Unit 5 Learning

Learning

Long lasting change in behavior or mental processes due to experience

Habituation

Learning not to respond to repeated presentation of a stimulus

Mere Exposure Effect

Learned preference for stimuli to which we have been previously exposed

Behavioral Learning

Forms of learning that can be described in terms of stimuli and responses (classical and operant)

Classical Conditioning

learning through association,

Acquisition

initial stage of learning or conditioning. It's when a response is first established and gradually strengthened

UCS

a stimulus that naturally and automatically triggers a response

UCR

the unlearned, naturally occuring response to the USC

NS

an unrelated stimulus that will become the conditioned stimulus

CS

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

CR

the learned response to a previously neutral stimulus

Extinction

weakening of a conditioned association in the absence of an unconditioned stimulus or reinforcer

Spontaneous Recovery

the reappearance of an extinguished conditioned response after a time delay

Generalization

involves giving a conditioned response to stimuli that are similar CS

Discrimination

involves responding to one stimulus but not to stimuli that are similar
-has to be trained

Higher Order Conditioning

after first order conditioning has occured

Taste Aversion Learning

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

Garcia Effect

the ease in which animals learn taste aversions
- showed that not all conditioning is equal

Trial and error learning

learner gradually discovers the correct response by attempting many behaviors and noting which ones produce the desired consequence

Law of effect

any behavior followed by a satisfying result is more likely to be repeated, while behaviors followed by unpleasant results are weakened

Operant Conditioning (Instrumental)

a type of learning in which behavior is strengthened if followed by reinforcement or diminished, if followed by punishment

Reinforcer

any object/event that strengthens behavior

Positive Reinforcement

presenting a pleasurable stimulus
- adding something good

Negative Reinforcement

removing an unpleasurable stimulus

• taking away something bad

Primary Reinforcer

a reinforcer that is naturally reinforcing for a given species

Ex. food, water, shelter

Conditioned/Secondary reinforcer

A reinforcer that gains its effectiveness by learned association with primary reinforcers
Ex. Money

Extinction (operant)

in operant conditioning, a process by which a response that has been learned is weakened by the abscence or removal of reinforcement

Positive punishment

adding an aversive stimulus in response to a behavior such as spanking or parking ticket
- adding something bad

Negative Punishment (omission training)

removing a pleasureable stimulus in response to a behavior such as having your phone taken away

• taking away good

Shaping

an operant conditioning procedure in which reinforcers guide behavior toward closer and closer approximation of a desired goal

Continuous Reinforcement

reinforcing the desired response everytime behavior is exhibited

• best for teaching a new behavior

Partial Reinforcement

reinforcing a response only some of the time its exhibited

Ratio schedules

provide reward after a certain number of responses

Interval Schedules

provide reward after a certain time interval

Fixed ratio

reinforcement occurs after a predetermined set of responses

• buy 10 coffees, get one free

Variable ratio

reinforcement is unpredictable because the number varies

• gambling and not knowing how many time to play to win

Fixed interval

reinforcement occurs after a predetermined time has elapsed

• knowing the cookies will be done in 12 mins

Variable interval

reinforcement is unpredictable because the number interval varies
- not knowing when your teacher will give you a pop quiz

Instinctive drift

the tendency of learned behavior to gradually revert to biologically predisposed patterns

Insight learning

problem solving occurs by means of a sudden reorganization of perception
- Solution occurs out of nowhere

Cognitive Maps

a mental representation of the layout of ones environment

Latent Learning

learning that occurs but it is not apparent until there is an incentive to demonstrate it

• not obvious learning

Observational Learning

form of cognitive learning in which new responses are acquired after watching others’ behavior and the consequences of their behavior

Mirror Neurons

neurons in the frontal lobe that fire while performing certain actions or when observing another do so

Long term potentiation

biological process involving physical changes that strengthen the synapses in groups of nerve cells; believed to be the neural basis of learning

• Dopamine released when master something new