3.7 flashcards

Learning: the process of acquiring through experience new and relatively enduring

information and behaviors.

Habituation: the decreasing responsiveness with repeated stimulation.

Associative learning: learning that certain events occur together. The events may

be two stimuli (as in classical conditioning) or a response and its consequence (as in

operant conditioning).

Stimulus: any event or situation that evokes a response.

Respondent behavior: behavior that occurs as an automatic response to some

stimuli.

Operant behavior: behavior that operates on the environment, producing a

consequence.

Cognitive learning: the acquisition of mental information, whether by observing

events, by watching others, or through language.

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LT 3.7-1 Define learning, and explain some basic forms of learning.

Learning is the adaptation to our environment.

One way we learn is by association, connecting events occur in sequence.

Learned associations influence our habitual behaviors.

Studies on sea slugs, Aplysia, show that the species habituates, responds less

to repeated stimuli like movement of water.

Complex animals learn to associate their behavior with its consequences.

In classical conditioning, the association occurs between two stimuli

presented close together and learn to anticipate. This association can result

in respondent or involuntary behavior.

In operant conditioning, we associate the behavior with its consequence,

modifying these operant or voluntary behaviors by increasing or decreasing

their frequency.

Myers/DeWall/Yost Hammer, Myers’ Psychology for the AP® Course, 4e

©2023 Worth/BFW Publishers

LT 3.7-1 Define learning, and explain some basic forms of learning.

LT 3.7-2 Explain behaviorism’s view of learning.

Classical conditioning: a type of learning in which we link two or more stimuli;

as a result, to illustrate Pavlov’s classic experiment, the first stimuli (a tone)

comes to elicit behavior (drooling) in anticipation of the second stimulus

(food).

Behaviorism: the view that psychology (1) should be an objective science that

(2) studies behavior without reference to mental processes. Most research

psychologist today agree with (1) but not (2).

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Ivan Pavlov's classic experiment influenced a new movement in psychology called

behaviorism.

Much of John B. Watson’s work was inspired by Pavlov.

Watson believed psychology’s goal should be prediction and control of

behavior, and that introspection could not provide this.

These goals led Watson to create the perspective of behaviorism, which ignores

mental processes and focuses on observable behavior.

Today’s researchers agree with Watson on focusing on observation, but

disagree about ignoring the role of mental processes in learning.

Myers/DeWall/Yost Hammer, Myers’ Psychology for the AP® Course, 4e

©2023 Worth/BFW Publishers

LT 3.7-2 Explain behaviorism’s view of learning.

LT 3.7-3 Identify Pavlov and explain the basic components of classical

conditioning.

Neutral stimulus (NS): in classical conditioning, a stimulus that elicits no response

before conditioning.

Unconditioned response (UCR): in classical conditioning, an unlearned, naturally

occurring response (such as salivation) to an unconditioned stimulus (UCS) (such as

food in the mouth).

Unconditioned stimuli (UCS): in classical conditioning, a stimulus that

unconditionally – naturally and automatically – triggers an unconditioned response

(UCR).

Conditioned response (CR): in classical conditioning, a learned response to a

previously neutral (but now conditioned) stimulus (CR).

Conditioned stimulus (CS): in classical conditioning, an originally neutral stimulus

that, after association with an unconditioned stimulus (UCS) comes to trigger a

conditioned response (CR).

Myers/DeWall/Yost Hammer, Myers’ Psychology for the AP® Course, 4e

©2023 Worth/BFW Publishers

Ivan Pavlov accidentally discovered the concept of classical conditioning while

researching digestive systems of dogs.

Unsurprisingly, dogs would salivate when food was put in their mouth. But

Pavlov noticed that the dogs would also drool when they saw the food dish or

the person delivering the food. This observation led to the theory of classical

conditioning.

Since food, the unconditioned stimuli (UCS) causes salivation(UCR) naturally,

the salivation is deemed the unconditioned response; also known as a reflex.

By pairing the UCS-food with a tone, a neutral stimuli, Pavlov taught the dogs

to anticipate the arrival of food and illicit a salivary response even without the

food present.

The tone becomes the conditioned stimuli (CS) and the conditioned response

(CR) is the salivation to the tone.

Myers/DeWall/Yost Hammer, Myers’ Psychology for the AP® Course, 4e

©2023 Worth/BFW Publishers

LT 3.7-3 Identify Pavlov and explain the basic components of classical

conditioning.

LT 3.7-4 Explain the processes of acquisition, extinction, spontaneous

recovery, generalization, and discrimination classical conditioning.

Acquisition: in classical conditioning, the initial stage – when one links a neural

stimulus and an unconditioned stimulus so that the neutral stimulus begins

triggering the conditioned response. (In operant conditioning, the strengthening of

a reinforced response.)

Higher-order conditioning: a procedure in which the conditioned stimulus in one

conditioning experience is paired with a new neutral stimulus, creating a second

(often weaker) conditioned stimulus. For example, an animal that has learned that

a tone predicts food might then learn that a light predicts the tone and begin

responding to the light alone. (Also called second order conditioning.)

Myers/DeWall/Yost Hammer, Myers’ Psychology for the AP® Course, 4e

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LT 3.7-4 Explain the processes of acquisition, extinction, spontaneous

recovery, generalization, and discrimination classical conditioning.

Extinction: in classical conditioning, the diminishing of a conditioned response

when an unconditioned stimulus does not follow a conditioned stimulus. (In

operant conditioning, when a response is no longer reinforced.)

Spontaneous recovery: the reappearance, after a pause, of a weakened

conditioned response.

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Pavlov and his colleagues explored many variables related to classical conditioning

that help explain the process more thoroughly.

Acquisition, or initial learning, of an association is influenced by time and

order of stimulus presentation.

About a half second between the conditioned stimulus and unconditioned

stimulus is the perfect amount of time to create an association.

Myers/DeWall/Yost Hammer, Myers’ Psychology for the AP® Course, 4e

©2023 Worth/BFW Publishers

LT 3.7-4 Explain the processes of acquisition, extinction, spontaneous

recovery, generalization, and discrimination classical conditioning.

Pavlov and his colleagues explored many variables related to classical conditioning

that help explain the process more thoroughly.

Since associative learning is geared towards helping species adapt and survive,

the order of stimulus presentation is important. The neutral stimulus should

appear first, followed by the unconditioned stimulus as to create the

anticipatory effect.

In some cases, more than one stimulus can be linked to elicit a weaker

conditioned response. Higher order conditioning can happen naturally, such as

when you get bit by a dog, both the sight of the dog and its barking could

initiate a fear response.

Myers/DeWall/Yost Hammer, Myers’ Psychology for the AP® Course, 4e

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LT 3.7-4 Explain the processes of acquisition, extinction, spontaneous

recovery, generalization, and discrimination classical conditioning.

If the conditioned stimulus and the unconditioned stimulus are no longer

presented together, extinction sets in and the ability of the conditioned stimulus

to evoke the conditioned response disappears.

Extinction, however, only suppresses the conditioned response and doesn’t

eliminate it completely. This is shown by the spontaneous recovery of the

association often seen as a weaker response after a pause.

Myers/DeWall/Yost Hammer, Myers’ Psychology for the AP® Course, 4e

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LT 3.7-4 Explain the processes of acquisition, extinction, spontaneous

recovery, generalization, and discrimination classical conditioning.

Generalization: (also called stimulus generalization) in classical conditioning, the

tendency, once a response has been conditioned, for similar stimuli to the

conditioned stimulus to elicit similar responses. (In operant conditioning, when

responses learned in one situation occur in other, similar situations.)

Discrimination: in classical conditioning, the learned ability to distinguish

between a conditioned stimulus and other stimuli that have not been associated

with a conditioned stimulus. (In operant conditioning, the ability to distinguish

responses that are reinforced from similar responses that are not reinforced.)

Myers/DeWall/Yost Hammer, Myers’ Psychology for the AP® Course, 4e

©2023 Worth/BFW Publishers

LT 3.7-4 Explain the processes of acquisition, extinction, spontaneous

recovery, generalization, and discrimination classical conditioning.

Stimulus generalization and discrimination were also studied by Pavlov’s team.

They noticed that the dogs would salivate to any tone similar to the one first

presented to them, although the response was generally weaker.

Stimulus generalization is adaptive. For example, if a child learns to fear a

moving car, then they may generalize to other moving vehicles like trucks or

bikes.

Being able to discriminate between stimuli is also adaptive. Knowing which

stimuli is associated with the unconditioned stimulus to elicit a conditioned

response can stop us from eliminating other stimuli that is not relevant.

Myers/DeWall/Yost Hammer, Myers’ Psychology for the AP® Course, 4e

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LT 3.7-4 Explain the processes of acquisition, extinction, spontaneous

recovery, generalization, and discrimination classical conditioning.

Pavlov’s work remains important today as it has informed further objective study of

learning processes.

Classical conditioning is a basic form of learning that occurs in most species of

animals, from simple organisms to complex mammals.

Even neuroscience has discovered neural circuits that link a conditioned

stimulus with an unconditioned stimulus.

Many behaviors are classically conditioned and prove to be adaptive, helping to

ensure our survival.

Myers/DeWall/Yost Hammer, Myers’ Psychology for the AP® Course, 4e

©2023 Worth/BFW Publishers

LT 3.7-5 Explain why Pavlov’s work remains so important.