Psy 201 Exam 2

learning

relatively permanent change in behavior due to experience

response

any identifiable behavior (internal and observable)

internal response

faster heartbeat

observable response

eating and scratching

reinforcement

Any event that increases the
probability that a response will recur

antecedents

events that precede a response

consequences

events that follow a response

Classical (Pavlovian) conditioning

A neutral object comes to elicit a response when it is associated with a stimulus that already produces that response

Ivan Pavlov

Russian physiologist who studied digestion

acquistion

the gradual formation of an association between the CS and the US

Unconditioned stimulus (US)

a stimulus innately capable of eliciting a response

Unconditioned response (UR)

an innate reflex response elicited by an unconditioned stimulus

Neutral stimulus (NS)

a stimulus that does not evoke the unconditioned response

Conditioned stimulus (CS)

a stimulus that evokes a response because it has been repeatedly paired with an unconditioned stimulus

Conditioned response (CR)

a learned response elicited by a conditioned stimulus

When is the CR stronger?

when there is a brief delay between the CS and the US

Stimulus generalization

a tendency to respond to stimuli that are similar, but not identical to a conditioned stimulus

Stimulus discrimination

the learned ability to respond differently to similar stimuli

Spontaneous recovery

a previously extinguished response reemerges after the presentation of the CS

Conditioned emotional responses

learned emotional reaction to a previously neutral stimulus (learned fears and phobias)

amygdala

becomes more active during conditioned emotional response and produces feelings of fear

Systematic desensitization

Exposes phobic people gradually to feared stimuli while they stay calm and relaxed (therapy for CER’s)

Vicarious classical conditioning

Learning to respond emotionally to a stimulus by observing another’s emotional reactions

Operant conditioning

learning based on consequences of responding

Law of effect (Thorndike)

the probability of a response is altered by the effect it has (responses that lead to desired effects are repeated)

operant reinforcer 

any event that follows a response and increases the likelihood of recurring

contingent reinforcement

reinforcement given only when a particular response occurs

What are the components of operant conditioning?

antecedent, behavior, and consequence

What is the three term contingency?

discriminative stimulus, response, reinforcer (S^D) (R) (S^R+)

How long is it best to reinforce a behavior

ideally less than 50 seconds

Superstitious behavior

behavior that is repeated to produce reinforcement even though reinforcement didn’t produce the behavior

Shaping

modeling responses gradually in a step by step fashion to a desired pattern

How do we shape behavior?

successive approximations (reinforce behaviors that are closer to the desired behavior)

Operant extinction

when learned responses that aren’t reinforced gradually fade away

Spontaneous recovery

brief return of an operant response after extinction

Reinforcement

the probability the behavior will reoccur in the future

positive reinforcement

when a response is is followed by a stimuli or event (increases the likelihood a response will reoccur

negative reinforcement

when a response is followed by the removal of an aversive event (increases the likelihood a response will reoccur)

Positive in reinforcement means

adding a stimulus

Negative in reinforcement means

removing something aversive

positive punishment

response is followed by an aversive stimulus (decreases likelihood of it reoccuring, ex: spanking)

Negative punishment/ response cost

removal of a reinforcer or positive state of affairs (ex: timeout)

Primary reinforcers

non learned and natural and satisfies physiological needs (ex: water, sex, temperature)

Secondary reinforcers

learned reinforcer and often gains reinforcing properties by association with a primary reinforcer (ex: money, grades, approval)

Intracranial stimulation (ICS)

natural primary reinforcer that involves direct electrical activation of brains “pleasure centers”

Token reinforcer

tangible secondary reinforcer (ex: money, gold stars)

Token economies

manage and alter behavior through reinforcement or selected responses

Social reinforcer

learned desires for attention and approval

Who theorized about how reinforcers value could be determined?

David Premack

Premack principle

any high frequency response used to reinforce a low frequency response (ex: no ps5 until homework is done)

Partial reinforcement

situation or pattern where reinforcers do not follow every response

Partial reinforcement effect

responses acquired by partial reinforcement are very resistant to extinction

Fixed ratio schedule (FR)

high rates of responding

Variable Ratio Schedule (VR)

Varied number of correct responses must be made to get a reinforcer (highest rates of responding - high resistance to extinction)

Fixed Interval Schedule (FI)

moderate rates of responding

Variable Interval Schedule (VI)

Reinforcement is given for the first correct response made after a varied amount of time (steady rates of responding - high resistance to extinction

Stimulus control

Stimuli that consistently precede a rewarded
response tend to influence when and where the response will occur

Discriminative Stimuli

Stimuli that precede reinforced and non reinforced responses

Operant Stimulus Generalization

Tendency to respond to stimuli similar to those that preceded operant reinforcement

Operant Stimulus Discrimination

occurs when one learns to differentiate between discriminative stimuli that signal either a reward or a nonreward

Punisher

any consequence that reduces the frequency of a targeted behavior (important to have timing, consistency, and intensity)

Severe Punishment

Intense punishment, capable of suppressing a response for a long period

Mild punishment

weak punishment, usually slows responses temporarily 

Punishment encourages…?

escape learning and avoidance learning

Cognitive learning

learning involves thinking, knowing, understanding, and anticipating

Latent learning

occurs without obvious reinforcement (not demonstrated until reinforcement is provided)

Rote learning

takes place mechanically, through repetition and memorization or by learning a new set of rules

Albert Bandura types of learning?

modeling or observational

What two ways does modeling and observational learning occur?

by watching and imitating actions of another person (model) and by noting consequences of a persons actions

Model

someone who serves as an example in observational learning

Steps to model successfully…?

pay attention to model and remember what was done, reproduce modeled behavior, If a model is successful or his/her behavior is
rewarded, behavior more likely to recur, once response is tried, what must happen?

What 2 ways does positive reinforcement work?

provides the subjective experiments of pleasure and increases wanting the objector event that produced the reward

What is the neurotransmitter dopamine activity (DA) involved in?

behavior and plays an important role in reinforcement 

Secondary reinforcers

they at first fail to trigger DA release, but do after pairing with a primary reinforcer

3 stages of memory

encoding, storage, retrieval

memory

active system that stores, organizes, alters, and recovers information

sensory memory

first stage of memory, stores exact copy of incoming information

iconic memory

fleeting visual or mental images that last a ½ second

echoic memory

Brief continuation of the sound in the auditory system and lasts about 2 seconds

Short term memory

Receives portion of information from sensory memory through the selective attention filter (holds small amounts of information briefly)

Information

can be coded as images or phonetically (based on sound)

• it is lost unless it is rehearsed

• very sensitive to interruption

Working memory

another name for STM. Like a mental scratchpad used for thinking and problem solving

Digit span

test of attention and STM. String of numbers is recalled forward or backward

Magic Number 7 +- 2

STM is limited to holding seven +-2 bits of information at once

Bits of information

meaningful units of information

Chunking

process of grouping bits of information into larger units (ex: phone numbers)

maintenance rehearsal

repeating information silently to prolong its presence in STM

Elaborative rehearsal

links new information with existing memories and knowledge in LTM

Long term memory

storing information relatively permanently

constructive processing

Process of reorganizing or updating long-term memories

Pseudo-Memory

False memories that a person believes are true or accurate

Who did the Disney World Study?

Elizabeth Loftus

How is information in the LTM arranged?

according to rules, images, categories, symbols, similarity, formal meaning, or personal meaning

Memory structure

pattern of associations among items of information

Declarative memory

LTM section that contains factual information (expressed as words and symbols)

Redintegrative memory

Memories that are reconstructed or expanded by starting with one memory and then following chains of association to related memories

Procedural memory

long term memories of conditioned responses and learned skills (“know how”, ex: driving)

What are the two divisions of declarative memory?

Semantic memory and episodic memory

Semantic memory

impersonal facts and everyday knowledge, generally immune to forgetting

episodic memory

personal experiences linked with specific times and places (“autobiographical memory,” allows us to re-experience events