Unit 4 - Learning

Learning

The process of acquiring through experiencing new and relatively enduring information or behaviors

Acquisition

The process of learning a certain thing, where the conditioned stimulus causes a conditioned response.

Extinction

The diminishing of a conditioned response; when a unconditioned stimulus (US) doesn’t not follow a conditioned stimulus (CS) for a while

Spontaneous recovery

The reappearance of the conditioned response after extinction, mainly in classical conditioning

Generalization

The tendency to respond to similar stimulus to the conditional stimulus

Discrimination

The ability to distinguish between a conditional stimulus and similar ones

Classical conditioning

Type of learning where the first stimulus comes to elicit behavior in anticipation of the second stimulus (ex: a dog drooling when they hear a tone they are used to hearing before food is served)

Unconditioned stimulus

The original stimulus that automatically triggers an unconditioned response (UR)

Unconditioned response

A naturally occurring response to originally an unconditioned stimulus in classical conditioning

Conditioned response

A newly learned response to a newly conditioned stimulus that was once neutral

Conditioned stimulus

An originally neutral stimulus that triggers a CR due to being paired with a US in the past

Aversive conditioning

The use of something negative, like a negative stimuli, in order to get rid of unwanted behavior. A type of classical conditioning

Second-order conditioning/higher-order conditioning

The usage of the conditioned stimulus as a unconditioned stimulus in order to condition a response to a new stimulus, after the first conditioned stimulus elicits a conditioned response (building on previous conditioning)

Learned taste aversion

A classic example of biology and classical conditioning combining, where one develops an hatred to a certain food or a drink that tastes strange or dangerous

Operant conditioning

A learning process that takes modifies behavior through consequences (reinforcements makes behavior more likely and punishments make behaviors less likely)

Law of effect

Edward Thorndike’s law that states that behavior followed with favorable consequences become more likely, and behaviors followed by unfavorable consequences became less likely

Instrumental learning

A type of associative learning where behavior is modified by its consequences. It involves learning through reinforcement or punishment, whereby behaviors that lead to favorable outcomes are more likely to be repeated, while behaviors that lead to unfavorable outcomes are less likely to be repeated.

Skinner box

An animal research area where the animal can manipulate a bar or key in order to get food or water, used to research learnings.

Reinforcement

An action that makes a certain behavior more likely to occur, an operant conditioning method

Positive reinforcement

Psychology and behaviorism where desirable behaviors are encouraged by presenting or adding something pleasant or rewarding. It aims to strengthen the likelihood of the behavior being repeated in the future.

Negative reinforcement

A stimulus that, when removed after said response, strengthens the response (something unpleasant is removed)

Punishment

An method that decreases the behavior it follows (makes behavior less likely), a method of operant conditioning

Positive punishment

The addition of something unpleasant in order to decrease a certain behavior, in operant conditioning

Omission training/negative punishment

A method that involves the removal or reduction of a desirable stimulus or reward following an undesired behavior. This is done to decrease the likelihood of the behavior recurring in the future. It's essentially taking away something pleasant to discourage a specific behavior.

Shaping

The reinforcing of the steps used to reach the desired behavior (classical)

Chaining

The teaching of many behaviors successively to get a reward

Primary reinforcer

A stimulus or reward that naturally satisfies a biological need or desire, such as food, water, or physical comfort. , They are inherently rewarding and do not require prior learning to be effective.

Secondary reinforcer

A stimulus or reward that gains its reinforcing power through association with mainly primary reinforcers. These acquire their value through learned associations with primary reinforcers or desirable outcomes. Examples include money, praise, and tokens.

Generalized reinforcer

A special secondary reinforcer that can be traded for virtually anything due to its connection with multiple different primary and secondary reinforcements

Token economy

An example of a generalized reinforcers where people are given tokens based on performing desired behavior. The tokens can then be traded for another type of reinforcer.

Reinforcement schedule

A pattern that defines how often a desired response will be reinforced

Continuous reinforcement schedule

A pattern that rewards the learner everytime a desired response occurs

Partial-reinforcement schedule

A pattern that rewards the learner only part of the time; takes longer to learn but makes it harder to become extinct

Instinctive drift

The tendency of learned behavior to revert back to biologically predisposed patterns

Observational learning

A type of learning that occurs when people mimic behaviors that they observe other people doing; only happens within members of the same species

Latent learning

A type of cognitive learning that occurs but isn’t obvious (no reinforcer or conditioning) unless there is an incentive to demonstrate it

Insight learning

A type of learning where you suddenly realize the solution of a problem, a type of cognitive learning

Ivan Pavlov

A Russian physiologist that discovered classical conditioning through playing a sound while a dog eats its food, and realized that the dog learned to associate the two events together

John B. Watson

One of the scientists that pioneered aversive conditioning by getting a boy to hate a white rat that he liked before

Rosalie Rayner

Another scientist that pioneered aversive conditioning by getting a boy to hate a white rat that he liked before

John Garcia

One of the scientists who performed a famous rat experiment that illustrated how rats made more associations than other organisms. Pioneering classical conditioning

Robert Koelling

The other scientist who performed a famous rat experiment that illustrated how rats made more associations than other organisms

Edward Thorndike

One of the first people to research the operant conditioning theory with the cat and trap experiment, where he came to the conclusion that the cat was acting with a stimulus and a response

BF Skinner

A psychologists who came up with operant conditioning by using a box to test his learning theories and see if the theory holds true

Robert Rescorla

A psychologists who revised the Pavlovian model in order to account for cognitive theory and came up[ with the contingency model

Albert Bandura

A psychologist who studied and came up with observational learning in order to formulate his social-learning theory

Edward Tolman

A psychologist who pioneered the idea of latent learning

Wolfgang Köhler

Scientists that used his studies on chimpanzees in order to come up with insight learning

Delayed conditioning

Best method of learning which presents the conditioned stimulus first and then the unconditioned stimulus while the conditioned is playing

Backward conditioning

Worst method where the unconditioned stimulus is presented first, followed up by the conditioned stimulus

Fixed-ratio schedule

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

Fixed-interval schedule

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

Variable-ratio schedule

A reinforcement schedule that reinforces a response after an unpredictable amount of responses, for operant conditioning

Variable-interval schedule

A operant conditioning reinforcement schedule that reinforces a response only after an unpredictable amount of time

Contingency model

The idea the more times two things are paired together, the higher chance an animal will predict those two events to happen simultaneously, theory for classical conditioning

Abstract learning

A type of cognitive learning that states that we learn in concepts and categories, but not always specific behaviors