Unit 3.2 AP Psychology

Learning

a relatively permanent change in an organism’s behavior due to experience

Behaviorists

psychologists focused on observable behavior

• traditionally exclude processes

Learning diagram

Habituation

decreases response to a stimulus; animals adapt to our environment. (Part of non-associative learning)

• Expect/prepare for certain events - behavioral vs. sensory

• Assume rewards/punishments will follow certain events

Insight Learning

Occurs when a solution to a problem occurs without any association, consequence, or model; recognizing relationship naturally

Conditioning

process of leaning associations

• ex: when crows eventually stop getting scared from scarecrows

classical conditioning

two stimuli (associative learning)

operant conditioning

response and consequence (associative learning)

Edward Tolman

latent learning

Latent learning

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

• Ex: cognitive map - mental representation of the layout of one environment

• Ex: Tolman’s Rats

Tolman’s Rats

• Hungry rats → learns map with no reward (15 min)

• Hungry rats → completes map once there is an incentive or cheese → we learn fast with a reward (5 min)

Classical Conditioning

type of learning in which one learns to link 2+ stimuli & anticipate events (associative learning)

• Only works for involuntary responses (reflexes)

• Ex: using your fav song for your alarm → now you hate that song because its your alarm

• Ex: Pavlov’s dogs

Pavlov’s dogs experiment

• Give dog food and ring a bell

• Dog naturally drools to food

• Overtime, associates food with the bell

• Drools for the bell

Unconditioned Stimulus (UCS)

A stimulus that unconditionally triggers a response

• Ex: Food

Unconditioned Response (UCR)

UCS automatically, intrinsically, biologically triggers this

UCR is the unlearned, naturally occuring response to an UCS

• Ex: the dog drooling

Neutral Stimulus (NS)

a stimulus that does not naturally trigger a reoccurring response

• Ex: the bell → bells have no impact on dogs

Conditioned response (CR)

Pair the NS with an existing UCS over and over to create CR

CR is the learned response to a previously neutral Stimulus

• Ex: drooling

Conditioned Stimulus (CS)

the originally neutral stimulus that has been paired with the UCS enough times to create a response, even when the UCS isn’t present

• Ex: the bell

CR

UCR

NS

CS

UCS & CS

are not intrinsically linked - illogical

• Ex: bell triggers drooling—not naturally occurring

The N/CS must be present before the UCS

• The point of classical conditioning is to create an expectation

• Hear the bell → expect food

Participant should have same sponsor to CS and UCS

Acquisition

when one links a neutral stimulus w/ an unconditional stimulus so that the neutral stimulus begins to trigger the conditioned response

• AKA: the initial conditioning response

• The timing of the pairing matters

• Ex: the first time the dog drooled w/ the bell, they acquired the association

You can build on to classical conditioning→ higher order conditioning

procedure in which the conditioned stimulus is paired w/ another, new, neutral stimulus

• Creates a second, often weaker CS

• Ex: if a dog bites you, just the sound of a dog barking may later make you feel afraid

• UCS = bite, CR1= fear

• Cs1 = dog, CR1 = fear

• CS2 = barking, CR2 = fear

Extinction

the diminishing of a CR

• happens when the UCS no longer follows the NS/CS

• Ex: you ring the bell but the dogs don’t drool

• Can recondition

Reconditioning

presenting the NS/CS w/ the UCS again to bring the CR back

• the associated is learned more quickly this time

• Ex: retraining the dogs to connect w/ the bell → will be faster this

Spontaneous Recovery

the reappearance of an extinct/weakened conditioned response

• Different from reconditioning be it occurs randomly aka spontaneously

  • Extinction suppresses the Cr, not eliminates

  • Ex: Mrs. Lane’s alarm story

  • Ex: dog stops responding to bell, but then one day they do!

Stimulus generalization

the tendency for stimuli similar to the Cs to trigger the conditioned response

• Ex: Little Albert (conditioned to be scared of mice → scared of anything white and fluffy)

• Ex: dogs responding to all sorts of bells

Discrimination

the ability to distinguish between a CS and a random stimuli

• Ex: the class bell vs. the announcement bell

• Ex: dogs only responding to the bell

Little Albert - Jogn B. Wastson & Rosalie Raynor

were able to classically condition Little Albert to fear an object that did not originally scare him by associating it w/ a naturally fearful stimulus

• UCS = loud noise

• UCR = fear

• NS = rat

Result: rat becomes the CS and causes the CR (fear)

• Little Albert also became fearful of any object that resembled the white rat → what is this called?

One trial conditioning

the single paring of a stimulus & a response is enough to create an association or aversion

• ex: dog bite

Biological preparedness

how animals are biologically predisposed to learning certain stimulus - response pairing more quickly than others - survival

Taste aversion

an acquired reaction to the smell or taste that an animal is exposed to before getting sick - much faster than normal CC

• Ex: Taco Bell

Operant Conditioning

type of learning in which behavior is strengthened if followed by a reinforcer or diminished if followed by a punisher

• Voluntary behaviors

Edward Throndike’s law of effect

behaviors which are rewarded will be more likely to be repeated and behaviors that are punished will be less likely to be repeated

• Ex:more likely to go trick or treating when you get candy (reward); less likely to if you get a rock (punishment)

Superstition

occurs when consequences reinforce or punish unrelated behaviors

• Wear lucky socks → reinforced by good test score → wear socks again because you think you think you’ll be rewarded again

• Walk under a ladder →slip and fall → avoid latter’s because you think you’ll be punished again

Reinforcement

the presentation of a stimulus or event (reinforcer) that follows a behavior or response, which increase the chances of the behavior being repeated

• Always increases behavior

Shaping

uses reinforcers to guide behavior gradually toward desired by following the behavior=]