Unit 3 Part 2 (Development and Learning)

Learning

The process of acquiring new and relatively enduring information and behavior

Associative Learning

Learning that certain events occur together

Classical Conditioning

Learning where a new association between two or more stimuli results in a new stimulus

Ivan Pavlov

Russian psychologist that studied the digestive tracts of dogs in the early 1900s (classical conditioning)

Unconditioned Stimulus

Thing/event that naturally triggers a specific response in a subject

Unconditioned Response

Natural reaction to the unconditioned stimulus

Conditioned Stimulus

Thing/event that a subject is trained to respond to (begins as neutral stimulus)

Neutral Stimulus

The component that causes no response prior to conditioning

Conditioned Response

What the subject has been conditioned to do

Acquisition

The learner demonstrates conditioning

Stimulus Generalization

The learner responds to a similar stimulus as the condition stimulus

Stimulus Discrimination

The learner doesn't generalize (only responds to condition stimulus)

Deconditioning/Extinction

Extinguishing the learned behavior

Spontaneous Recovery

Reappearance of a conditioned response after extinction

John B. Watson

A researcher that studied behaviorism and classical conditioning

Behaviorism

A major psychological perspective focused on studying observable behavior

Little Albert

Watson studied his response to associating a rat with a loud noise

John Garcia

A researcher most associated with conditioned taste aversions

Taste Aversion

A learned response to eating food that is toxic, spoiled, or poisonous

Biological Prepardness

We have a predisposition to having food aversions (necessary for survival)

Operant Conditioning

A type of learning connecting actions/behaviors with consequences (reinforcer or punishment)

Edward Thorndike's Law of Effect

Behaviors followed by favorable consequences become more likely (and vice versa)

Reinforcement

If the result of a behavior is desirable, it's more likely to be repeated

Punishment (adverse training)

If the result of a behavior is undesirable, it's less likely to be repeated

B.F. Skinner

Believed in operant conditioning, expanded on Thorndike's work

Positive Consequence

Adding something

Negative Consequence

Taking something away

Positive Reinforcement

Adding something desired after an appropriate behavior occurs (increase in behavior)

Shaping

Positively reinforcing successive (closer and closer) approximations toward the desired goal behavior

Negative Reinforcement

Removing something unwanted once a desired behavior is completed (increase in behavior)

Positive Punishment

Adding something unwanted after an undesirable behavior occurs (decrease in behavior)

Negative Punishment

Removing something wanted after an undesirable behavior occurs (decrease in behavior)

Primary Reinforcers

Innate reinforces (food, water, sex, sleep, security)

Secondary Reinforcers

Reinforcers the subject learns to value (money, token economies)

Continuous Schedule

Delivered after every instance of a goal behavior

Intermittent Schedule

Learner may to have to perform a goal behavior multiple times before being reinforced

Ratio

Amount or number

Interval

Time-based

Fixed Ratio (FR)

The consequence is delivered after a set number of responses

Variable Ratio (VR)

The consequence is delivered after a varying number of responses

Fixed Interval (FI)

The consequence is delivered for the first response after a set amount of time has passed

Variable Interval (VI)

The consequence is delivered for the first response after a varying amount of time has passed

Token Economy

Receive tokens for completing a task, can trade them for prizes

Instinctive Drift

Over time, animals may revert back to behaviors that come naturally to them

Premack Principle

A preferred activity can be used to reinforce a non-preferred activity

Overjustification

Offering an extrinsic reward for something they're already willing to do may reduce intrinsic motivation

Extrinsic Motivation

Performing an activity to earn a reward or avoid punishment

Intrinsic Motivation

Performing an activity for its own sake and personal rewards

Albert Bandura

Suggests that people learn through observation & imitation

Modeling or Observational/Social Learning

Someone models a behavior, you observe it and then imitate it

Bobo Doll Experiment

Bandura found that children mirror aggressive behavior shown by adults

Vicarious Learning

Learning from watching others get reinforced or punished for a behavior

Prosocial Behavior

Kind, helpful behavior (others will pick up on that behavior)

Antisocial Behavior

Hostile, aggressive behavior (others will pick up on that behavior)

Mirror Neurons

Frontal lobe neurons that fire when performing certain actions or observing others perform those same actions

Cognitive Learning

Learning that involves processes like thinking, memory, perceptions, and judgements

Insight Learning

Sudden realization of a solution to a problem

Wolfgang Kohler

Worked with chimps in the 1920s, showed that learning involves insight

Latent Learning

Learning that isn't demonstrated immediately (only when it's needed)

Cognitive Maps

Mental representation of one's physical environment

Edward Tolman

Coined the term for latent learning

Tolman's Latent Learning Experiment

Experimented with groups of rats in mazes, one group showed evidence of latent learning after reinforcement

Learned Helplessness

Someone has repeatedly tried something and failed, give up trying even with opportunities for change

Martin Seligman

Coined the term learned helplessness in 1965

Self-Handicapping

Creating conditions or excuses for failure beforehand to protect the ego against the possibility of failure