Myers' AP Psychology: Unit 6

adaptability

our capacity to learn new behaviors that help us cope with changing circumstances

learning

A relatively permanent change in an organism's behavior due to experience.

habituation

An organism's decreasing response to a stimulus with repeated exposure to it

associative learning

Learning that certain events occur together. The events may be two stimuli (as in classical conditioning) or a response and its consequences (as in operant conditioning).

conditioning

the process of learning associations between environmental events and behavioral responses

pavlov

discovered classical conditioning; trained dogs to salivate at the ringing of a bell

classical conditioning

A type of learning in which one learns to link two or more stimuli and anticipate events

watson

behaviorism; emphasis on external behaviors of people and their reactions on a given situation; famous for Little Albert study in which baby was taught to fear a white rat

behaviorism

The view that psychology (1) should be an objective science that (2) studies behavior without reference to mental processes. Most research psychologists today agree with (1) but not with (2).

unconditioned stimulus

A stimulus that evokes an unconditioned response without previous conditioning

unconditioned response

In classical conditioning, the unlearned, naturally occurring response to the unconditioned stimulus (US), such as salivation when food is in the mouth.

conditioned response

In classical conditioning, the learned response to a previously neutral (but now conditioned) stimulus (CS).

conditioned stimulus

in classical conditioning, an originally irrelevant stimulus that, after association with an unconditioned stimulus, comes to trigger a conditioned response

acquisition

In classical conditioning, the initial stage, when one links a neutral stimulus and an unconditioned stimulus so that the neutral stimulus begins triggering the conditioned response. In operant conditioning, the strengthening of a reinforced response.

high-order conditioning

In which a conditioned stimulus functions as if it were an unconditioned stimulus
Neutral stimuli become conditioned through association

extinction

Disappearance of the conditioned response.

spontaneous recovery

the reappearance, after a pause, of an extinguished conditioned response

generalization

The tendency, once a response has been conditioned, for stimuli similar to the conditioned stimulus to elicit similar responses.

discrimination

In classical conditioning, the learned ability to distinguish between a conditioned stimulus and stimuli that do not signal an unconditioned stimulus.

Rescola and Wagner

According to them, classical conditioning depends on the information the conditioned stimulus provides about the unconditioned stimulus. They concluded that the rats in both groups were actively processing information about the reliability of the signals that they encountered

expectancy theory

The theory that people will be motivated to the extent to which they believe that their efforts will lead to good performance, that good performance will be rewarded, and that they will be offered attractive rewards.

Seligman

learning; Positive Psychology; learned helplessness theory of depression; Studies: Dogs demonstrating learned helplessness

Learned helplessness

The hopelessness and passive resignation an animal or human learns when unable to avoid repeated aversive events.
a cognitive model of depression in which people feel unable to control events in their lives

Garcia

Researched taste aversion. Showed that when rats ate a novel substance before being nauseated by a drug or radiation, they developed a conditioned taste aversion for the substance.
Conducted pioneering research on taste of aversion. He discovered that when rats drank flavored water before becoming nauseated from a drug that produced gastrointestinal distress, they acquired a conditioned taste for the water. .............research supports the evolutionary perspective that being biologically prepared to quickly associate nausea with food and drink is adaptive.

Koelling

Ran experiments with John Garcia on Taste Aversion in species using rates, loud sounds, and bad tasting water.

Little Albert

subject in John Watson's experiment, proved classical conditioning principles, especially the generalization of fear

Respondent behavior

behavior that occurs as an automatic response to some stimulus

operant condition

A type of learning in which behavior is strengthened if followed by a reinforcer or diminished if followed by a punisher.

operant behavior

behavior that operates on the environment, producing consequences

Skinner

1904-1990; Field: behavioral; Contributions: created techniques to manipulate the consequences of an organism's behavior in order to observe the effects of subsequent behavior; Studies:.............box

Thorndike

behaviorism; Law of Effect-relationship between behavior and consequence

Law of effect

Thorndike's principle that behaviors followed by favorable consequences become more likely, and that behaviors followed by unfavorable consequences become less likely. (Myers Psychology 8e p. 327)

Skinner Box

Named for its developer, B.F. Skinner, a box that contains a responding mechanism and a device capable of delivering a consequence to an animal in the box whenever it makes the desired response

shaping

An operant conditioning procedure in which reinforcers guide behavior toward closer and closer approximations of the desired behavior.

successive approximations

the sequence of new response classes that emerge during the shaping process as the result of differential reinforcement; each successive response class is closer in form to the terminal behavior than the response class it replaces

discriminative stimulus

in operant conditioning, a stimulus that elicits a response after association with reinforcement (in contrast to related stimuli not associated with reinforcement)

reinforcer

in operant conditioning, any event that strengthens the behavior it follows

positive reinforcement

Increasing behaviors by presenting positive stimuli, such as food. A.........is any stimulus that, when presented after a response, strengthens the response.

negative reinforcement

Increasing behaviors by stopping or reducing negative stimuli, such as shock. A...............is any stimulus that, when removed after a response, strengthens the response. (Note:............is not punishment.)

primary reinforcers

Events that are inherently reinforcing because they satisfy biological needs

secondary reinforcers

A stimulus that gains power through association with a primary reinforcer

immediate reinforcer

A reinforcer that occurs instantly after a behavior. A rat gets a food pellet for a bar press.

delayed reinforcer

A reinforcer that is delayed in time for a certain behavior. A paycheck that comes at the end of a week.

continuous reinforcement

reinforcing the desired response every time it occurs
When first teaching a new behavior, rewarding the behavior each time is best.

intermittent (/particial) reinforcement

reinforcing a response only part of the time; results in slower acquisition of a response but much greater resistance to extinction than does continuous reinforcement

fixed-ratio schedules

in operant conditioning, a reinforcement schedule that reinforces a response only after a specified number of responses

variable-ratio schedules

in operant conditioning, a reinforcement schedule that reinforces a response after an unpredictable number of responses

fixed-interval schedules

in operant conditioning, a reinforcement schedule that reinforces a response only after a specified time has elapsed

variable-interval schedule

in operant conditioning, a reinforcement schedule that reinforces a response at unpredictable time intervals
in operant conditioning, a reinforcement schedule that reinforces a response at unpredictable time intervals. (Myers Psychology 8e p. 332)

punishment

An event that decreases the behavior that it follows.

positive punishment (/aversive conditioning)

A behavior is followed by the presentation or an aversive stimulus or removal of an appetitive stimulus respectively, decreasing the probability of that behavior.

negative punishment (/omission training)

The act of removing a stimulus (i.e. something the animal wants) in order to decrease occurrences of a behavior. For example, a person turns her back and removes her attention from a dog who is jumping on her.

4 drawbacks of physical punishment

Toleman

Latent learning, learning that becomes obvious only once a reinforcement is given for demonstrating it, rats ran faster through maze after being rewarded

Cognitive map

a mental representation of the layout of one's environment

latent learning

learning that occurs but is not apparent until there is an incentive to demonstrate it
a change in behavior due to experience acquired without conscious effort, for example, a student using a quote in an exam essay that the student had never tried to memorize, though he had encountered it in studying

insight

a sudden and often novel realization of the solution to a problem

intrinsic motivation

a desire to perform a behavior effectively for its own sake

extrinsic motivation

a desire to perform a behavior due to promised rewards or threats of punishment

instinctive drift

Tendency for animals to return to innate behaviors following repeated reinforcement

5 applications of operant conditioning

1. At school. 2. In sports. 3. At work. 3. At home. 5. For self-improvement

comparisons of operant and classical conditioning

biofeedback

a system for electronically recording, amplifying, and feeding back information regarding a subtle physiological state, such as blood pressure or muscle tension

observational (/social) learning

Bandura et al (1963): response measures- 1. Total aggression

modeling

the process of observing and imitating a specific behavior

mirror neurons

Frontal lobe neurons that fire when performing certain actions or when observing another doing so. The brain's mirroring of another's action may enable imitation, language learning, and empathy.

theory of mind

An understanding of mental states such as feelings, desires, beliefs, and intentions and of the causal role they play in human behavior;

Bandura

pioneer in observational learning (AKA social learning), stated that people profit from the mistakes/successes of others; Studies: Bobo Dolls-adults demonstrated 'appropriate' play with dolls, children mimicked play

Prosocial behavior

positive, constructive, helpful behavior. The opposite of antisocial behavior.

antisocial effects

Observational learning can have adverse effect

stimulus

A change in an organism's surroundings that causes the organism to react

response

An action or change in behavior that occurs as a result of a stimulus.

delayed conditioning

classical conditioning procedure in which the conditioned stimulus precedes the unconditioned stimulus and remains present until after the unconditioned stimulus is presented so that the two stimuli occur together *Best

trace conditioning

Presentation of the CS, followed by a short break, followed by presentation of the US. (less effective)

simultaneous conditioning

Conditioning procedure in which the onset of the NS and the onset of the US are simultaneous.

backward conditioning

least effective- occurs when a conditioned stimulus immediately follows an unconditioned stimulus

Premack principle

A principle that states that making the opportunity to engage in a high-probability behavior contingent on the occurrence of a low-frequency behavior will function as reinforcement for the low-frequency behavior.

token economy

an operant conditioning procedure in which people earn a token of some sort for exhibiting a desired behavior and can later exchange the tokens for various privileges or treats
a technique in operant conditioning by which desired behaviors receive forms of currency that can be exchanged for rewards

chaining

using operant conditioning to teach a complex response by linking together less complex skills
in operant conditioning, combining the steps of a sequence to progress toward a final action
Subjects can be taught to preform a number of responses successively in order to get a reward.

overjustification effect

The effect of promising a reward for doing what one already likes to do. The person may now see the reward, rather than intrinsic interest, as the motivation for performing the task.
Decrease in likelihood that an intrinsically motivated task, after having been extrinsically rewarded, will be performed when the reward is no longer given.

...typically the same thing

the ucr and the cr are...

...controlled stimulus

the neutral stimulus becomes the controlled stimulus...

delayed conditioning

the ns is presented 1/2 a second before the ucs

...without...

learning can take place.........being operantly conditioned

intermittent conditioning

lowers the chance for extinction/increases resistance to extinction

shaping is...

...used in chaining

(with) acquisition,...

...you want to present the ns before the ucs. (it always occurs before)

...extinction...

to avoid.........we have to occasionally pair the us and the cs

discrimination...

only the [original] cs will cause the response

classical =

Pavlov and watson(emotions can be classically conditioned)

operant =

Skinner and Thorndike(law of effect - behavior will increase if it's rewarded)

...no cognition...

believed that.........was involved in classical or operant conditioning, that any organism could be trained to do anything; classically conditioned to anything and operantly conditioned to anything.

Rescola is...

...the key guy for cognition. he proved that cognition is involved, that the organism can predict or expect; expectancy theory - the organism can expect that the cs will be followed by us. so he's saying that cognition.

biological predispositions...

an organism cannot be conditioned to do anything. Garcia is our main guy here...he did the study with the rats - that they were more likely to respond to novel tastes than novel sounds. the rats got sick and avoided the sweet water, but did not avoid loud noises when they were paired with radiation. so he proved that.........do play a part.

instinctive drift...

organisms learn things that are more like natural behaviors

Variable (it's not fixed)

using words like "approximately" or "average" means that it's...

Fixed interval

time is known

insight learning

The process of learning how to solve a problem or do something new by applying what is already known

Skinner's Pigeons

reinforced with food, trained to do complicated behaviors. superstition - accidental reinforcement

...the best

variable- ratio schedule is...