3.7-9 Test

process of acquiring through experience new and relatively enduring information or behaviors

learning

one way we learn is by ________

association

learning associations feed into ________ ________

habitual behaviors

key to self-control and academic success

helpful habits

how long it takes to form a helpful habit

66 days

learning that certain events occur together, may be two stimuli or a response and its consequence

associative learning

learning to associate two stimulus so that the first stimulus elicits a behavior in anticipation of the second stimulus

classical conditioning

learn to associate a response and its consequence, behavior more likely if reinforcer, behavior less likely if punisher

operant conditioning

any event or situation that evokes a response

stimulus

behavior that occurs as an automatic response to some stimulus

respondent behavior

behavior that operates on the environment, produces a consequence

operant behavior

acquisition of mental information, whether by observing events, watching others, or through language

cognitive learning

lets us learn from others’ experiences

observational learning

view that psychology (1) should be an objective science that (2) studies behavior without reference to mental processes, most research psychologists today agree with (1) but not (2)

behaviorism

stimulus that elicits no response before conditioning

neutral stimulus (NS)

unlearned, naturally occurring response to an unconditioned stimulus

unconditioned response (UCR)

stimulus that unconditionally, naturally and automatically, triggers an unconditioned response

unconditioned stimulus (UCS)

learned response to a previously neutral (but now conditioned) stimulus

conditioned response (CR)

originally neutral stimulus that, after association with an unconditioned stimulus, comes to trigger a conditioned response

conditioned stimulus (CS)

initial stage, when one links a neutral stimulus and an unconditioned stimulus so the neutral stimulus begins triggering the conditioned response. In operant conditioning, the strengthening of a reinforced response

acquisition

procedure in which the conditioned stimulus in one conditioning experience is paired with a new neutral stimulus, creating a second (often weaker) conditioned stimulus (also called second-order conditioning)

higher-order conditioning

diminishing of a conditioned response when an unconditioned stimulus does not follow a conditioned stimulus, or when a response is no longer reinforced

extinction

reappearance, after a pause, of a weakened conditioned response

spontaneous recovery

tendency, once a response has been conditioned, for stimuli similar to the conditioned stimulus to elicit similar responses, or when learned responses occur in other similar situations

generalization

learned ability to distinguish between a conditioned stimulus and other stimuli or, responses that are reinforced or not reinforced

discrimination

what remains today of Pavlov’s ideas?

learned ability to distinguish between a conditioned stimulus and other stimuli that have not been associated with a conditioned stimulus

why does Pavlov’s work remain important?

classical conditioning is one way that all organisms learn to adapt to their environment, showed that a process such as learning could be studied objectively

3 examples of how Pavlov’s principles influence health and well-being

drug cravings, food cravings, immune response

used a loud noise to create a conditioned response to the sight of a rat and eventually any animal

Watson’s “Little Albert Experiment”

how psychologist Mary Cover Jones used Watson’s experiment

first to extend Watson and Rayner’s results to show conditioning can reduce children’s fear

Pavlov, Watson, and B.F. Skinner believed…

… the basic laws of learning were essentially similar in all animals

through experiments Kimble discovered…

…an animal’s capacity for conditioning is limited by biological constraints

biological predisposition to learn associations that have survival value

preparedness

Even if sickened as late as several hours after tasting a particular novel flavor, the rats thereafter avoided that flavor. Appeared to violate the notion that for conditioning to occur, the UCS must immediately follow the CS. Sickened rats developed aversions to tastes but not to sights or sounds. Contradicted the behaviorists’ idea that any perceivable stimulus could serve as a CS. Made adaptive sense. Taste aversion response can occur with just one bad experience.

Garcia’s findings

single pairing of stimulus and response will be enough to create

one-trial conditioning

Thorndike’s principle that behaviors followed by favorable consequences become more likely, behaviors followed by unfavorable consequences become less likely

law of effect

What did Skinner use Thorndike’s law of effect to form?

behavioral technology that revealed principles of behavior control

chamber containing a bar or key that an animal can manipulate to obtain a food/water reinforcer, attached devices record the rate of use (also called a skinner box)

operant chamber

any event that strengthens the behavior it follows

reinforcement

operant conditioning procedure in which reinforcements guide behavior toward closer approximations of the desired behavior

shaping

reinforce responses that are closer to the final desired behavior, by make rewards contingent on desired behaviors, researchers/trainers gradually shape complex behaviors

rewarding successive approximations

stimulus that elicits a response after association with reinforcement

discriminative stimulus

increase behaviors by presenting a pleasurable stimulus

positive reinforcement

increasing behaviors by stopping or reducing an aversive stimulus (not the same as punishment)

negative reinforcement

innately reinforcing stimulus

primary reinforcers

stimulus that gains its reinforcing power through association with a primary reinforcer

conditioned (secondary) reinforcers

pattern that defines how often a desired response will be reinforced

reinforcement schedule

reinforcing the desired response every time it occurs

continuous reinforcement

reinforcing a response only part of the time, slower acquisition of a response but greater resistance to extinction

partial (intermittent) reinforcement

reinforces a response only after a specified number of responses

fixed-ratio

reinforces a response after an unpredictable number of responses

variable-ratio

reinforces a response only after a specified time has elapsed

fixed-interval

reinforces a response at unpredictable time intervals

variable-interval

event that tends to decrease the behavior it follows

punishment

administer an aversive stimulus

positive punishment

withdraw a rewarding stimulus

negative punishment

behavior is suppressed (not forgotten), doesn’t replace unwanted behavior, teachers discrimination among situations, can teach fear, increase aggression by modeling violence as a way to cope

5 major drawbacks of physical punishment

what was the main criticism of Skinner’s beliefs?

dehumanized people by neglecting personal freedom and seeking to control actions

notice people doing something right and affirm them for it

basic rule of shaping

state goal, decide how to work towards goal, monitor completion, reinforce behavior, gradually reduce rewards

5 steps to changing behavior

biological constraints predispose organisms to learn associations that are naturally adaptive

basic concept of operant conditioning

tendency of learned behavior to gradually revert to biologically predisposed patterns

instinctive drift

what did Watson and Pavlov underestimate the importance of?

preparedness and instinctive drift

Rescorla and Wagner argued that an animal can learn an event’s ________

predictability

awareness of how likely it is for the UCS to occur

expectancy

mental representation of the layout of one’s environment

cognitive map

learning that occurs but is not apparent until there is an incentive to demonstrate it

latent learning

solving problems through sudden insight

insight learning

learning by observing others

observational (social) learning

what was Albert Bandura’s “Bobo the Clown” experiment an example of?

modeling

learning that occurs by observing the consequences of others’ actions

vicarious conditioning

neurons fire when we perform certain actions or observe another doing so, may enable imitation and empathy

mirror neurons

Children from 2 to 5 years old often ________ what they see adults do.

overimitate

positive, constructive, helpful behavior

prosocial behavior

negative, destructive, harmful behavior

antisocial behavior

any stimulus that, when presented after a response, strengthens the response

positive reinforcer

any stimulus that, when removed after a response, strengthens the response

negative reinforcer