Chapter 7: Learning

Ivan Pavlov

Learning**: a process by which experience produces a relatively enduring change in an organisms behavior or capabilities* 4 basic learning processes* Habituation* Classical Conditioning* Operant Conditioning* Observational Learning __Adapting to the Environment__*** Habituation: a decrease in the strength of response to a repeated stimulus***** The simplest form of learning***** By learning not to respond to uneventful familiar stimuli an organism can conserve energy and react to more important stimuli** __Classical Conditioning: Associating one Stimulus with Another__*** Classical Conditioning: in which an organism learns to associate two stimuli (e.g., a song and a pleasant event), such that one stimulus (the song) comes to elicit a response (feeling happy) that originally was elicited only by the other stimulus (the pleasant event)*** ________ and his dog* Experimented on how a dog salivates at the sight of food and tied that reaction to a tone* I always think of a Tom and Jerry episode where Tom is standing ready in the kitchen when he hears a triangle:* Unlike Tom, the dog will go through extinction and stop reacting to the tone sound overtime*** Unconditioned Stimulus (USC): a stimulus that elicits a reflexive or innate response (the UCR) without prior learning***** no learning is required for food to produce salivation***** Unconditioned Response (UCR): a reflexive or innate response that is elicited by a stimulus (the UCS) without prior learning***** In Pavlovs case salvation***** Conditioned Stimulus (CS): a stimulus that through association with a UCS, comes to elicit a conditioned response similar to the original UCR***** After several learning trials, if the tone is presented by itself, the dog salivates even though there is no food.

Learning

A process by which experience produces a relatively enduring change in an organism’s behavior or capabilities

Habituation

A decrease in the strength of response to a repeated stimulus

Classical Conditioning

In which an organism learns to associate two stimuli (e.g., a song and a pleasant event), such that one stimulus (the song) comes to elicit a response (feeling happy) that originally was elicited only by the other stimulus (the pleasant event)

Unconditioned Stimulus (USC)

A stimulus that elicits a reflexive or innate response (the UCR) without prior learning

Unconditioned Response (UCR)

A reflexive or innate response that is elicited by a stimulus (the UCS) without prior learning

Conditioned Stimulus (CS)

A stimulus that, through association with a UCS, comes to elicit a conditioned response similar to the original UCR

Conditioned Response (CR)

A response elicited by a conditioned stimulus

Extinction

A process in which the CS is presented repeatedly in the absence of the UCS, causing the CR to weaken and eventually disappear

Spontaneous Recovery

The reappearance of a previously extinguished CR after a rest period and without new learning trials

Stimulus Generalization

Stimuli similar to the initial CS elicit a CR

Discrimination

Demonstrated when a CR (such as an alarm reaction) occurs to one stimulus (a sound) but not to others

Higher-Order Conditioning

A neutral stimulus becomes a CS after being paired with an already established CS

Exposure Therapies

In which a patient is exposed to a stimulus (CS) that arouses an anxiety response (such as fear) without the presence of the UCS, allowing extinction to occur

Operant Conditioning

Is a type of learning in which behavior is influenced by the consequences that follow it

Skinner Box

A special chamber used to study operant conditioning experimentally

Reinforcement

A response is strengthened by an outcome that follows it

Punishment

Occurs when a response is weakened by outcomes that follow it

Discriminative Stimulus

A signal that a particular response will now produce certain consequences

Positive Reinforcement

Occurs when a response is strengthened by the subsequent presentation of a stimulus

Primary Reinforcers

Are stimuli, such as food and water, that an organism naturally finds reinforcing because they satisfy biological needs

Secondary (conditioned) reinforcers

Are stimuli that acquire reinforcing properties through their association with primary reinforcers

Negative Reinforcement

A response is strengthened by the subsequent removal (or avoidance) of an aversive stimulus

Operant Extinction

Is the weakening and eventual disappearance of a response because it is no longer reinforced

Aversive Punishment (positive punishment, or punishment by application)

A response is weakened by the subsequent presentation of a stimulus

Response Cost (negative punishment, or punishment by removal)

A response is weakened by the subsequent removal of a stimulus