Unit3.5H!Key Concepts in Learning and Conditioning

Habituation

Becoming accustomed to a stimulus

Dishabituation

A change in stimuli causes you to notice it again. Also occurs when the stimulus is removed and then represented.

Nonassociative learning

The organism is repeatedly exposed to one type of stimulus. This includes habituation and sensitization.

Sensitization

A stimulus that increasingly becomes visible mainly due to its repetition.

Desensitization

Decreased responsiveness to a stimulus after repeated exposure.

Desensitization therapy

A behavioral treatment that uses exposure therapy to reduce anxiety and phobias.

Systematic desensitization

A behavioral therapy technique used to treat phobias and anxiety disorders by gradually exposing individuals to feared stimuli while they are in a relaxed state.

Classical Conditioning or Pavlovian Conditioning

Ex: If you shine a light at a fish tank, the fish will ignore it. But if you start putting food in the tank, they will typically swim to the top. If you shine light in the tank before putting the food in, the fish will begin to learn about the light, and now every time the light is shown, the fish will swim to the top.

Conditioned Stimulus

Initially neutral stimulus that is now trained, Ex, the light.

Unconditioned Stimulus

Initially meaningful Stimulus. Ex: The food.

Unconditioned response

Response that isn't trained. Ex: Swimming to the food.

Conditioned response

Response after CS, Ex, swimming to the top of the tank after seeing the light.

Generalization

Not being able to distinguish between different stimuli.

Discrimination

Opposite of generalization, in which you can distinguish the difference between other stimuli.

Acquisition

The initial phase of learning or conditioning where a new behavior, skill, or association is established.

Extinction

Elimination of the conditioned response, which may happen when you present the CS without the UCS.

Spontaneous recovery

The original response disappears on its own, but then is elicited again by the previous CS at a later time.

Second-order conditioning

Learning where a new thing gets linked to something you've already learned to respond to.

Contiguity approach

Learning happens because two things happen close together in time.

Contingency approach

Learning happens when one thing predicts another. Example: A dog only salivates to a bell if the bell consistently predicts food. If the bell rings randomly without food, the dog doesn't learn the association.

Conditioned taste aversion

A phenomenon in which conditioned taste aversions develop after a specific food becomes associated with a negative reaction, such as nausea or vomiting.

Law of effect

Behavior is more likely to recur if reinforced.

Shaping

A method used in operant conditioning where a complex behavior is learned by reinforcing successive approximations (differential reinforcement) of the target behavior.

Primary reinforcers

Natural reinforcers such as food, water, etc. You don't have to learn to like it.

Secondary reinforcers

Learned from primary reinforcement. Ex: Money.

Omnison training

Decreases the frequency of behavior by withholding the reward until the desired behavior is demonstrated.

Instinctive Drift

The phenomenon where an animal's learned behavior is gradually replaced or interfered with by its innate, instinctual behaviors.

Learned helplessness

Effort consistently fails to bring rewards, so you inevitably give up.

Escape Learning

Learning to perform a behavior to terminate an ongoing, unpleasant stimulus. Example: A student fakes being sick to leave a boring class.

Avoidance Learning

Learning to perform a behavior to prevent an unpleasant stimulus from occurring. Example: A student studies hard to avoid getting a bad grade.

Schedule of reinforcement

Frequency with which an organism receives reinforcement for a given type or response.

Fixed-Ratio (FR)

Reward is given after a set number of responses (e.g., every 5th action). Learning: Fast, Extinction: Fast.

Variable-Ratio (VR)

Reward is given after an unpredictable number of responses. Learning: Fast, Extinction: Very slow. (Example: Gambling - you never know when the payout will happen.)

Fixed-Interval (FI)

Reward is given after a set amount of time (e.g., every 10 minutes). Learning: Slower, Extinction: Faster.

Variable-Interval (VI)

Reward is given after a random amount of time (e.g., every few minutes, but varies). Learning: Steady, Extinction: Slow.

Continuous reinforcement schedule

Every right response results in a reward. Causes rapid learning but also rapid extinction.

Behavior modification

Using a combination of reinforcement and punishment to alter behavior.

Token economy

A behavioral modification system where individuals earn tokens for demonstrating desired behaviors, and those tokens can later be exchanged for desired rewards or privileges.