PSYC1101 - Learning

Learning

a change in behaviour or thought based on experience

Habituation

decline in responding to repeated presentations of a stimulus

Dishabituation

the response can come back if stimulus is changed

Classical Conditioning

Learning to respond to a previously neutral stimulus that has been paired with another stimulus which elicits an automatic response

Acquisition (P1)

the process of learning the CR. If the CS alone can repeatedly cause the CR, we can say the acquisition phase has occurred

latent inhibition

previous exposure to the neutral stimulus prevents it from becoming a conditioned stimulus

extinction

when the CR fades then disappears, if the CS is presented repeatedly without the UCS

Spontaneous Recovery

when an extinct CR suddenly reappears again, after a certain amount of time

Contingency

• The degree to which a neutral stimulus reliably predicts the unconditioned stimulus

• If high contingency = acquisition will occur

Temporal Contiguity

• for associations to be made, the two stimuli had to be presented close together in time

High-order conditioning

• two conditioned stimuli can be connected together

• this means an existing CS can be used to condition another neutral stimulus to become a second CS

• Stage 1: pair CS1 with UCS

• Stage 2: pair CS2 with CS1

Exposure Therapy

• treats phobias

• uses the classical conditioning: habituation and acquisition of new associations

Operant Conditoning

when behaviour is influenced by positive or negative outcome that follows

Law of Effect

stimulus & responses followed by positive outcomes are strengthened, while stimulus & responses followed by negative outcomes are weakened

Key idea of behaviourism

all behaviour can be reduced to stimulus & response (S-R) relationships

reinforcement

a consequence that increases a behaviour

punishment

a consequence that decreases a behaviour

positive reinforcement

a behaviour that is strengthened by providing a favorable stimulus

negative reinforcement

a behaviour that is strengthened by removing an unfavorable stimulus

positive punishment

a behaviour that is weakened by adding an unfavourable stimulus

negative punishment

a behaviour that is weakened by removing a favourable stimulus

continuous schedule

every occurence of correct behaviour is rewarded

partial schedule

only some occurance of correct behaviour is rewarded

fixed-interval schedule

reinforcement is delivered after the same amount of time has passed

variable-interval schedule

reinforcement is delivered after a random period of time has passed each time

fixed-ratio schedule

reinforcement is given after a set number of correct responses are given

variable-ratio schedules

reinforcement is given after a random number of correct responses are given

which has the fastest extinction rate

fixed interval

which has the slowest extinction rate

variable ratio

s-o-r relationship

considers how a person’s expectation / thinking would shape their response

apply SOR to pavlov’s dog

when Pavlov's dog heard the bell, they must have unconsciously thought "I think some food is coming!". And that THOUGHT caused the dogs to salivate.

apply SOR to operant conditioning

you might unconsciously learn your way around campus without trying, but only show it when you actually need to find a room

tolman & honzik (1930)

3 groups:

• Group 1 - behaviour always rewarded

• Group 2 - behaviour never rewarded

• Group 3 - behaviour rewarded, but delayed

When Group 3 finally got food:

• Their errors dropped suddenly and dramatically

• They quickly performed as well as Group 1

• This shows that learning did occur for Group 3 during the time when they were not rewarded

McNamara et al (1956)

• Researchers placed rats in a trolley and it was passively pulled through a maze

• The rats still learned just as well as the rats that actively experienced the maze & reinforcement was not necessary

 

 

observational learning

learning by watching others

Husemann et al (2003)

• children watch violent TV shows commit more aggressive acts years later, compared to children who watch less violent TV shows

• both groups of children had equal levels of aggression