Unit 4

Classical Conditioning

learning the relationship between stimuli and responses (associating neutral stimuli to another stimulus that created involuntary responses)

Unconditioned Stimulus (UCS)

something that elicits a natural response

(food)

Unconditioned Response (UCR)

natural, involuntary response

(salivating)

Conditioned Stimulus (CS)

an originally irrelevant stimulus that comes to trigger a particular behavior

(bell)

Conditioned Response (CR)

the learned response that initially occurred to the unconditioned stimulus and now occurs to the conditioned stimulus

(salivation)

Acquisition

Learning has taken place when the animal/person responds to the conditioned stimulus

Higher Order (aka second order) Conditioning

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

Extinction

the diminishing of an CR if the CS is not presented with the UCS

Spontaneous Recovery

the reappearance of an extinguished conditioned response after a rest period

Generalization

after conditioning, the tendency for a stimulus, similar to the CS, to evoke a similar response

Discrimination

the learned ability to distinguish between CS and another stimulus

Learned Helplessness

the hopelessness and passive resignation an animal or person learns when unable to avoid repeated aversive events

Garcia Effect (Taste Aversions)

once nauseous on particular food then always nauseous - taste aversions

Little Albert Experiment

learning to associate behavior with its consequences (reinforcement or punishment)

Operant Conditioning

learning to associate behavior with its consequences (reinforcement or punishment)

Operant Chamber (aka Skinner Box)

contraption that delivers food to an animal and contains a lever to press in order to get the food. It also contains an electric grid.

Shaping

an operant conditioning procedure in which reinforcers guide behavior closer and closer toward the desired goal.

Successive Approximations (aka Chaining)

Teaching a dog to roll over, then bark and play dead – reward is given after all three are complete

Positive Reinforcement

addition of something positive

Negative Reinforcement

removal of something unpleasant

Primary Reinforcers

those innately satisfying, satisfies a biological need

Conditioned (aka Secondary Reinforcers)

good consequences that must be learned

Continuous Reinforcement

reinforcing desired behavior every time it occurs

• extinction occurs quickly

Partial Reinforcement

reinforcing response only part of the time

• Acquisition is slower; Greater resistance to extinction than continuous reinforcement

Fixed-Ratio

reinforcement respondent only after a specified number of responses (best one)

• Produces a high rate of response

Variable-Ratio

reinforcement respondent after an unpredictable number of responses

• High rate of response, very resistant to extinction; easiest to learn

Fixed-Interval

reinforcing a response after a specified amount of time has elapsed. Responses tend to increase at time for next reinforcer and then drop after reinforcement

Variable-Interval

reinforcing a response after an unpredictable amount of time has elapsed. (worst one - takes long obtain and to be extinct

Positive Punishment

the addition of something unpleasant

Negative Punishment

the removal of something pleasant 

Cognitive Map

mental representation of one’s environment

Latent Learning

(hidden learning) learning that is obvious only once reinforcement is given for demonstrating it.

Tolman Rat Maze Study

Two groups of rats

Group 1 – rewarded each time they completed the maze. Performance improved steadily throughout trials

Group 2 – never received a reward for completing the maze. Performance improved only slightly throughout the trials. When group 2 was given cheese they completed the maze much faster than group 1 had when given cheese. This indicated that group 2 rats had created

Insight Learning

learning to solve a problem by understanding various parts of the problem

Kohler Chimpanzee Study

Wolfgang Kohler studied insight learning in chimpanzees. Kohler placed chimpanzees in certain situations and watched them solve the problems

Ex. Hanging a banana out of the chimpanzee’s reach and suddenly realizing the solution to the problem.

Extrinsic Motivation

people motivated by external rewards

Intrinsic Motivation

motivated by esteem needs/satisfaction

Overjustification Effect

the effect of promising a reward for doing what one already likes to do.

Rescorla’s Contingency Model

Unlike Pavlov, Rescorla believed that thoughts and expectations (cognition) affects our ability to learn

Experiment: Dogs Rocco and Sparky

Rocco- bell, food, bell, food…

Sparky- bell, food, bell, no food, no bell, food (randomized)

Q. Which dog learned best to salivate? A. ROCCO!!!

When two significant events occur close together in time, the animal learns the predictability of the second event.

Rocco and Sparky’s thoughts and expectations influence their learning (cognitive portion to learning)

Obervational Learning (aka Social Learning Theory)

Bandura

Modeling

the process of Observational Learning includes observing and imitating a specific behavior

Experiment: Bobo Doll Experiment

Mirror Neurons

found in the frontal lobe area; Provide a neural basis for observational learning; These neurons fire when a monkey performs a task; they also fire when the monkey observes another monkey perform the task; humans have them too

Bandura’s Bobo Doll Experiment

Children played with an inflatable clown doll after watching an adult playing nicely or violently with the doll. The children’s behavior was observed for violence. Children who watched the adult beat up the doll were much more likely to beat up the doll in the same ways as the adult had to make up their own versions of violent behavior than children who had watched the adult play nicely. Prompted Bandura to develop the social theory of learning (modeling)'; relevant to the debate over the regulation of violent video games/movies