learning and behaviour urgent

Methodological behaviour

Only observable behaviour should be studied

Neo-behaviourism

behaviour follows lawful, predictable principles

Cognitive behaviourism

organisms mental representations, or cognitive maps, of their environment

social learning

behaviour can be learned through observation

radical behaviourism

behaviour is shaped and maintained by consequences

stimulus substitution theory

cs acts as a substitute for UCS

• Chime + food → UCS

• Chime → salivation

prepatory response theory

purpose of CR is to prepare organism for presentation of UCS

i.e. UCS = reaction, CS = preparation

Compensatory response theory

cs elicits compensatory response to counter effects of UCS

• e.g. heroin use (UCS -> decreased blood pressure (UCR)

• heroin use (UCS) → decreased b.p. (a process) → increased b.p (b process0

• heroin related cues (NS) → increased blood pressure

roscorla wagner theory

UCS can only support so much conditioning

amount of conditioning is limited by how surprising the UCS is

blocking

when CR that has already been paired with CS blocks a new association being made with novel UCS

overshadowing

two CS’s with different salience are presented with UCS, and more salient cue acquires associative strength

• Present CS A (bright light) + CS B (faint tone) → US (food) during conditioning.

• Observation: After training, the response to A is stronger than to B.

thorndike’s law of effect

Behaviours leading to a desired state of affairs are strengthened, whereas those leading to an unsatisfactory state of affairs are weakened

sensory preconditioning

When one stimulus is conditioned as a conditioned stimulus (CS), another stimulus with which it was previously paired can also become a conditioned stimulus (CS).

natural vs contrived rewards

natural is an expected consequence, contrived is designed specifically

drive reduction theory (hull)

biological needs create physiological drives and behaviours are reinforcing if it reduces drive

premack principle

high probability behaviours can reinforce low probability behaviours

response deprivation hypothesis

behaviour can act as a reinforcer if access to the behaviour is restricted and behaviour falls below the preferred level

behavioural bliss point

if given free behavioural access, organism distributes time to maximise reinforcement

side effects of extinction

• extinction burst (initial increase in behaviour following extinction commencement)

• increase in variability

• emotional + aggression

• resurgence

• depression

partial reinforcement effect

the less often a behaviour is reinforced, the harder it is to extinguish

differential reinforcement of zero effect

reinforced if a specified period has elapsed without an occurrence of the behaviour. use to eliminate behaviours

differential reinforcement of incompatible behaviour

rewarded for performing a targeted behaviour which is incompatible with the unwanted behaviour. more effective than extinguishment alone

stimulus control

behaviour that is consistently reinforced in the presence of a particular stimuli

peak shift effect

following discrimination training, generalisation gradient peak shifts from the Sd to stimulus further from the undesired stimulus

• essentially, responding occurs to relative values of stimuli

escape

performance of behaviour terminates exposure to aversive stimulus

avoidance

performance of behaviour prevents exposure to aversive stimulus

two process theory of avoidance

neutral cue becomes associated with fear through classical conditioning then avoidance response is maintained through negative reinforcement (removal of fear)

one factor theory

behaviour is maintained because it reduces exposure to the aversive stimulus, without requiring separate fear association

avoidance conditioning and phobias (stampfl)

rats shocked at dark end of alleway, ran to other side and then brought back by conveyor belt, then ran in opposite direction again

• shows how avoidance is learned quickly

avoidance conditioning and ocd

can be explained by two process theory. compulsion maintained by avoidance of anxiety evoking event

ERP therapy

prevention of avoidance response should extinguish behaviour so erp involves prolonged exposure to anxiety provoking stimulus

two types of negative punishment

• time-out (removal of access to reinforcers)

• response cost (removal of reinforcement of problem behaviour)

conditioned suppression (skinner)

punishment itself does not weaken behaviour, it generates an emotional response that suppresses the desire for ongoing behaviour

avoidance theory of punishment

any behaviour other than the punished behaviour is negatively reinforced by the absence of punishment

premack theory of punishment

lower probability behaviour can be used to punish a high probability behaviour

learned helplessness

after being exposed to non-contingent punishment, organism produces learning decrements and depression-like symptoms. essentially fail to learn avoidance response after exposure to previous inescapable punishment

experimental neurosis

experimentally induced neurotic like symptoms resulting form exposure to unpredictable events

matching law

proportion of responses on a particular schedule matches the proportion of reinforcers obtained on that schedule. can have undermatching or overmatching.

• bias from matching: when one alternative attracts a higher proportion of responses regardless of reinforcement schedule

skinner on self-control

self-control is not willpower, but a conflict between behaviours that lead to different outcomes, e.g. physical restraint, social consequences

temporal self-control

behaviour more strongly influenced by immediate vs delayed consequences

• impulsiveness: choosing SSR over LLR

Ainslie-Rachlin model of self control

preference between SSR/LLR can shift becase reward value increases more steeply as becomes more immediate

temporal discounting

subjective value of some reward loses its magnitude when the given reward is delayed

rudimentary forms of observational learning

contagious behaviour (automatically copied behaviour)

stimulus enhancement (attention drawn to particular object/location)

factors impacting acquisition

• paying attention and consequences

• reinforcement for paying attention

• sufficient skill

• personal characteristics of model

factors impacting performance

• vicarious reinforcement/punishment

• consequences of performance for observer

• own history of consequences for behavioural performance

rule governed behaviour

insensitive to situational contingencies

preparedness and classical conditioning (equipotentiality hypothesis)

any stimulus can be learned to initiate response. but this does not explain how some pairings are learned easier.

instinctive drift

genetically fixed action pattern displaces operant behaviour

adjunctive behaviour

occurs in between periods of reinforcement within a schedule. A byproduct of reinforcement schedules

activity anorexia model

excessive activity and restricted foods can contribute to anorexic behaviour. therefore, treatment should focus both on movement and eating

behaviour systems theory

behaviour organised into motivational systems. each system serves an adaptive function.