Unit 4: Learning

the process of aquiring through experience new and relatively enduring information and behaviors

connecting events that occur in a sequence

first sense of learning

associtating two stimuli and anticipating events

associating a response with its consequence

learning from others experience

Pavlov’s experiments explored _________________

perspective that psychology should be an objective science that studies behavior without reference to mental processes

watson founded __________

in pavlov’s experiment, the tone alone caused the dogs to ________ if it was consistently given before food

stimulus that naturally and automatically triggers an unconditioned response

unlearned, naturally occuring response to an unconditioned stimulus

an originally neutral stimulus that, after association with an unconditioned stimulus, triggers a conditioned response

learned response to a conditioned stimulus

classical conditioning sequence:

___ → ___

___ + ___ → ___

___ → ___

• in classical conditioning: the initial stage when one links a neutral stimulus and an unconconditioned stimulus so that the neutral stimulus causes a conditioned response

• in operant conditioning: strengthening of a reinforced response

associating a new neutral stimulus to a previous conditioned stimulus to produce a new, weaker conditioned response

deminishing of a conditioned response

• in classical conditioning: happens when the unconditioned stimulus does not follow the conditioned stimulus

  • in operant conditioning: happends when a response is no longer reinforced

reapperance after a pause of an extinguished conditioned response

• in classical conditioning: tendency for stimuli similar to the conditioned stimulus to elicit similar responses

  • in operant conditioning: tendency for responses learned in a similar situation to occur in similar situations as well

• in classical conditioning: learned ability to distinguish between the conditioned stimulus and similar stimuli that don’t precede the unconditioned stimulus

  • in operant conditioning: learned ability to distinguish reinforced responses from similar unreinforced responses

rewarded behavior is likely to recur

chamber containing a bar or key that an animal can manipulate to obtain a food or water reinforcer

aka a skinner box

any event that strengthens (increases the frequency of) the behavior it follows

procedure in which reinforcers guide behavior toward closer and closer approximations of the desired behavior

stimulus that elicits a response in association with reinforcement (in contrast to related stimulus not reinforced)

uses stimuli that, when presented after a response, strengthen the response

reduces stimuli that, when removed after a response, strengthen the response

any consequence that strengthens behaviors

innately reinforcing stimulus

stimulus that gains its power through its association with a primary reinforcer

________ reinforcers only work for people, as many other organisms would get confused at what behavior was being reinforced

pattern that defines how often a desired response will be reinforced

reinforcing the desired response every time it occurs

reinforcing the desired response only part of the time

reinforcement schedule that enables faster learning than its counterpart

reinforcement schedule that has greater extinction resistance than its counterpart

partial reinforcement schedule that reinforces a response only after a specified number of responses

partial reinforcement schedule that reinforces a response after an unpredictable number of responses

partial reinforcement schedule that reinforces a response only after a specific time interval has passed

partial reinforcement schedule that reinforces a response at unpredictable time intervals

partial reinforcement schedule that causes the highest response rate, with a brief pause after reinforcement, but is prone to causing burn-out

partial reinforcement schedule that has the greatest extinction resistance

partial reinforcement schedule that causes the response rate to increase right before the time of reinforcement, and fall back preceding the reinforcement

partial reinforcement schedule that causes the most consistent response rate

any event that tends to decrease the behavior that it follows

system for electronically recording, amplifying, and feeding back information regarding a subtle physiological state, like heart rate or blood pressure

biological predisposition to learn associations that have survival value, such as between taste and nausea

biological constraint on classical conditioning

associating taste with an aversive unconditioned stimulus, such as nausea or sickness

the unconditioned stimulus _________ (does or does not) need to come directly after the conditioned stimulus for taste aversion

the tendency of a learned behavior to gradually revert to biologically predisposed patterns

biological constraint to operant conditioning that predisposes learn associations that are naturally adaptive

the more ________ the association (the US follows the CS), the stronger the response

studies indicate that likes and dislikes are ________ when people notice and are aware of the associations they have learned

metal representation of the layout of one’s environment

learning that occurs but is not apparent until there is an incentive to demonstrate it

sudden realization of a problem’s answer (contrasts with strategy-based learning)

desire to perform a behavior effectively for its own sake

desire to preform a behavior to receive promised rewards or avoid threaghtened punishment

excessive rewards can destroy intrinsic motivation

hopelessness and passive resignation a person or animal learns when unable to avoid repeated aversive events

giving people more _______ leads to less stress and ill health

perception that chance or outside forces beyond our personal control determine our fate

perception that we control our fate

the ability to control impulses and delay short-term gratification for longer term rewards

learning by observing others

the process of observing and imitating a specific behavior

in the __________, children watched an adult beat up a doll, and then modeled that behavior when they felt frustrated rather than not lash out at the doll like the control group

neurons in the frontal lobes that some scientists believe fire when we preform certain actions or observe another doing so

neurons that may enable imitation and empathy