Psychology 11 - Conditioning and Learning Test

learning

process of gaining, through experience, relatively permanent information and behaviors

classical conditioning

type of learning, stimulus gains the power to cause a response, learning by association

stimulus

anything in the environment that one can respond to

response

any action of behavior

US

unconditioned stimulus is a stimulus that triggers a response reflexively and automatically

UR

unconditioned response is an automatic response to the US, relationship between US and UR must be reflexive and automatic, not learned

CS

conditioned stimulus is a previously neutral stimulus that, through learning, gains the power to cause a response, must be a neutral stimulus before conditioning occurs

CR

conditioned response is the response to the conditioned stimulus, usually same behaviour as UR

acquisition

process of developing a new learned response, subject learns a new response (CR) to a previously neutral stimulus (CS)

extinction

gradual disappearance of a learned response after repeated presentation of the conditioned stimulus alone, continual presentation of CS without the US

generalization

producing the same response to two similar stimuli

discrimination

ability to distinguish between two signals or stimuli and produce different responses, subjects learns one stimuli predicts the US and the other does not

behaviorism

theory the psychology should only study observable behaviors not mental processes

systematic desensitization

most common form of therapy for phobias, clients are gradually taught to associate feelings of relaxation with what they fear

cognition

all mental processes associated with thinking, knowing, and remembering

ivan pavlov

discovered classical conditioning by using meat to train a dog to salivate to the sound of a tuning fork

john watson

believed you could control a learner's behavioural response by manipulating a stimulus in the environment, conducted Little Albert with Rosaline Rayner

John Garcia and Robert Koelling

showed how classical conditioning taste aversion could develop through rats

operant conditioning

type of learning in which the frequency of a behaviour depends on the consequence that follows that behaviour, frequency will increase if the consequence if reinforcing to subject, frequency will decrease if the consequence if not reinforcing to subject

law of effect

principle that forms the basic of operant conditioing, Edward Thorndike, behaviours with favourable consequences will occur more frequently, behaviours with unfavourable consequences will occur less frequently

B.F. Skinner

behavioural psychologist, developed the fundamental principles and techniques of operant conditioning, designed Skinner Box and air crib

reinforcement and punishment

reinforcement is any consequence that increases the future likelihood of a behaviour, punishment is any consequence that decreases that future likelihood of a behaviour, the learner/subject determines if a consequence is reinforcing or punishing

positive reinforcement

anything that increases the likelihood of a behaviour by following it with a desirable event or state, subject receives something they want, strengthens behaviour

negative reinforcement

anything that increases the likelihood of a behaviour of following it with the removal of undesirable event or state, something subject does not like is removed, strengthens behaviour

immediate reinforcement

more effective than delayed reinforcement in the short term

delayed reinforcement

ability to delay gratification predicts higher achievement long term

primary reinforcement

something that is naturally reinforcing (food if hungry)

secondary reinforcement

something that you have learned to value (money or words of approval)

positive punishment

undesirable event following a behaviour, something undesirable is given

negative punishment

desirable state or event ends following a behaviour, something desirable is removed

problematic effects of punishment

punishment does not end the desire to engage in a behaviour, can lead to fear, anxiety, and lower self-esteem

minimal use of punishment

punishment can effectively control certain behaviours, generally most effective when used least/sparingly, most recommended is reinforcing

shaping

reinforcement of behaviours that are increasingly similar to the desired one, used to establish a new behaviour, used in training complex/multi-step behaviours

discrimination

ability to distinguish between two similar signals or stimuli and produce different responses, learning to respond to one stimuli but not to a similar stimuli

extinction

loss of a behaviour when no consequences follows it, subject no longer responds

continuous reinforcement

schedule of reinforcement in which a reward follows every correct response, most useful way to establish a behaviour, behaviour will extinguish quickly once the reinforcement stops

partial reinforcement

schedule of reinforcement in which a reward follows only some correct responses, when our behaviour is reinforced sometimes, we get our hopes up and are reluctant to give up

fixed-interval schedule

partial schedule that rewards only the first correct response after some defined period, all responses made during the time interval are not reinforced

variable-interval schedule

partial reinforcement schedule that rewards that first correct responses after an unpredictable amount of time, all responses made during the time interval are not reinforced

fixed-ratio schedule

partial reinforcement schedule that rewards a response only after some defined number of correct responses faster the subject responds, the more reinforcement they will recieve

variable-ratio schedule

partial reinforcement schedule that rewards an unpredictable number of correct responses, very resistant to extinction, "gambler's schedule"

latent learning

learning that occurs but is not apparent until the learner has an incentive to demonstrate it

cognitive map

mental representation of a place

biological predisposition

some species are biologically predisposed to learn specific behaviours, learn some behaviours easily and others with great difficulty, operant conditioning works best when it focuses on behaviours that come naturally to a species

overjustification effect

effect of promising a reward for doing what one already likes, reward may lessen and replace person's original motivation, direct opposite of the effect Skinner's principles

observational learning

learning by observing others, cognitive process as we learn by modelling our behaviour after another person

model

person observed in observational learning

modelling

process of observing and imitating a specific behaviour, model practices or repeat behaviours which the learned observes and mimics

albert bandura

major figure in the study of observational learning, studied the consequences a model has on subject, Bobo Doll experiments

vicarious learning

learning by seeing the consequences of another person's behaviour, depends on the learners understanding consequences he or she has observed, observational learning can occur without consequences

modelling requirements

attention, retention, ability to reproduce the behaviours, motivation

mirror neurons

brain cells located in the front of the brain that either activate when a person performs certain actions or when the person observes another doing so

antisocial behavior

negative, disruptive, unhelpful behaviour

prosocial behaviour

positive, constructive, helpful behaviour

violence in media stats

average US student has witnessed about 8000 murders and over 100 00o violent acts by end of elementary school in the media, half of the cases show sanitized media and doesn't show pain of the victim

APA commission on violence and youth

higher levels of violence on TV are associated with increased acceptance of aggressive attitude and behaviour, children's exposure to TV violence has harmful, lifelong consequences, portrayals of women as victims and minorities as aggressive lead to more violence, TV programs and commercials affect our concept of reality