psych of learning

Part 1 draft

Procedural learning

Learning skills or habits through practice; usually unconscious.

Example of procedural learning

Learning to ride a bike.

Primary rules of association

Contiguity, Similarity, Contrast; most prominent is Contiguity.

Contiguity (rule of association)

Events close in time are associated.

Similarity (rule of association)

Things alike are associated.

Contrast (rule of association)

Things opposite are associated.

Exploring conditions of information acquisition

By systematically manipulating stimuli, context, and timing during learning.

Why is learning defined in terms of behavior mechanisms?

Because behavior change could result from factors other than learning; mechanisms show the internal process responsible for lasting change.

Hermann Ebbinghaus’ research

Studied memory using nonsense syllables, testing how quickly material is learned and forgotten, producing the forgetting curve.

Who proposed the concept of hedonism?

Thomas Hobbes.

Forms of elicited behavior

Reflexes (automatic responses) and Modal Action Patterns (species-typical sequences).

Pathway of the neural signal in a reflex arc

Stimulus → Sensory neuron → Interneuron (spinal cord) → Motor neuron → Response.

Modal Action Pattern (description)

Innate, species-specific sequence of behavior triggered by a stimulus.

Example of a modal action pattern

Courtship dance in birds.

Appetitive behaviors

Goal-oriented, preparatory behaviors such as foraging for food in animals and cooking food in humans.

Why are elicited behaviors interesting to researchers?

They show how behavior changes through habituation, sensitization, and conditioning, revealing basic learning processes.

Habituation (definition)

A decrease in response to a repeated, harmless stimulus.

Example of habituation

Stop noticing a clock ticking after a while.

Pavlov’s classical conditioning focus

An extension of his work on digestive reflexes (salivation in dogs).

Object learning (definition)

Learning associations between two stimuli.

Example of object learning

A dog learns that a bell predicts food.

Conditioned suppression (definition)

When a conditioned stimulus suppresses ongoing behavior.

Example of conditioned suppression

A rat stops pressing a lever for food when a tone previously paired with shock is played.

Trace conditioning (definition)

CS ends before US begins.

Example of trace conditioning

Tone plays, ends, then food is delivered.

Simultaneous conditioning (definition)

CS and US occur at the same time.

Example of simultaneous conditioning

Tone and food presented together.

Latent-inhibition effect (definition)

Pre-exposure to a neutral stimulus slows later conditioning with it.

Example of latent-inhibition effect

Dog hears tone many times with no food; later learns tone-food pairing slower.

Effects of increasing CS or US intensity

Increases conditioning strength, speed, and resistance to extinction.

Higher-order conditioning (definition)

A CS becomes associated with a new neutral stimulus.

Example of higher-order conditioning

Bell → food. Later, light → bell → food; light becomes a CS.

Role of the US in determining the CR

The US determines the form of the conditioned response (CR).

S-S learning (definition)

CS evokes a mental representation of US.

Example of S-S learning

Bell makes dog think of food → salivation.

S-R learning (definition)

CS directly triggers the response.

Example of S-R learning

Bell directly triggers salivation without thinking of food.

Determining S-S vs S-R learning

Devalue the US; CR decrease suggests S-S learning, while CR continuation suggests S-R learning.

Thorndike's puzzle boxes interpretation

Faster escapes showed trial-and-error learning; Law of Effect (responses followed by satisfaction are strengthened).

Associative value when two stimuli are presented together

Does not double; total strength is shared/limited (blocking/overshadowing effects).

Stimulus substitution model emphasis

CS becomes a substitute for the US and elicits the same type of response.