Week 6 Flashcards
Three basic forms of learning
- Classical conditioning
- Operant conditioning
- Observational learning
Reflexes
A mortal or neural reaction to a specific stimulus in the environment; simpler than instincts, involve activity of specific body parts and systems, involve more primitive centers of the central nervous system.
Instincts
Innate behaviors triggered by a broader range of events such as aging and the change of seasons, more complex patterns of behavior: movement of the organism as a whole and involve higher brain centers
What do both reflexes and instincts help an organism with
They help an organism adapt to its environment and do not have to be learned
What do learned behaviors involve
They involve change and experience
What is learning
It is a relatively permanent change in behavior knowledge that results from an experience
What does learning involve
Acquiring knowledge and skills through experience, involving a complex interaction of conscious and unconscious processes
Associative learning
This occurs when an organism makes connections between stimuli or events that occur together in the environment
What type of learning is Central to all three basic learning processes
Associative learning
Classical conditioning tends to involve what processes?
Unconscious process
Operant conditioning tends to involve what processes?
Conscious processes
Observational learning adds __________ and ___________ layers to all the _______ ____________ processes.
Observational learning adds social and cognitive layers to all the basic associative processes (both conscious and unconscious).
What is classical conditioning also known as
Pavlovian conditioning
What is classical conditioning
Organisms learn to associate events or stimuli that repeatedly happen together
Operant conditioning
The condition in which an organism learns again to associate events a behavior and its consequences (reinforcement or punishment).
Pleasant consequences versus punishment
A pleasant consequence encourages more of a certain behavior in the future whereas a punishment deters the behavior
Observational learning extends the effect of range of both _________ and ___________ conditioning.
Classical and operant conditioning
Observational learning
The process of watching others and then imitating what they do
What type of learning largely occurs among humans and animals
Observational learning
In operant conditioning a response is associated with a ___________
Consequence
Who is best known for his extensive research on dogs and his experiments in classical conditioning
Russian scientist Ivan Pavlov
Classical conditioning
A process in which we learn to associate stimuli and consequently to anticipate events
What experiment did Pavlov establish with dogs
He designed a series of carefully controlled experiments to see which stimuli would cause a dog to salivate
What did Pavlov realize through his experiments about organisms and their responses to its environment
They have two types of responses who it’s environment:
- Unconditioned (unlearned) responses or reflexes
- Conditioned (learned) responses
What is a higher order conditioning
- Also known as a second order conditioning
2. This is when you pair a new neutral stimulus with the condition stimulus
In classical conditioning what is the initial period of learning known as
Acquisition
Acquisition
When an organism learns to connect a neutral stimulus and then unconditioned stimulus
What happens during acquisition
The neutral stimulus begins to elicit the conditioned response, eventually the neutral stimulus becomes a conditioned stimulus capable of eliciting the conditioned response
What is extinction
The decrease in the conditioned response when the unconditioned stimulus is no longer presented with the conditioned stimulus
Spontaneous recovery
The return of a previously extinguished conditioned response following a rest period
What do acquisition and extinction involve
The strengthening and weakening, respectively, of a learned association
Which two learning processes are involved in distinguishing which stimuli will trigger the learned association
Stimulus discrimination and stimulus generalization
Stimulus discrimination
When an organism learns to respond differently to various stimuli that are similar
Stimulus generalization
When an organism demonstrates the conditioned response to stimuli that are similar to the condition stimulus, the opposite of stimulus discrimination
Classical conditioning can lead to _____________
Habituation
Habituation
This occurs when we learn not to respond to a stimulus that is presented repeatedly without change. As the stimulus occurs over and over we learn not to focus our attention on it
Who is the founder of behaviorism
John B. Watson
What is behaviorism
A school of thought that arose during the first part of the 20th century, it incorporates elements of Pavlov’s classical conditioning, we’re behavior can be studied as a simple stimulus response reaction, without regard for internal processes
What did John B Watson argue
That in order for psychology to become a legitimate science it must shift its concern away from the mental processes that cannot be seen or measured and instead focus on outward observable behavior that can be measured
According to Watson human behavior is primarily the result of ____________ ________.
Conditioned response in regard to human emotions
What did Watson prove in his experiment of conditioning with little Albert
He proved that emotions could become conditioned responses, he conditioned little Albert to fear all furry things, countering Freud’s view that phobias are caused by deep hidden conflicts in the mind
Operant conditioning
Organisms learn to associate a behavior and its consequences
In operant conditioning a pleasant consequence makes the behavior more likely to
Be repeated in the future
What is the conditioning approach for operant conditioning
The target behavior is followed by reinforcement or punishment either strengthen or weaken it so that the learner is more likely to exhibit the desired behavior in the future
What is the conditioning approach for classical conditioning
An unconditioned stimulus is paired with the neutral stimulus then the neutral stimulus eventually becomes a condition stimulus which brings about the conditioned response
What is the stimulus timing for classical conditioning
The stimulus occurs immediately before the response
What is the stimulus timing for the operant conditioning
The stimulus either reinforcement or punishment occurs soon after the response
What did psychologist B.F. Skinner believe about learning
He believed that learning is a result of consequences and is based on the law of effect
Law of effect
Behaviors that are followed by consequences that are satisfying to the organism are more likely to be repeated and behaviors that are followed by unpleasant consequences are less likely to be repeated
Who first proposed the law of effect
Psychologist Edward Thorndike
What does positive and negative mean in operant conditioning
Positive means you are adding something and negative means you are taking something away
What does reinforcement mean in operant conditioning
It means you are increasing a behavior
What does punishment mean in operant conditioning
It means you are decreasing a behavior
What part of Operant conditioning can be positive and negative
Reinforcement and punishment can both be either positive or negative
All reinforcers ____________ the likelihood of a behavioral response
Increase
Alll punishers ___________ the likelihood of a behavioral response
Decrease
What is positive reinforcement
Something is added to increase the likelihood of a behavior
What is negative reinforcement
Something is removed to increase the likelihood of a behavior
What is positive punishment
Something is added to decrease the likelihood of a behavior
What is negative punishment
Something is removed to decrease the likelihood of a behavior
What is the most effective way to teach a person or animal a new behavior and operant conditioning
In positive reinforcement where a desirable stimulus is added to increase behavior
What occurs in negative reinforcement
An undesirable stimulus is removed to increase a behavior
Is negative reinforcement the same as punishment in operant conditioning
No the two are very different mechanisms, reinforcement always increases a behavior regardless of it being negative while punishment always decreases a behavior
What occurs in positive punishment
An undesirable stimulus is added to decrease a behavior
What occurs in negative punishment
You remove an aversive stimulus to decrease behavior
What is shaping
This is when we reward successive approximations of a target behavior, this is used instead of rewarding only with a target behavior
Why is shaping needed
Because it is extremely unlikely that an organism will display anything but the simplest of behaviors spontaneously, in shaping behaviors are broken down into many small achievable steps
What are the specific steps used in the shaping process
- Reinforce any response that resembles the desired behavior
- Then reinforce the response that more closely resembles the desired behavior, no longer having to reinforce the previously reinforced response
- Begin to reinforce the response that even more closely resembles the desired behavior
- Continue to be enforce closer and closer approximations of the desired behavior
- Only reinforce the desired behavior
When is shaping most often used
In teaching a complex behavior or chain of behaviors
What is an important part of shaping
Stimulus discrimination
Primary reinforcer
Are reinforcers that have innate reinforcing qualities, these kinds of reinforcers are not learned.
What are some examples of primary reinforcers
Water, food, sleep, shelter, sex, touch
What qualities do some primary reinforcers share
They provide pleasure or/and a physical need
Second reinforcer
These reinforcers have no inherent value and only has reinforcing qualities when linked with a primary reinforcer
What are some examples of secondary reinforcers
Praise: link to affection, money: to satisfy basic needs & only when I can be used for something, tokens that can be traded in for rewards and prizes
What has been found to be very effective at modifying behavior in a variety of setting such as schools prisons and mental hospitals
Token economies
Continuous reinforcement
Each time a organism displays a specific behavior it receives a reinforcer
What is the quickest way to teach someone a behavior especially if training a new behavior
Continuous reinforcement
How will you be most effective with continuous reinforcement
If you present the reinforcer immediately after the desired behavior is exhibited and they can make an association between the target behavior and the consequence
What is partial reinforcement
- This is also referred to as intermittent reinforcement
- this is when the person or animal does not get reinforced every time they perform the desired behavior
How are partial reinforcement schedules described
They are either fixed or variable and as either interval or ratio
Fixed
This refers to the number of responses between reinforcements or the amount of time between reinforcements which is set and unchanging
Variable
This refers to the number of responses or amount of time between reinforcements which varies or changes
Interval
Means the schedule is based on the time between reinforcements
Ratio
Means the schedule is based on the number of responses between reinforcements
Describe a fixed interval
Reinforcement is delivered at predictable time intervals such as after 5, 10, 15, 20 minutes
Describe variable interval
Reinforcement is delivered at unpredictable time intervals such as after 5, 7, 10, and 20 minutes
What is the result of a fixed interval
Moderate response rate with significant pauses after reinforcement
What is the result of a variable interval
Moderate yet steady response rate
Describe a fixed ratio
Reinforcement is delivered after a predictable number of responses such as after 2, 4, 6, and 8 responses
What is the results of a fixed ratio
High response rate with pauses after reinforcement
Describe a variable ratio
Reinforcement is delivered after an unpredictable number of responses such as after 1,4,5, and 9 responses
What is the result of a variable ratio
High and steady response rate
A fixed interval reinforcement schedule is when behavior is rewarded after
A set amount of time
With a variable interval reinforcement schedule the person or animal gets the reinforcement based on
Varying amounts of time, which are unpredictable
With a fixed ratio reinforcement schedule there are a _________ number of responses that must occur before the behaviors rewarded
Set
What are fixed ratios better suited for
To optimize the quantity of output
What is a fixed interval better suited for
In which the reward is not quantity based and can lead to a higher quality of output
What are the number of responses needed for reward in a variable ratio reinforcement schedule
The number of responses varies
Which is the most powerful partial reinforcement schedule
Variable ratio reinforcement
What is a good example of a partial reinforcement with a variable ratio schedule
Gambling, because you can add money to a slot machine with no reward and after a while get a big reward. Because of this you continue playing but then may end up losing more than you won. But then you keep playing because you don’t know when the next reinforcement is coming
Which addictive hobby is so resistant to Extinction, Explain.
Gambling, usually extinction of a reinforced behavior occurs at some point after reinforcement stops and the speed at which this happens depends on the reinforcement schedule. In a variable ratio schedule the point of Extinction comes very slowly
Which reinforcement schedule is the most productive and the most resistant to Extinction
Variable ratio
Among the reinforcement schedules which is the least productive and the easiest to extinguish
Fixed interval
Cognitive map
A mental picture of the layout of a maze
Latent learning
Learning that occurs but is not observable in behavior until there is a reason to demonstrate it
What is an example of an experiment involving latent learning
Edward C.Tolman’s experiment with hungry rats in a maze. He used 2 groups of mice. 1 that were rewarded with food at the end of the maze and other rats that had to explore the maze with no food. After 10 sessions in the maze without reinforcement, food was placed in a goal box at the end of the maze. As soon as the rats became aware, they were able to find their way through the maze, just as quickly as the comparison group which had been rewarded with food all along.
Does Leyden learning occur in humans as well
Children may learn by watching the actions of their parents but only demonstrate it at a later date
In Observational learning, we learn by
we learn by watching others and then imitating or modeling what they do or say
What do you call the individuals performing the imitated behavior in observational learning
Models
What kind of neuron does imitative learning involve
Mirror neuron
What is social learning theory
A brand of behaviorism which takes cognitive processes into account, internal mental states must also have a role in learning and observational learning involves much more than imitation
What are some ways that observational learning can occur
- You learn a new response
- You choose whether or not to imitate the model depending on what you saw happen to the model
- You learn a general rule that you can apply to other situations.
What are the three kinds of models identified in observational learning
Live, verbal, and symbolic
What does a live model demonstrate
A behavior in person
What does a verbal model demonstrate
This is an instructional model that does not perform the behavior but instead explains or describes the behavior
How does a symbolic model demonstrate a behavior
A symbolic model can be fictional characters or real people who demonstrate behaviors in books, movies, television, shows, video games, or Internet sources
What kind of learning and modeling is used in the world of marketing and advertising
Latent learning and modeling
What specific steps in the process of modeling must be followed if learning is to be successful
Attention, retention, reproduction, and motivation
In the process of modeling what must one do in the step of attention
You have to pay attention
For retention what must one due
You must be able to retain the information you observed
For reproduction what must one do
Be able to perform the behavior that you observed and committed to memory
For motivation what must one do
You need to want to copy the behavior and whether or not you are motivated depends on what happened to the model
Vicarious reinforcement
This is when you are more motivated to copy a model because you saw that the model was reinforced for their behavior
What is vicarious punishment
This is when you would be less motivated to copy the model based on your observation of the model being punished
What kind of effects can one have by watching vicarious reinforcement and punishment
Prosocial and antisocial effects
Prosocial models
AKA, positive models, can be used to encourage socially acceptable behavior
Antisocial models
Models that show antisocial behavior such as aggressive or violent behavior
Hendonism
Learning is motivated by two things seeking pleasure and avoiding pain
Over time you will maximize the behaviors that bring ____________ and minimize the behaviors that bring _____
Pleasure
Pain
What are the 2 types of associative learning
- Operant conditioning
2. Classical conditioning
