AP Psychology: learning

Learning

When your brain changes because of something you experienced, so now you know something new or act differently.

Learning by association

Our brain learns that two things go together, so when one happens, you expect the other to happen too.

Habituation

This is when you stop noticing something because you hear or experience it so much.

Habituation example

When there are annoying girls talking in the back of the class every day, but after a while you stop noticing because you’re used to it.

Associative learning

Learning by connecting two things together.

Difference between classical and operant conditioning

Classical is when something happens to you and you react. Operant is when you do something and learn from the result.

Cognitive learning

Learning by thinking and understanding.

Person associated with classical conditioning

Ivan Pavlov

Classical conditioning

Learning by connecting two things that happen together.

Behaviorism

The idea that psychology should only study observable behavior, not thoughts.

Psychologist associated with behaviorism

John B. Watson

Unconditioned stimulus (UCS)

Something that naturally makes you react.

UCS in Pavlov’s dogs

The food.

Unconditioned response (UCR)

A natural reaction your body does automatically.

UCR in Pavlov’s dogs

Salivating to food.

Neutral stimulus (NS)

Something that means nothing at first.

NS in Pavlov’s dogs

The bell before training.

Conditioned stimulus (CS)

Something that used to mean nothing but now makes you react.

CS in Pavlov’s dogs

The bell after training.

Conditioned response (CR)

A learned reaction to the conditioned stimulus.

CR in Pavlov’s dogs

Salivating to the bell.

Another example of classical conditioning from the book

The Little Albert experiment where Albert learned to fear a white rat after it was paired with a loud noise.

Acquisition

The stage when you connect the neutral stimulus and unconditioned stimulus.

Biological reason animals can be conditioned

Biological preparedness—we naturally learn things that help us survive.

Higher-order conditioning

When a conditioned stimulus gets paired with something new.

Higher-order conditioning example

A light paired with the bell makes the dog respond to the light too.

Extinction

When a learned behavior fades away.

Spontaneous recovery

The learned behavior randomly comes back after extinction.

Generalization

When you respond the same way to things that are similar.

Discrimination

When you learn to tell the difference between things.

Why Pavlov’s work is important

He showed that learning can be studied scientifically, and he discovered classical conditioning.

Little Albert experiment summary

Albert wasn’t scared of rats at first, but after pairing the rat with a loud noise, he became scared of just the rat.

Operant conditioning

Learning where behavior is shaped by rewards and punishments.

Person associated with operant conditioning

B.F. Skinner

Law of effect

Behaviors followed by good results are repeated; behaviors followed by bad results are not.

Creator of law of effect

Edward Thorndike

Skinner box

A box where an animal presses a lever to get a reward and learns to press it more.

Reinforcement

Anything that makes a behavior more likely.

Reinforcement example

Doing homework because getting good grades feels good.

Shaping

Rewarding small steps toward a bigger behavior.

Discriminative stimulus

A signal that tells you when a behavior will be rewarded.

Discriminative stimulus example

A green light telling you to go.

Positive vs negative reinforcement

Positive = add something good; negative = take away something bad.

Positive reinforcement example

Getting money for cleaning your room.

Negative reinforcement example

Your mom stops nagging when you do your chores.

Primary reinforcers

Stuff your body naturally needs.

Primary reinforcer example

Food when hungry.

Secondary reinforcers

Things you learn to like.

Secondary reinforcer example

Money, designer bags, nice things.

Reinforcement schedule

When and how often you’re rewarded.

Continuous reinforcement

Reward every time.

Partial reinforcement

Reward sometimes.

Fixed-ratio schedule

Reward after a set number of responses.

Variable-ratio schedule

Reward after a changing number of responses.

Fixed-interval schedule

Reward after a set amount of time.

Variable-interval schedule

Reward after a changing amount of time.

Reinforcement vs punishment

Reinforcement increases behavior; punishment decreases it.

Positive punishment

Add something bad.

Negative punishment

Take away something good.

Why environment is not the whole story

Biology affects what we can learn—animals are built differently.

Garcia taste aversion

Animals learn to avoid foods that made them sick, even hours later.

Biological constraints example

Animals learn things easier when it helps survival, like avoiding poisonous food.

Rescorla & Wagner

Learning depends on how predictable something is—more surprise = more learning.

Tolman’s cognitive map

Animals create mental maps of places.

Latent learning

Learning that you don’t show until you need it.

Insight

The sudden “aha!” moment.

Intrinsic vs extrinsic motivation

Intrinsic = you want to do it; extrinsic = you do it for a reward.

Problem-focused coping

Fixing the problem itself.

Emotion-focused coping

Making yourself feel better instead of fixing the problem.

Learned helplessness

Giving up because past attempts failed.

External locus of control

Thinking outside forces control your life.

Internal locus of control

Thinking you control your own life.

Self-control

Resisting temptations.

What helps with self-control

Practice, routines, and reducing temptations.

Observational learning

Learning by watching others.

Modeling

Copying what someone does.

Person associated with observational learning

Albert Bandura

Bobo Doll experiment

Kids watched adults beat a doll—then copied the aggression.

Mirror neurons

Brain cells that fire when you watch someone do something.

Theory of mind

Understanding that other people have thoughts and feelings.

Prosocial behavior

Helpful, positive behavior.

When models are most effective

When they are similar to us, successful, or admirable.