AP PSYCH UNIT 4

modelling

learning by copying the behavior of someone else

abstract learning

occurs when we understand the concepts and meaning behind the content

Premack principle

states that an opportunity to perform a more preferred behavior increases the probability of an individual engaging in a less preferred behavior

cognitive maps

one’s internal mental model for a given process or concept

taste aversion

 A biological tendency in which an organism learns to avoid food with a certain taste after a single experience, if eating it is followed by illness; aka Garcia effect

superstitious behaviors

irrational belief that a specific action or behavior can influence unrelated events

learned helplessness

Repeated attempts to control a situation fail, you feel helpless

instinctive drift

when animals revert to their biologically predisposed pattern

Ivan Pavlov

created classical conditioning, famous for experimental support for behaviorism with dogs

classical conditioning

type of learning that links a neutral stimulus - one that evokes no special response except to call attention to it - to another stimulus that elicits a natural or involuntary response

unconditioned stimulus (UCS)

A stimulus that naturally & automatically triggers a response

unconditioned response (UCR)

The unlearned, naturally occurring response to the UCS.

conditioned stimulus (CS)

An originally irrelevant stimulus that, after association with the UCS, comes to trigger a response.

conditioned response (CR)

The learned response to a previously neutral stimulus

stimulus discrimination

response to only the specific stimulus that has been conditioned, when a subject is able to recognise when other stimuli are different

stimulus generalization

response to another stimulus that is similar to original conditioned stimulus

extinction

process that leads to the gradual weakening and eventual disappearance of the CR to the CS

biofeedback

a process that enables an individual to learn how to change physiological activity for the purposes of improving health and performance

spontaneous recovery

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

John Watson

studied behaviorism and classical conditioning

B.F. Skinner

creator of operant conditioning and founder of modern behavioral perspective; viewed study of the mind as unworthy - should study observable behaviors.

operant conditioning

type of learning in which voluntary behavior is modified by subsequent consequences

reinforcement

in operant conditiong, what makes the behavior continue

punishment

in operant conditioning, what makes the behavior discontinue

positive reinforcement

Strengthens a response by presenting a stimulus after a response.

negative reinforcement

Strengthens a response by reducing or removing an aversive stimulus

positive punishment

involves presenting an aversive stimulus after a behavior has occurred.

negative punishment

involves taking away a desirable stimulus after a behavior has occurred

shaping

procedure in which reinforcers guide behavior toward closer and closer approximations of the desired behavior

discriminative stimulus

sets the occasion for behaviors that have been reinforced in their presence in the past (ex. if a child is learning to ask for a toy, the presence of the toy in the room)

operant chamber

in operant conditioning research, a chamber containing a bar or key that an animal can manipulate to obtain a food or water reinforcer; attached devices record the animal's rate of bar pressing or key pecking

reinforcement schedule

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

continuous reinforcement

reinforcing the desired response every time it occurs

partial 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 schedule

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

variable-ratio schedule

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

fixed-interval schedule

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

variable-interval schedule

a reinforcement schedule that reinforces a response at unpredictable time intervals

primary reinforcer

an innately reinforcing stimulus, such as one that satisfies a biological need (example: water, food, air, etc)

secondary reinforcer

Stimuli that acquire their reinforcing power by their learned association with primary reinforcers (money, grades, success, etc)

problem-focused coping

attempt to take control of situation either by changing our behavior or changing the situation

emotion-focused coping

dealing with feelings that arise due to stressful situations

reciprocal inhibition

process of extinguishing an undesired response to stimuli by evoking a desired response in its place

systematic desensitization

process that first trains individuals with phobias in relaxation techniques and then exposes them to progressively more anxiety-provoking stimuli while they are relaxed

aversive conditioning

a type of counterconditioning that associates an unpleasant state (such as nausea) with an unwanted behavior (such as drinking alcohol)

token economy

a system in which an individual is rewarded for demonstrating the desired behavior and is rewarded by earning a token/chip/marker that can be exchanged for the desired prize; based on systematic reinforcement of target behavior

Robert Rescorla

created contingency theory, an American psychologist who specialized in the involvement of cognitive processes in classical conditioning focusing on animal learning and behavior

Contingency theory

for learning to take place, a stimulus must provide the organism with a reliable signal (signal relations) that certain events will take place.

Edward Thorndlike

performed conditioning experiments on cats, known for the law of effect

law of effect

responses that produce a satisfying effect in a particular situation become more likely to occur again in that situation, and responses that produce a discomforting effect become less likely to occur again in that situation

John Garcia

known for research on conditioned taste aversion; found it was easier to learn associations that make sense for survival like taste aversion

Edward Toleman

used rats and mazes to study latent learning; coined the term cognitive map

Albert Bandura

influenced both behavioral psychology and social cognitive theory with his social learning theory

latent learning

Form of learning that is not apparent from behavior when it first occurs, occurs without any obvious reinforcement of the behavior or associations that are learned

insight learning

a type of learning that happens all-of-a-sudden through understanding the relationships of various parts of a problem rather than through trial and error, “lightbulb” moment

Social learning theory

People learn behaviors through observational learning (watching and mimicking others)

Vicarious learning

learning derived from indirect sources such as hearing or observation, rather than direct, hands-on, instruction

Bandura’s Bobo Doll Study

showed that children learn by imitating others; children exposed to the aggressive model were more likely to act in physically aggressive ways than those who were not exposed to the aggressive model

acquisition

the moment when a response is established based on conditioning; when an NS is paired with a UCS

neutral stimulus

stimulus that produces no conditioned response

mirror neurons

neurons that fire both when an organism itself is doing a behavior and when observing another organism doing the behavior

learning

change in behavior by experience or practice