psychology chapter 7, learning and conditioning

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learning

learning

the process of acquiring a relatively permanent change in behavior due to experience

conditioning

the process of training or accustoming a person or animal to behave in a certain way or to accept certain circumstances

unconditioned stimulus

classical conditioning term for a stimulus that already elicits a certain response without additional learning (like the dogs salivating to food before learning anything)

unconditioned response

unlearned, natural occurring response to an unconditioned stimulus (the food in the dogs mouth automatically triggers salivation)

classical conditioning

a situation where you make associations with your environment, learn to associate two stimuli and thus anticipate events (see lightning, expect thunder)

extinction

the eventual disappearance of a learned response, which occurs when the conditioned stimulus is no longer paired/reinforced with the unconditioned stimulus

spontaneous recovery

the reappearance of a learned response after its apparent extinction

high-order conditioning

a procedure in which a neutral stimulus becomes a conditioned stimulus through association with an already established conditioned stimulus

stimulus generalization

after conditioning, the tendency to respond to a stimulus that resembles one involved in the original conditioning

stimulus discrimination

learned ability to distinguish between a conditioned stimulus and stimuli that do not signal an unconditioned stimulus

behaviorism

an approach to psychology that emphasizes the study of observable behavior and the role of the environment and prior experience as determinants of behavior

counterconditioning

the process of pairing a conditioned stimulus with a stimulus that elicits a response that is incompatible with an unwanted conditioned response

operant conditioning

using association to change behavior in a situation, behavior operates on the environment, increasing consequences and learning to associate behavior with this consequence

reinforcement

a stimulus or event strengthens or increases the probability of the response that it follows (praise, attention, paycheck)

punshiment

averse event that decreases behavior it follows

primary reinforcer

a stimulus that is inherently reinforcing, typically satisfying a biological need; an example is food

primary punisher

a stimulus that is inherently punishing/learned; an example is an electric shock

secondary reinforcer

a stimulus that has acquired reinforcing properties through association with other punishers

positive reinforcement

increasing behaviors by presenting positive reinforcers, adds a desirable stimulus (reward); as a result, the response becomes stronger or more likely to occur

negative reinforcement

increasing behaviors by stopping or reducing negative stimuli, remove an aversive stimulus (not punishment); as a result, the response becomes stronger or more likely to occur

stimulus generalization

when behavior becomes more probable in the presence of one stimulus or situation as a result of having been reinforced in the presence of another stimulus or situation

stimulus discrimination

the ability to distinguish between one stimulus and similar stimuli

discriminative stimulus

a stimulus that signals when a particular response is likely to be followed by a certain type of consequence (reward)

continuous reinforcement

reinforcing the desired response every time it occurs

intermittent schedule of reinforcement

a reinforcement schedule in which a particular response is sometimes but not always reinforced

shaping

an operant-conditioning procedure in which successive approximations of a desired response are reinforced, cannot be a punishment

successive approximations

a method of shaping operant behavior by reinforcing responses similar to the desired behavior

instinctive drift

during operant learning, the tendency for an organism to revert to instinctive behavior

behavior modification

the application of operant-conditioning techniques to teach new responses or to reduce or eliminate maladaptive or problematic behavior; also called applied behavior analysis

extrinsic reinforcers

reinforcers that are not inherently related to the activity being reinforced

intrinsic reinforcers

reinforcers that are inherently related to the activity being reinforced

latent learning

knowledge that only becomes clear when a person has an incentive to display

social-cognitive theories

theories that emphasize how behavior is learned and maintained through observation and imitation of others, positive consequences, and cognitive processes such as plans, expectations, and beliefs

observational learning

a process in which an individual learns new responses by observing the behavior of another (a model) rather than through direct experience; sometimes called vicarious conditioning

Roger Ebert

why we have film and video game ratings

negative punishment

take something away so a behavior stops

positive punishment

adding something so a behavior stops

Edward Thorndike

known for the "puzzle box" experiment and the learning curve, pioneer of behaviorism

learning curve

the more you do something, you get better over time

B.F. Skinner

created the "superstitious pigeon" experiment, the pigeon pecks constantly for food to be delivered randomly

superstiton

a belief that is not based on reason, has magical properties/thinking

extrinsic motivation

motivation to participate in an activity based on meeting an external goal, for a reward

intrinsic motivation

motivation to participate in an activity without an external goal or reward, something you like (such as a sport)

why punishment fails

not certain, not prompt, not strong enough to deter (harsh), not fair (does not fit the crime or administered inappropriately), recipient response (anxiety, fear, or rage), conveys little attention, may bring desired (negative) attention

guidelines for punishment

avoid physical abuse (use time-outs and loss of privileges instead of hitting), should be consistent, the appropriate behavior should be indicated, remember to reinforce

John Watson

baby albert experiment

Albert Bandura

the rocky/johnny study & the bobo doll study

Leon Festinger

social comparison theory

fixed ratio

reinforcement after fixed number of responses, low resistance to extinction; steady, rapid, responding until reinforcement, then a pause before starting again

variable ratio

reinforcement after a varying (unpredictable) number of responses, high resistance to extinction; continuous, rapid responding with little pause after reinforcement

fixed interval

reinforcement for next response after a fixed time since last reinforcement, low resistance to extinction; initially slow responding, increasing to rapid responding as time for reinforcement approaches; pause after reinforcement

variable interval

reinforcement for next correct response, after a varying (unpredictable) amount of time since last reinforcement, high resistance to extinction; steady, moderate level of responding with little pause after reinforcement

reward

an event that produces a pleasant or positive affective experience