learning (psych 3.2)

learning

long lasting change in behavior resulting from experience

classical conditioning

Pavlov; learning to associate neural stimuli w stimuli that produce involuntary responses

unconditioned stimulus (US)

Pavlov; stimulus that elicits a natural, automatic, and unlearned response

unconditioned response (UR)

Pavlov; natural, unlearned, and automatic reaction that is a direct result of the US

conditioned response (CR)

Pavlo; learned reaction that the CS triggers, result of learned association between the CS and UCS

conditioned stimulus (CS)

Pavlov; previously neutral stimulus that now signals something is about to happen through repeated pairings w US

acquisition

the "learning" part of classical conditioning where the connection is made

acquisition factors

• repeated pairings of CS and US = strong CR

• order/timing of CS and US pairings

• most effective: first show CS then US while CS is there

trace conditioning

CS → short break → US

simultaneous conditioning

CS + US (same time)

backward conditioning

US → CS (very ineffective)

extinction

process of unlearning; when CS ≠ CR → repeatedly showing CS without US

spontaneous recovery

reappearance of a previously extinguished CR after period of rest

generalization

tendency to respond to stimuli that are similar (not identical) to og CR

discrimination

ability to distinguish between a conditioned stimulus and similar (but different) stimuli

Little Albert experiment

Albert was conditioned to fear a white rat (US) by pairing it with a loud, startling noise (US) so that when he saw the rat alone he was scared; demonstrated that the fear response could generalize to other similar stimuli

aversion conditioning

pairs an undesirable behavior with an unpleasant stimulus to discourage the behavior (nail biting + bad taste nail polish)

second order conditioning

two-step process where a new neutral stimulus is paired with an already established CS to become a second-order CS, eliciting the conditioned response without the original US

taste aversions

a learned response where an animal dislikes a specific food after associating it with nausea

one trial learning

a form of classical conditioning where a response is learned after just a single exposure to a stimulus (cause of pain, fear, sickness)

Garcia and Koelling experiment

demonstrated that animals are biologically predisposed to learn certain associations more easily than others that aid survival

biological preparedness

biologically predisposed to associate nausea w smth we eat/drink, adaptive

Garcia effect

ease w animals learn taste aversions

association

mental connection between 2+ things (stimulus and response)

operant conditioning

BF Skinner; type of learning based on the association of consequences w one’s behaviors

puzzle box experiment

Edward Thorndike; hungry cat locked in cage next to food → amount if time needed to get out of box decreased 

law of effect

Edward Thorndike; if consequences of a behavior are good/bad, S-R connection strengthens/weakens + likelihood of behavior increases/decreases

instrumental learning

Edward Thorndike; consequences are instrumental in shaping future behaviors

Skinner box

contraption where food is delivered to animal when lever is pulled

reinforcement

defined by its consequences, anything that makes a behavior more likely to occur

positive vs negative reinforcement

addition of smth pleasant vs removal of smth unpleasant

escape learning

type of negative reinforcement; one to terminate an aversive stimulus

avoidance learning

type of negative reinforcement; allows one to avoid unpleasant stimuli altogether

punishment

anything that makes a behavior less likely, most effective if delivered immediately after unwanted behavior + harsh

positive vs negative punishment (aka omission training)

adds smth negative (yelling) vs removes smth pleasant (phone)

connection of punishment & reinforcement

same ends can be achieved, punishment is operant version of aversive conditioning

shaping

reinforce the steps used to reach 1 desired behavior

chaining

taught to perform several responses/behaviors successfully to get reward

primary vs secondary reinforcers

rewarding (food, water, rest) vs things we have learned to value (praise, video game, money = generalized reinforcer)

Premack principle

a more preferred activity can be used to reinforce a less preferred one

continuous reinforcment

rewarding behavior every time it occurs (when first learning)

partial reinforcement effect

behaviors will be more resistant to extinction if animal has not been reinforced continuously

differences in reinforcement schedules

what determines when reinforcement is delivered (# of responses, time, quality) & pattern of reinforcement (fixed/variable)

fixed ratio (FR) vs variable ratio (VR) schedule (overall higher responses compared to interval schedule)

reinforces a behavior after a set, predictable # of responses vs reinforces a behavior after an unpredictable, average # of responses

fixed interval (FI) vs variable interval (VI) schedule

reinforces a behavior after a set amount of time has passed (results in a pause after reinforcement followed by increased responses when time for the next reward approaches) vs reinforces a behavior after an unpredictable, average amount of time (results in slow, steady rate of response + more resistant to extinction)

instinctive drift

tendency for animals to forgo rewards to purse their typical patterns of behavior (wont perform behaviors that go against their natural inclinations)

main idea of Pavlov’s contiguity model of classical conditioning

learning strength comes from how often the CS and UCS are paired together

main idea of Rescorla’s contingency model of classical conditioning

learning depends on how well the CS predicts the UCS (subject’s expectations matter)

observational learning (modeling)

Albert Bandura; learning by watching and imitating others

Bobo doll experiment

Albert Bandura; children imitate aggressive behavior w dolls after observing aggressive models

Edward Tolman’s rat maze experiments

rats that were not rewarded for days navigated maze faster when food was rewarded as they had already formed cognitive map of maze

latent learning

Edward Tolman; learning that becomes clear only when a reward is available

abstract learning

understanding concepts like “same/different” rather than just learning associations or actions

insight learning

Wolfgang Köhler; sudden realization of a problem’s solution (“aha moment”)

Köhler’s chimp studies

chimp suddenly realized he could stack wooden crates to reach a banana hanging out of reach → showed learning isn’t always trial-and-error