Chapter 9 Psychology

learning

relatively long-term change in behavior or physiological responses, due to previous experiences

Pavlov’s Pioneering Research

He was trained as a physiologist and devoted the first part of his career to understanding how digestion works.

He wanted to measure how much the dogs would drool at the precise moment (not before) the food he gave them touched their tongues.

According to Pavlov, the dogs had “psychic secretions” when they salivated early because they knew they were about to be fed.

But the reflex had transferred to other stimuli (such as lab coats and the sound of footsteps) that hinted at the food’s imminent arrival.

He had to train the dogs to salivate on cue and not at any other time. He decided to train the dogs using various sound cues.

But after repeatedly hearing the noise right before getting food, the dogs figured out the pairing.

The kind of learning Pavlov studied is called classical conditioning.

Classical Conditioning

occurs when a natural, instinctive, physiological response to one stimulus is transferred to another stimulus after the two have repeatedly been paired together

Unconditioned Stimulus

When we respond to something automatically and instinctively

Unconditioned Response

When we respond to something automatically and instinctively

Neutral Stimulus

one that doesn’t cause any particular reaction

Conditioned Stimulus

one that causes a reaction only after learning has occurred

Conditioned Response

one that causes a reaction only after learning has occurred

Acquisition

phase of classical conditioning in which two stimuli are repeatedly paired together

Extinction

describes a conditioned response that no longer occurs because a previous association between two stimuli has stopped

spontaneous recovery

the return of a previously extinguished conditioned response; when it happens, the response will typically be weak

Generalization

occurs when a conditioned response occurs because of a new stimulus that is similar to a previously learned conditioned stimulus

discrimination (classical conditioning)

Knowing the difference between one stimulus and other stimuli and responding only to a specific cue

taste aversion

happens when a single (but strong) pairing of a food and sickness makes us feel negative toward that food long after the unfortunate encounter

Biological preparedness

explains why our bodies learn some associations faster than others

Little Albert Study

Two researchers trained a baby to fear a white rat, then tested whether he would also be afraid of other white, furry things.

Their main question was whether fear could be taught to a human baby and whether that fear would be specifically contained to stimuli that had previously been associated with scary experiences.

After learning to fear the rat, Albert’s fear response was generalized—he showed fear and crying in response to all these stimuli.

Psychologists believe that there is one main type of learning.

False

Humans often pay particular attention to pairings of pain, nausea, and sexual attraction because they ______.

biologically important

classical conditioning

we learn to associate one thing in our environment with another

operant conditioning

trying to control what happens next, based on behavioral choices; earning to associate rewards or punishments with certain behaviors, based on what has followed those behaviors in the past

Thorndike’s Cats

Thorndike’s wooden puzzle boxes included a series of pulleys, levers, and buttons for cats to manipulate to open the door. After several trials in the same box, the cats knew what to do. The cats were learning from the consequences of their behavior.

reinforcement

A pleasant consequence that follows a specific behavior

punishment

An unpleasant consequence that follows a specific behavior

law of effect

states that behaviors that result in reinforcements are more likely to occur again in the future, while behaviors that result in unpleasant consequences punishments are less likely to occur again in the future

operant conditioning chambers

These mechanical boxes could produce rewards or punishments when an animal inside performed certain behaviors.

positive reinforcement

occurs when a pleasant consequence is added or presented

positive punishment

happens when an unpleasant consequence is added or presented

negative reinforcement

occurs when a behavior is rewarded because something unpleasant is removed from the environment

negative punishment

occurs when a behavior is followed by a pleasant thing being removed from the environment

shaping

learning through reinforcement over several stages, in which progressive steps toward a result receive rewards

schedules of consequence

timetables regarding how often and how consistently reinforcements (rewards) or punishments occur after any given behavior

continuous schedule

occurs when the consequence (reinforcement or punishment) occurs every time the behavior is enacted

partial schedules

the consequence doesn’t occur every single time

ratio schedules

deliver a reinforcement or punishment based on the number of times a behavior has been performed

fixed ratio schedule

If the number of times the behavior must occur is stable

variable ratio schedule

one that is randomized but still based on an average number of behaviors

interval schedules

based on how much time has passed

fixed interval schedule

one in which a reinforcement or punishment can only happen once in each set time period

variable interval schedule

When reinforcement or punishment is based on time, but the exact amount of time can change.

According to Skinner, decisions, thoughts, and emotions are the result of ______.

past conditioning

In the example of operant conditioning chambers described in the text, if animals pressed a lever or pecked a button when a green light was on, ______.

their behavior was rewarded with food

Negative reinforcement is synonymous with punishment.

False

In continuous schedules, consequences occur ______.

every time the behavior is enacted

What schedules best explains addictive gambling behavior?

variable ratio

cognitive learning

change in knowledge or understanding that occurs on a mental level

insight

finding a solution to a problem simply by thinking it through

cognitive map

a mental representation of the layout of the area

latent learning

knowledge gained that we can only observe indirectly or later

observational learning

occurs when we assume that we’ll experience the same consequences that we’ve seen others experience

modeling

Copying others’ behaviors

If there is no immediate evidence that knowledge has been gained, learning has not occurred.

False

In Bandura’s Bobo doll studies, after children observed adults’ aggressive behaviors, they were less likely to be aggressive themselves when ______.

the adults were punished for their aggressive behavior

Every time they shop at their local grocery store, Pen receives “frequent shopper” points that they can redeem for merchandise. This is an example of a(n) ______ schedule.

continuous

In operant conditioning, the word “positive” means ______.

something was added

The main difference between the unconditioned response and the conditioned response is ______.

the stimulus that elicits each of them

During classical conditioning, the “training” phase, during which stimuli come to be associated with each other, is also known as ______.

acquisition

Humans often pay more attention to stimulus pairings that involve pain, nausea, and sexual attraction because they are rare.

false

In Bandura’s Bobo doll studies, after children observed adults’ aggressive behaviors, they were less likely to be aggressive themselves when they believed they would be rewarded for kind interactions.

false