Learning Unit Review

Learning

the relatively permanent change in knowledge or behavior that is the result of experience.

Conditioning

the ability to connect stimuli (the changes that occur in the environment) with responses (behaviors or other actions)

Classical conditioning

(aka Pavlovian conditioning) learning that occurs when a neutral stimulus (e.g., a sound) becomes associated with a stimulus (e.g., food) that naturally produces an involuntary response.

Operant conditioning

Associate a voluntary behavior and a consequence

Ivan Pavlov

A Russian physiologist known for his work in classical conditioning, most famously through experiments with dogs that demonstrated how stimuli can evoke conditioned responses.

Unconditioned Stimulus

something (such as eating food) that triggers a naturally occurring involuntary response

unconditioned response (UR)

the naturally occurring involuntary response (such as salivation) that follows the unconditioned stimulus

Conditioned stimulus (CS)

A neutral stimulus that, after being repeatedly presented prior to the unconditioned stimulus, begins to evoke a similar involuntary response as the unconditioned stimulus. (Ex: An advertisement for a new soda always plays a catchy jingle while showing images of people having fun at the beach. After repeated viewings, simply hearing the jingle makes viewers think of “refreshing, summer vibes,” even when they are not watching the ad.)

Conditioned Response (CR)

the acquired involuntary response to the formerly neutral stimulus.

What is learned in classical conditioning is ______. The conditioned response (e.g., involuntary salivation in response to the tone) is evidence that _______.

that the neutral stimulus (e.g., tone) predicts the US (e.g., eating); that prediction has been learned.

Extinction

refers to the reduction in responding that occurs when the conditioned stimulus is presented repeatedly without the unconditioned stimulus. (Ex: After conditioning had taken place, Pavlov presented the sound repeatedly but without giving the dogs food afterward. As we can see, after the initial acquisition (learning) phase in which the conditioning occurred, when the CS was then presented alone, the response rapidly decreased—the dogs salivated less and less to the sound, and eventually the sound did not elicit salivation at all. The dogs learned that the sound no longer predicted eating food.)

Acquisition

The neutral stimulus (e.g., tone) and the US (e.g., eating food) are repeatedly paired together and behavior increases such that the neutral stimulus alone will eventually be enough to cause the involuntary response (e.g., salivation), now called the CR.

Spontaneous Recovery

The increase in involuntary responding to the CS following a pause after extinction

Generalization

the tendency to respond, but to lesser extent, to stimuli that resemble the original conditioned stimulus. (Ex: Maya was bitten by a stray cat when she was eight years old. Since then, whenever she hears any animal-related noises (e.g. meowing on TV), she feels anxious and her heart races, even though no cats are present.)

Discrimination

The tendency to respond differently to stimuli that are similar but not identical. (Ex: In later research, Pavlov did acquisition trials for a particular tone, pairing the tone with food. And then he did extinction trials using other tones. Eventually the dogs learned that only that initial tone predicted food; the other tones did not. )

Second-order Conditioning

a new neutral stimulus comes to predict the established conditioned stimulus resulting in the involuntary response. (Ex: In one of Pavlov’s studies, for instance, he first conditioned the dogs to salivate to a sound, and then repeatedly paired a black square, with the sound. Eventually he found that the dogs would salivate at the sight of the black square alone, even though it had never been directly associated with the food.)

Phobias

a strong and irrational fear of a specific object, activity, or situation

the most common treatment for phobias involves

gradual and safe exposure to what is causing the fear.

What is the Unconditioned Stimulus in a car crash accident?

The car crash

What is the Unconditioned Response in a car crash accident?

Terror

What is the neutral stimulus in a car crash accident?

Riding in a car

What is the conditioned stimulus after a car crash accident?

Riding in a car (CS)

What is the conditioned response after a car crash accident?

Terror

How would extinction occur after experiencing a car crash accident?

We would need to keep riding in a car (CS) without experiencing another car crash (US).

How would spontaneous recovery occur after a car crash accident?

If a few weeks go by during which we have not ridden in a car, the next time we get in, we may feel some trepidation.

If after the car crash, when we get on a bus, we feel a little fear, we are experiencing _______ because being a passenger on a bus is similar to being a passenger in car.

generalization

After a car crash, when we get on a train and not feel any fear then we are experiencing ______.

discrimination

Operant Conditioning

learning that occurs based on the consequences of a voluntary behavior (Ex: when a dog rolls over on command because it has been praised for doing so in the past)

Skinner box (Operant Chamber)

an enclosure that contains a bar or key that the animal (e.g., rat, pigeon) can manipulate to release food or water.

Law of Effect

when we perform a behavior and the consequences are good, we are more likely to repeat the behavior; if the consequences are bad, we are less likely to repeat the behavior. It also contains a device to record the animal’s responses.

Shaping

the process of guiding an animal’s behavior to the desired outcome through the use of successive approximation to a final desired behavior.

Reinforcement

any event that strengthens or increases a behavior

Punishment

any event that weakened or decreased a behavior

Positive reinforcement

Behavior is strengthened after the presentation (addition) of something pleasant. (Ex: Praising a child for completing their homework in a timely manner results in the child completing future homework in a timely manner)

Negative reinforcement

behavior is strengthened after the reduction or removal (subtraction) of something unpleasant. (when a child completes their homework before dinnertime, the child does not have to wash the dinner dishes. The child then also completes their homework before dinnertime the next day)

Positive Punishment

behavior is weakened after the presentation (addition) of something unpleasant. (Ex: requiring an employee to attend several hours of sensitivity training after telling an offensive joke at work results in the employee no longer telling offensive jokes)

Negative Punishment

behavior is weakened after the removal (subtraction) of something pleasant. (a soldier who is arrested for public drunkenness loses a rank and this causes the soldier to no longer engage in public drunkenness)

Continuous Reinforcement schedule

the desired response is reinforced every time it occurs (Ex: whenever a dog rolls over, it gets a biscuit.)

Every time Laticia says something mean to her little brother, she has to do an extra chore. She is not saying mean things to her brother as much anymore. This is an example of?

Positive Punishment

Chandler’s girlfriend, Monica, keeps nagging him to take her dancing. He finally agrees, and she quits nagging him. The next time she starts nagging him, he quickly agrees to do whatever it is. (It is Chandler’s behavior we are focusing on.) This is an example of?

Negative reinforcement

Monica’s boyfriend, Chandler, gives in when she starts nagging him about something. Now whenever she wants something, she just starts nagging him, and she quickly gets what she wants. (It is Monica’s behavior we are focusing on.) This is an example of?

Positive reinforcement

Ravinder did not take the trash out as he was supposed to, so he was not allowed to use his cellphone for 3 days. Ravinder has not missed taking the trash out since. This is an example of?

Negative punishment

Partial (or intermittent) reinforcement schedule

A reinforcement schedule in which the desired response is sometimes reinforced, and sometimes not.

Fixed-ratio

Behavior is reinforced after a specific number of responses (Ex: Factory workers who are paid according to the number of products they produce)

Variable-ratio

Behavior is reinforced after an average, but unpredictable, number of responses (Ex: Payoffs from slot machines and other games of chance)

Fixed-interval

Behavior is reinforced for the first response after a specific amount of time has passed (Ex: When we know that the cookies we are baking should be done in nine minutes, we open the oven door after nine minutes and are rewarded with freshly baked cookies.)

Variable-interval

Behavior is reinforced for the first response after an average, but unpredictable, amount of time has passed (Checking for text messages when phone is on silent.)

When we wash clothes, at the end of the cycle, our opening the washer is rewarded with clean clothes. This is an example of?

Fixed interval

When a scammer calls someone, the scammer is sometimes rewarded with the victim handing over their bank account information. This is an example of?

Variable ratio

For every 10,000 steps we walk, we eat a cookie. This is an example of?

Fixed ratio

We have taken our laptop into the shop to be fixed. The shop does not know when it will be fixed. We periodically call the shop to find out if it is ready yet. Eventually, during one such phone call, the shop says that our laptop is fixed and ready to be picked up. This is an example of?

Variable interval

Primary reinforcer

Stimuli that are naturally preferred or enjoyed by the organism, such as food, water, and relief from pain.

Secondary Reinforcer

(sometimes called conditioned reinforcer) is a neutral event that has become associated with a primary reinforcer through classical conditioning.

Social Dilemma

a situation in which the behavior that creates the most positive outcomes for the individual may in the long term lead to negative consequences for the group as a whole.

Prisoner’s dilemma game

A social dilemma in which the goals of the individual compete with the goals of another individual (or sometimes with a group of other individuals).

Insight

The sudden understanding of the solution to a problem.

Latent learning

Learning that is not reinforced and not demonstrated until there is motivation to do so.

Observational Learning (modeling)

learning by observing the behavior of others.

Mirror neurons

Neurons in the motor cortex of the frontal lobe of the brain that fire when we watch others.

Misophonia

Sounds cause feelings of extreme disgust, irritation, or anger.

Preparedness

When some associations are easier to learn than others (Ex: Food aversions; Biologically predisposed to learning; Nausea is easy to pair with taste or smell; Pairing it with sight or sound is much harder)