Psy Ch: 5 (Test #2)

Avoidance conditioning?

(negative reinforcement) behavior prevents something unpleasant from being experienced at all (e.g., rat presses lever to prevent shock from being delivered; avoiding the hot cement by going to the grass before even stepping on the cement).

Escape conditioning?

(negative reinforcement) behavior stops something unpleasant after it is experienced (e.g., rat presses lever to stop shock; a person moves to the grass after first walking on cement and discovering it is hot).

Examples of classical conditoning?

-Infant sucking behavior -Milk-letdown response (breastfeeding, cries of any infant lead to this response) -Control of pain sensitivity -Allergic reactions

Drawbacks of positive punishment?

-It can teach/model aggression. -It can lead to negative emotions (e.g., fear, anger toward parent) and behavior (e.g., avoidance of parent) -Focuses on what one shouldn't do, but doesn't teach what behavior should be performed. Thus, when use punishment to decrease "bad" behavior, should also use reinforcement to strengthen "good" behavior you would rather see the person perform. -It can cross over to abuse (e.g., Adrian Peterson's case?)

Why study learning?

-It's everywhere (cannot avoid it) -Makes a person adaptive -teaches people learning principles (good from bad)

What are the four steps in using operant techniques to modify one's own behavior? (p. 161; know what term target behavior refers to)

1. Identify 2. Define 3. Monitor 4. Self-Modification -> Postive Reniforcer.

What/define the two forms of consequences?

1. Reinforcers: strengthen behavior - make it more likely to happen again 2. Punishers: weaken behavior - make it less likely to occur again.

Differences between classical and operant conditioning?

Classical: behavior is NOT required for significant event (e.g., Pavlov's dog gets food US without having to do anything to get it). Stimulus-Stimulus. Operant: behavior is required for significant event (e.g., Skinner's rat had to press the bar to get the food). Response-Stimulus.

What is contingency? In what sense is it important in classical conditioning? Know blocking. t. (p. 167)

Contingency: is a relationship in which one event depends on another. Classical Conditioning: CS - US Blocking: a process whereby prior conditioning prevents conditioning to a second stimulus. **Know that contingency and blocking indicate the predictive/informational value of the CS is important in determining whether or not conditioning will occur to it. It's not just contiguity that's important**

Should you use reinforcement over punishment?

Yes, IMPORTANT: Recommend use of reinforcement rather than punishment, and negative punishment rather than positive punishment when have to use punishment to decrease behavior.

Learned behaviors?

are changes in behavior as a result of specific experience.

Spontaneous Recovery?

After extinction, present the CS by itself after a rest period (time without the CS or US being presented) and the CR, which was extinguished (had gone away), reappears.

What are not learned behaviors?

Reflexes & Stimulus-Response & Behavior changes due to maturation

Condition Stimulus?

(A learned experience) Food, and object. TO make a change in behavior or maybe it does not. (Pavlov dog salivating when it sees the turning fork -- the turning fork is the condition stimulus)

Unconditioned Response?

(Innate; build in) A behavior/act from a thing/person. (Pavlov dog salivating when it sees food -- salivating is the response)

Unconditioned Stimulus?

(Innate; build in) Food, and object. TO make a change in behavior or maybe it does not. (Pavlov dog salivating when it see food -- food is the stimulus)

Performance?

Actual behavior-turning capacity/ability into action/behavior. Can be observed and measured.

Condition Response?

(A learned experience) A behavior/act from a thing/person (Once the dog sees the turning fork it salivates)

Learning?

A relatively permanent change in the capacity for behavior as a result of experience.

Operant Conditioning?

A type of learning in which behaviors are emitted (in the presence of specific stimuli) to earn reinforcers (rewards) or avoid punishers.

Positive punishment?

Behavior→aversive ("bad") stimulus added→behavior decreases (is weakened) (e.g., swear/curse→spank/mouth washed out with soap→less likely to swear again)

Negative reinforcement?

Behavior→aversive ("bad") stimulus taken away→behavior increases (e.g., take pain killer→headache goes away→take pain killer in future when have a headache) IMPORTANT: Positive and negative do NOT refer to behavior increasing or decreasing, but rather the consequence . . . Positive (+) = something is "added" (delivered) as a consequence Negative (-) = something is "subtracted" (taken away) as a consequence --Both positive and negative reinforcement produce an increase in behavior.

Positive reinforcement?

Behavior→reinforcer ("good") added→behavior increases (is strengthened) (e.g., clean your room→play video game→more likely to clean room) See next slide. IMPORTANT: Positive and negative do NOT refer to behavior increasing or decreasing, but rather the consequence . . . Positive (+) = something is "added" (delivered) as a consequence Negative (-) = something is "subtracted" (taken away) as a consequence --Both positive and negative reinforcement produce an increase in behavior.

Negative Punishment?

Behavior→reinforcer ("good") taken away→behavior decreases (e.g., hit brother with toy→toy taken away→less likely to hit brother). Time outs and grounding are examples of negative punishment.

Habituation?

Decrease in the response to a stimulus with repeated experiences with it. (Ex: Living on a busy street for a period of time but hardly even notices the noise) Also called desensitization.

Examples of negative reinforcement?

Escape and avoidance conditioning are examples of negative reinforcement—behavior is strengthened by subtracting/taking away something "bad" or aversive.

Sensitization?

Increase in the response to a stimulus with repeated experiences with it (Ex: a baby crying and the more it cries the more annoying it is.)

Conditioned Taste Aversion?

Learn to associate smell and taste of food with illness and thus avoid CS (sacchrin water) US (drug leads to nausea), CS acquires capacity to elicit nausea, avoid saccharin water. (Ex: getting food poison and not wanting to eat the food again.)

Extinction

Learned responses can weaken and disappear --- Occurs when CS is presented without the US (e.g., bell -> no food), CS will no longer produce the CR

Two-Event, associative learning?

Learning to associate one event with another (Salt & BLANK -- Stop & BLANK)

Elements of Operant conditioning?

Learning to make or withhold a certain response because of its consequences. (We perform an operant behavior, a consequence follows, and the future likelihood of the behavior changes as a result (e.g., getting pop/snacks from vending machine) **Behavior -> Consequence -> Effect on Behavior**

Does extinction produce unlearning?

No, it produces new learning. CS signals no US AND CS signals US. Both associations are learned. Behavior in a situation will depend on which of these two associations is stronger.

Why not study learning?

Out of curiosity; the desire to know how we humans and other animals learn and behave.

Acquisition?

Overall it increases the CS---- CS paired with US and a CR develops (is "acquired") to the CS

Why are taste aversions acquired so easily and why don't we develop phobias of everything we pair with harm?

Preparedness: certain conditioned responses are acquired very easily, other with great difficulty.

What is the difference between primary and secondary reinforcers? Know examples of each. (p. 173)

Primary: no prior learning is required (food, water, and sex are intrinsically rewarding) Secondary: Reinforcers whose value is acquired with others

Stimulus Discrimination?

Tendency to NOT respond to stimuli that are different from the ones conditioned to. (Ex: bitten by dog -> afraid of dogs but not cats. There are limits to generalization.)

Stimulus Generalization?

Tendency to respond to cues similar to ones we have become conditioned to. (Ex: bitten by the neighbor's dog -> fear that dog AND other dogs, too, though never bitten by these other dogs.

Studied by Pavlov?

a form of learning in which a response elicited by one stimulus becomes elicited by a previously neutral stimulus.

Aversion therapy?

a type of behavior therapy designed to make a patient give up an undesirable habit by causing them to associate it with an unpleasant effect.

Drug addiction?

cravings, relapse, and overdose. Stimuli associated with drugs (e.g., neighborhood, crack house, friends taken drugs with) can produced conditioned cravings for the drug, which can lead to relapse following treatment. Drug overdose that can result if these conditioned cues aren't present (further explanation presented in class).

Nonassociative learning?

doesn't involve associating one event with another.

Reflexes?

innate/inborn responses to stimuli (air blown to eye ball)

Single-event learning?

learning about one thing.

What is cognitive learning? (p. 174)

learning that is not directly observable

What is latent learning? Know Tolman's study of it. (pp. 174-175)

learning that is not immediately reflected in a behavior change. Tolman -> two groups of rats running through a maze, one rewarded, one not, rewarded group run maze better that non-rewarded, but non-rewarded get place with rewards they run the maze better.

What is Shaping? (p. 160; be able to recognize an example of it).

reinforcing successive approximations to a desired behavior. Ex: A tiger jumping through a ring of fire. First make a tiger jump on pedestal -> then jump to pedestal to pedestal -> pedestal though hoop to pedestal -> hoop on fire.

Maturation?

simply growing older (10 year old can't lift heavy weight unlike an adult)

If you use positive punishment how do you make it effective?

swift (close in time to the behavior), sufficient (strong enough), and certain (consistently after each occurrence of the behavior)

What does operant conditioning emphasize?

the importance of consequences of behavior in directing behavior.