Learning

Learning

the process of acquiring through experience new & relatively enduring information or behavior

Habituation

Decreasing responsiveness with repeated exposure to a stimulus 

Associative learning

learning that certain events occur together. The events may be a stimulus or a response & its consequences

Respondent behavior

behavior that occurs as an automatic response

Operant behavior

behavior that operates on the environment, producing consequences

Cognitive learning

the acquisition of mental information whether by observing events, by watching others, or through language

Classical conditioning

a type of learning in which we link two or more stimuli

Neutral stimulus (NS)

in classical conditioning, a stimulus that elicits no response before conditioning

Unconditioned stimulus (US or UCS)

in classical conditioning, a stimulus that naturally and automatically triggers an unconditioned response

Unconditioned response (UR or UCR)

in classical conditioning, an unlearned, naturally occurring response to an unconditioned stimulus

Conditioned stimulus (CS)

in classical conditioning, an originally neutral stimulus that, after association w/ an unconditioned stimulus, comes to trigger a conditioned response

Conditioned response (CR)

in classical conditioning, a learned response to a previously neutral but now conditioned stimulus

Acquisition

classical conditioning: the initial stage, when one links a neutral stimulus & a conditioned stimulus so that the neutral stimulus begins triggering the conditioned response

operant conditioning: the strengthening of a reinforced response

higher-order conditioning

a procedure in which the conditioned stimulus in one conditioning experience is paired with a new neutral stimulus, creating a 2nd (but often weaker) conditioned stimulus

extinction

-the diminishing of a conditioned response

-occurs in classical conditioning when an unconditioned stimulus doesn’t follow a conditioned stimulus

-occurs in operant conditioning when a response is mo longer enforced

spontaneous recovery

the reappearance after a pause of an extinguished conditioned response

Generalization

in classical conditioning: the tendency once a response has been conditioned for stimuli similar to the conditioned stimulus to elicit similar responses

in operant conditioning: occurs when responses in one situation occurs in other, similar situations

discrimination

in classical conditioning: the learned ability to distinguish between a conditioned stimulus and similar stimuli that don’t signal an unconditioned stimulus

in operant conditioning: the ability to distinguish responses that are reinforced from similar responses that aren’t reinforced

NOT SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY

Operant conditioning

a type of learning in which a behavior becomes more likely to recur if followed by a reinforcer or less likely to occur if followed by a punisher

Law of Effect

Edward L. Thorndike’s principle that behaviors followed by favorable consequences become more likely/tend to recur while behaviors followed by unfavorable consequences become less likely to recur

Shaping

an operant conditioning procedure in which reinforcers guide behavior toward closer & closer approximations of the desired behavior

Discriminative stimulus

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

Continuous reinforcement schedule

-reinforces the behavior every time the behavior is exhibited

-done when first learning to make the association

-acquisition comes really fast, but so does extinction

partial (intermittent) reinforcement schedule

-reinforces the behavior only some of the times it is exhibited

-acquisition comes more slowly, but is more resistant to extinction

fixed-ratio schedule

-reinforcement schedule that reinforces a response only after a specified number of responses

Ex: A blueberry picker receives $1 after filling 3 pint boxes

variable-ratio schedule

-reinforcement schedule that reinforces a response only after an unpredictable number of responses

-hardest to extinguish behavior

Ex: fly fishing, buying state lottery tickets and winning, slot machines, a charitable organization makes an average of 10 phone calls for every donation it receives

Fixed-interval schedule

-reinforcement schedule that reinforces a response only after a specified time has elapsed

-Ex: end of semester exams, checking the oven to see if chocolate chip cookies are done, when baking time is known

Variable-interval schedule

-reinforcement schedule that reinforces a response at unpredictable time intervals

-very hard to get acquisition but also very resistant to extinction

-Ex: teacher evaluation, calling a garage mechanic to see if you car is fixed yet

biofeedback

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

-can assist in managing panic attacks

Preparedness

a biological predisposition to learn associations, such as between taste & nausea, that have survival value

Instinctive drift

the tendency of learned behavior to gradually revert to biologically predisposed patterns

latent learning

learning that occurs but isn’t apparent until there’s an incentive to demonstrate it

Ex: life guarding

intrinsic motivation

a desire to perform a behavior effectively for its own sake

extrinsic motivation

a desire to perform a behavior to receive promised rewards or to avoid threatened punishment

Personal control

our sense of controlling our environment rather than feeling helpless

self-control

the ability to control impulses and delay short term gratification for greater long-term rewards

modeling

the process of observing & imitating behavior

mirror neurons

frontal lobe neurons that some scientists believe fire when we perform certain actions or observe another doing so. The brain’s mirroring of another’s actions may enable imitation and empathy

Edward C. Tolman

found evidence of cognitive processes from studying rats in mazes

Robert Rescorla

showed that an animal can learn the predictability of an event