AP Psychology- Learning Theories

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, getting used to something after constant exposure, a diminished response to an enduring stimulus
ex. dog barking in the neighborhood constantly, after a while it doesn’t bother you anymore

classical conditioning

one learns to link stimuli and anticipate events

active vs passive learner
voluntary vs involuntary learner

behaviorism

how people interact with their environment. Over time, these interactions (called stimuli) form particular behaviors.

unconditioned response (UCR)

the unlearned, naturally occurring response to UCS, such as salivation when food is in the mouth

unconditioned stimulus (UCS)

a stimulus that naturally and automatically triggers a response without training (like food)

conditioned response (CR)

the learned response after CS (neutral but now conditioned stimulus) is presented

conditioned stimulus (CS)

a neutral stimulus after training that now comes to trigger a conditioned response

acquisition theory of classical conditioning

when you should pair CS and UCS, when should they be paired up? It makes a difference, the order of the CS with the UCS is important for successful acquisition

higher-order conditioning

there can be a CS2. the CS in one conditioning experience is paired with a new NS, creating a second CS.

extinction (CC)

when a response is no longer reinforced. occurs when CS is presented several times without UCS
fear of dogs GOES AWAY

spontaneous recovery

the reappearance of an extinguished CR, all of a sudden the CR comes back
all of a sudden your fear of dogs COMES BACK

generalization

responding to stimuli similar to one that you've been conditioned to
afraid of ALL dogs

discrimination

the learned ability to distinguish between stimuli
only afraid of small dogs

learned helplessness

your actions don’t make a difference so you just give up

operant conditioning

learning through the consequences of your actions
reinforcement comes after response

active vs passive learner
voluntary vs involuntary learner

law of effect

behaviors followed by positive consequences are more likely to occur and behaviors followed by negative consequences are less likely to occur

shaping (method of successive approximations)

reinforcers guide behavior toward closer and closer approximations of the desired behavior

shaping the rat

secondary reinforcement

associated with primary, token economy (gets you to primary)
ex. using school cash for prizes, being good for a class party

positive reinforcement (++)

adding on or giving them a positive
ex. candy

negative reinforcement (-+)

taking away a negative (NOT always bad)
ex. seat belt (takes away annoying beeping and also protects you), medicine, sunscreen

primary reinforcement

naturally rewarding
ex. food, candy

continuous reinforcement

reinforcing the desired response every single time
fastest rate for kids to learn, although in the long run not reliable, once it stops the behavior stops

intermittent reinforcement

reinforcing a response only part of the time (not going to reinforce every single time);
much greater in the long run compared to continuous reinforcement

fixed-ratio schedule

reinforcement occurs after a fixed number, after a set number there is reinforcement
ex. every 3 puzzles cleaned you get candy, every 2 problems answered you get a prize

variable-ratio schedule

reinforces a response after an unpredictable number of responses, number of responses between reinforcement variables
yields the highest rate of performance
ex. bingo, lottery

fixed-interval schedule

a reinforcement schedule that reinforces a response only after a specified time has elapsed (as long as the correct response is given)

variable-interval schedule

a reinforcement schedule that reinforces a response at unpredictable time intervals
ex. time of day

punishment

decreases the behavior that it follows, goal is to decrease behavior
DECREASES a response

cognitive/mental map

a mental representation of the layout of one's environment. Like how you know your way around the school and how to get home

latent learning

learning that is revealed when a chance is provided
rats and mazes, (ex. figuring out you know how to get home without your sister)

insight learning

a sudden realization of a solution to a problem, “aha!” moment

extinction (OC)

stops reinforcement, cannot continue to reinforce behavior

modeling

the process of observing and imitating a specific behavior

little albert

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

UCS: loud noise
UCR: fear GS: white and furry
CS: white rat
CR: fear

Social learning theory

observe and imitate

neutral stimulus (NS)

invokes no response

token economy

object or point reward system used in jail, school, & at Chuck E Cheese

cognitive learning theories

unobservable mental activity, includes thinking and memory

Stimulus

a signal to which an organism responds

reinforcement

goal is to strengthen the response/behavior, pigeons
INCREASES a response

reinforcement schedule

how frequent rewards are offered; they can be based on a number of target behaviors (ratio) or on a time interval (interval);
types include: fixed-ratio, variable-ratio, fixed-interval, and variable-interval

observational learning

learning by observing others

UCR and CR are..

NOT always the same

Types of responses

emotional response (counter conditioning), conditioned taste aversion (biological preparedness, one trial conditioning)

counter conditioning

to get rid of emotional response. People go to therapy to get rid of fear, mental disorders

Biological preparedness

the idea that people and animals are inherently inclined to form associations between certain stimuli and responses.
something tastes really bad, something is poisonous

One trial conditioning

tried something once and never again. one and done

Spontaneous recovery

all of a sudden the CR comes back
All of a sudden your fear of dogs comes back

Ratio Schedule

Number

Interval Schedule

time, days and weeks
ex. people get payed on a fixed amount of time, bi-weekly

instinctive drift

animals go back to their instincts

superstitious behavior

consequences reinforce unrelated behaviors
ex. wearing your lucky socks makes you win your game, doing a routine before serving

negative punishment (-+)

take away what they want
ex. your phone, their car

positive punishment (++)

giving a negative behavior a positive, give an aversive stimulus
ex. spanked, grounded

We are more likely to…

model people that seem similar to us, we’re also more likely to model when there is a reward

bobo doll study

outcome: most violent group was group 1 who witnessed violence live, least violent group was group 4 and 5 who witnessed no violence

someone that witnesses violence…

will turn out to be violent (same goes for cartoons)
bobo doll study