learning and motivation txt chap 1

behavior: any activity of an organism that can be observed / measured. may be internal or external
learning: relatively permanent change in behavior
classical conditioning: certain inborn behaviors come to be produced in new situations (involuntary)
operant conditioning: strengthening / weakening of a behavior as a result of its consequences (voluntary)
observational learning: act of observing someone else’s behavior facilitates the development of similar behavior
fixed action patterns: non-learned, inherited behavior patterns
historical background * aristotle * argued that knowledge is acquired through experience. empiricist perspective that agrees with nurture * opposite: plato - everything is in our soul. nativist perspective that agrees with nature * law of similarity: events that are similar to each other are readily associated with each other * law of contrast: events that are opposite each others are readily associated * law of continuity: events that occur in close proximity to each other in time or space are readily associated * law of frequency: the more frequently two items occur together, the more strongly they are associated * descartes * mind-body dualism: some human behaviors are involuntary / reflexive while others are voluntary * only humans possess free will * british empiricists * almost all knowledge is a function of experience * a newborn’s mind is a blank slate * the conscious mind is composed of a finite set of basic elements that are combined through association into sensations and thought * structuralism: it it possible to determine the mind’s structure by identifying its basic elements * Wilhelm Wundt * introspection: a person tries to describe their conscious thoughts, emotions, and sensory experiences * functionalism: the mind evolved to help us adapt to the world around us * William James * should study the adaptive significance of the mind * evolution * natural selection: individuals / species that are capable of adapting to environmental pressures are more likely to reproduce and pass on those adaptive qualities * traits vary within a species * many traits are heritable * organisms must compete for limited resources * evolutionary adaptation * behaviorism: natural science approach to psychology that focuses on the study of environmental influences on observable behavior * law of parsimony: simpler explanations for a phenomenon are generally preferable to complex ones
five schools of behaviorism * watson * psychologists should only study observable behavior (methodological behaviorism) * S-R theory: learning involves the establishment of a connection between a specific stimulus and a specific response * hull’s neobehaviorism: behaviorism that utilizes intervening variables in the form of hypothesized physiological processes * Tolman’s Cognitive Behaviorism * argued that it would be more useful to analyze behavior on a broader level * cognitive behaviorism: utilizes intervening variables to help explain behavior * cognitive map: mental representation of one’s spatial surroundings * latent learning: learning occurs despite the absence of any observable indication of learning and only become apparent under a different set of conditions * Bandura’s Social Learning Theory * observable learning (imitation) * self-referent thoughts about our abilities and accomplishments have a significant impact on our behavior * social learning theory: emphasizes the importance of observational learning and cognitive variables in explaining human behavior * reciprocal determinism: environmental events, observable behavior, and thoughts + feelings have a reciprocal influence on each other * Skinner’s Radical Behaviorism: emphasizes the influence of the environment on observable behavior, rejects the use of internal events to explain behavior, and views thoughts and feelings as behaviors that need to be explained * viewed internal events as covert behaviors that are subject to the same laws of learning as overt behaviors * countercontrol: deliberate manipulation of environmental events to alter their impact on our behavior
Behavior Analysis and Applied Behavior Analysis * behavior analysts have concentrated on researching operant conditioning * behavior modification