Psychology Chapter 5 Learning

John B Watson and Future wife, Rosalie Rayner demonstrated a method that was unethical

"Little Albert" they clanged steel bars behind the boy's hear when the 11 month old played with laboratory rat.

Ivan Pavlov

A Russian physiologist who discovered classical conditioning; trained dogs to salivate at the ringing of a bell. His discovery was an accident he was actually trying to identify neural receptors in the mouth that triggered a response from the salivary glands.

unconditioned stimulus (UCS)

A stimulus that elicits a response from an organism prior to conditioning. Example, In Pavlov's experiment, it is the meat powder

programmed learning

B.F. Skinner educational method assumes that any complex task can be broken down into a number of small steps. This method does NOT punish errors, instead correct responses are reinforced usually with immediate feedback. One learns without making mistakes.

mirror neurons

Frontal lobe neurons that fire when performing certain actions or when observing another doing so. The brain's mirroring of another's action may enable imitation, language learning, and empathy.

Reinforcers

Is not defined as pleasant events but rather as stimuli that increase the frequency of behavior.

In Pavlov's experiment what is the neutral stimulus

The tone or bell

True or False Responses that have been maintained by partial reinforcement are more resistant to extinction than responses that have been maintained by continuous reinforcement

True because This type of reinforcement does not expect a reinforcement every time they engage in a response therefore, they are more like to persist in the absence of reinforcement.

flooding

a behavioral fear reduction technique based on principles of classical conditioning, fear-evoking stimuli (CSs) are presented continuously in the absence of actual harm so that fear responses (CRs) are extinguished. This technique is effective but unpleasant. EXAMPLE: being placed in a room filled with rats and you are fearful of them

continuous reinforcement

a schedule of reinforcement in which every correct response is reinforced,

operant conditioning

a simple form of learning in which an organism learns to engage in behavior that is reinforced.

Secondary reinforcers

a stimulus that gains reinforcement value through the association with established reinforcers.

model

an organism that engages in a response that is then imitated by another organism. Example: we learn to cook by watching our parents.

primary reinforcers

an unlearned reinforcer whose effectiveness is based on the biological makeup of the organism and not on learning. Example: food , water are positive reinforcers and pain is a negative reinforcer.

orienting reflex

an unlearned response in which an organism attends to a stimulus

operant behavior

behavior that operates on or manipulates the environment, producing consequences. Such as voluntary responses like pecking at a target, pressing a lever or skills to play tennis.

higher order conditioning

in classical conditioning, a procedure in which a previously neutral stimulus becomes a conditioned stimulus by being paired repeatedly with an already established conditioned stimulus. EXAMPLE: hot stove, or repeatedly pairing the shining of a light with the sounding of the bell after several pairing shining the light become the higher order conditioned stimulus and evoke salivation.

successive approximations

small steps in behavior, one after the other, that lead to a particular goal behavior. Example: driving home and not being able to recall exactly how you got home.

positive punishment

the application of an aversive stimulus to decrease unwanted behavior, such as spanking, scolding or a parking ticket.

behavior modification

the use of operant conditioning techniques to bring about desired changes in behavior. reinforce children when they are behaving properly to extinguish misbehavior.

fixed-interval schedule

schedule of reinforcement in which a specific amount of time must elapse between the previous and subsequent times before a response will elicit reinforcement. Example: car dealers when they offer incentives for buying up the remainder of the year's line in summer and fall. Example: commuter trains are on a schedule to arrive at a fixed or certain time.

Learning according to cognitive theorists

the process by which organisms make relatively permanent changes in the way they represent the environment because of experience. Learning itself is a mental process. People have the choice to imitate the aggressive and behaviors they observe and people most likely imitate behaviors that are consistent with their values.

Extinction

the process by which stimuli lose their ability to evoke learned responses because the events that had followed the stimuli no longer occur. The learned responses are said to be extinguished. Example: the child hears a car pull into driveway (CS) as the arrival of his parents (UCR)They move and start commuting by train and the child no longer connects the CS ( car horn) to UCS (parents coming home)The CS loses its ability to elicit a CR.

operants

the same as an operant behavior that result in presumably desirable outcomes such as food , a hug attention.

contingency theory

the view that learning occurs when the conditional stimuli provide information about the likelihood of the occurrence of other or unconditioned stimuli. EXAMPLE: Rescorla used dogs to explain classical conditioning. He believes learning occurs only when the CS (the tone) provides information about the UCS (the shock)

reinforce

to follow a response with a stimulus that increases the frequency of the response. Example BF SKINNER Project Pigeon where he trained pigeons to guide missiles to their targets and they were reinforced with food pellets for pecking at targets projected onto a screen.

spontaneous recovery

The Recurrence of an extinguished conditioned response, usually following a rest period. Example: Pavlov's dog would salivate to the sound to the bell or tone.

systematic desensitization

a behavioral fear-reduction technique in which a hierarchy of fear-evoking stimuli is presented while the person remains relaxed. Behaviorist use this in which the client is gradually exposed to fear evoking stimuli under circumstances in which he or she remains relaxed. This takes longer than flooding but is not as unpleasant. Example: Little Albert could have been shown pictures of rats or see rats from a distance instead of clanging steel bars behind his head.

counterconditioning

a fear-reduction technique in which pleasant stimuli are associated with fear-evoking stimuli so that the fear-evoking stimuli lose their aversive qualities. EXAMPLE: Mary Cover Jones fed Peter who was afraid of rabbits a cookie while the rabbit came closer to him. Overtime the boy would let the rabbit get close to him because he was enjoying his cookie. Finally he ate cookie while touching rabbit.

conditioned response (CR)

a learned response to a conditioned stimulus. Example: Salivation in response to the tone

cognitive map

a mental representation of the layout of one's environment. Example: unrewarded rats explored the maze without the reward of food for several days. Then awarded food after ten days. They could get to the food box as quickly as rewarded rats because they had explored the maze. Theorist is EC Tolman

conditioned stimulus (CS)

a previously neutral stimulus that eventually elicits a conditioned response because it has been paired repeatedly with the unconditioned stimulus that already elicited that response. EXAMPLE: The tone became a this because through repeated association with the meat powder

shaping

a procedure for teaching complex behaviors that at first reinforces approximations of the target behavior. You use progressive steps toward the behavior goal

conditional reflex

a reflex acquired through Pavlovian conditioning and consisting of a conditional stimulus and a conditional response. Example when placing meat powder on a dog's tongue the dog will salivate. Then he repeated process several times adding a sounding of a tone and PARING it with half the meat powder, after several times the dogs would salivate with out the meat powder just the tone. This is how BEHAVIORIST view classical conditioning.

variable ratio schedule

a reinforcement schedule that reinforces a response after an unpredictable number of correct responses. Example: slot machines because players can be seen popping coins into them and yanking their arms without a pause. The unpredictability of winning maintains a high response rate.

fixed ratio schedule

a reinforcement schedule that reinforces a response only after a specified number of correct responses. Example: A worker must sew five shirts to receive $10 this is a fixed ratio schedule of 5:1 and the worker will sew at a high rate.

positive reinforcement

a reinforcer that when presented increases the frequency of an operant the behavior will occur when they are applied. Example: food is a positive reinforcement

negative reinforcer

a reinforcer that when removed increases the frequency of an operant. Example: remove fear as a negativer reinforcer will increase the probability that the behaviors preceding it such as planning ahead so things do not go wrong.

learning according to behaviorist

a relatively permanent change in behavior that results from experience. Such as the fetch scenario, people learn to run after balls because they have been rewarded or reinforced for doing so.

classical conditioning

a simple form of learning in which a neutral stimulus comes to evoke the response usually evoked by another stimulus be being paired repeatedly with the other stimulus

reflex

a simple, automatic or unlearned response to a sensory stimulus, such as the knee-jerk response. They are unlearned and provoked by a certain stimuli

taste aversion

a type of classical conditioning in which a previously desirable or neutral food comes to be perceived as repugnant because it is associated with negative stimulation. Example: buttered popcorn at the movies.

stimulus

an environmental condition that elicits a response

what is unconditioned response (UCR)

an unlearned reaction to an unconditioned stimulus that occurs without previous conditioning. Example: Salivation in response to the meat powder is unlearned

conditioned reinforcer

another term for a secondary reinforcer. Example: we seen money because we have learned that it may be exchanged for primary reinforcers.

how do cognitive view classical conditioning

as the learning of relationships among events. The relationships allow organisms to mentally represent their environments and make predictions. EXAMPLE the dog salivated in response to the tone because the tone became mentally connected with the meat.

behaviors or operants that are not reinforced tend to be

distinguished

generalization

in conditioning the tendency for a CR to be evoked by stimuli that are similar to the stimulus to which the response was conditioned. Example: Pavlov demonstrated generalization by getting his dog to salivate when it was shown a circle. Later the dog salivated at other geometric shapes.

discrimination

in conditioning, the tendency for an organism to distinguish between a CS and similar stimuli that do not forecast a UCS. Example: Pavlov taught dog to salivate for circles only not to salivate when the dog was shown ellipses. The dog became FRUSTRATED when shown rounded ellipses and could not discriminate the difference between the circle and the round ellipse. The dog knew he would not be fed.

Discrminative Stimulus

in operant conditioning, a stimulus that indicates that reinforcement is available. EXAMPLE: the green light is this in Skinner's experiment with the pigeon in the Skinner box with a green light and only gets food when the light is green not when the light is off.

negative punishment

is the removal of a pleasant stimulus, such as removing a student's opportunity to talk with friends in class by seating them apart or taking a student's cell phone. TIME OUT is a form of negative punishment because the misbehaving child is placed in an environment in which he or she cannot receive rewards.

observational learning

learning by observing others (models) rather than by direct experience.

latent learning

learning that remains hidden until its application becomes useful. Example: Food motivated the rats to take rapid routes to the food box in the maze.

partial reinforcement

one of several reinforcement schedules in which not every correct response is reinforced. Example: gambling. At first you when big to get you hooked on gambling they you gradually space out the winnings unti infrequent winning or not winning. This type of reinforcement keeps a person to continue to gamble.

biofeedback training (BFT)

operant conditioning and enables people and animals to learn to control autonomic responses to attain reinforcement. EXAMPLE; method can reduce anxiety

biological preparedness

readiness to acquire a certain kind of CR due to the biological makeup of the organism

True or False Fixed and variable ratio schedule do NOT maintain a high response rate

FALSE

variable interval schedule

Responses are more unpredictable and lower , BUT more steadier. It is a schedule in which a variable amount of time must elapse between the previous and subsequent times that reinforcement is available. Example: Not cramming for a test instead study on a regular basis in prepartation for a test. EXAMPLE: fish will bite at variable times.

True or False immediate reinforcers are more effective than delayed reinforcers.

TRUE also short term consequences of behavior often provide more of an incentive than the long term consequences.

what are evolutionary psychologists views on taste aversions

They have survival value and suggest that animal and humans are biologically prepared to develop aversions that are adaptive in their environment.

law of effect

Thorndike's view that pleasant events stamp in responses, and unpleasant events stamp them out. Cats in a puzzle box

What was the purpose of Skinner's operant chamber or Skinner Box

To show how conditioning of rats and pigeons as models for human learning. He placed a rat who was deprived of food in his box with a lever at one end. Each time the rat pressed the lever a food pellet dropped. The pellet REINFORCED lever pressing.