINSIC motivation to perform a task.
research on how cognition impacts extrinsic motivation.
Children PAID to play with toy will play with toy LESS LATER than UNPAID children
REWARDING children with candy for READING DIMINISHES time spend reading
In what two ways do people learn to cope with personal problems?
PROBLEM-focused coping
EMOTION-focused coping
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
What is personal control?
our sense of
IMPACTING and directing our environment rather
than feeling HELPLESS
How does a perceived lack of controlaffect people’s behavior and health?
UNCONTROLLABLE threats trigger the STRONGEST stress response
What is learned helplessness?
the HOPELESSNESS and passive RESIGNATION an animal or person
acquires when UNABLE to AVOID
repeated aversive events
What research has been conducted on learned helplessness?
Dogs strapped in harness/repeated shock with no escape displayed LH in similar situation where they could escape
Why does perceived loss of control predict health problems?
LOSING control provokes an OUTPOURING
of stress hormones.
research on stress and control.
CAPTIVE animals- more stress/ vulnerable to diseases
Nurses reporting LITTLE control with HIGH workload- high cortisol/blood pressure
CROWSING in dorms, prisons, neighborhoods- ELEVATED stress/BP
Julian Rotter’s loci of control
external locus of control
internal locus of control
external locus of control
the perception that CHANCE or OUTSIDE forces beyond our personal direction
DETERMINE our fate
internal locus of control
the perception that we DIRECT and CREATE our own fate
What has research shown about internal locus of control?
Internal - MORE achievements, independent, better health, less depressed
LESS obesity, LOWER blood pressure, Less distress
LEADERS- LOW stress, LESS anxiety
What is self-control
the ability to CONTROL impulses and DELAY short-term gratification for long-term
rewards
Self control example
A number of performing artists make their living as very convincing human statues,
Why is self-control important?
Good health
HIGHER income
Better school performance
Self-control > Intelligence
How can our self-control be depleted?
VARIES over time
WEAKEN after use
RECOVER after rest
STRENGTHEN with exercise
In one famous experiment, hungry people who spent some willpower resisting temptation to eat cookies then __________ a tedious task ______ than did others
abandoned
tedious
What is observational learning?
Higher animals learn WITHOUT direct experience by WATCHING & IMITATING others
Observational learning example
Child seeing sister burn fingers on hot stove learns NOT to touch it
Modeling
process by which we OBSERVCE and IMITATING others
languages/ specific behavior
Who is Albert Bandura?
PIONEERING researcher of observational learning
RECEIVED 2016 US National Medal of Science
What research did Bandura conduct?
The Bobo Doll Study
Bodo Doll research design
preschool child works on drawing- adult play with toys- adult get up and violently hit a Bodo doll
What happened next?
Child taken to second room with toys- told these are saved for other kids- frustrated child to third rooms with few toys and Bodo doll
What was the result?
Compared with children NOT exposed to the adult model, those who viewed the model’s
aggressive actions were MORE likely to lash out at the doll.
What is the take away?
Watching models- VICARIOUS REINFORCEMENT or PUNISHMENT
learn to ANTICIPATE a behavior’s CONSEQUENCES
We are especially likely to learn from people
we perceive as _______ to ourselves, as , __________
or as _________.
similar
successful
admirable
How do we learn by observation? Mirror neurons
MIRROR NEURONS- in frontal lobe- fired when we perform CERTAIN actions/OBSERVE other’s actions
Mirroring- ENABLE imitation & empathy
How is imitation adaptive
1980- humpback whale whacked water to drive prey fish into clump
“lobtail” technique ADOPTED by other whales
Vervet monkeys experiment
Taught vervet monkeys to prefer blue or pink corn
Next generation observed parents and mostly preferred same type
Humans are natural imitators
INFANTS- imitate novel gestures, look in direction of adult, imitate acts modeled on TV
Do we imitate emotions as well?
YES! We find ourselves yawning when others yawn, smiling when others smile,
laughing when others laugh.
UNCONSCIOUSLY synchronize to another person’s position
GAIN friend- Imitate those that we like
So can we feel others’ pain?
Brain activity of some experiencing actual pain is MIRRORED in brain of observing loved one-empathy shows up in EMOTIONAL brain areas
What is prosocial modeling
POSITIVE, CONSTRUCTIVE, helpful behavior
ppl EXEMPLIFYING nonviolent behavior prompt SIMILAR behavior in others
Prosocial impact
Watching others help pick up spilled books or coins, or viewing positively-themed television programming can produce positive helping behaviors in others.
Prosocial modeling in Humane Society program
This girl is learning orphan-nursing skills, as well as compassion, by observing her mentor in this Humane Society program.
Antisocial modeling
Observational learning may also have antisocial effects
Abusive parents with aggressive children
TV shows, movies, and online videos are sources of observational learning.
During their first 18 years, most children in developed countries spend MORE time watching TV than they spend in school.
How violent is television programming?
Between 1998 and 2006, prime-time violence on TV reportedly INCREASED 75 percent
nearly 6 in 10 featured violence
74 percent of the violence went unpunished.
What is depicted in violent programming?
58 percent of violent shows did NOT depict the victims’ PAIN,
nearly half the incidents involved “JUSTIFIED” violence,
nearly half involved an ATTRACTIVE perpetrator.
What prompts the violence- viewing effect?
Experimental studies have found that media violence viewing can cause AGGRESSION.
How does desensitization impact violent behavior?
Viewers become PROGRESSIVELY less
bothered by the violence/ less SYMPATHY/ victim’s injuries as less SEVERE
What does the research show?
APA- Consistent relation between violent video game use/ increase in aggressive behavior, cognitions, and affect
How does exposure to media violence impact children?
American Academy of Pediatrics advised pediatricians that “media violence can contribute to
aggressive behavior, desensitization to violence, nightmares, and fear of being harmed.”
