LEARNING 📓📔

What is the traditional focus of behaviorists?

Behaviorists have traditionally focused on observable behavior to the exclusion of mental processes

What does classical conditioning focus on?

Classical conditioning focuses on the association of one stimulus with another stimulus to elicit a response

How does conditioning take place?

The unconditioned stimulus UCS elicits an unconditioned response UCR This response becomes the conditioned response CR when it is performed in response to the conditioned stimulus CS

How does acquisition occur?

Acquisition occurs when a neutral stimulus is repeatedly paired with a UCS and the subject learns a new response CR to a previously neutral stimulus CS

How does extinction and spontaneous recovery work?

A CR can become extinct when the CS is no longer paired with the UCS A formerly extinct CR can be spontaneously recovered when the CS and UCS are paired together again

Explain generalization

Process in which an organism produces the same response to two similar stimuli

Explain discrimination

A process in which an organism produces different responses to two similar stimuli

How can a CS be used as a UCS in higher order conditioning?

A conditioned stimulus CS can be used as an unconditioned stimulus UCS by pairing it with a new neutral stimulus

Little Albert experiment

Research has demonstrated that emotional responses can be classically conditioned

Mary Cover Jones

Used counterconditioning by pairing a feared object with a positive stimulus

Garcia and Koelling

Biological preparedness refers to how animals are biologically predisposed to learning certain stimulus response pairings more quickly

One trial learning

Occurs when the association is acquired through one pairing of the stimulus and response

What is habituation?

Habituation occurs when organisms grow accustomed to and exhibit a diminished response to a repeated or enduring stimulus

What does operant conditioning focus on?

Operant conditioning focuses on associating consequences reinforcement and punishment with behaviors

Law of Effect

Behaviors with reinforcing consequences are more likely to be repeated while behaviors with punishing consequences are less likely

Reinforcement

Any consequence that increases the likelihood of the behavior it follows

Punishment

Any consequence that decreases the likelihood of the behavior it follows

Primary reinforcer

Naturally reinforcing food warmth water

Secondary reinforcer

Something that a person has learned to value because it is paired with a primary reinforcer

Positive reinforcement

Increases behavior by adding a desirable event

Negative reinforcement

Increases behavior by removing an undesirable event

Positive punishment

An undesirable event following a behavior

Negative punishment

A desirable event ends following a behavior

Reinforcement discrimination and generalization

Discrimination behavior occurs only with a specific stimulus Generalization behavior occurs with similar stimuli

Shaping

Reinforcement is used to gradually reward successive approximations of a behavior

Instinctive drift

Animals revert back to natural behaviors interfering with learned behavior

Learned helplessness

Occurs when organisms learn that they have no control over aversive situations

Continuous reinforcement

Reinforcement is delivered for every correct behavior

Partial reinforcement

Reinforcement is delivered based on time or number of responses

What is observational learning?

A social learning process where people learn by watching others and imitating their behaviors attitudes or emotional expressions

Banduras Social Learning Theory

Learning can occur by observation and does not have to involve personal experience with a consequence

Importance of a model

Learning can occur by copying the behavior of models especially if they are similar

How does insight occur?

Insight learning occurs when the solution to a problem occurs without any association consequence or model being present

Latent learning

Occurs when information is learned without reinforcement but is not immediately evident

Cognitive maps

Latent learning is often demonstrated by cognitive maps