Week 4: Learning Flashcards
Factors Influencing Learning, Conditioning and Learning, Emotions
Perceptual Learning
Occurs when aspects of our perception changes as a function of experience
Implicit Learning
Occurs when we acquire info without intent that we can’t easily express
Implicit Memory
A type of long-term memory that doesn’t require conscious thought to encode; type of memory one makes w/o intent
Nonassociative Learning
Occurs when a single repeated exposure leads to a change in behaviour
Habitualization
Occurs when the response to a stiumuls decreases w exposure
Classical Conditioning
Describes stiumulus - stiumulus associative learning
Operant Conditioning
Response associative learning
Working Memory
Form of memory we use to hold onto info temporarily, usually for the purposes of manipulation
Chunk
Process of grouping info together using our knowledge - experts are able to chunk information together
Encoding
The pact of putting info into memoray
Incidental Learning
Occurs when we acquire info w/o intent that we can’t easily expense - learning w/o the intention to learn
Intentional Learning
Any type of learning that happens when motivated by intention
Metacognition
Describes the knowledge and skills people have in monitoring and controlling their own learning memory
Transfer-appropriate processing
A principle that states that memory performance is superior when a test taps the same cognitive processes as the original encoding activity
Classical Conditioning/Pavlovian
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.
Uncoditioned Stimulus (US)
In classical conditioning, stiumulus that elicts the response before conditioning response
Dog food in Pavlov’s experiment; noises; hot shower
Unconditioned Response (UR)
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
Conditioned Stimulus
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
Conditioned Response
Response that is elicited by the conditioned stimulus after classical conditioning has taken place
Dog drools when it hears the bell
Operant/Instrumental Conditioning
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)
Operant Behaviour
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
Reinforcers
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
Law of Effect
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.
Punishers
A stimulus that decreases the strength of an operant behaviour when it is made a consequence of the behaviour
Taste Aversion Conditioning
Phenomenon in which a taste is paired w sickness, and this causes the organism to reject-and dislike- that taste in the future
Fear Conditioning
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
Conditioned Compensatory Responses
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.”
Preparedness
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
Extinction
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
Spontaneous Recovery
Recovery of ane extinguished response that occurs w passage of time after extinction; can occur after the extinction in either classical/instrumental conditioning
Renewal Effect
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
Context
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
Stimulus Control
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.
Discriminative stimulus
In operant conditioning, a stimulus that signals whether the response will be reinforced; said to “set the occasion” for the operant response
Categorize
To sort or arrange different items into classes/categories
Quantitative Law of Effect
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.
reinforcer devaluation effect
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
Goal Directed
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
Habit
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
Observational Learning
Learning by observing the behaviour of others
- Attention
- Retention
- Initiation
- Motivation
Social Learning Theory
Theory that people can learn new responses and behaviours by observing the behaviour of others
Social Models
Authorities that are the targets for observation and who models behaviours
Vicarious Reinforcement
Learning that occurs by observing the reinforcement or punishment of another person
Knowledge Emotions
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
Functionalist theories of emotion
theories of emotion that emphasize the adaptive role of an emotion in handling common problems throughout evolutionary history
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According to functionalist theories of emotion, emotions help people manage important tasks
Appraisal Theories
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.
Surprise
An emotion rooted in expectancy violation that orients people toward the unexpected event
Interest
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
Intrinsically motivated
Learning that is “for its own sake” - such as learning motivated by curiosity and wonder - instead of learning to gain rewards or social approval
Coping Potential
People’s beliefs abt their ability to handle challenges
Trait curiosity
Stable individual differences in how easily and how often people become curious
Openness to experience
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
Confusion
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
Impasse Driven Learning
an approach to instruction that motivates active learning by having learners work through perplexing barriers
Awe
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
Accommodation
Changing one’s beliefs abt the world and how it works in light of a new experience
Chills
a feeling of goosebumps, usually on the arms, scalp, and neck, that is often experienced during moments of awe
