Psychology Chapter 6 Test

Learning - lasting changes in thinking/ behavior as a result of experience

Classical Conditioning - involves stimulus-response connections (learning by association)

Iven Pavlov - discovered food wasn’t always necessary to make dogs salivate

Unconditional Stimulus - is a stimulus that causes a response that is automatic and NOT Learned (why the UCR happened)

Unconditional response - is the response to the unconditional stimulus (automatic response to a stimulus) Example: Salivation in response to meat.(didn’t have to learn how to do)

Conditional Stimulus - a learned stimulus. Example: the bell after association with food (reacting to)

Conditional Response - is a response to the conditional stimulus. Example: the dogs’ salivation in response to the bell (what they do now)

Neutral Stimulus - does not cause a response. Example: the bell before association with the food

Taste Aversion - a learned avoidance of a particular food

Generalize - a response in the same way to similar stimuli

Discrimination - varied responses based on distinguishing differences in stimuli

Extinction - occurs when CS is presented for an extended period without UCS

Spontaneous recovery - displaying responses extinguished earlier

Applications/ uses - flooding, systematic desensitization, and counterconditioning used to change behaviors

Flooding - many exposures (A woman with OCD was forced to hold dirt, dust, and other gross things in her hands, to reach peak anxiety)

Systematic Desensitization - baby steps (taking a 1-hour flight then progressing to a 2-hour flight)

Counterconditioning - pair with pleasant stimuli (associating a fear with a positive experience)

Operant Conditioning - learning as a result of consequences, good or bad, response heightened stimulus, Casinos use this a lot

The Law of Effect - responses followed by rewards are strengthened and weakened when not; Edward Thorndike

Edward Thorndike - believed if you are rewarded it’s that action is stamped in your brain, worked with cats, cat puzzle boxes

Positive Reinforcement - pleasant stimulus that increases the probability of response

Primary Reinforcers - The subject doesn’t have to be taught the value of the reward, ex food and water

Secondary Reinforces - The subject has to learn the value of the reward, ex money

Negative Reinforcements - adverse stimuli that increase the frequency of the behavior that follows when they are removed (ex seat belt alarm)

Reinforcement Schedules - Fixed and Variable Interval (time) and Fixed and Variable Ratio schedules (responses)

Fixed-Interval Schedule- An exact amount of time passes between each reinforcement (studying for a weekly quiz, getting your paycheck every two weeks)

Variable-Interval Schedule - A varying amount of time passes between each reinforcement (checking your email, winning a video game)

Fixed-Ratio Schedule - Reinforcement occurs after a fixed number of responses (losing your driver's license after 5 violations)

Variable-Ratio Schedule - Reinforcement occurs after a varying number of responses (playing the lottery, the number of shots to score a goal in a soccer game)

Shaping - reinforce responses as desired behavior is gradually achieved

Chaining - combining a series of learned behaviors

Punishment - unpleasant stimulus that decreases a certain response ( EX A parent tells you to put your nose in the corner)

Applications/Uses for punishment - school behavior, raising children, correctional facilities

Social Learning - learning by imitating/ observing or modeling other; Albert Bandura

Albert Bandura - Bobo Dolls, used to demonstrate imitating behavior

EXAMPLE QUESTION: When they were going together, a guy and his former girlfriend had a favorite record album which they frequently listened to together. Although they broke up over a year ago, whenever he hears a song from the album, a wave of bittersweet sadness comes over him. - UCR - emotion UCS - girlfriend/breakup NS-Album CS- Album CR- bittersweet sadness HINT: look for the UCR first then the UCS next and the NS always becomes the CS

EXAMPLE QUESTION: A young child who reaches out to pet a barking dog is bitten by the dog and cries. Every time she hears a barking dog, she whimpers. - UCR- cries UCS- dog bite NS- Barking dog CS- sour pickles CR- whimper HINT: look for the UCR first then the UCS next and the NS always becomes the CS

Latent Learning - learning that remains hidden till needed; EX Tolman’s cognitive maps

Tolman - Trained some rats to run through mazes to reach food and other rats to explore mazes without food to prove that even though they had knowledge of the most rapid routes all along this knowledge was hidden until they had a reason to use it.

Behavior Modification - altering activities through various learning principles; Ex Computer, token economy (Incentive plan), self-control, and Premark Principle (making a deal with yourself)

Learned Helplessness - can cause depression, the dog and the electric shock experiment. Seligman

Observational Learning- acquiring knowledge and skills by observing and imitating others

Skinner-trained pigeons and rats using positive reinforcement