Learning Test

learning

any change in behavior or knowledge due to experience

conditioning

involves learning associations between events that occur in an organism’s environment

-dogs had tube to measure saliva

-pavlov presents meat to dog and collect saliva

-he rang a bell before showing meat 

-bell tone = dogs salivate

what was pavlov’s experiment

unconditioned stimulus

stimulus that evokes an unconditioned response without previous condition (meat) 

unconditioned response

(UNLEARNED) reaction to an unconditional stimulus that occurs without stimulus previous conditioning (salivation) 

conditioneed stimulus

previously neutral stimulus that will through conditioning evoke a conditioned response (bell)

conditioned response

learned reaction to a conditioned stimulus that occurs because of previous conditioning (salivation)

acquisition

initial stages of learning something

Spontaneous Recovery 

(resurrecting responses) reappearance of extinguished responses after a period of non exposure to the CS

Extinction

gradual weakening and disappearance of conditioned response

Stimulus Generalization

after conditioning has occurred organisms tent to respond not only to exact conditioned stimulus but to similar stimuli

-Baby (Albert) was initially unafraid of a white rat

-Watson paired the rat with a loud noise and Albert got scared

-after repeating this the rat brings fear to Albert

What was the little Albert experiment?

Watson wanted to examine the generalization of a conditioned fear in a little boy 

Purpose of the little albert experiment

- Albert was scared of any small white furry animal

- the more similar the new stimuli is to the original conditioned stimulus the greater the generalization

result of little albert experiment

operant conditioning

learning occurs because responses are influenced by the outcomes that follow

classical conditioning

reflexive response when stimuli precedes response

Skinner

founder of operant conditioning 

classical is involuntary responses while operant is voluntary responses 

difference b/w operant and classical conditioning

He studied animals, mainly pigeons and rats

put them in a skinner box/operant chamber

main response available: pressing a lever mounted on the wall

main reinforcement: food

what did skinner study and why

reinforcement

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

examples of reinforcement

put money in a vending machine; you get a drink

you go to work; you get paid

you joke; your friends laugh 

shaping 

reinforcement of closer and closer approximation of a desired response 

ex. researcher may drop food to rat every time he moves closer to the lever until he actually begins pushing it

extinction in operant conditioning

gradual weakening and disappearance of response because it is no longer followed by reinforcer 

ex. when researcher stops giving food to rat when the rat pushes the lever 

negative reinforcement

response is strengthened because it is followed by removal of an unpleasant stimulus

ex. good grades: paycheck, attention, flattery

positive reinforcement

when response is strengthened because it is followed by rewarding stimulus

ex. cleaning your house to get ride of mess

escape learning

organism requires a response that decreases/ends unpleasant stimulation

ex. you leave party where you are being picked on

avoidance learning

organism requires response that prevents unpleasant stimuli from occurring

ex. you stop going to parties because of concern of being picked on

Classical conditioning is when you are afraid to go to parties, and then the negative reinforcement leads you to stop going all together which is an example of operant conditioning 

how do escape learning and avoidance learning show that operant and classical conditioning can “work together”

punishment

occurs when an event following a response weakens the tendency to make that response 

negative punishment

when the likelihood of a certain behavior decreases as the result of the removal of something pleasant after the behavior

positive punishment

when the likelihood of a certain behavior decreases as the result of the presentation of something unpleasant after the behavior

negative reinforcement removes an unpleasant stimulus to strengthen a response and punishment presents an unpleasant stimulus to weaken a response 

why does punishment not mean negative reinforcement

fixed ratio

number of responses required to receive reinforcer will always be the same 

fixed interval

reinforcer is received after a certain fixed interval of time 

variable ratio

number of responses required to receive reinforcer is different for each trial or event

variable interval

interval of time after which the organism must respond in order to receive the reinforcer changes from 1 time to another

ex. receiving your paycheck every two weeks

example of fixed interval

pop quizzes in class

example of variable interval

ex. free pair of earrings for every 10 pairs bought

example of fixed ratio

ex. putting money into a slot machine (don’t know how many pulls it will take to win)

example of variable ratio

variable interval

which is resistant to extinction

learned associations were formed by events in an organism’s environment 

What did Pavlov Find