WK 10 - LEARNING

Question 1

Learning

Answer 1

A relatively durable change in behaviour or knowledge due to experience

Question 2

Conditioning

Answer 2

The process of learning associations > can learn through observation/social learning

Question 3

School of thought in psychology

Answer 3

Psychology has various schools of though > much of what we know about learning was the result of the behaviourists

Question 4

Importance of learning

Answer 4

Helps us to expect and prepare for what is to come (evolutionary advantage), repeat actions leading to reward and avoiding actions leading to undesired outcomes. Can also learn by observing others around us or even by reading or verbal instruction without ever seeing something

Question 5

Associative learning

Answer 5

Learning to associate two events > classical conditioning (via classical conditioning we learn to associate two stimuli)

Question 6

Acquisition

Answer 6

Important to look at timing, conditioned response usually only acquired if NS precedes the US. Biologically adaptive, can also acquire second-order conditioning > this response is usually not as strong as the original

Question 7

Pavlov: classical conditioning

Answer 7

Began studying digestion in dogs > dogs would not only salivate when they receive food but also when they saw the bowl, person who brought the food, etc

Question 8

Extinction

Answer 8

What happens if we keep presenting the CS (initially neutral stimuli) on its own > extinction

Question 9

Behaviour change programs

Answer 9

1) Stimulus control > involves reduction or removal of cues that prompt undesirable behaviours, introduction or amplification of cues that prompt desirable behaviours (e.g. may use stimulus control to assist with sleep problems)
2) Exposure therapy > expose people (by imagination or actual situations) to the things they fear and avoid

Question 10

Classical conditioning

Answer 10

Learning associations between events we don’t control

Question 11

Operant conditioning

Answer 11

Operating our environment and what happens in response to our behaviour

Question 12

Operant conditioning: Skinner

Answer 12

Actions followed by reinforcers > increase and actions followed by punishment > decrease. The infamous skinner box > what is reinforcing will depend on the species and also individual differences within species. Reinforcers can be positive or negative but they always serve to increase/decrease a behavioural response > positive means get something, whereas negative means something taken away

Question 13

Positive reinforcement

Answer 13

Add a desirable stimulus (getting a hug - watching tv)

Question 14

Negative reinforcement

Answer 14

Remove an aversive stimulus (e.g. fastening a seatbelt to turn off beeping)

Question 15

Reinforcement: positive/negative

Answer 15

Reinforcers can be primary or secondary > primary reinforcers are usually inherently reinforcing. But we can also be reinforced by things known as secondary reinforcers. To influence the strength of a behavioural response the reward should occur almost instantaneously > people have the capacity however to delay gratification and to work hard for future reward

Question 16

Reinforcement: behaviour

Answer 16

In continuous reinforcement, every time the desired behaviour occurs a reward is given, but in this case extinction will occur quickly > behaviour with intermittent reinforcement less prone to extinction (use extended periods before being rewarded again)

Question 17

Intermittent reinforcement

Answer 17

Using extended periods before being rewarded again > there are four types of intermittent schedules

Question 18

Fixed ratio (FR)

Answer 18

Reinforcer given after a set number of non-reinforced responses (e.g. sales person receives bonus for every fourth item sold, coffee reward cards), produces rapid response, low resistance to extinction

Question 19

Variable ratio (VR)

Answer 19

Reinforcement is given after a variable number of non-reinforced responses (slot machines, lucky winner), produces rapid response highly resistant to extinction

Question 20

Fixed interval (FI)

Answer 20

Reinforcer given for first response after a fixed interval has elapsed, produces moderate response, low resistance to extinction

Question 21

Variable interval (VI)

Answer 21

Reinforcer given the first time a behaviour occurs after a variable interval has elapsed (dialling to get through to a competition), lower response, high resistance to extinction

Question 22

Reinforcement schedules

Answer 22

1) Interval > dependent on time
2) Ratio > dependent on behaviour
3) Fixed > rewarded for a set amount of time behaviours
4) Variable > rewarded after varying time or varied number of behaviours

Question 23

Intermittent schedules

Answer 23

Ration schedules typically produce higher responses than interval-based

Question 24

Punishment

Answer 24

An event following the response weakens the tendency to make the response > can be positive or negative (smacking = positive punishment)

Question 25

Positive reinforcement/punishment

Answer 25

Reward to increase likelihood that a desirable behaviour will reoccur > punishing undesirable behaviours (e.g. encouraging breast cancer screening with verbal reinforcement)

Question 26

Displacement/substitution

Answer 26

Reinforcing alternate, desirable behaviours (e.g. reinforcing > and thereby increasing, fruit and vegetable intake can lad to the ‘natural’ displacement of energy-dense foods

Question 27

Biology, cognition and learning

Answer 27

Biological influences, taste aversion particularly strong due to importance for survival. Chemo, nausea, vomiting (classical conditioning). More to learning that just associations > we also think, perceive, remember - associations can in turn influence attitudes. Excessive rewards can reduce intrinsic motivation

Question 28

Observation learning: Bandura

Answer 28

Our behavioural responses are influenced by the observation of others. Modelling refers to the process of observing and imitating a specific behaviour:
1) Can learn by direct experience, without ever performing a behaviour ourselves
2) Especially likely to learn from (or model our behaviour based on) how successful, admirable or like ourselves a person is
3) Key processes: attention, retention, reproduction and motivation
4) Can learn from both aggressive and pro-social models
5) The infamous Bobo-Doll experiment
6) Consequences are important

Question 29

Observational learning: implications

Answer 29

Example of this is TV exposure to violence > there is a positive correlation between exposure to media violence and aggression, but as this is a correlation, is there a third factor > genetic predisposition + high aggressiveness + exposure to media violence

Question 30

Behaviour change

Answer 30

Peer family support > e.g. peers and family members play an important role in facilitating behaviour change cancer screening

Question 31

Application of learning theory

Answer 31

Basic understanding of learning can assist/work in almost any context or workplace, including health care > behaviour change programs are based on learning principles (they may be used professionally or in your personal life)

Question 32

Classical conditioning

Answer 32

1) Unconditioned stimulus (US): something that triggers a naturally occurring response
2) Unconditioned response (UR): is the naturally occurring response that follows the unconditioned stimulus
3) Conditioned stimulus (CS): the neural stimulus that, after being repeatedly presented prior to the unconditioned stimulus, evokes a similar response as the unconditioned stimulus
4) Conditioned response (CR): the acquired response to the former natural stimulus

Question 34

Operant conditioning

Answer 34

1) Positive punishment: adding negative/aversive stimulus to influence behaviour
2) Negative punishment: removing positive/rewarding stimulus to influence behaviour
3) Positive reinforcement: add a desirable stimulus
4) Negative reinforcement: remove an aversive stimulus

Question 35

Operant conditioning

Answer 35

1) Is the behaviour increasing (reinforcement) or decreasing (punishment)?
2) Is something being added to the person’s experience (positive) or being subtracted (negative)?

Question 36

Reinforcement schedules

Answer 36

1) Fixed ratio (FR): reinforcer given after a fixed amount of non-reinforced responses
2) Variable ratio (VR): reinforcer given after a variable amount of non-reinforced responses
3) Fixed interval (FI): reinforce the first response after a fixed time period
4) Variable interval (VI): reinforce the first response after varying time period