Week 4: Learning

Question 1

Perceptual Learning

Answer 1

Occurs when aspects of our perception changes as a function of experience

Question 2

Implicit Learning

Answer 2

Occurs when we acquire info without intent that we can’t easily express

Question 3

Implicit Memory

Answer 3

A type of long-term memory that doesn’t require conscious thought to encode; type of memory one makes w/o intent

Question 4

Nonassociative Learning

Answer 4

Occurs when a single repeated exposure leads to a change in behaviour

Question 5

Habitualization

Answer 5

Occurs when the response to a stiumuls decreases w exposure

Question 6

Classical Conditioning

Answer 6

Describes stiumulus - stiumulus associative learning

Question 7

Operant Conditioning

Answer 7

Response associative learning

Question 8

Working Memory

Answer 8

Form of memory we use to hold onto info temporarily, usually for the purposes of manipulation

Question 9

Chunk

Answer 9

Process of grouping info together using our knowledge - experts are able to chunk information together

Question 10

Encoding

Answer 10

The pact of putting info into memoray

Question 11

Incidental Learning

Answer 11

Occurs when we acquire info w/o intent that we can’t easily expense - learning w/o the intention to learn

Question 12

Intentional Learning

Answer 12

Any type of learning that happens when motivated by intention

Question 13

Metacognition

Answer 13

Describes the knowledge and skills people have in monitoring and controlling their own learning memory

Question 14

Transfer-appropriate processing

Answer 14

A principle that states that memory performance is superior when a test taps the same cognitive processes as the original encoding activity

Question 15

Classical Conditioning/Pavlovian

Answer 15

famous experiment - Pavlov rang a bell and then gave a dog some food. After repeating this pairing multiple times, the dog eventually treated the bell as a signal for food, and began salivating in anticipation of the treat. This kind of result has been reproduced in the lab using a wide range of signals (e.g., tones, light, tastes, settings) paired with many different events besides food (e.g., drugs, shocks, illness; see below).

First, it is a straightforward test of associative learning that can be used to study other, more complex behaviors. Second, because classical conditioning is always occurring in our lives, its effects on behavior have important implications for understanding normal and disordered behavior in humans.

Question 16

Uncoditioned Stimulus (US)

Answer 16

In classical conditioning, stiumulus that elicts the response before conditioning response

Dog food in Pavlov’s experiment; noises; hot shower

Question 17

Unconditioned Response (UR)

Answer 17

In classical conditioning, an innate response that is elicited by a stimulus before (or in the absence of) conditioning

Dog food makes dog DROOL; noises STARTLE US; hot shower PLEASURE

Question 18

Conditioned Stimulus

Answer 18

An initiatlly neutral stimulus (likea. bell, light, tone) that elicits a conditioned response after it has been associated w an unconditioned stimulus

No importance to the organism until it’s paired w something that does have importance

Bell in pavlov’s experiment

Question 19

Conditioned Response

Answer 19

Response that is elicited by the conditioned stimulus after classical conditioning has taken place

Dog drools when it hears the bell

Question 20

Operant/Instrumental Conditioning

Answer 20

Process in which animals learn abt the relationship between their behaviours and their consequences

Helps explain how we learn

Occurs when a BEHAVIOUR (as opposed to a stimulus) is associated w the best occurrence of a significant event

Rat in a lab example - learns to press a lever in a cage to receive food, because rat has no “natural” association between pressing a lever nad getting food, rat has to learn this connection, rat climbs in search of food, learns what it’s doing by poking around; hits lever - operant behavior (“Operates” on the environment)

Question 21

Operant Behaviour

Answer 21

A behaviour that is controlled by its consequences; the simplest example is the rat’s lever pressing, which is controlled by the presentation of the reinforcer

Question 22

Reinforcers

Answer 22

Any consequence of a behaviour that strengthens the behaviour or increases the likelihood that it will be performed again

food pellets in rat lab; strengthen rats desire to engage w the environment in this particular manner

Question 23

Law of Effect

Answer 23

The idea that instrumental or opreant responses are influenced by their effects; responses that are followed by a pleasant state of affairs will be strengthened and those that are followed by discomfort will be weakened; nowadays, the term refers to the idea that operant or instrumental behaviours are lawfully controlled by their consequences’

or, according to Thorndike’s law of effect, when a behavior has a positive (satisfying) effect or consequence, it is likely to be repeated in the future. However, when a behavior has a negative (painful/annoying) consequence, it is less likely to be repeated in the future.

Question 24

Punishers

Answer 24

A stimulus that decreases the strength of an operant behaviour when it is made a consequence of the behaviour

Question 25

Taste Aversion Conditioning

Answer 25

Phenomenon in which a taste is paired w sickness, and this causes the organism to reject-and dislike- that taste in the future

Question 26

Fear Conditioning

Answer 26

Type of classical/pavlovian conditioning in which the conditioned stimulus (CS) is associated w an aversive unconditioned stimulus (US), such as foot shock; as a consequence of learning, the CS comes to evoke fear; phenomenon is thought to be involved in the development of anxiety disorders in humans

Question 27

Conditioned Compensatory Responses

Answer 27

In classical conditioning, a conditioned response that opposes, rather than is the same as, the unconditioned response; functions to reduce the strength of the unconditioned response; often seen in conditioning when drugs are used as unconditioned stimuli
For example, morphine itself suppresses pain; however, if someone is used to taking morphine, a cue that signals the “drug is coming soon” can actually make the person more sensitive to pain. Because the person knows a pain suppressant will soon be administered, the body becomes more sensitive, anticipating that “the drug will soon take care of it.”

Question 28

Preparedness

Answer 28

Idea that an organism’s evolutionary history can make it easy to learn a particular association; because of preparedness you are more likely to associate the taste of tequila, and not the circumstances surrounding drinking it, w getting sick; humans are more likely to associate images of spiders/snakes than flowers/mushrooms w aversive outcomes like shocks

Question 29

Extinction

Answer 29

Decrease in the strength of a learned behaviour that occurs when the conditioned stimulus is presented w/o the unconditioned stimulus (in classical) or when the behaviour is no longer reinforced (in instrumental); term describes both the procedure (reinforcer no longer presented) as well as the result of the procedure (the learned response declines); behaviours that have been reduced in the strength though extinction are said to be “extinguished”

For example, if Pavlov kept ringing the bell but never gave the dog any food afterward, eventually the dog’s CR (drooling) would no longer happen when it heard the CS (the bell), because the bell would no longer be a predictor of food

Question 30

Spontaneous Recovery

Answer 30

Recovery of ane extinguished response that occurs w passage of time after extinction; can occur after the extinction in either classical/instrumental conditioning

Question 31

Renewal Effect

Answer 31

Recovery of an extinguished response that occurs when the context is changed after extinction; especially strong when the change of context involves return to the context in which conditioning originally occurred; can occur after extinction in either classical/instrumental conditioning

Question 32

Context

Answer 32

Stimuli that are in background whenever learning occurs

ex. rat box/room in which learning takes place; “context” can also be provided by internal stimuli such as sensory effects of drugs and mood states; can also be provided by a specific period in time

Question 33

Stimulus Control

Answer 33

When an operant behaviour is controlled by a stimulus that proceeds it

n everyday life, think about waiting in the turn lane at a traffic light. Although you know that green means go, only when you have the green arrow do you turn. In this regard, the operant behavior is now said to be under stimulus control. And, as is the case with the traffic light, in the real world, stimulus control is probably the rule.

Question 34

Discriminative stimulus

Answer 34

In operant conditioning, a stimulus that signals whether the response will be reinforced; said to “set the occasion” for the operant response

Question 35

Categorize

Answer 35

To sort or arrange different items into classes/categories

Question 36

Quantitative Law of Effect

Answer 36

mathematical rule that states that the effectiveness of a reinforcer at strengthening an operant response depends on the amount of reinforcement earned for all alternative behaviours; a reinforcer is less effective if there is a lot of reinforcement in the environment for other behaviours

The law acknowledges the fact that the effects of reinforcing one behavior depend crucially on how much reinforcement is earned for the behavior’s alternatives.

Question 37

reinforcer devaluation effect

Answer 37

The finding that an animal will stop performing an instrumental response that once led to a reinforcer if the reinforcer is separately made aversive or undesirable

Question 38

Goal Directed

Answer 38

Instrumental behaviour that is influenced by the animal’s knowledge of the association between the behaviour and its consequence and the current value of the consequence; sensitive to the reinforcer devaluation effect

Question 39

Habit

Answer 39

instrumental behaviour that occurs automatically in the presence of a stimulus and is no longer influenced by the animal’s knowledge of the value of the reinforcer; insensitive to the reinforcer devaluation effect

Question 40

Observational Learning

Answer 40

Learning by observing the behaviour of others

1. Attention
2. Retention
3. Initiation
4. Motivation

Question 41

Social Learning Theory

Answer 41

Theory that people can learn new responses and behaviours by observing the behaviour of others

Question 42

Social Models

Answer 42

Authorities that are the targets for observation and who models behaviours

Question 43

Vicarious Reinforcement

Answer 43

Learning that occurs by observing the reinforcement or punishment of another person

Question 44

Knowledge Emotions

Answer 44

family of emotions associated w learning, reflecting, exploring; emotions come abt when unexpected/unfamiliar events happen in the environment; broadly speaking, they motivate people to explore unfamiliar things, which builds knowledge and expertise over the long run

Question 45

Functionalist theories of emotion

Answer 45

theories of emotion that emphasize the adaptive role of an emotion in handling common problems throughout evolutionary history
‘
According to functionalist theories of emotion, emotions help people manage important tasks

Question 46

Appraisal Theories

Answer 46

Evaluations that relate what is happening in the environment to people’s values, goals, and beliefs; appraisal theories of emotion contend that emotions are caused by patterns of appraisals, such as whether an event furthers or hinders a goal and whether an event can be coped w

Does it further or hinder my goals? Can I deal with it or do something about it? Did someone do it on purpose? Different emotions come from different answers to these appraisal questions.

Question 47

Surprise

Answer 47

An emotion rooted in expectancy violation that orients people toward the unexpected event

Question 48

Interest

Answer 48

An emotion associated w curiosity/intrigue; interest motivates engaging w new things and learning more abt them; one of the earliest emotions to develop and a resource for intrinsically motivated learning across the life span

Question 49

Intrinsically motivated

Answer 49

Learning that is “for its own sake” - such as learning motivated by curiosity and wonder - instead of learning to gain rewards or social approval

Question 50

Coping Potential

Answer 50

People’s beliefs abt their ability to handle challenges

Question 51

Trait curiosity

Answer 51

Stable individual differences in how easily and how often people become curious

Question 52

Openness to experience

Answer 52

One of the five major factors of personality, this trait is associated w higher curiosity, creativity, emotional breadth, and open-mindedness; people high in openness to experience are more likely to experience interest and awe

Question 53

Confusion

Answer 53

Emotion associated w conflicting and contrary info, such as when people appraise an event as unfamiliar/hard to understand; confusion motivates people to work through perplexing info and thus fosters deep learning

Question 54

Impasse Driven Learning

Answer 54

an approach to instruction that motivates active learning by having learners work through perplexing barriers

Question 55

Awe

Answer 55

A state of fascination and wonder; deepest and probably least common of knowledge emotions

Motivates people to engage w something outside the ordinary; science inspires wonder

Question 56

Accommodation

Answer 56

Changing one’s beliefs abt the world and how it works in light of a new experience

Question 57

Chills

Answer 57

a feeling of goosebumps, usually on the arms, scalp, and neck, that is often experienced during moments of awe