Studied by 5 people
What are the two types of learning?
Factual (ex. school) and learning how to perceive and behave
Classical Conditioning
A conditioning process in which an originally neutral stimulus, by repeated pairing with an unconditioned stimulus that normally elicits a natural involuntary response (UR), comes to elicit an identical response WITHOUT that unconditioned stimulus
learning to associate two stimuli and thus to anticipate events
Learning
LONG-LASTING change in BEHAVIOR
Acquisition
After pairing, the Neutral Stimulus becomes the Conditioned Stimulus when it no longer needs the Unconditioned Stimulus to elicit the naturally occurring response (UR); It is at this point that the Unconditioned Response becomes the Conditioned Response
the initial stage in classical conditioning; the phase associating a neutral stimulus with an unconditioned stimulus so that the neutral stimulus comes to elicit a conditioned response
NS becomes CS when UCS is not needed for the response
Unconditioned
Not learned
Conditioned
Learned
Shorthands (classical conditioning)
Conditioned Response — CR
Unconditioned Stimulus — UCS/US
Unconditioned Response — UR/UCR
Neutral Stimulus — NS → Conditioned Stimulus — CS
Pavlov and his dogs
Trained dogs to salivate at the sound of a bell via Classical Conditioning (Delayed Conditioning)
Delayed Conditioning
The conditioned stimulus precedes the unconditioned stimulus by a significant time period and the organism learns to withhold its conditioned response
form of classical conditioning
best way to train
Conditioning
The process of learning associations
Operant Conditioning
Learning based on the association of consequences or rewards with one’s behaviors
learning to associate a response and its consequence, and thus to repeat acts followed by rewards and avoid acts followed by punishments
Observational learning
Learning from others’ experiences and examples
Associative learning
Learning that certain events occur together
two stimuli in classical conditioning
Behaviorism
The view that psychology (1) should be and objective science that (2) studies behavior without reference to mental processes
most research psychologists today agree with (1) but not with (2)
Unconditioned response (UCR)
In classical conditioning, the unlearned, naturally occurring response to the unconditioned stimulus (UCS)
ex. salivating when food is in the mouth
Unconditioned stimulus (UCS)
In classical conditioning, a stimulus that unconditionally—naturally and automatically—triggers a response
Conditioned response (CR)
In classical conditioning, the learned response to a previously neutral conditioned stimulus (CSC)
Conditioned stimulus (CS)
In classical conditioning, an originally irrelevant stimulus that, after association with an unconditioned stimulus (UCS), comes to trigger a conditioned response
Extinction
The diminishing of a conditioned response
occurs in classical conditioning when a UCS does not follow a CS
Trace conditioning
NS presented first, removed, then UCS is presented
Backward conditioning
UCS presented first and NS follows
What can be learned can also be ____
UNLEARNED
Spontaneous recovery
After extinction, and without training, the CS suddenly elicits the CR frequently
Higher Order Conditioning/Second Order Conditioning
Adding a second NS after CS is established, with the goal of getting the 2ndNS to become the CS
Stimulus Generalization
When an organism elicits the CR as a result of a stimulus similar to the original CS
Stimulus Discrimination
Ability to tell the difference between stimuli
organism ONLY responds to the original CS
Watson’s “Little Albert”
(John Watson and Rosalie Rayner)
Found that classical conditioning is possible in humans, since the boy learned to associate a neutral stimulus (white rat) with a fearful stimulus (loud bang) to be scared of the white rat
fear can be conditioned
Aversive (counter) Conditioning
Presenting individuals with an attractive stimulus paired with unpleasant stimulus in order to condition revulsion
ex. little Albert
Taste Aversions
Smell and taste of a food becomes a CS for nausea
Even if you had a food hours before you got sick, you might develop an aversion to that food
Garcia effect
wolf sheep thing
Biological predisposition since we learn to avoid toxic foods
Biological preparedness
We tend to develop a FEAR (aversive connections) of things that may pose a threat to our survival
those who learned to fear such dangers are more likely to survive and reproduce
occurs through classical conditioning
ex. taste aversion; phobias of snakes, heights, spiders, etc.
Thorndike’s puzzle box
Placed cat in box with lever to open it in hopes that the cat would perform random behaviors, eventually hit the lever, and [after repeated trials] eventually associate the lever with box opening
behaviorism experiment
Law of Effect (Thorndike)
Behaviors with less favorable consequences occur less frequently
so.. behaviors followed by favorable rewards occur more frequently
B.F. Skinner
Elaborated Thorndike’s Law of Effect
Skinner box (rat in box)/Operant chamber
green light→rat would perform random behaviors and hopefully trigger a lever that gave him food..leading to associating green light with being able to get food from triggering lever
positive reinforcement
red light→ground would electrocute rat and rat would flail, hopefully hitting lever to turn the shocks off..leading to associating red light with being able to turn off shocks with lever
negative reinforcement
Reinforcement
Trying to get behavior to occur again
Positive (+) Reinforcement
The ADDITION of something pleasant in order to get the behavior to occur again
ex. a student does his hw (behavior) so he gets to go out on the weekend (added reinforcement)
Negative (-) Reinforcement
A response/behavior is STRENGTHENED by REMOVING a NEGATIVE outcome or aversive stimulus
ex. before heading out for a day at the beach, you slather on sunscreen (the behavior) in order to avoid getting sunburned (removal of the aversive stimulus)
Respondent behavior
Behavior that occurs as an automatic response to some stimulus
Skinner’s term for behavior learned through classical conditioning
Operant behavior
Behavior that operates on the environment, producing consequences
Shaping
Positively reinforcing an organism as they get closer and closer to the desired outcome
an operant conditioning procedure in which reinforcers guide behavior toward closer and closer approximations of a desired goal
Reinforcer
In operant conditioning, any event that strengthens the behavior it follows
Primary reinforcer
An innately reinforcing stimulus, such as one that satisfies a biological need
ex. food when hungry
food, shelter, safety, sex, etc..
Secondary reinforcer (conditioned reinforcer)
A stimulus that can be exchanged for a primary reinforcer
ex. money, grades, etc..
ex. Skinner’s rat learns that green light means food is coming, so the rat may try to turn the light on—the green light became the conditioned reinforcer associated with food
Continuous reinforcement
Reinforcing the desired response each time it occurs
downside: can quickly lead to extinction if reward is not given every time in the future
Partial (intermittent) reinforcement
Reinforcing a response only part of the time
results in slower acquisition of a response but much greater resistance to extinction than does continuous reinforcement
Fixed-ratio schedule
In operant conditioning, a schedule of reinforcement that reinforces a response only after a specified number of responses
ex. people paid on a piecework basis
Variable-ratio schedule
In operant conditioning, a schedule of reinforcement that reinforces a response after an unpredictable number of responses
ex. gambling
Fixed-interval schedule
In operant conditioning, a schedule of reinforcement that reinforces a response only after a specified time has elapsed
ex. someone checking more frequently for mail as the delivery time approaches
Variable-interval schedule
In operant conditioning, a schedule of reinforcement that reinforces a response at unpredictable time intervals
produce slow, steady responding because there is no knowing when the wait will be over
Punishment
An event that decreases the behavior that it follows
Positive punishment
Administer an aversive (unpleasant) stimulus
ex. spanking; parking ticket
the ADDITION of
Negative punishment
Withdraw a desirable stimulus
ex. time-out from privileges such as TV; revoked driver’s license
What’s the problem with punishment?
Can evoke unwanted desires, such as anger, fear, and/or resistance
physical punishment may increase aggressiveness by demonstrating that aggression is a [good] way to cope with problems
Cognitive map
A mental representation of the layout of one’s environment
ex. after exploring a maze, rats act as if they have learned a cognitive map of it
Latent learning
Learning that occurs but is not apparent until there is an incentive to demonstrate it
learning can occur without reinforcement or punishment
Overjustification effect
The effect of promising a reward for doing what one already likes to do
the person may now see the reward, rather than intrinsic interest, as the motivation for performing the task
an already justifiable activity becomes overjustified by the promise of added reward
“if I have to be bribed into doing this, then it must not be worth doing for its own sake“
Intrinsic motivation
A desire to perform a behavior for its own sake and to be effective
Extrinsic motivation
A desire to perform a behavior due to promised rewards or threats of punishment
Biological constraints predispose organisms to what?
To learn associations that are naturally adaptive
When should reinforcement occur?
Immediately after desired/good behavior
Wierson and Forehand’s recommendations for parents
Give children attention and other reinforcers when they are behaving well
target a specific behavior, reward it, and watch it increase
Ignore whining
if whining has triggered attention in the past it may temporarily increase when ignored—over time, if not reinforced, it will diminish
When children misbehave or are defiant, do not yell at or hit them
explain the misbehavior and give them time-out—remove them from any reinforcing surroundings for a specified time
Modeling
The process of observing and imitating a specific behavior from a model
Mirror neurons
When we watch others doing or feeling something, neurons fire in patterns that would fire as if WE were doing the action or having the feeling ourselves
frontal lobe neurons that fire when performing certain actions or when observing another doing so
these mirror neurons fire to reflect the feelings or actions of others (empathy)
linked to observational learning, empathy, and reading other’s emotions
Bandura’s Bobo Doll
Showed that children who observed an adult being aggressive with an inflatable toy were more likely to show aggressive behaviors later on, compared to those who did not observe aggressive behavior
Prosocial behavior
Positive, constructive, helpful behavior
opposite of antisocial behavior
The more hours children spend watching violent programs…
the more at risk they are for aggression and crime as teens and adults
Correlational studies __ link violence-viewing with violent behavior
DO
does not prove that viewing violence causes aggression—correlation does not imply causation
Supersitions
an irrational belief in the significance or magical efficacy of certain objects or events or a custom or act based on such belief
an example of operant conditioning
Chaining
Combining multiple desired outcomes to perform a more complex activity
ex. dog obstacle training—train dog to jump over things, run through things, then chain those actions together
Premack principle
Promising a reward after performing a less desirable behavior
ex. you can watch TV (reward) after doing chores (less desirable behavior)
Escape learning
Allows one to TERMINATE an aversive stimulus
ex. sammy throws a tantrum in a class and gets kicked out (escapes class)
Avoidance learning
Enables one to AVOID the unpleasant stimulus all together
ex. sammy cuts class
Punishment
Intended to STOP a behavior
Positive Punishment
Addition of something unpleasant to REDUCE the occurence of an undesired behavior
ex. child throwing tantrum (behavior) → spanking (addition of unpleasant behavior)
Negative Punishment (/omission training)
Something pleasant is taken away as a result of the individual’s undesirable behavior
ex. texting in class (behavior) → phone taken away
**removal of freedom is also a negative punishment (ex. putting dog in crate because he was misbehaving)
Rescorla-Wagner Model (/contingency model of classical conditioning)
Learning is contingent upon the NS capturing attention and being reliable (happens every time)
reliable prediction
salient—captures attention
Associative Learning
When an organism understands that two events occur together
ex. dog connects bell and food
Edward Tolman
Studied latent learning after testing how fast rats could run through a maze
studied the impact of different incentives on rat’s performance
studied the cognitive map
Insight learning
Occurs when one suddenly realizes how to solve a problem
What’s important about variable schedules?
Will promote the most consistent long term behavior
Token economy
A reward system for behavior modification
every time people perform a desired behavior, they are given a “token,“ which can be turned in for a primary reinforcer
ex. if class gets enough gold stars (secondary reinforcer) → pizza party (primary reinforcer)
Vicarious reinforcement
When an individual observes ANOTHER PERSON who is reinforced for doing a behavior
consequently, the person will decide whether or not to mimic the original individual based on the expectancy of outcome
Expectancy
The belief that one’s behavior will bring about a desired outcome based off previous learning
Metacognition
Thinking about thinking
ex. looking back at a solved math problem to think about how you thought to solve it
Neutral Stimulus
A stimulus that before conditioning does not produce a particular response
ex. bell in Pavlov’s dogs
Simultaneous conditioning
A classical conditioning technique in which the conditioned stimulus and the unconditioned stimulus are presented at the same time
Generalized reinforcer
A reinforcer that has been created by being paired with many other unconditioned and conditioned reinforcers
Cognition
The process of thinking or mentally processing information such as concepts, language, and images
Trial and error
Trying a number of different solutions and ruling out those that do not work
Algorithm
A methodical, logical rule or procedure that guarantees solving a particular problems
downside: can take forever
Availability Heuristic
Used to judge the likelihood or FREQUENCY of an event/occurrence
because it comes to mind easily, we presume it’s common
ex. what percent of crimes involve violence?
Representativeness Heuristic
A mental shortcut in which one thinks of the best example or a prototype of a given category
used to judge membership of a group
can cause us to ignore important information
ex. would you pick grandma or tatted pierced guy to babysit your kid?
Deductive reasoning
Researcher starts with a general statement or hypothesis and examines possibilities in order to reach a specific conclusion
always TRUE (if done correctly)
Inductive reasoning
Researcher attempts to make generalizations from specific occurrences
not always true
ex. marble from the bag is black (specific example), 2nd and 3rd marbles from the bag are also black..therefore all the marbles in the bag are black (generalization)
Mental sets/Sets
When an individual uses a solution that WORKED in the past on a current problem, which may or may not help solve the current problem
obstacle to problem solving which involves fixating only on solutions that have worked in the past
Functional fixedness
The perceived inability of someone to use an object for something other than its original intended purpose
type of cognitive bias
Framing
The way that a problem is presented to someone can drastically change that person's view or reaction to the problem
Anchoring effect
When we make decisions based on the first piece of information that we were given… OR something that makes you stuck when trying to solve a problem
different than mental set
a cognitive bias that describes the common human tendency to rely too heavily on the first piece of information offered (the “anchor”) when making decisions
Cognitive bias
Systematic patterns of deviation from norm and/or rationality in judgment
Confirmation bias
The tendency of individuals to support or search for information that aligns with their opinions and ignore information that doesn't
Belief perseverance
The tendency to continue believing something even after evidence supporting it has been contradicted
Note 
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