Learning and Cognition AP Pysch

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