psych nature and nurture

learning

durable change in behavior or knowledge due to experience

conditioning

type of learning where two events are associated together

classical conditioning

type of learning. stimulus acquires capacity to evoke a response that was originally evoked by another stimulus

Ivan Pavlov

prominent Russian physiologist, discovered classical conditioning

unconditioned stimulus (US)

stimulus that evokes response without previous conditioning

unconditioned response (UR)

unlearned reaction to stimulus that occurs without previous conditioning

conditioned stimulus (CS)

previously neutral stimulus, acquired capacity to evoke response through conditioning

conditioned response (CR)

learned reaction to stimulus, occurs because of previous conditioning

elicited

used to describe conditioned responses bc they are relatively automatic or involuntary

trial

any presentation of a stimulus or pair of stimuli

evaluative conditioning

changes in liking of a stimulus that result from pairing that stimulus with other positive or negative stimuli

acquisition

process of learning a new response

extinction

gradual weakening and disappearance of a conditioned response tendency

spontaneous recovery

reappearance of an extinguished response after a period of nonexposure to the conditioned stimulus

renewal effect

extinguished response returns when organism goes back to original learning environment

stimulus generalization

organism that has learned a response to a specific stimulus responds in the same way to new similar stimuli

stimulus discrimination

organism that has learned a response to a stimulus does not respond in the same way to new similar stimuli

higher order conditioning

a conditioned stimulus is used to create a new conditioned response (CS becomes like a US)

operant conditioning

form of learning in which voluntary responses come to be controlled by their consequences

BF Skinner

discovered operant conditioning

reinforcement

when an event following a response increases an organism's tendency to make that response

Skinner box

small enclosure in which an animal can make a specific response that is systematically recorded while the consequences of the response are controlled

reinforcement contingencies

the conditions under which a behavior will be reinforced

acquisition (as applied to OC)

formation of a new response tendency

shaping

reinforcement of closer and closer approximations of a desired response

extinction (as applied to OC)

gradual weakening and disappearance of a response tendency bc it is no longer followed by reinforcement

resistance to extinction

organism continues to make response even w/o reinforcement

generalization (as applied to OC)

organism responds to new stimulus as if it were the original

discrimination (as applied to OC)

organism does not respond to new stimulus as if it were the original

discriminative stimuli

signals that tell an organism whether a behavior will be reinforced

primary reinforcers

events that are inherently reinforcing because they satisfy biological needs

secondary/conditioned reinforcers

stimuli that become rewarding through association with primary reinforcers (e.g., money, praise)

schedules of reinforcement

specific pattern of presentation of reinforcers over time

continuous reinforcement

every instance of designated response is reinforced

intermittent reinforcement

designated response reinforced some of the time

fixed-ratio reinforcement

reinforcer given after fixed number of non-reinforced responses

variable-ratio reinforcement

reinforcer given after variable number of non-reinforced responses

fixed interval reinforcement

reinforcer given for first response that occurs after a fixed time interval has elapsed

variable-interval reinforcement

reinforcer given for first response that occurs after a variable time interval has elapsed

positive reinforcement

response is strengthened because it is followed by the presentation of a rewarding stimulus (add good thing, response increases)

negative reinforcement

response is strengthened because it is followed by the removal of an aversive stimulus (remove bad thing, response increases)

escape learning

organism acquires response that decreases/ends aversive stimulation

avoidance learning

organism acquires response that prevents aversive stimulation from occurring

punishment

event following response weakens the tendency to make that response

disciplinary procedures

traditional "punishment"

biological constraints on conditioning

cannot train organism to do something that violates its capabilities

taste aversion

when nausea follows food, smell/look of food makes organism nauseous

Martin Seligman

taste aversion to bearnaise sauce. he developed nausea 6 hours after eating bearnaise but subsequently the smell made him throw up

John Garcia

conducted conditioned taste aversion studies. found that taste + nausea = conditioned taste aversion; taste + electric shock, etc = no conditioned aversion

preparedness

species-specific predispositions to be conditioned in certain responses

cognitive processes in conditioning

conditioning depends on higher mental processes

latent learning

learning that is not apparent from behavior when it first occurs

cognitive maps

mental representation of the spatial layout

response-outcome relations and reinforcement

accidental reinforcement creating superstitious behaviors

observational learning

organism's responding is influenced by the observation of others, known as models

attention

to learn through observation one must pay attention to other person's behavior and its consequences

retention

remembering what was observed

reproduction

physically performing the observed behavior

motivation

having a reason to perform the observed behavior

role of media violence in observational learning

fosters aggression and desensitizes people to the effects of aggression irl. weak effects.

Albert Bandura and Bobo doll

children who had seen aggressive model engaged in more aggression

behavior modification

systematic approach to changing behavior through application of principles of conditioning

steps in the process of behavior modification

1. specifying target behavior 2. gather baseline data 3. design program 4. execute program

Nature

Chromosomes

threadlike strands of DNA molecules that carry genetic information

Genes

DNA segments that serve as the key functional units in hereditary transmission

DNA

deoxyribonucleic acid, codes for everything in the body

Polygenic traits

characteristics that are influenced by more than one pair of genes

Family Studies

researchers assess hereditary influence by examining blood relatives to see how much they resemble one another on a specific trait

Twin Studies

researchers assess hereditary influence by comparing the resemblance of identical twins and fraternal twins with respect to a trait

Adoption Studies

assess hereditary influence by examining the resemblance between adopted children and both their biological and their adoptive parents

Monozygotic

identical twins, emerges when a single fertilized egg splits

Dizygotic

fraternal twins, emerge from two seperate zygotes

Genetic Mapping

identifying where genes are located on chromosomes (not what they do)

Epigenetics

study of heritable changes in gene expression that do not involve modifications to the DNA sequence

Gender differences

disparities between males and females in typical behavior or average ability

Gender roles

expectations about what is appropriate behavior for each gender

Chronological Age

age, years since birth

Mental Age

for children, indication that they display the typical mental ability of a child of that chronological age

Intelligence Quotient

(mental age / chronological age) * 100

Normal Distribution

symmetrical, bell-shaped curve that represents the pattern in which many characteristics are dispersed in the population

Reaction Range

genetically determined limits on IQ (or other traits)

Flynn Effect

performance on IQ tests has steadily increased over generations

Multiple Intelligences

different types of intelligence, not just iq

Heritability Ratio

how much of the variation in a trait is due to genetic differences

Cognitive abilities

males exhibit advantage on math and visual-spatial ability. females exhibit advantage on verbal ability. (dis)advantages are very slight.

Social behavior

males much more aggressive than females. females and males have similar levels of verbal/relational aggression. females more sensitive to subtle nonverbal cues.

Evolutionary explanations

gender differences reflect different natural selection pressures operating on males/females over the course of history

Hormones

prenatal hormones contribute to shaping of gender differences. not well supported.

Brain Organization

males tend to exhibit more cerebral specialization, females tend to have a larger corpus callosum. not well researched yet.

Operant Conditioning (gender roles)

parents/teachers/peers reinforce "gender-appropriate" behavior and punish "gender-inappropriate" behavior

Observational Learning (gender roles)

kids imitate adults' gender-appropriate behavior

Self-Socialization

children discover rules that govern behavior

Sources of gender role specialization - Families

chore assignments, encouraged to play with different toys

Sources of gender role specialization - Schools

gender roles in books, teachers reward gender-appropriate behavior. boys more likely to be encouraged to enroll in advanced stem courses.

Sources of gender role specialization - Media

media portrays genders stereotypically